Russian Visa Question

I understand that if I take official tours or use the cruise lines tours, I doi not need a Russian Visa. If we want to leave the ship just cause, we do need a VISA. SO a couple of questions, where SS docks, is there anything within SAFE walking distance, shops, cafes etc. For a tourist VISA, if we decide to pursue that route, should I get a one time entry or multiples, or does it matter since we are there less than 72 hrs? I am afraid if I get a single entry, I can only go ashore once with it.

TIA

Recommend you post this question on the Port of Call section here on Cruise Critic. There is a forum for Northern Europe and the Baltics where you will find a lot of information on all the Baltic Ports. Lots of posts about the subject of visas for St Petersburg.

Basically it is poosible to go without a visa if you are on a tour organised by the cruise line. But you can also do this with tours organised by authorised local tour companies, and they are highly recommended on this board as being much better and also cheaper than crise line tours.

If you want to go ashore without a tour visas are required.

You also need to make it clear which Russian port. St Petersburg? Petropavlovsk?

SS usually docks at the English Embankment. It is walking distance to "downtown" if you are energetic.

# of entries is for how many times you enter/leave the country, not the ship. So single entry should be fine. Once you are in Russia you can come and go from the ship as you please.

Unless you can read Russian and/or speak it, I would recommend tours by local company. They can arrange private ones. They are better than cruise lines and also can be cheaper than the cost and hassle of visas

bohaiboy, did you every find out the answer? we are on the shadow in sept. and we have the same question. SS's website says we do do not need a visa, but when i checked on the russian embassy web site they say if you are NOT with a local tour guide you need a visa. have you sailed yet?

thanks

anthony

Personal experience from last year without visa. First day we took a bus/canal tour booked through ship. Upon returning, walked around neighborhoods, visited a bar, small markets and very large supermarket by myself. No problem getting back on ship. I would not go through aggravation of applying for visa and there is no guarantee of approval, especially today.

We applied, spent the $$$ and had a visa when we went on the discoverer last year and bottom line is that we were all ( yes all the pax)denied entry.We were at the dock under quarantine while negotiations took place to allow our entry which never came about. I understand that the situation can be fluid even with the proper documents and the prior approval by the government. We are going on the Cloud to the Baltic and will visit St. Petersburg in July. I am planning on using the private car and tourguide offered by Silversea and creating an itinerary, which I understand can be done. One does not need a visa to do that.

Personal experience from last year without visa. First day we took a bus/canal tour booked through ship. Upon returning, walked around neighborhoods, visited a bar, small markets and very large supermarket by myself. No problem getting back on ship. I would not go through aggravation of applying for visa and there is no guarantee of approval, especially today.

You were lucky they did not stop you during your walk around. If you get in by being on a tour you need to stay with the tour at all times. Read the fine print.

I've done fine without spending a lifetime reading fine print. It's a personal experience being told, not a suggestion others try it. No language barrier helps.

We applied, spent the $$$ and had a visa when we went on the discoverer last year and bottom line is that we were all ( yes all the pax)denied entry.We were at the dock under quarantine while negotiations took place to allow our entry which never came about. I understand that the situation can be fluid even with the proper documents and the prior approval by the government. We are going on the Cloud to the Baltic and will visit St. Petersburg in July. I am planning on using the private car and tourguide offered by Silversea and creating an itinerary, which I understand can be done. One does not need a visa to do that.

You will be spending at least twice as much to use the private car and driver through silver sea than you would using a local company like Denrus, Red October or Alla and it will be the same private tour creating any itinerary you like.

You will be spending at least twice as much to use the private car and driver through silver sea than you would using a local company like Denrus, Red October or Alla and it will be the same private tour creating any itinerary you like.

will i need a visa to use the tour groups you mention?

no visa required, can totally recommend Alla.

Exactly. These companies provide you with all the documentation required and it's included in their prices. I suggest checking out the websites of the three companies I recommended and comparing what they offer and charge to what SilverSea will charge you. I guarantee you will save a ton of money.

For the private tour companies in SPB, does one pay upfront? Or while there. My worry is booking now and paying, and turmoil increases btween US/Putin and he denies entry to US Citizens due to whatever reason. Are we SOL on what we have paid when using reputable companies?

For the private tour companies in SPB, does one pay upfront? Or while there. My worry is booking now and paying, and turmoil increases btween US/Putin and he denies entry to US Citizens due to whatever reason. Are we SOL on what we have paid when using reputable companies?

With a 2-day tour booked through one of the well-known and recommended local companies the normal thing is that you pay on the second day. So you will not have to pay when you book.

I would check out their standard tours to see if they cover what you want to see. The cost will be 1/2 of private tour. Also tour groups get into many places ahead of the normal line. The negative is that you will be in a small bus with about 15 people and seeing some sites that you did not want to see. If you want to spend a day at the Hermitage then you need a private tour.

Enjoy yourself it was a great visit for us.

We are booked on a future cruise which has an overnight in St Petersburg...has anyone had experience of the excursion by first class bullet train to Moscow with city tour and lunch in Moscows "finest restaurant"?Honest opinions & advice welcome as even by SS standards it is an expensive trip.

Unless this is your second or third time in St. Petersburg don't waste a day going to Moscow. There is so much to see in St. Petersburg that three days there is short enough, Plus it's a much more beautiful city than Moscow.

As for paying upfront to private touring companies most do not require this. They will take payment when you arrive. At most there might be a refundable deposit. In any case your should take out travel insurance.

Thanks,agree about St Petersburg from previous two visits,just wondered whether Moscow was worth the effort and cost.

amiable gentleman from one of the tour companies. He wanted me to know certain things about tourism in Russia and how very stringent they are. One of the things he pointed out was that with a large tour, if one person has to go to the bathroom, everyone must stop and wait outside the bathroom. No one can stray from the group or go ahead or lag behind. He mentioned there are three public bathrooms in the Hermitage and in the high tourist season there are lines to get into the bathrooms. He wanted to point out that guests with a physical infirmity may cause issues for others in the group. That can be the case for any group tour. We have experienced that in other venues, when one pax has a physical issue that precludes them from keeping up the pace or wants to leave the tour. When that happened, the pax would either take some other transportation back to the ship or make some arrangements, or just wait at an appointed rendezvous for the tour to circle back. I have been given to understand that can't happen in Russia, the entire group would have to stay together.

Not certain if he was trying to sell me a small tour or private tour, or just wanted me to know how tightly controlled the travel experience is for tourists. This might factor into my decision to go with a group, for multiple reasons. Does anyone have any insight on the stringently enforced tourist rules?

Yep, we got yelled at by the tour operator in Yusupov because she was boring and we had been added to a larger group(no private tours in Yusupov you must go in a group). She was quite upset and told us she would lose her job.