Took a Princess excursion which was very well done. Saw the Vasa, Armory Museum, and Gamla Stan. Tour leader was very entertaining. I would downgrade this only because the time in port was too limited. I would have liked to have had a full day.
Day 1, left late morning on a Princess excursion called Rasputin, Romanov & Revolution. Saw the Hermitage & palace. Impressive palace and museum. A lot of walking which is OK with us, but was tough for those with mobility problems. Tour guide was very knowledgeable. Probably good we had a late morning tour as there was a lenthy customs delay for the morning tour groups.
Day 2: Catherine's Palace and Peterhof. Again, this was a Princess excursion and the guide was very knowledgeable. The rebult palaces are impressive to be sure, but it got to be a little overload for me. My favorite was the 400 acre Peterhof gardens with the 150 fountains. The 70 degree weather made this all the more enjoyable.
Overall, St Petersburg just has a kind of bad vibe to me. Very structured tours with no free wandering-around time that you normally have in other places. I would rather have spent 2 days in one of the other ports.
On our own. Outstanding medieval town. Easy to get to either by walking or the ship's bus. Strolling through the old town was one of the best 4 hours we spent. Again, I wish the ship had been in port longer.
Took the ship's "on your own" bus. We had done research on a walking tour and had a very nice stroll through the old town for about 4 hours. Very picturesque & a pleasant surprise. Not all shops take other than Polish money.
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