Russian Visa for Japan cruise

Has anyone been on a cruise around Japan with a call at Korsakov Russia. Is it better to do a Princess tour or go on your own - and how did you get on about a visa. Thanks in advance.

Has anyone been on a cruise around Japan with a call at Korsakov Russia. Is it better to do a Princess tour or go on your own - and how did you get on about a visa. Thanks in advance.

Have you joined the roll call for your cruise?

We have not been on that itinerary.

When we were on an itinerary that stopped at Vladivostok we did not need a visa to go around on our own.

We walked around some by ourselves in the AM and had a Princess tour in the PM.

We stopped in Korsakov last year. The ONLY way to get off the ship without a visa is to take a Princess tour. They only offered 2 tours on our cruise. One was basically getting of the ship and and visiting the town. This tour sold out very quickly. The other tour was to a small town about an hour away, not worth going to but at least you got to get off the ship in Russia.