Question about Getting Off and and On and Off in St. Petersburg

[ducklite]

I might be overthinking this...

 

We are going to hire a private tour company for private (just my husband and I) tours on our two days in St. Petersburg.  (Looking at Alla but haven't entirely decided yet.)

 

We will be on Windstar if that matters--probably not.

 

The plan is to meet our guide at the port on the first day and spend a full day (10-6 or so) touring.  I know that they have a blanket visa and we will only need to bring our passports and our "tickets" to our tour with them to get through Russian immigration.  We will return to the ship, and I'd like to take a ship excursion that night to the ballet. MY husband doesn't want to do this and will remain on the ship that night.  The next morning we will again disembark with our tour tickets from the tour company and spend a second day touring St. Petersburg and surrounds.

 

Will I have any difficulty getting back off the ship for the ballet even though I've gotten off already that day under someone else's blanket visa?  Will there be a problem getting off the next day with my tour ticket and passport in hand because I got off twice the day before?

 

Somewhat related, do the Russians stamp your passport, or because you are covered under a Visa they don't?  

[dogs4fun]

38 minutes ago, ducklite said:

Will I have any difficulty getting back off the ship for the ballet even though I've gotten off already that day under someone else's blanket visa?

You will have no problem -  as long as you have a valid tour ticket for each time you go through immigration, it doesn't matter who issues the ticket or how many times you go through immigration.

 

39 minutes ago, ducklite said:

Somewhat related, do the Russians stamp your passport, or because you are covered under a Visa they don't?  

Yes, they stamp your passport.

[John Bull]

There's no "blanket visa", despite that & other mentions of "visa included in ticket" etc.

Tours arranged by both cruise ships and authorised local operators (yes, that includes Ala and others mentioned on this forum) are visa-free.

So your passport and appropriate tour ticket get you thro' immigration without a visa.

 

The ticket for your day tour (e-mailed to you for you to print off) and your passport get you thro immigration a the start of Day One. I note the start time - that, or a little earlier, makes sense 'cos  I'm guessing you're already aware that ship's tours have priority

That evening, the ship's tour ticket for the ballet & your passport get you thro immigration.

Next day the tour ticket (might be one ticket for both days or two separate tour tickets) and your passport gets you thro immigration again.

 

First time you go thro immigration is a rather slow process and there'll likely be a line.

After that it's very speedy cos the paperwork has already been done.

 

Our passports were stamped on the first day

 

JB 

[ducklite]

12 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

You will have no problem -  as long as you have a valid tour ticket for each time you go through immigration, it doesn't matter who issues the ticket or how many times you go through immigration.

 

Yes, they stamp your passport.

Thanks for the quick response!

[ducklite]

6 minutes ago, John Bull said:

There's no "blanket visa", despite that & other mentions of "visa included in ticket" etc.

Tours arranged by both cruise ships and authorised local operators (yes, that includes Ala and others mentioned on this forum) are visa-free.

So your passport and appropriate tour ticket get you thro' immigration without a visa.

 

I understand that licensed tour guides in Russia are allowed to accept cruise passengers (and are responsible for them) without a visa.  I used the term "blanket visa" to simplify my question.

 

6 minutes ago, John Bull said:

The ticket for your day tour (e-mailed to you for you to print off) and your passport get you thro immigration a the start of Day One. I note the start time - that, or a little earlier, makes sense 'cos  I'm guessing you're already aware that ship's tours have priority

That evening, the ship's tour ticket for the ballet & your passport get you thro immigration.

Next day the tour ticket (might be one ticket for both days or two separate tour tickets) and your passport gets you thro immigration again.

 

I'm on a ship with 350 people.  We've sailed with them before.  There has never been a wait of more than a few minutes to disembark, even when tendering or in ports where passports needed to be examined.  We were the first people off (before ships tours) the couple of times we chose to be without any problem.

 

6 minutes ago, John Bull said:

First time you go thro immigration is a rather slow process and there'll likely be a line.

After that it's very speedy cos the paperwork has already been done.

 

Our passports were stamped on the first day

Good to know, thanks!

[dogs4fun]

Your passport will also be stamped when you leave (on your last trip through immigration). We always get 2 stamps whether we fly or cruise into St. Petersburg. 

[flowslow]

You won't have any problem disembarking the ship twice on the first day as long as you have a valid travel ticket and passport with you. Have fun! 

[trosebery]

You should also ask your private tour company if they can set something up for you in the evening for a similar price? They may have a smaller group that you could join. I would at least ask.

 

And have fun on your private tour! We did one this past summer (ours was with Red Sun Tours) and it was great being able to see some more off the beaten track places that even the small group tours don't visit. Do some research and see what interests you. (The first time we were in St. Petersburg, I didn't even know they had a "museum" of vintage Soviet arcade games you could play.)

[dogs4fun]

One of our favorite haunts in Saint Petersburg is the Jimi Hendrix Blue Club. You can check-out their FB page here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jimi-Hendrix-Blues-Club/141670942567951