Tours in St Petersburg July 2015

[onthebalcony]

You can book private tours in St. Petersburg and the company obtains the visa for the group. You cannot leave the ship without a guide or tour operator. We had a couple try this and authorities at the pier called Alla and asked if they were on a tour that particular day. They didn't show up so they were stuck on the ship!!

 

We used Alla for St. Petersburg and Stockholm and both tours were wonderful! You get a discount depending on the ports you book with Alla and the number of people for each tour.

 

Hope this helps!

[dogs4fun]

You can book private tours in St. Petersburg and the company obtains the visa for the group. You cannot leave the ship without a guide or tour operator. We had a couple try this and authorities at the pier called Alla and asked if they were on a tour that particular day. They didn't show up so they were stuck on the ship!!

 

We used Alla for St. Petersburg and Stockholm and both tours were wonderful! You get a discount depending on the ports you book with Alla and the number of people for each tour.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Wow! Did this couple try to get though immigration by saying that they had booked a tour with Alla when they had, in fact, not booked a tour with Alla? I have often wondered if dishonest people try to attempt this (and, in fact, there have been questions on these threads about attempting to disembark by shady means) and, what happens to these people when they are caught.

Hmmm - people lying and saying they are booked with this or that tour company -I wonder how often this occurs? Serves them right that they had to remain on the ship for that day!

 

I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed your tours with Alla.

I, too, have booked with Alla for our tours while on Baltic cruises. We used her group tours for St. Petersburg & Berlin and most recently, our family used private tours (brother & SIL booked one of Alla's group 5 port packages - it was a significant savings). We have loved all the tours we have taken with her - I think her itineraries and guides are fabulous.

 

I see that the cruise lines have not changed their tactics and are still giving their cruise passengers misleading information.

You are absolutely correct - from a cruise ship, you cannot enter Russia unless you are booked with a licensed tour operator (who will provide you with the visa waiver) OR you must have your own visa (I now have a visa which is good for 3 years. My visa cost about $300. Expensive proposition if you are there for only a few days in port).

All the tour operators mentioned on this thread are licensed tour operators and it is perfectly legal to enter Russia with the tour ticket (visa waiver) that these companies provide.

[John Bull]

We were told by our travel agent that if we don't book an excursion in St Pete through the ship we would need to get a separate visa. What do you know about this?

 

Ouch.

Totally incorrect, as you've probably realised from other posts on this thread.

 

Cruise lines give the impression that you need a ship's tour.

If you carefully read their websites, they tell you that with a ship's tour you don't need a visa but if you want to go ashore independently you will need one.

Yes, that's the truth - but not the whole truth. They omit to tell you that the local operators' tours have the same visa-free status as ships' tours.

Princess even go one step further, with a downright lie on their literature.:mad:

 

Plenty of examples of cruise lines' own staff categorically telling customers that they need a ship's tour to be visa-free, almost certainly taken-in by that sneaky phraseology rather than them telling a deliberate lie.

But a black mark for a TA to be taken-in.

 

Do please tell that TA that they are mistaken, to avoid them misleading others.

 

JB :)

Edited November 3, 2014 by John Bull

[onthebalcony]

This couple did book a 2 day tour with Alla in St. Pete, but decided not to go on the second day. Immigration contacted Alla who contacted our tour guide to find out of they were actually on the second day tour with the rest of the group. They didn't show up and tried to get off the ship on their own. Friends on the tour with us told them they couldn't do this but went ahead anyway! So they were banned to the ship for the day!!

 

I know our TA agent told us the same thing about doing ship's tours only in Russia! After reading through "Ports of Call" I finally found the correct answer and booked with Alla. TAs and ships are giving wrong information!! If you have your own Russian visa you can go anywhere in Russia.

 

Alla has wonderful tour guides! We were in groups of 14 and a total of 48 people on our St. Pete 2-day tour. We never ran into the other groups except for lunch and saw many more interesting places than what the ship provided. People returning from the ship's tours were very disappointed after hearing what we saw! Would you believe we visited the subways!!! Amazing!! Longest escalator in the world --- over 100 meters straight down!! The tile mosaics were unbelievable!!

 

We arrived at the Hermitage before general admission and left before the crowds arrived. Best 2-day tour we ever had!! Long days, but worth it!! Lunches both days were enjoyable and apparently better than the lunches provided in the ship's tours!! Check out her website!!

 

Enjoy St. Pete!!!

[hubofhockey]

That's interesting that they got caught trying to pull a fast one. In general, all you need to do to leave the port is to show them that document from the tour group (Alla, SPB, TJ, etc). I was never asked for anything beyond my passport and that document. It makes more sense to apply for your own visa than it does trying to get away with something. Russia is not the country I'd try anything funny in.

[Got2Cruise]

That's interesting that they got caught trying to pull a fast one. In general, all you need to do to leave the port is to show them that document from the tour group (Alla, SPB, TJ, etc). I was never asked for anything beyond my passport and that document. It makes more sense to apply for your own visa than it does trying to get away with something. Russia is not the country I'd try anything funny in.

 

 

Yes. Something doesn't make sense here. Perhaps the couple thought they could try not to pay for the tour? I can see the tour agencies alerting the authorities if they aren't paid. That's why they are so liberal with their payment procedures. As if anyone would be allowed to leave Russia without paying. Lol. Even not paying the suggested gratuity takes nerve IMO.

 

 

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[AnnStr]

I have been following this thread and feel that some of you arn't really being fair to the cruise lines and Travel Agents re Russian visas. They are telling you what the Russian visas rules are as per the Government information. The fact that when you get there if you are booked on a tour they let you in is not strictly following the rules. If you were told it was ok to go without a visa and they tightened up their control of this you and you were not given entry you would be very upset. Having said all this we went with TJ and had no problems and a fantastic 2 days.

 

Copied from Russian Visa site

 

An exception to this rule are tourists traveling on board large cruise ships, who do not require a visa if the following conditions are met:

 

The overall period of their stay on the Russian territory for no more than 3 days (72 hours)

They stay overnight onboard of the cruise ship

They go ashore only as a part of a group of passengers on the excursions organized by the cruisecompany

In all the other cases Australian citizens are to apply for a tourist visa.

[John Bull]

I have been following this thread and feel that some of you arn't really being fair to the cruise lines and Travel Agents re Russian visas. They are telling you what the Russian visas rules are as per the Government information. The fact that when you get there if you are booked on a tour they let you in is not strictly following the rules. If you were told it was ok to go without a visa and they tightened up their control of this you and you were not given entry you would be very upset. Having said all this we went with TJ and had no problems and a fantastic 2 days.

 

Copied from Russian Visa site

 

An exception to this rule are tourists traveling on board large cruise ships, who do not require a visa if the following conditions are met:

 

The overall period of their stay on the Russian territory for no more than 3 days (72 hours)

They stay overnight onboard of the cruise ship

They go ashore only as a part of a group of passengers on the excursions organized by the cruisecompany

In all the other cases Australian citizens are to apply for a tourist visa.

 

Hi Ann,

I'm afraid you're muddying already-murky waters & adding to the confusion. ;)

Especially since you have responsibly quoted from an official govt. website

 

The extract you quote is from the Russian Embassy in Aus.

 

But here's the relevant extract from their embassy in the US

http://moscow.usembassy.gov/russian-visas.html

International cruise ship passengers are permitted to visit Russian ports without a visa for a period of up to 72 hours. Passengers who wish to go ashore during port calls may do so without visas provided that they are with an organized tour at all times, accompanied by a tour operator who has been duly licensed by Russian authorities.

 

And although most don't even mention the cruise passenger dispensation, if you hunt out the websites of other official Russian government agencies no doubt you'll get the same mix of answers.

The Russians aren't alone. I've seen contradictory statements about visas from official govt websites of China and of India. And doubtless there are contradictions on a range of topics on government websites of countries like the UK, the US, & Aus. Bureaucrats do love complex regulations :rolleyes:

 

Here's the only reference I could find to the Russian Govt's Regulation 532, which started off the whole cruise passenger visa-free dispensation back in 2003. It's very vague, it mentions only "group tourist programs"

http://www.rg.ru/oficial/doc/postan_rf/532-03.shtm

(translation by Google, but good enough for the purpose)

 

For every non-government website that says visa-free only applies to ship-sponsored tours, there's another that says it also applies to tours arranged by licensed local tour operators.

 

For every post on forums like CC, TA & a host of others that say you must use a ship's tour, there's a response (usually several) that say you can use a local operator's tour in just the same way.

 

Most cruise lines say that if you go ashore on a ship's tour you don't need a visa, but if you go ashore "independently" you do. But they omit to even mention going ashore on a local operator's tour, which of course isn't in their own interests. They leave you to incorrectly presume that's what they mean by "independent".

 

All ships' tours are arranged through local licensed operators - the same operators who arrange their own independent tours. Many cruisers have reported that a given operator couldn't accept an independent booking because they had the contract to provide that ship's own tours.

 

All local operators' websites confirm that you don't have to arrange a visa if you take their tour, but although it makes no practical difference they do add to the confusion because some correctly say their tours are visa-free whilst others say that their tours include a group or blanket visa.

 

Some nationalities, such as citizens of Finland or the Russian Federation, are subject to different visa terms. The visa-free rules are more lax for those arriving in SPB by ferry. And the cruise dispensation regulation (or perhaps its implementation) is different for cruises to Russian ports in the Black Sea or the Kamchatka peninsula .

 

Then we get one-off comments like your "when you get there if you are booked on a tour they let you in is not strictly following the rules".

Where on earth did you get the idea that using a local licensed operator wasn't "strictly following the rules"?? :confused:

 

It's no wonder that folk get confused!!

 

Tens of thousands of cruise visitors have visited on tours arranged by local operators, within the rules, and without a single visa problem.

And in view of websites contradicting each-other, isn't that the best recommendation?

 

JB :)

Edited November 8, 2014 by John Bull

[CrazyJess]

We were choosing between Alla, SPb tours and Best Guides and after months of thinking, e-mailing to the companies and surfing the internet in search of the feedbacks we stopped on Best Guides and have never regretted it. They did a great job and made our trip unforgettable :)

Jane

We used Best Guides for our tours in St Petersburg a year ago and they were really outstanding. Our guide was Svetlana Starkova- now I know her last name. She is great! Fantastic! Ask for her. I plan to return back this year and I obviously will book St. Petersburg and Moscow with the Best Guides.

Jess :)

[Paulchili]

We have used both Alla and SPB in the past - they are both excellent.

SPB tours now includes Faberge museum on all of their 3 day tours - a nice addition

[mayday722]

.I'm m.p.h.

 

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