On the subject of private tours or Regent tours for St. Petersburg.

I have taken both Regent tours and Red October tours having been to St. Petersburg a number of times.

Normally I recommend Red October for following reasons. The price is normally the same as the Regent tours, but we can get smaller groups with just the Brown and Keene people. We can also control the tours and come back to the ship for lunch if we wish to do that.

Getting ahead of the crowds
Red October, other private companies and Regent all have the same access to the palaces via the group entrances. They can all get ahead of the public lines. How well this works varies depending on the amount of ships in port that day. The group entrances can also get jammed and I have problems with both Regent tours and Red October tours. So really there is no big advantage either way.

Once inside the palaces
You move from room to room when the group ahead of you moves on. So whether you are in a group of three smaller groups or one large group really does not matter. You are going to go at about the same speed. Some of you will notice guides arguing with the women who sit and watch everything to move ahead. I have seen this with Red October and Regent tours. Once again it is the same situation whether it is private or Regent.

Guides
I have had some outstanding guides with Regent and Red October. I have also had some very average guides with Regent and Red October. I remember one year Denise was enthralled with her Regent guide for Moscow and she had been with Red October guides for St. Petersburg. Again I think this is a hit or miss situation. I just do not think Red October or other private companies guides are a lot better than Regent. They are all individuals, all called Helen (it seems that way) and luck of the draw. Many work for different companies.

Personally I just do not see the point of hiring Red October or any other individual operator if the Regent tours are included free of charge. There are advantages to the private situation but not enough in my mind to justify the extra cost.