We chose this cruise mainly because it offered 3 full days in St Petersburg. We were also influenced by the good reviews of the ship and we were not disappointed on that score. As St Petersburg was our main objective, we saved on our cabin, booking an outside stateroom without veranda. The weather was very cold so we did not lose out at all. Our cabin was well appointed and we got all the special dining reservations which we wanted, including an extra night in Red Ginger, our favourite. Overall the food was of a very high standard, especially the breads and cakes. It proved impossible to resist afternoon tea. The ordinary wines by the glass were generally poor, with sommeliers who were pleasant but ill informed. The list for purchase of 7 bottles gave no dates for any of the wines available . This we found incredible. Generally despite the corkage, it is probably best and in the long run less expensive, to bring your own wine.

Our main complaint is the way in which passenger information in advance and during the cruise sought to make us feel helpless. We were frequently warned about the difficulties of arranging our own transfers, getting taxis, ill informed about the acceptability of euros in Lithuania (they will take them ) and the dangers of private tours in Russia. In fact the official tours were over priced and as we watched large bus loads of passengers leaving we were so glad not to be among them. Cruise critic helped us to team up with a couple who were arriving in Copenhagen on the same flight and we saved lots of money sharing a taxi with them. At the end of the cruise we stayed in the Scandic Grand Stockholm as suggested by Oceania but booked ourselves, asking the hotel to arrange a taxi to pick us up. Thus embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly.

Our best find was the tour company was GrandPetersburg. The owner Julia corresponded with us by email over several months as we arranged our perfect 3 day private itinerary. My husband is 80 and we wanted to see as much as possible without being too challenged. On the day we were also able to tweak the itinerary as wished.Our guide Elizabeth was perfect with wonderful English and unlimited knowledge. The driver Alex was always there for us and so pleasant. Compared to other tours which I priced, especially the ship ones, ours was very reasonable.