Denrus

Denrus

Due to the Russian immigration regulations, you either have to have an independent Russian entry visa or be part of an organised excursion by an approved company to land at St Petersburg.  Whilst the majority of cruise ship passengers use the ship’s own organised excursions, a small group of 9 of us who had previously met via the cruise critic web boards had decided to use a local firm, called Denrus for our arrangements and tours.  Each of us in the group made this decision for various individual reasons, but for Kate and myself they were the following (in this order):

• increased flexibility (we set the itinerary, rather than the tour company);
• we could see much more in the time available;
• we were a small group of 9 rather than a full coach load of 50 (much more friendly and flexible); and
• even with the above, they were still slightly cheaper.

I would have absolutely no hesitation in using Denrus again, or in recommending them to other cruisers.  They were prompt and efficient in the pre-cruise organisation, they were waiting for us on the dock when we arrived, the guide was incredibly well informed, and the overall 2 days gave us a great overview of St Petersburg.  They were also good value for money.

Another group on our cruise used a similar firm called Red October.  When we compared notes later, they had similar extremely positive things to say about their tour and experiences.  However, in the planning stages we found Denrus to be more responsive and flexible to our enquiries.

In retrospect, I believe that we may have tried to cram a little too much into our 2 days in St Petersburg, particularly on the first day.  However, that was totally our decision, and when we sailed away from St Petersburg, we had probably seen more of the city than any of our fellow travellers on the Century.  Highly recommended.

The Denrus group (guide Eugene on the left in the white jacket)

For those interested, our final itinerary was as follows.  We stuck pretty closely to this, although it did vary with events, particularly traffic on day 2.  The somewhat flowery language belongs to Denrus, who originally wrote these words ...

Day One

As soon as the ship is cleared - the city orientation drive (city highlights)

08.30-09.30 drive South-West of St Petersburg to visit one of summer residences of Russian Tsars in Peterhof

09.30-10.20 a guided tour of the Grand Palace in Peterhof (specially arranged Early Opening of the palace to avoid crowds.  In the end we didn't get there on time for this, and entered with everybody else.)

10.30-11.30 walk in the world famous fountain park to hear interesting stories of the fountains and enjoy them playing.  (Again, this was cut short due to the crowds and having to catch the 11:30 hydrofoil.)

11.30-12.00  Hydrofoil (eat snacks instead of lunch)

12.10-14.10 visit to The Hermitage Museum

14.15-15.00  Lunch (we went to a local restaurant and had an excellent late lunch including caviar and borsch for $10 each)

15.00-16.00  inside visit to Spilled Blood Cathedral

16.00-17.00 inside visit of St Isaac's Cathedral

About 17.30 return to ship

Day Two

08.30 start of the tour - metro ride.

08.30-09.30 drive 30 km south of St Petersburg to the imperial summer residence the Catherine Palace at Pushkin.

10.00-10.50 a guided tour of the Palace.

11.00-12.00 Drive back to the city.

12.10-13.10 Lunch time.  (Due to very heavy traffic, we decided to miss lunch and go souvenir shopping instead.)

13.30-14.30 visit to Peter-and-Paul Fortress.

14.30-16.00 visit to the Yusupovs Palace.

About 16.30 return to ship.