Formalities and informalities in each port?

[Begete]

What formalities do you go through when leaving the ship in each port?

 

Is there a long line like those in foreign airports for immigration, etc?

 

Do you have your passport stamped ?

 

Wondering how many copies of photo page of passport to make....

 

Also, is there shopping at the piers (to spend leftover currency on your way back to the ship), and are there "guides" lined up offering their services ?

 

Thank you

[NH Cruiser]

The only place you need a copy of your passport and the original is St Petersburg. They took the copy and stamped the passport both when you left the ship and when we returned on both days. All other ports you just left the ship when it was announced the ship had been cleared.

 

There was a nice group of shops at the Copenhagen pier. In Helsinki there were three small stores at the port where the Jewel docked, which was a considerable distance from the city. In Tallinn, there was a blue truck parked at the end of the pier when we returned. It was selling Estonia chocolate, which was excellent. If you like chocolate, stock up in Tallinn. In Oslo we were docked at Akershaus and Aker Brygge was a short walk from there around the harbor. They had several shops at Aker Brygge.

[JodiBB]

What formalities do you go through when leaving the ship in each port?

 

In most ports, the only formality is to check off with the ship as you're disembarking. On RCI, this means sliding your SeaPass card into a computer that logs you off as "checked out." Then you "check in" with the ship as you return.

 

Is there a long line like those in foreign airports for immigration, etc?

 

No. There may be crowds when getting off the ship, but it tends to move quickly.

 

Do you have your passport stamped ?

 

Only in the airport in which you land and in St. Petersburg.

 

Wondering how many copies of photo page of passport to make....

 

You have to make at least one to present to ?Russian immigration when you disembark the first day. Otherwise, we made a copy to be placed inside each piece of checked luggage, in case it was lost or separated from us, then there was identification inside.

 

Also, is there shopping at the piers (to spend leftover currency on your way back to the ship), and are there "guides" lined up offering their services ?

 

Most ports do have souvenir shopping at the sight of your ship for last minute shopping opportunities as well as to collect any VAT tax refunds that you are owed. As for "guides," not in St. Petersburg, but I seem to recall City tour buses avidly available at most other sights.

 

Hope that helps!

[42trvl]

It depends on your ship and what ports you're stopping in. In our case, they had officials sitting on the ship by where we exited and passports were required to be checked and stamped in Poland and I'm pretty sure Estonia, in addition to St. Petersburg. Only in St. Petersburg did they actually require a copy of the photo/signature page that they kept. There were no real lines to speak of and the checking/stamping was done as you exited and reboarded. Our passports were also checked and stamped at the last airport from which we left (in our case Sweden).

 

Some of the cities have more than one port, and not all will have shopping available. At several of our stops, a local bank came on board in the morning and at the end of the day so that you could exchange currency. You can also exchange whatever currency you're left with in one country directly to the currency of the next country you go to.

[dileep]

They took our passports even we embarked the ship and made a copy for us to use in St Petersburg.

[meselibibob]

We were on the Star Princess, July 24 cruise. We needed a copy of our passport and the passport for St. Petersburg. The officials kept the copy on the first day. The second day we only needed our passport. We also needed to carry our passports for Gdynia, Poland and Waremunde, Germany. Each time they were stamped. At the tender station in Nynashamn, there were a few vendors and an information center with limited items for sale. In Helsinki, there was a little shopping center at the dock. When we returned to the ship in Gdynia, there were a few vendors who had put up table at dockside. Star Princess was docked at the fartherst most pier on Copenhagen, so there were no vendors or shops. Hope this helps.