Increasingly, cruise lines are developing shore excursions that serve up ultra-exclusive experiences, but are these “private access” experiences worth what they cost?
On Crystal Cruises, for example, cruise passengers can experience the same training that cosmonauts undergo at the world’s largest hydrolab, situated at Star City in Moscow.
Prepare to pay to play, however. The excursion, which goes by the name “Hydro-Space: The Final Challenge” goes for a stratospheric $32,995 per person, which would no doubt be the “final challenge” for flimsier wallets.
Still pricey, but certainly within the grasp of mere mortals, are day excursions to Moscow, which Silversea Cruises offers for $999 per person, from St. Petersburg.
The excursion, lasting 16.5 hours, includes flights to and from Moscow as well as private van transfers, guides, a visit to Red Square and The Kremlin, coffee at Puskin Cafe and dinner at the Writer’s Club, the watering hole of Russian (and Soviet) writers for more than 70 years now.
Cruise ships typically dock two or three days in St. Petersburg on Baltic cruise itineraries, and on three-day calls, you’ll certainly have enough time to visit Moscow. You could even go on your own for much less than $999 per person.
Flights between St. Petersburg and Moscow can be had for as little as $30 each way. Prefer rail? The fast train will take you from city center to city center in about four hours. But with either mode of transport, there is that pesky visa problem, meaning that most nationalities can’t just walk off the ship and into St. Petersburg, much less travel all the way to Moscow. Sauntering ashore requires a tourist visa, which takes time, paperwork and patience.Cruise line passengers skip the hassles of having to obtain visas. Transit visas do the job for those who purchase excursions sold on the ship. There are ways around paying the often-inflated fees that cruise lines charge for excursions in St. Petersburg (such as booking your shore excursion through Red October), but if you can afford to do so, booking your shore excursion on board is a convenient and easy option.
At $999 per person, it’s questionable whether diverting to Moscow is worth it. After all, there is quite a lot to see in St. Petersburg. But as one cruise passenger said during our excursion to Moscow last week, “When will I ever have the chance to do this again?” Perhaps never. So pony up and join the tour.