debarkation problems in St. Petersburg

[azam71209]

I've been reading from other posts about the letter we got telling us that Russia had changed the rules and REQUIRED THAT PASSENGERS who were taking independent tours and those who had visas had to wait until all ship tour passengers had left the ship before they could leave.

 

We missed the first hour and a half of our private tour because of this "rule."

 

Now it appears that the cruise companies may have made this up. Does anyone have a copy of this letter that you could post?

 

I have sent a letter of complaint to the US Embassy in Moscow and to my Congressman but it would really help to have a copy of the letter.

 

Even short term kidnapping is a crime and refusing to allow someone to get off a ship would seem to fit the definition if, indeed, the Russian government did not issue such a rule.

 

At the very least, maybe we can clarify this for future passengers.

[BurBunny]

I beg to differ. It is the sovereign right of every country to determine their immigration procedures. Setting a certain order of disembarkation from a ship into a country is not kidnapping. Preventing you from leaving their country could be, but that's not what they're doing.

 

You boarded the ship voluntarily. You agree to have proper documentation to enter the countries on the itinerary and to bide by their laws and procedures. Giving preference to the clients of a tour agency (formerly run by the State) in immigration procedures isn't improper, merely bothersome.

 

It is quite likely there is no such "law," but it is also likely that the local agency communicated this policy to the lines and they are following it per the instructions of their local agents. As anyone who travels knows, we have similar issues with consistent policies in our own TSA. Can we expect anything different with Russia?

[critterchick]

I beg to differ. It is the sovereign right of every country to determine their immigration procedures. Setting a certain order of disembarkation from a ship into a country is not kidnapping. Preventing you from leaving their country could be, but that's not what they're doing.

 

You boarded the ship voluntarily. You agree to have proper documentation to enter the countries on the itinerary and to bide by their laws and procedures. Giving preference to the clients of a tour agency (formerly run by the State) in immigration procedures isn't improper, merely bothersome.

 

It is quite likely there is no such "law," but it is also likely that the local agency communicated this policy to the lines and they are following it per the instructions of their local agents. As anyone who travels knows, we have similar issues with consistent policies in our own TSA. Can we expect anything different with Russia?

 

It seems that every cruiseline tells their passengers that they cannot disembark independently by law. Every independent tour operator tells their customers that there is no such law. Both sides have their motives for telling people what they do, but I don't believe that the independent tour companies would jeopardize their customers' freedom by encouraging them to break the law - how long do you think they would stay in business if a van full of Cruise Critics had a tour that included the inside of a jail cell? And why would there be a line for independent travellers at immigration separate from the cruiselines operating simultaneously? It just doesn't add up on the side of the lines, and the fact that they've been saying this for years tells me that they're just hoping that the majority of their passengers buy it.

[alidor]

Just came off of a Regent Baltic cruise last week and they never had any announcements like this. The cruise lines telling you this are watching out for their own pocket. Russian immigration had no lines or otherwise specifying cruise tours or not. One thing that surprised me was how open it was despite what you are led to believe. The first day, you do have to be affiliated with a tour, be it a cruise ship or an independent tour company or totally on your own and they take the appropriate passport copies and papers accordingly. Once you are in their system, on subsequent days, all you had to is go and in and out of immigration and it was no big deal - just like dealing with any other country.

[mamayer]

We were told that the Russian government does demand that passengers on independent tours debark after the organized tours. The problem is that they don't always enforce this requirement. On our cruise, some passengers with visas and independent tours just went off early and were not stopped.

[bean bag]

off last month, no problems,no wait. Ind tour easy.

[shepsm001]

Scare tactics. Did it last year on a mega ship. There were two lines leading into the immigration kiosk. The immigration officers neither cared nor noticed if we were on ship tours or not. I do think there was some sign that did say ship tours but this was ignored and was irrelevant. By the way, our private tour was superior to the ship. We saw more and waited less and it was cheaper. The quality was there, also.

[Canadiandiva]

Just got off Journey from Aug 5th sailing. That letter was sent to cabins who did not have ships tours booked. We just ignored it and left the ship when it was time to do so. Had our docs checked by the ship staff who were standing close to the immigration entrance and no problems.

 

The letter is undated and seems to come from some imaginary department of the "Big Port of St. Petersburg". Doubt there is such a thing. This is my 3rd Baltic cruise and every time there has been some of these intimidation tactics. I would think it might come from Arcturs or whomever the cruise company has engaged to do their tours. This stuff only happens on the first day. Other than that, they couldn't care less and the Russian officials don't care either.

 

The cruise was wonderful and St. Petersburg fantastic as usual.