St Petersburg Visas -

Just returned from Royal Princess cruise tour Imperial Treasures. :) It was a wonderful trip. Extremely port intensive.

We booked our St Petersburg 2 day tour with a local company that supplied the Russian visas for us. This sounded like a good idea. You must have a Russian visa to get off the ship. And as long as you return to the ship each nite you are allowed off the ship.

Unfortunately I became ill half way through our second day and wanted to return early to the ship. Guess what... I was not allowed to do that. I asked if the bus driver could take us back to the ship while the tour was visiting a site. No that was not possible. So I spent the next several hours sitting on the bus until we could all return to the ship together. :mad:

I am not saying this is not a good way to go, as the visas are quite expensive. But if for any reason you feel that you may not be able to make it through the tour, think twice about doing it this way.

Glad you had a good cruise.

Glad you had an overall great cruise but it's a bummer about the one aspect. Hopefully your information will help someone else decide whether to go this route or to opt for regular visas. It's the kind of thing one doesn't think about and comes as a nasty surprise on the rare occasion it comes into play.

I wonder if a ship's excursion would have had the same issue about getting you back to the boat?

Perhaps only a private tour would have the flexibility to do so. Possibly true whether in SPB or pretty much anywhere else where a visa is required and you can't just grab a cab back to the ship.

Sorrry to hear IrisBob. We did a "private" tour with 3 other couples. If I had to do it again, and my advice to those who can afford it, do a completely private tour with just 2 people. This would give you more flexibilty and the ability to get back the ship whenever necessary. JMHO

Just returned from Royal Princess cruise tour Imperial Treasures. :) It was a wonderful trip. Extremely port intensive.

 

We booked our St Petersburg 2 day tour with a local company that supplied the Russian visas for us. This sounded like a good idea. You must have a Russian visa to get off the ship. And as long as you return to the ship each nite you are allowed off the ship.

 

Unfortunately I became ill half way through our second day and wanted to return early to the ship. Guess what... I was not allowed to do that. I asked if the bus driver could take us back to the ship while the tour was visiting a site. No that was not possible. So I spent the next several hours sitting on the bus until we could all return to the ship together. :mad:

 

I am not saying this is not a good way to go, as the visas are quite expensive. But if for any reason you feel that you may not be able to make it through the tour, think twice about doing it this way.

Sorry to hear about your illness in St Petersburg. I guess, not the best place to get ill. I was very surprised that they refused to take you back to the ship. I can understand not wanting to ruin the trip for the rest of the group, but I would hope that they had some sort of alternate plan in cases of emergencies. Like they could have gotten you another ride back to the ship.

I definitely see that as a negative.

Thank God you weren't seriously ill that needed immediate attention.

Hope you did enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Cheers

Len

I wonder if a ship's excursion would have had the same issue about getting you back to the boat?

I am afraid that it would have been the same - it's due to the way visa to St. Petersburg is working - no room for flexibility - but maybe there are someone with similar experiences at a ship excursion, who can give a better answer.

I'm really sorry this happened to you, and it must have been terrible having to stay on the bus when all you wanted to do was lie down in bed.

I don't know about the ship tours, but the private tours do allow you to return to the ship early if necessary. We traveled with our 3 year old son, and had to book a private tour in case our son melted down and we needed to go back to the boat early (I would have felt terribly if my son had ruined everyone else's tour and experience in St. Petersburg.) Thankfully, my son loved touring the city. The weather was beautiful on the first day, and we were able to extend our tour during the first day and take a canal cruise in the lovely weather. We also reshuffled the schedule so we were able to see all of my favorite sites in good weather, when the buildings would look really beautiful in the photographs. With just our family, we moved through the sites really quickly and were able to visit everything I wanted to see in St. Petersburg. If you can afford it, I would strongly recommend taking a private tour in St. Petersburg to maximize your limited time in this gorgeous city.

Sorry to hear about the illness and glad you had an overall great impression. We’ve been to St. Peter a year ago and we did a private tour. On the first day we returned almost an hour later and on the second day half an hour ahead of the planed time. There were no problems with it. I’m glad we did a private tour. I’m surprised that the bus driver refused to take you back while the group was visiting a site. Very negative.

Jess.

I think that was just terrible. Visa or no visa, I can not believe there was no other way than to make a person feeling unwell stay on the bus for several hours. Flexibility is what private tours are for. They could have sent you back with the driver. They could have organized a transfer. One can always find a way to solve the problem if one only has a will to do so.

I can't believe they didn't take you home!

What company was that?

They could have:

1) sent you back with the driver

2) asked some other employee to come and take you to the port by taxi, or take you to the hospital or at least pharmacy

3) gone to the port all together and do something nice to the rest of the group later to make up for the time they spent driving to the port and back

And no matter what - I hope they did at least something to make you feel better about having to stay on the bus, like free drinks or something.

So sorry to hear about your ruined St Petersburg experience! Hope you got to enjoy sightseeing at least a little bit.

We will be in SPB in May on the Regal Princess and wondering about getting visas and touring on our own at our own pace. Does anyone have opinions on doing this?

OP also sorry to hear you had such an unfortunate experience...I'm very surprised that arrangements weren't made to return you safely back to the ship...seems like this could have been a major liability for them if something happened to you, your health as a result.

Sav'h Gal, if you are American (just guessing from your name, which might refer to Savannah, GA), it will cost you $160 per person for the visa.

For my family of 3, the $480 we'd pay in visa costs was a substantial portion of the cost of a private tour (our son was only 3, so he was free for the private tour). The $480 represented almost half of what a private tour costs for two people ($1040 for a comfort tour), so we figured we were just better off getting a private tour with a guide and driver so we wouldn't have to worry about the logistics of visiting St. Petersburg with a toddler. If you would be willing to consider a group 16 person tour, you can see pricing for Alla's 16 person group tours here: http://www.alla-tour.com/tours/ (most of the major tour companies charge around the same so it will give you an idea of the cost comparison). You do not need a visa if you arrange for a tour through one of the major St. Petersburg tour companies, or if you choose to go through your cruiseline tours.

Some additional factors to consider are that Catherine's Palace and Peterhof are not that close to St. Petersburg (although there is a hydrofoil from St. Petersburg to Peterhof, which is faster than driving). Here are the directions to Catherine's Palace: http://eng.tzar.ru/info/transport . I don't believe there is any public transport between the two palaces, although maybe you can hire a taxi for the 20-25 minute ride between the two.

Hopefully, others who have gotten their own visa will be able to advise you as to the logistics of touring on your own.

The other issue to consider is that you can add discount tours in other cities with the company you choose for SPB. Since you are taking the Regal Princess, you might want to contact the companies to see what pricing is for transportation from Nynashamn into Stockholm.

Sorry - never mind - if you are considering an independent tour in St. Petersburg, then you probably will want to see Stockholm independently, as the city has excellent transportation and is easy to navigate. The tender and trip from Nynashamn is a little long, but not too complicated.

We will be in SPB in May on the Regal Princess and wondering about getting visas and touring on our own at our own pace. Does anyone have opinions on doing this?

Hi Sav'h Gal,

I just returned from a month in Russia. My visa cost $288 plus the cost of the passport photo. So, approximately $300. You can get a more inexpensive visa ($160 plus cost of photo) if you live in a city that has a Russian consulate - I do not, so I had to use the visa processing mail service which brings the cost up considerably. I used ILS to obtain my visa: http://ils-usa.com/index.php?id=index&lang=en#logo

Regarding getting around on your own in St. Petersburg - the subway system is fairly easy to use. The problem is the Cryllic alphabet and finding your way around if you are not familiar with it. You can purchase the Saint Petersburg card which is an affordable option for visiting museums.

http://petersburgcard.com/eng/

Both Peterhof and Catherine Palace are located in the suburbs - quite a distance from the city - these venues would be rather difficult to DIY with your limited time in port. You can catch the hydrofoil from the Neva in Spb to Peterhof but you would need transportation to Catherine Palace.

I would not recommend DIY in St. Pete without any guide whatsoever unless you read/speak Russian and are willing to do a great deal of research. You would miss out on much that there is to see.

I loved the flexibility and freedom to explore St. Pete, Moscow and Velikiy Novgorod at my leisure but I had quite a chunk of time with which to accomplish this. I also loved visiting places that only the locals frequent. BTW - the Russian people I met were lovely - friendly, curious and helpful. However many Russians do not speak English. On my first visit to St. Petersburg, I, too, arrived by cruise ship. I utilized the services of Alla Tours (http://alla-tour.com/) for my 2 days there. Alla (the owner) offers both group and private tours and her tours are great and reasonably priced. I again used Alla tours on my subsequent cruise visit to St. Pete. This time I finally was able to DIY.

Hi Sav'h Gal,

I just returned from a month in Russia. My visa cost $288 plus the cost of the passport photo. So, approximately $300. You can get a more inexpensive visa ($160 plus cost of photo) if you live in a city that has a Russian consulate - I do not, so I had to use the visa processing mail service which brings the cost up considerably. I used ILS to obtain my visa: http://ils-usa.com/index.php?id=index&lang=en#logo

Regarding getting around on your own in St. Petersburg - the subway system is fairly easy to use. The problem is the Cryllic alphabet and finding your way around if you are not familiar with it. You can purchase the Saint Petersburg card which is an affordable option for visiting museums.

http://petersburgcard.com/eng/

Both Peterhof and Catherine Palace are located in the suburbs - quite a distance from the city - these venues would be rather difficult to DIY with your limited time in port. You can catch the hydrofoil from the Neva in Spb to Peterhof but you would need transportation to Catherine Palace.

I would not recommend DIY in St. Pete without any guide whatsoever unless you read/speak Russian and are willing to do a great deal of research. You would miss out on much that there is to see.

I loved the flexibility and freedom to explore St. Pete, Moscow and Velikiy Novgorod at my leisure but I had quite a chunk of time with which to accomplish this. I also loved visiting places that only the locals frequent. BTW - the Russian people I met were lovely - friendly, curious and helpful. However many Russians do not speak English. On my first visit to St. Petersburg, I, too, arrived by cruise ship. I utilized the services of Alla Tours (http://alla-tour.com/) for my 2 days there. Alla (the owner) offers both group and private tours and her tours are great and reasonably priced. I again used Alla tours on my subsequent cruise visit to St. Pete. This time I finally was able to DIY.

Welcome back , sounds like you had a great time ! E- mail us when you have a chance . Pat and Joe

You know guys (and gals) I've been watching this thread since it came on, like many of you wondering what company would do such a thing. Yet, it has been well over a month since it went up and the OP has never even given us another visit or answered any questions about this ordeal.

I am beginning to wonder if it actually took place.

We have all traveled to St Petersburg and used any of the several tour companies. Has anyone who has used these companies even think that they would do something like that?

Personally, either the entire thing was made up or they used some company that they found scouring the internet (you know--see St Petersburg with Boris and Natasha):D:D:D:D

I just hate it when these people come here to complain about something and never make another appearance to even try and qualify what they said.

Time to move on.

Cheers

Len