Russia

We landed early and were piloted in while we had breakfast and got all of our documentation ready.  We had to get out our rubles (first new money we’ve had to use since this trip started), our passports, our tour confirmations with visas on them from the tour company and then stood in line on the

ship waiting to get off.  Now, the cruise line had scared us into thinking that no one would be allowed off the boat except on one of their excursions.  They put it in the little schedule they put out, they announced it again on the ship and we had to ask excursions desk who said that 

  “as far as we know, no one will be allowed to get off the ship without a visa”, but we could ask at reception.  We asked at reception and they said that of course we could get off the boat if we had made a tour with another company.  My email from my tour company I booked

  even warned me that the cruise lines would try to make us think that we couldn’t get off.  Well, the end result was them saying that they got clearance from Russian immigration for their excursions, but not for us.  Our whole line started to growl and moan and bitch and 5 minutes

 later, they stated that everyone could get off the boat.  We talked later to some people on the Celebrity Eclipse that docked on the same day and they said that they were let off immediately and our tour guide said that Russian immigration would not have slowed us up because it’s local tour companies that we’re using.  Anyway, we got off the boat, went through immigration and got our passports stamped and everything.  It was like going into a foreign country used to be.  Then we were free into the terminal to meet the head of our tour company.  I have to admit that when I read on tripadvisor and cruise critic that people were met by the director of the company who is on all their websites and stuff, that it was old, or must have been a bigger tour or something, but she must meet every ship and personally introduce you to your tour guide.   We got Jane and were joined in the van by 6 other people on our boat.  We were a nice little group and got started immediately on the itinerary.  We started off going out of town to Peterhof and the Summer Palace of Catherine the Great.  So, I know that we were not going through the best parts of town most likely, but I couldn’t believe the amount of crumbling, ugly, concrete soviet era apartment blocks that we passed.  I had this vision of St. Petersburg in my head related to my readings that didn’t jive with what I was seeing.