St Petersburg
For a while now I have been waiting for the new summer schedule to be released by St Peters Line, for their cruises from Helsinki to St Petersburg.
Well it seems I've been wasting my time visiting their website frequently to check for updates, as there will not be any.
St Peters Line have formed a partnership with Moby Lines, an Italian ferry company, and Moby will be managing their boats from this April. With this comes several changes:
There will now only be one SPL boat operating in the Baltic Sea, the Princess Anastasia
Said boat will be Italianized to attract more tourists
The schedule will change to a set weekly itinerary as below
Sunday: departure from St Petersburg and night crossing to Helsinki. Monday: 1.5 hour stop in Helsinki and crossing to Tallinn. Tuesday: Stockholm Wednesday: Helsinki Thursday to Friday: overnight in St Petersburg, as hotel. Friday-Sunday: St. Petersburg - Helsinki - St. Petersburg.
What does this mean for us?
Well, we arrive in Helsinki late at night on Monday, June 19th, and then Leish leaves on the Tuesday night, and we leave on Sunday night, the 25th.
So, based on this itinerary not changing, we would be able to board the boat on Wednesday in Helsinki and arrive back in Helsinki on Saturday.
21st - Wednesday approx 7pm - overnight cruise from Helsinki to St Petersburg
22nd - Thursday - all day in St Petersburg, and then the night spent on-board boat or in a hotel
23rd - Friday - Day in St P. - approx 7pm - overnight boat back into Helsinki, arriving approx 8am on Saturday morning.
That would give us 2 full days in St Petersburg, and 3 nights spent on the boat
How to buy tickets: Not yet for sale, may not be for 1-2 months.
Possible complications: The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup is on in Russia, at the same time. In fact Australia will be playing a match in St Petersburg ON Thursday the 22nd!!! Vs the team that wins the African Championship in case you are interested. This could mean that (a) getting ferry tickets becomes impossible because football fans are using it for the visa free bonus, and/or (b) the city is crazy busy with footy fans and its a party/riot like atmosphere...
Stockholm
What about a back-up plan?
If Russia doesn't work out (there are NO other visa free options by the way) then how about Stockholm, Sweden?
There are similar overnight cruises from Helsinki-Stockholm.
VIKING LINE
Wednesday 21st - Depart Helsinki @ 5.30pm
Thursday 22nd - Arrive in Stockholm @ 10.00am
Thursday 22nd - Depart Stockholm @ 4.30pm
Friday 23rd - Arrive Helsinki @ 10.10am
Option 1:
2 nights aboard M/S Gabriella
6.5 hours in Stockholm (really only about 4 hrs sightseeing)
2 x cabins aboard ship - 1 large inside double, 1 inside single
Includes ferry boat transfer to and from central Stockholm
there are plenty of bars, restaurants and shops onboard and meals can be pre-purchased
Total cost 457 Euro (AUD $220 per person / $660 total)
Option 2:
1 night aboard M/S Gabriella and 1 night aboard M/S Mariella
1 night in Stockholm (from 10am Thurs to 4.30pm Friday)
2 x cabins aboard ship - 1 inside double, 1 inside single
1 night in a triple room in Stockholm at the Crystal Plaza Hotel
there are plenty of bars, restaurants and shops onboard and meals can be pre-purchased
Total cost 681 Euro (AUD $325 per person / $980 total)
Riga
TALLINK SILJA LINE
you can get info on Tallink Silja Line here
Helsinki - Stockholm - Riga - Helsinki
Tuesday 20th June
Depart Helsinki at 5pm
Wednesday 21st June
Arrive Stockholm at 9.30am
Day in STOCKHOLM
Depart Stockholm at 5pm
Thursday 22nd June
Arrive Rida at 11am
Day in RIGA, LATVIA
Depart Riga at 5.30pm
Friday 23rd June
Arrive Stockholm at 10.30am
Day in STOCKHOLM
Depart Stockholm at 4.45 pm
Saturday 24th June
Arrive Helsinki at 9.55am
Silja Symphony to and from Stockholm = 441 euro
Isabelle to and from Riga = 142 euro
Total = 583 euro / AUD $840 for all 3 people
this is with 4 nights accommodation, in 2 cabins
Some sightseeing tour buses available:
