St Petersburg All-inclusive visa free 2-day shore excursion

From the very start on meeting Alexei in the morning and our guide Diana the service was exemplary. We had a simply fantastic 2 days in their company and it is difficult to know how we could have fitted more in. Diana was knowledgeable friendly and happy to amend the day to accommodate any of the groups needs. Our group tour consisted of 10 people from 3 different families, with a variety of interests but we found something for everyone. We arrived in St Petersburg on Brilliance of the Seas with Royal Carribean and despite the caution in their Royal Carribean's literature the visa-free process through border control was easy with just a passport, sea pass card (from the ship) and our maxibalt tour ticket. There was absolutely no problems - this had been our one concern prior to arrival but it absolutely wasn't an issue. Being in a small group was the best, as in busy museums such as the Hermitage we could use our "sneaking skills" as Diana put it to by pass any queues and maximise our use of the time available. During the two days we had lunch at two local restaurants (included in the tour price) where the service and welcome was on a par with Alexei and Diana's. Gift shopping whilst not imperative was made easier and cheaper by their knowledge of good shops off the beaten track where prices were much lower than the peak tourist areas, but quality was fantastic. The tour we had included the Hermitage, Yusopov's palace, Catherines palace (inc the amber room), the fountains at Peterhof, St Peter and Paul's Fortress and Cathedral, a hydrofoil trip, a metro trip, plus my personal highlight "The Church of the Spilled Blood" which is an iconic building. Diana was always on the lookout for things to make our visit even more memorable - for example we had a short stop at one of the summer houses at Catherines Palace to listen to a 6 man choir sing a traditional Russian folk song which was unbelievably good and would have been missed by all the larger group tours. My sister is going to St Petersburg next year and I have already told her there is no option but to contact Alexei! The message is quite simple, if you go to St Petersburg, then you must go MaxiBalt!