Costa Cruises' Costa Mediterranea has inaugurated a new $13 billion cruise terminal at St Petersburg.
I heard about the new terminal, which is open but not finished - completion is scheduled for 2010, when there will be three terminals and seven berths - when I was cruising the Baltic on Princess Cruises' Crown Princess a couple of weeks ago.
Apparently this new facility is closer to the city than the cargo port, which most ships use, but still not really walking distance.
Sadly I was there too early to see it and Princess tied up in the cargo port.
I say sadly, but it was great fun to get from there into the city - you do need visas if you want to go it alone - taking the port bus (which is actually for the workers but tourists can hop on), getting through security at the other end of the port, about three miles away, and then negototiating for a taxi into the city. And then you have to do it all in reverse to get back to the ship.
Of course, if the new port is not walking distance, visitors with visas will still have to do battle with the taxi drivers who have a bad reputation but were most pleasant and certainly knew enough English to negotiate prices and get us into the city and then back to the right port. One had even spent his downtime as a taxi driver learning English, German, Italian and Japanese.
In between the travelling to and fro, we had a lovely day wandering the city, doing lunch and riding the metro.
It is such as shame that most visitors are scared off doing St Petersburg on their own, partly by the effort and cost of getting a visa, but also by the guides, who give the impression that all the locals are out to rob and mug you. But let's face it, they have a vested interest in keeping everyone together in a flock.
Maybe this new terminal is the start of much-needed change of attitude. I would love to think so.
Jane Archer
