Word of mouth has it that St. Petersburg is undergoing a glorious revival, and I was anxious to compare it to the grim city I’d visited during the Communist regime. Daunted by the complicated online visa application and discouraged by the $200 - $500 expedited fees, I was fortunate to come across a new posh alternative. Russia has a regulation that allows travelers arriving by ferry a 72 hour visa-free stay, and the new St. Peter Line offers trips from Stockholm and Helsinki on two sophisticated cruise ships that qualify as ferries.
Deciding to try out both ships, I flew first to Stockholm, where we boarded the “Princess Anastasia” for a day plus overnight voyage. Unlike the commercial boats that routinely ply the route, the “Anastasia” is a ten-deck liner with lounges, a beauty salon, movie theater, sauna and pool, children’s center -- even a craft room where passengers can learn to make squishy felt flower pins.
All morning after we set sail I worked on the Internet beside a window watching as we passed cabins dotting the islands strung along the Swedish coast. Lunch was appropriately a Swedish feast -- a four-course smorgasbord. Starting with Baltic herring, gravlax, and other cold fish we proceeded to plates of cold cuts and mayonnaise-y salads. Main course choices ranged from meat balls and tilapia to reindeer. Finally, there were cheesecakes, berries, and frothy creams for dessert.
After a nap in my cabin and a massage as the light faded outside the window, it was time to dress for dinner! I assembled with friends for a cocktail in the funny “Bunny Bar” -- with rabbits poking out of its walls, a whimsical response, I was told, to the owners’ facetious request for a “Playboy” bar.
Despite all I’d eaten at lunch, I opted for the a la carte dinner. Efficient waiters served delicious blini with vodka, salmon with broccoli puree, and blueberry pie, accompanied by Taittinger champagne. Directors of onboard operations Jaakko Nuutila and Thomas Noll, veterans respectively of Helsinki’s distinguished Savoy Restaurant and St. Petersburg’s Grand Hotel, have transferred their good taste to the ship.
Every evening there’s a floor show in the nightclub, and generally I’m not a fan of those amateur talent fiascos, but this one turned out to be polished and entertaining. An accomplished vocalist crooned popular songs, a saxophonist played jazz solos, a magician twirled rings, and dancers from the St. Petersburg Music Hall Ballet Theater, in several elaborate costume changes, sang, danced, and wound up with a rousing Can Can.
I allowed myself to lose 10 euro in the casino and figured that was a good excuse to retire straight to bed. My deluxe stateroom suite had a queen size bed in one room and comfortable couch, arm chairs, and desk in the other. Two bathrooms were stocked with lots of towels and L’Occitane amenities. After watching the end of a National Geographic documentary on my flat screen TV I sank under the fluffy duvet.
I’d meant to skip breakfast, but the creamy porridge (turns out it’s made with butter and cream!!), custardy scrambled eggs, and dainty donuts were irresistible. I spent the morning viewing the spectacle of St. Petersburg coming into view until we docked around noon on Vasilevsky Island and were shuttled to the posh Sokos Palace Bridge Hotel, a converted wine warehouse with giant red brick arches framing the active lobby bar and a spa with no less than eight different sauna cabinets -- including one heaped with actual snow.
Sightseeing was astounding. Scattered around the city, palaces that almost dwarf Versailles are being restored with gilt, mirrors and magnificent opulence. The contrast to the dingy Leningrad streets I remembered reminded me of the transition in the movie from Dorothy’s black and white Kansas to the wizard’s Technicolor Oz.
Returning, we boarded the “Princess Maria” for the overnight trip to Helsinki. Named for the Danish-born mother of the last czar, the vessel was launched in 1937 as the “Finlandia,” the world’s largest cruise ship at the time. Today its ten decks and cabins are elegantly fitted out, a smaller somewhat more polished version of its sister.
Dining at the front of the “picture window” hull, we watched the city fading away as we dug into giant crayfish grilled in the Finnish manner, delicious local mushrooms, authentic rye bread -- and more Taittinger champagne.
After another lively floor show and another loss at the casino, I turned in for the night. We docked next morning at the harbor right in downtown Helsinki.
Depending on the season and day of the week, the six classes of cabins range from $160-$950 per person one-way and passengers who prefer simple cabins can separately purchase a $75 VIP option, which includes pre-boarding courtesies and lounge. Compared to the $300 or so one-way air fare from Helsinki to St. Petersburg, the cruise is a bargain even without the extra convenience of traveling without a visa.
Sharon King Hoge is a Contributing Editor at “Conde Nast Traveler” and “Global Traveler” and is Editor at Large for the Cottages & Gardens magazines. Her broadcast career includes producing and hosting programs at ABC-TV. For her reporting at WBZ-TV in Boston, she was named national Consumer Reporter of the Year. A native of North Dakota, she studied at Wheaton College in Massachusetts and at the JFK School at Harvard University. She travels extensively and keeps eight small homes in Ireland, Nova Scotia, Florida, Connecticut, and New York state.
