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St Petersburg, Russia

Seen on an Azamara Club Cruises sailing over two days

By CHRIS OWEN

August 27^th, 2015

NO CULTURE SHOCK

The third stop on a 12-night Summer Russia and The Baltics sailing aboard Azamara Quest, St Petersburg was a highly anticipated destination. Many of us onboard had never been there before and, earlier in life, thought we ever would be.

ABOUT WHAT WE EXPECTED

To some visiting the Russian port was a dream come true. Others were simply curious and this was one stop on an overall intriguing itinerary. To me, St Petersburg was all of that and a bit more, highlighting some serious differentiating factors owned by Azamara Club Cruises.

VISITING WITH A DESTINATION FOCUSED CRUISE LINE

We arrived early, as anticipated. In a unique element of the Azamara cruise experience; the Captain provides a great amount of detail over the ship’s loudspeaker system just before we leave each port of call. Little details. Right down to the order in which the mooring lines used to keep the ship in place when docked will be released.

MORE OVERNIGHTS PAY OFF

That the destination focus runs past marketing the unique places Azamara visits, rarely repeating itineraries is not surprising. They have been at it actively longer than many other cruise lines. But it is as though they looked at everything they do and asked “What is the destination element in this?”. The detailed information provided in what might otherwise be a typical daily Captain From The Bridge announcement drives home the destination focus.

INTERESTING, ORNATE ARCHITECTURE

Partly cloudy skies seen as we approached the port in St Petersburg gave clouds, cold and a bit of mist in the air. First-time visitors to Russia would later describe the weather that day as “about what we expected.”

007 WOULD BE RIGHT AT HOME HERE

Staying late in port was once described to me by Azamara President in a very interesting way. At a press conference where a number of Florida residents were on hand, he asked “What if you never saw the nightlife in Miami? Do you think you might have missed some of the experience?” An obvious question for a vibrant city with an active nightlife, most agreed: You bet

ANOTHER CHANCE AT ANOTHER DAY

But taking that point out on the street over the last couple of years, some readers were excited at the notion of staying late in port, if not overnight while others could take it or leave it. “I’m not really all that much of a night person” commented frequent reader Roger C from Tulsa. “I like the shows on the ships, that’s enough nightlife for me”, chimed Sally R from Omaha, among others with similar responses.

DAY TWO BRINGS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FEEL, LOOK

Day two of our overnight stay in St. Petersburg was all about making local connections, something I might not have thought possible on day one that was more suited as a backdrop for a cold war film. Sunny skies seemed to bring out sunny faces on the streets of a city known for being home of the czars. Our tour du jour was basically a motor coach ride to the center of town for several hours free time. The day provided plenty of opportunity to get lost, buy souvenirs and make local connections.

LOCAL CONNECTIONS MADE

The 20-minute transfer from Azamara Quest’s docking position to Nevsky Prospect, a major shopping area with plenty to offer everyone visiting. The tour was basically just a legal way to get off the ship without a Russian visa with local tour guide Anastasia, narrating along the way.

STILL, AN INTENSE PART OF THE WORLD

Even a sunny day and unusually warm temperatures could not mask a generally downbeat atmosphere in St Petersburg, leaving many of our fellow travelers saying “This is not a happy place to live”…but not every place on the planet are. Still, our visit to Russia via Azamara Quest packed a lot of intense cultural immersion into two days.