Travel Tips

Ask Peter: Mom in Japan, Cruising Russia and When to Book What

Locations in this article:  Beijing, China St. Louis, MO Tokyo, Japan

sunset boat rideEver had a travel question that just left you perplexed?

Were you not quite sure whose advice to trust?

Wanted to know where to turn for the facts, without ignoring the fun of travel?

Then you need to “Ask Peter.” Email us with your questions to peter@petergreenberg.com, and he might answer your question live on his radio show!

I’m taking a cruise to Russia and want to get some suggestions on what to do when I’m there.

Chances are, you’re spending at least one night in St. Petersburg. There are a number of guided shore excursions that you can take, but also some options on your own. You definitely want to get up the river and see the Summer Palace. You also definitely want to see the State Hermitage Museum. Normally, you have to take that as a shore excursion from the cruise ship because they book up all the blocks of time.

But here’s some advice:  Most shore excursions won’t start until 10 or 10:30 a.m. Get off the ship by 6:30 or 7 a.m. and walk over to the Hermitage before everyone else. You just might get your own private tour if you give them a picture of Andrew Jackson.

I have a question on hotel pricing. My husband and I are big baseball nuts, so we called a bunch of hotels in St. Louis for the Major League Baseball All-Star Games next year. A lot of them were booked up so we called the Hampton Inn, which generally runs $99 a night. Well, now they’re giving us a price of $399 a night. What’s the story with that?

There’s a big difference between the booked room and a blocked room. It’s just like the Olympics: A month and a half ago, they said there were no rooms available in Beijing. Now, occupancy is so low you could go bowling in those rooms.

When there’s a big event happening, the hotels overbook in terms of blocking the rooms. Then a week and a half before the event, when they realize that they don’t need so many rooms, and the blocks become free.

You’re sort of caught between a rock and a hard place because you don’t want to book in advance — because they’ll lie and say that the rooms aren’t available — but you have to take a bit of a gamble and book closer to the event.

The great thing about St. Louis is that it’s laid out in a way that you can easily stay just outside of town and drive in for the All Star Games. And, if you can’t drive, it’s still going to be cheaper to negotiate with the hotel to hire a driver to take you to the games and back.

Bottom line:  Book four or five months before the event within a 30-mile radius of St. Louis. And then check again a week or two before the event to see if you can find something cheaper or closer.

My wife and I and two other couples are going to Edinburgh, Scotland in early November for an international rugby game. How far in advance should we book our tickets? Right now they’re pricing from St. Louis at $1,100. Also, we’re looking to book a home rental—what do you think of VRBO.com??

Normally you see fall deals to Europe around September 5, but this year, they’re out there right now. So this is the time to look online and then talk to a human being.

Right now, there are a huge amount of seats available between September 15 and November 19 (and maybe two weeks in December). The airlines can’t cut capacity on overseas routes because of bilateral agreements and trying to be competitive against foreign carriers. Which means there are great airfare sales to Europe, as long as you’re not going around Thanksgiving or Christmas. If it’s $1,100 from St. Louis, chances are the fares are going to come down. Call a human being, get it reserved, do not pay for it, and in that 24-hour period, surf the Web and see if you can beat it.

As for the second part of your question, VRBO.com is a great site, and check out one called www.europeanhomerentals.com. Remember, at that time in November, you’re in the buyer’s seat, so the deals should be good.

I want to take my daughters to Japan for a week. We have not traveled much before, so I’m feeling a little lost. I don’t know how to take the first step.

First off, your best bet is to go for two weeks. But if you’re only going to for a week, fly to Tokyo first and spend two or three days there. Then you want to get on the bullet train to Kyoto. It’s a quiet, more spiritual city than Tokyo. If you had another week, you could go to Kobe and sail the Sea of Japan, and go to the memorial at Nagasaki. But given just a week, you’re only going to get an appetizer, and that’s Tokyo and Kyoto.

One thing you have to do in Tokyo is to get up very early in the morning and go to the central fish market, or the Tsukiji fish market. They have the most amazing auctions starting at 5 a.m. (Just don’t raise your hand because you’ll have bought a $25,000 tuna.)

Another tip: Go out and buy a little containers of toothpicks and go to the food displays at the Mitsukoshi or Daimaru department stores—you will be amazed at these food displays and they have samples … and you have the toothpicks. It’s one of the greatest experiences for no money!

Oh…and don’t miss our Off the Brochure Guide to Tokyo, Japan. And if you’re trying to save money on your trip, you’ve got to check out Cheapskate Confessions: Japan on a Budget.

We were thinking of taking a Baltic cruise next summer. The problem with going to that particular area is that most stops are very short. I’d like to spend more time in the city. Is there any program that has longer-term stays or a company that specializes in traveling around the various cities?

What you want to do is check out the smaller cruise ships that offer a more immersive experience. Check out www.smallshipcruises.com or www.nichecruise.com. With smaller cruise ships, even if the stop is only a day or two, you’re not fighting with 500 other passengers on the same shore excursions. For example, Fred Olsen Cruises also has a Highlights of the Baltics cruise from Dover that stops in cities like Warnemunde for a couple of days, two days in St. Petersburg, two days in Tallin, and shorter stops in several other cities. Peter Deilmann Cruises offers an 11-night summer cruise that spends three days in St. Petersburg, plus shorter stops in Gdansk, Helsinki and Riga.

If a lengthier stay in each city is more what you’re looking for, you may want to skip the cruise altogether and go with a land tour so that you’re not spending time on water.  For example, Go Ahead Tours offers a 12-day air-inclusive package to St. Petersburg and the Baltics starting at $2,049 that includes four full days in St. Petersburg, three days in Tallinn, and three days in Riga, with an optional day cruise to Helsinki.

Don’t miss our Off the Brochure Travel Guide to Tallinn, Estonia.

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