Russian Visa Questions

Well guess who the ship contracts with. Russian tour companies. So if you'd rather tour with 50 people in a big bus where some will always be late, enjoy. Me, I'll take the private tour every time. We had 10 on our tour with Alla and it was excellent. They also arranged for us to go to the ballet in the evening.

 

Another advantage of the smaller tours (we were four of us) is that the guides can often get you into the museums and palaces quicker than the large groups. By being only four of us, most museums allowed our smaller group to piggyback with the group that was entering at the moment, while the large groups often had a half hour wait in line. We also occasionally entered through side entrances meant for guides and employees. Not sure what number of people in a group is considered "small", but I estimate that we saved well over an hour over the two days by not having to wait in line.

We used Anastasia. Our guide, Helen, worked as a docent at the Hermitage and other museums in the off season. Our driver, Dimitri, didn't speak any English, but his restaurant suggestion for diner was excellent. The four of us dined with our guide and driver, and it was quite enjoyable to see Helen relax for an hour and just talk about her life in Russia. I guess this was an "off duty" time for her and she was able to turn off the "guide speak" for an hour. The only other patrons were locals and other tour drivers taking a dinner break.

Delicious food and wonderfully local ambiance!

Another advantage of the smaller tours (we were four of us) is that the guides can often get you into the museums and palaces quicker than the large groups. By being only four of us, most museums allowed our smaller group to piggyback with the group that was entering at the moment, while the large groups often had a half hour wait in line. We also occasionally entered through side entrances meant for guides and employees. Not sure what number of people in a group is considered "small", but I estimate that we saved well over an hour over the two days by not having to wait in line.

Our group was larger than yours (about a dozen or so, as I recall).

I don't speak Russian so I don't know what they were actually saying to each other, but got the impression that the tour guides who lead the small groups personally know the employees at the entrances to the attractions and have arrangements with them, just from observing the joyous way they greeted each other and their interactions.

For all I know, it could have been

- "I'll give you $20 again if you let my group in first ahead of all these other poor suckers who have been standing out here waiting on line in the hot sun."

- "Sure, happy to do it, as usual."

Smiles and hugs all around. "See you again tomorrow with another group."

Both have excellent ratings for tours of St. Petersburg. Small groups of 10 to 16 persons as opposed to ship-sponsored tours of 35 to 50 people. We leave for the Baltic Cruise this Monday and ALL of our tours are private. The process couldn't have been easier.

You don't get to go wandering around Russia on your own unless you get your own visa!

Thanks for letting us know about your experience with Red October. Having read these posts, we will definitely be using a tour agency which will take care of the visa. If the tour company secures our visas, can we come and go from the ship when we choose or is the visa only good for the day/time of our agency tour?

We are booked on a cruise to Scandinavia and Russia in 2015 (Celebrity Silhouette - 3 July 2015). We booked on board with Celebrity so we don't have a TA, at least for now. One of our questions is, do you think for this itinerary it would be better to transfer our reservation to a TA than to leave it with Celebrity?

 

We booked our first Celebrity cruise this year with a TA (I wouldn't call her our TA since that is the only time we have used her and our only cruise to date). What I find odd is that I received an email from her yesterday saying that Celebrity contacted her about our upcoming cruise, even though we specifically told Celebrity that we wanted to book directly with them and not use a TA. Nothing against the TA that booked our first cruise, we just thought we would try using Celebrity this time. Now we are not sure we made the right decision if we have to apply for a visa to see St. Petersburg. Not sure how much help Celebrity would be to us in that process.

 

Can anyone provide personal experience regarding obtain a Russian Visa for your Baltic cruise?

We are about to embark on a Waterways of the Czars river cruise with Viking. After months of investigation, we determined it was best to "do the thing" and get a VISA through the normal diplomatic process. Because of strained relations, it was important for us to register with the Russian equivalent of our State Department and also register in STEP with our State Department. What a hassle and very expensive. It might sound "over the top", but with what is going on today, one should do things with the upmost caution. If anything goes wrong, you are registered with both governments through official channels. Everyone can make their own decisions, but we feel more secure doing it the "government way", in this case.

Quite a different thing, staying in the country for several days rather than visiting on a cruise ship, it seems to me.

We have toured, not with Celebrity, but an independent approved tour guide twice and we were not required to apply for and purchase a visa. It was clear from the start that it was only for the hours we were with our small (14-16) group - you could not go out and roam around on your own. Our two days were long and very excellent in every way. In a few places we could not take a backpack/large bag in so those locations items had to stay on the vehicle with the driver; ours were all intact when we returned other groups were not so fortunate. We were mostly ushered past large groups that were waiting at many locations right into the entrance and stayed together in our smallish tour group. Unlike a large (40-60) tour group, there was no waiting for those few people who can not resist the shopping experience and hold up others on ship's tours. I am not totally against ship's tours but it seems that much of the time is spent waiting by many on the few who insist upon arriving late...

Do your own research on tour guides - so much information is available online now vs our first Baltic cruise. Be ever mindful of your surrounding and I would not flaunt jewelry or valuables in most ports. Be aware that many locations (not just in St Petersburg) are not handicap or even walking challenged friendly.

I have spent several weeks in St. Petersburg, both off ship and by land. Of course my land trip mandated that I apply for the Russian Federation visa and the freedom we had to roam was enticing. But off the ship for such a brief visit the tour companies recommended on the Ports of Call forum and sister site Trip Advisor are the very best way to see as much of the city as possible.

OP, do look again for your cruise on the Roll Call. I cannot imagine that there is not a very active forum.

It is important that every visitor to a city like St. Petersburg be very aware of the limitations for the physically challenged. It is an arduous task to push a wheelchair up the river stone paths at Peterhoff. Every palace has limited facilities for access other than stairways. No palaces have air conditioning either. Those magnificent homes have thick walls that keep things cooler in the summer but you will be amazed viewing a Rubens at the Hermitage next to an open window. It's just part of the experience.

I have spent several weeks in St. Petersburg, both off ship and by land. Of course my land trip mandated that I apply for the Russian Federation visa and the freedom we had to roam was enticing. But off the ship for such a brief visit the tour companies recommended on the Ports of Call forum and sister site Trip Advisor are the very best way to see as much of the city as possible.

OP, do look again for your cruise on the Roll Call. I cannot imagine that there is not a very active forum.

It is important that every visitor to a city like St. Petersburg be very aware of the limitations for the physically challenged. It is an arduous task to push a wheelchair up the river stone paths at Peterhoff. Every palace has limited facilities for access other than stairways. No palaces have air conditioning either. Those magnificent homes have thick walls that keep things cooler in the summer but you will be amazed viewing a Rubens at the Hermitage next to an open window. It's just part of the experience.

We had a handicap (in a wheelchair) passenger on the tour I took with Alla 3 years. Some sites are handicap accessible like St Isaac Cathedral (for some reason I remember that having a ramp) but most are not. I recall helping our driver push the wheel chair up that long hill at the Summer Palace (where the beautiful waterfall/fountains are).

Well guess who the ship contracts with. Russian tour companies. Yes, I believe we all understand that!!:rolleyes: So if you'd rather tour with 50 people in a big bus where some will always be late, enjoy. We did, and had the most fantastic experience, and the guide ensured we waited no more than a few minutes to enter any of the fantastic attractions.;) Me, I'll take the private tour every time. Enjoy.:D We had 10 on our tour with Alla and it was excellent. They also arranged for us to go to the ballet in the evening.

 

Thanks for your response!:rolleyes:

I have spent several weeks in St. Petersburg, both off ship and by land. Of course my land trip mandated that I apply for the Russian Federation visa and the freedom we had to roam was enticing. But off the ship for such a brief visit the tour companies recommended on the Ports of Call forum and sister site Trip Advisor are the very best way to see as much of the city as possible.

OP, do look again for your cruise on the Roll Call. I cannot imagine that there is not a very active forum.

It is important that every visitor to a city like St. Petersburg be very aware of the limitations for the physically challenged. It is an arduous task to push a wheelchair up the river stone paths at Peterhoff. Every palace has limited facilities for access other than stairways. No palaces have air conditioning either. Those magnificent homes have thick walls that keep things cooler in the summer but you will be amazed viewing a Rubens at the Hermitage next to an open window. It's just part of the experience.

alcpa1, I checked again today and there is no Roll Call for this cruise (Silhouette - 3 July 2015). I am also surprised but at first thought it was too far away and I would need to wait until closer to the cruise for the Roll Call to be started. I know see that many of the Roll Call are started a year out so I am not sure why this particular cruise is not so popular.