For most guests the two day call at St. Petersburg is the highlight of the cruise. I think mainly because Russia and all that goes with it, still gives a sort of mysterious feeling of entering an unknown and alien world. Which is not far beside reality as the Russian mind does think very different from a western one. That in combination with a mind boggling bureaucracy makes it for all of us a very interesting place to visit. The approach is through a 25 mile long channel which is so narrow and shallow that we have to maintain a slow speed to avoid the ship from digging in and suffering from squat. Then, when passing Kronstadt the old navy base, we have to reduce even more speed to avoid wake damage. At Kronstadt the sea barrier is almost finished so we are sailing through its opening just before we pass the island itself. From there it is another hour of narrow channels before we approach the dock. For docking there are two options, either you are directed to the new cruise terminal or you dock in the old cargo port. The exception is when you are small cruise ship, then you can continue upriver on the Neva and dock in downtown at the Lieutenant Smith embankment.
Today we were directed towards the new cruise terminal the Marine Façade. Last year I docked there for the first time and it is a very nice development. Then only two berths were available for the cruise ships, now there are four and next year their will be 7, with one berth being used for ferries (subject to change, as they might make it a double ferry dock) I say, we, because with more docks available, there was a whole parade of ships going that way. Ahead of the line up was the Celebrity Eclipse, who was docking at berth 7, followed by the Vision of the Seas at berth 6, followed by us docking at berth 4, while at 5 was the Costa Luminosa, who had come in yesterday. Berths 3, 2, 1 are still under construction. Around the U shaped complex there are four cruise terminals to receive and “process” the visitors. Russians are very good in “processing” with landing passes, stamps, authorizations, visa and what not. However, it is already a lot better than it was in 1994, when I visited the first time, but saying nyet still comes easier than saying da.
The Marine Facade when completed. The breakwaters and the white buildings are not there yet. The berth numbering starts at the left hand side with 1. So number 7 is the berth in the right hand lower corner and nbr 4, is in the centre. Photo Courtesy, St. Petersburg Port Authority.
As all captains like to dock nose out and thus portside alongside in this case; you never know what the weather might bring, so each ship turned on arrival and then backed towards its position. So we all docked about 20 minutes apart to give the linesmen the chance to walk from ship to ship. This evening the Costa Luminosa will leave, to be replaced by the Eurodam tomorrow morning. An easy swap, as both ships belong to the Vista Class size, thus the one coming in will fit exactly into the spot of the one leaving. The Celebrity Eclipse is staying with us overnight and only the Vision of the Seas will leave as she is making a day call only. The Silver Whisper that left Tallinn yesterday as well, went to the embankment for docking as with her lesser length she can swing on the river. The tomorrow the Empress is expected but she will have to go to the cargo terminal as all berths at the Marine Façade are full.
Today and tomorrow we will load about 1100 tons of Heavy bunker fuel (HFO), about 100 tons of Marine Gas oil (MGO) and give ashore for processing about 100 tons of sludge, which is the non-burnable left over from the HFO. That will probably take from arrival until departure tomorrow as the permits and stamps needed make it all a very slow process.
However the sun shone all day and a cool breeze blew in from the West, making it a pleasant day for sightseeing. In the evening the tours also benefited from the fact that it was dry and everybody who went ashore in Formal gear (Gala night at the Opera) did not need extra jackets to keep warm and or dry. While this is going on, I will have time to tackle a lot of outstanding paperwork, do some shipboard inspections and review next cruise. There are many ways that lead to Rome and thus there are also several routes you can take to Lorient.
July 4, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Hello Captain, since today (July 4th) is the day the Nieuw Amsterdam IV is inaugurated, I am curious if the ceremonies were broadcast to all the ships in the fleet. After all, if the headquarters can get a license for all the World Cup games for all 15 ships, why not show off the newest ship/baby in the family to the rest of the family? 😉
Also, I noticed the number of ships in the active fleet is now 15 (not counting the old Noordam/sister of N.A. III)…it seems that this is the largest number of passenger and/or cargo ships in HAL history–is it?
July 5, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Yes you are correct. You would only get over the 15 ships in the past, if you added the cargo ships who had a few pax. cabins on board but under the 12 limit.
Captain Albert
July 4, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Dear Captain Albert,
I have enjoyed reading your blog for a number of years. My wife and I are booked on the Prinsemdam TA crossing in May, 2011 to Amsterdam. Do you know, at this time, if you will be aboard? I certainly hope so, as I would love to have the pleasure of meeting you, in person.
July 5, 2010 at 5:36 pm
No it is not known at this time. The office will finalize our sailing periods in August, when all the ships, including the new Nieuw Amsterdam are running with a settled down schedule. At the moment there are still people being transfered due to the gaps caused by the start up of the NA and its first crew change.
Captain Albert
July 5, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Hi Captain Albert,
i am doing the Prinsendam to the North Cape (6/6/2011) and the Baltic next year.
Hope you will be the Captain. Love your blog.
Questions:
Why doesn’t the Prinsendam dock in either Lt. Schmidt or English Embankment? It certainly is a better fit than the Regent Voyager?
Do you have any pictures of the new Aft cabins. There has been a lot of people asking for them?
Happy Sailing, hope to meet you next year.
July 5, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Thank you for reading my blog. To answer your questions. The authorities do not allow us to dock there as we are just too long to swing around at the embankment. New Cabins. If you dig in the achives, you will find photos of the new cabins when they were completed. That was around the end of January 2010. It shows them all, inclduing the big inside ones.
Captain Albert
July 5, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Whoops! I forgot to ask, how far is the Marina from the center of St. Petersburg? Is nit the cruise ship terminal that in 2006 was about an hour’s walk into town?
thanks
July 5, 2010 at 5:43 pm
No, the Marine Facade is brand new,and was opened partly for the first time in 2009. It would be about an hour from the head of Lt. Schmidt embankment to get to the Hermitage, so I assume you are referring to that cruise terminal. From the Marine Facade it is about 15 minutes by bus to the Neva river and from there it all depends on the traffic. My crew biked, on the ships bikes, to the Hermintage in about 40 minutes, they said.
Captain Albert