Disembarking at St Petersburg

[Owlhelm]

Hi everyone.

 

We (a family of 4) are on the Emerald Princess on the Baltic cruise in August - our first cruise. Our current favoutite independent tour company for a tour of St Petersburg is Alla; reviews on here and TripAdvisor seem very good. Having said that, most other companies' ones are too.

 

My question relates to the procedure currently enforced by Princess for disembarkation at St Petersburg. I've read nightmare stories about people being kept in lifts, being kept for up to 2 hours after docking and physically prevented from leaving the ship (not necessarily Princess, but reading their own 'advice' regarding visas doesn't fill me with hope).

 

Could anyone who has recently visited St Petersburgh on Princess Cruises let me know what goes on please?

 

Cheers

 

Martin

[eetonaee]

Hi everyone.

 

We (a family of 4) are on the Emerald Princess on the Baltic cruise in August - our first cruise. Our current favoutite independent tour company for a tour of St Petersburg is Alla; reviews on here and TripAdvisor seem very good. Having said that, most other companies' ones are too.

 

My question relates to the procedure currently enforced by Princess for disembarkation at St Petersburg. I've read nightmare stories about people being kept in lifts, being kept for up to 2 hours after docking and physically prevented from leaving the ship (not necessarily Princess, but reading their own 'advice' regarding visas doesn't fill me with hope).

 

Could anyone who has recently visited St Petersburgh on Princess Cruises let me know what goes on please?

 

Cheers

 

Martin

 

This may have occurred in the past but no longer. We were on the Star Princess in June 2010 and were off the ship bright and early to meet SPB Tours with the rest of our group.

 

I don't recall separate rooms or meeting times for those on ship or private tours.

 

Your story as well as the one about no Visas unless you book with Princess may have been attempts by Princess to scare passengers in to booking tours with them but thanks to Cruise Critic and word of mouth they can't do it anymore.

[daydreamer16]

We were on Celebrity's Baltic Cruise this past August and there were lots of stories about problems getting off the ship in prior years. We booked with Anastasia and had no trouble, it seems to be an issue in the past with some lines.

[Roses2]

We did the Princess Baltic Cruise in 2008 and had absolutely no problem disembarking at St Petersburg on either day.

 

We did a private tour with Alla and had a fantastic experience with a superior tour guide and driver.

 

We were a bit concerned about the stories but found, at least for us on our cruise that they were just that -- stories.

 

P&J

[jajohnson]

We were on the Emerald in October 2010 and booked a tour with Red October (great tour). We met at the piano in the Atrium just before the ship opened the line to get off and simply walked off when it opened. We were about the first people off and started the tour right on time. No problems......have a great time!!!!

[sammiedawg]

Those problems have been fixed, we had no problems whatsoever getting off to meet SPB tours last summer. The owner of that company told us this problem was fixed a couple years ago. We were told one third to one half of cruisers are going private in St Petersburg.

[eetonaee]

Here's a picture of the new embarkation building (the one with the slanted roof) in St. Petersburg where you pass through customs and then on to meet your tour guides.

 

 

[caribill]

And when you get to the immigration booths, if you see Princess signs that say some lines are for Princess tours and some are for independent tours, you can ignore the signs.

 

The immigration agents do not care at all which tour you are on, just that you do have proof of being on a tour (Princess tour ticket if on a Princess tour, documentation supplied by your independent tour operator if on an independent tour).

[Treven]

For those taking a private tour, how were Russian VISAs handled, or did you not need them?

[cruisemom42]

For those taking a private tour, how were Russian VISAs handled, or did you not need them?

 

All of the major Russian agencies (e.g., those who you read about frequently on CC) handle that aspect. You do not need to get a visa for yourself when booking a tour through one of these agencies.

 

Of course, this does mean that you cannot get off the ship on your own, even to just walk around on the dock. But then, you can't if you opt for the Princess tours either. Only those with a private/individual visa can do so.

[Jacqueline]

There may well be delays.. or not. The local guides know the system.

It is hard to predict with any certainty what your particular day will be like.

[one spring chick]

And when you get to the immigration booths, if you see Princess signs that say some lines are for Princess tours and some are for independent tours, you can ignore the signs.

 

The immigration agents do not care at all which tour you are on, just that you do have proof of being on a tour (Princess tour ticket if on a Princess tour, documentation supplied by your independent tour operator if on an independent tour).

 

This is so true. When we got to the immigration booth the private tour line was very long. We got in the line for the ship tour only. A guard came and asked for our tickets. Looked at it and walked away. They could care less what line you are in.

[hillslife]

Just did the 2 day Alla tour in July with a CC group of 30 people on 2 busses....you will love it.

 

No worries about getting off the ship - just walk off like normal; head to the immigration building; wait in a pretty long line day one and hardly any on day 2; have your tour ticket with you, but they didn't even look or care; the tour guides will be waiting for you with signs AFTER immigration.

 

Our group met AFTER immigration in the lobby of the building by the guides and it worked very well.

 

No Visa needed - the company you are travelling with will get those for you and should email it to you to print off before leaving home.

 

Enjoy ....No worries.

[Owlhelm]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! You've put our minds at rest.

 

Tour with Alla booked.

 

Cheers!

 

:D

 

Martin.