June Silhouette Baltic cruise

The 6 of us (active Florida retirees) just booked with Alla tours a 3 day group tour of Saint Petersburg when Silhoutte stops in that city. Everything we read and heard about this tour company has been very positive, so we are excited about experiencing the comprehensive itinerary which they offer. They have been very responsive to our questions and helpful with the booking process. Alla also arranged for us an evening folklore show which complements very nicely the activities of the day. We are looking forward to meeting others who may want to join our group.

The 6 of us (active Florida retirees) just booked with Alla tours a 3 day group tour of Saint Petersburg when Silhoutte stops in that city. Everything we read and heard about this tour company has been very positive, so we are excited about experiencing the comprehensive itinerary which they offer. They have been very responsive to our questions and helpful with the booking process. Alla also arranged for us an evening folklore show which complements very nicely the activities of the day. We are looking forward to meeting others who may want to join our group.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Would suggest that you post your notice on the Roll Call for your ship. You will find lots of others there who might well be interested in joining you. This forum is for general postings that are not specific to one single cruise. Also make sure you have things set up soon as a Russian Visa can take 3 or 4 months and costs several hundred dollar per visa. from my records - "Passengers who wish to sightsee outside of a liner's tour MUST obtain an individual Russian Tourist Visa before leaving home; visas cannot be obtained during the cruise. Should you wish to obtain an individual Russian Tourist Visa, you will need to be sponsored by a licensed Russian tour company."

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Would suggest that you post your notice on the Roll Call for your ship. You will find lots of others there who might well be interested in joining you. This forum is for general postings that are not specific to one single cruise. Also make sure you have things set up soon as a Russian Visa can take 3 or 4 months and costs several hundred dollar per visa. from my records - "Passengers who wish to sightsee outside of a liner's tour MUST obtain an individual Russian Tourist Visa before leaving home; visas cannot be obtained during the cruise. Should you wish to obtain an individual Russian Tourist Visa, you will need to be sponsored by a licensed Russian tour company."

Most of the large tour companies are "licensed" so you will not need to obtain a VISA. We used SPB tours, they were wonderful, last year on our Silhouette Baltic cruise and we did not need a VISA. You do need to show your tour confirmation at passport check. I am almost certain that Alla tours is licensed but I would check with them to be certain. Have a great time. Rest up before St. Petersburg as there is a lot to see and they will keep you busy and walking a lot.

Most of the large tour companies are "licensed" so you will not need to obtain a VISA. We used SPB tours, they were wonderful, last year on our Silhouette Baltic cruise and we did not need a VISA. You do need to show your tour confirmation at passport check. I am almost certain that Alla tours is licensed but I would check with them to be certain. Have a great time. Rest up before St. Petersburg as there is a lot to see and they will keep you busy and walking a lot.

We had a different experience and were told only via a ship organized tour could we get off. for any other tour or organizer a visa was required. I hope Alla can arrange it so no visa as it is a huge hassle. And St. Petersburg is wonderful. Spent 3 days on our own at just the Hermitage. Got to go there in the morning before the tour buses pour in. Peter's Palace is worth the time to get there. Catherine's is closer and the Amber Room incredible.

As relations between the US and Russia not too cordial be sure what the current rules are for visas.

We had a different experience and were told only via a ship organized tour could we get off. for any other tour or organizer a visa was required. I hope Alla can arrange it so no visa as it is a huge hassle. And St. Petersburg is wonderful. Spent 3 days on our own at just the Hermitage. Got to go there in the morning before the tour buses pour in. Peter's Palace is worth the time to get there. Catherine's is closer and the Amber Room incredible.

 

As relations between the US and Russia not too cordial be sure what the current rules are for visas.

The cruise line/ship always tell you this because they want you to take their tours. But reports here show that if you take an organized tour the visa is provided. Check out the Ports of Call boards and you will find this repeated endlessly. EM

You do not need a Visa if you are traveling with a licensed tour group like Alla, SPB, Red October, Anastasia and others. We visited St Petersburg last June and toured with SPB. We were very satisfied. Our fellow cruisers toured with the other companies mentioned as were just as happy. We cris-crossed them several times during the two days we were there.

Princess Cruises is the main offender with this bu**sh** about needing a Visa if you are not on a ship sponsored excursion. They also try to get people on their excursions off the ship first by suggesting the folks on other excursions report to some other spot on the ship so ship personnel can hold them there until the others depart. Princess has incurred the wrath of Russian authorities for these practices.

You are free to travel with whatever company you choose. You can leave the ship as early as anyone else is permitted. You just cannot leave the ship without a group tour ticket or a Visa( if you are touring on your own) enjoy your trip to St Petersburg!

We went with DenRus and they arranged the visa also. I think any of these large tour companies do an excellent job.

To the OP, Celebrity brought a folk dancing troup on board and what we saw of them was great. We opted for the ballet in the evening (also with DenRus) and it was wonderful. We arrived back at the ship about 11PM and went to the theatre to see the remainder of the folk dancing. it was a full day and we were up at 6AM the next day to go touring again! St P was fabulous and you are lucky to have 3 days. Enjoy.

Hope it is only the six of you and you are not part of a larger group...my DH and I did a truly private tour and it was hands down the best ever. We could do pretty much what we wanted and skipped all the lines and crowds!!! You won't be sorry if you are truly only 6! We used SPB...

We took Alla in August and they were great. We did not hear any complaints about any of the major companies. Alla like all the licensed companies provides the visa you need. But you must always stay with tour. You should go on your roll call to get others to join your tour. We got 10 people and got a discount. Have a great cruise.

We were on the Silhouette last May-June for the Baltic cruise and it was one of the best cruises we had taken. Both the ship and the itinerary are excellent.

The tours in St. P (by Alla, SPB, etc) include the visa. Just ensure you print the document that they send you, carry it off the ship with your passport and you wont have any problems. You can check out my picture-review below which has details on our days in St.P

P.S. Prepare for LONG lines while getting off the ship AND at immigration. nearly all tours start really early in the morning since there is alot to cover in St.P.

We took the ship's tour to Moscow and we were given Visas to carry with us when we checked in at the airport....they took the Visa back at the end of the tour when we reentered the port...I asked to keep it but they said no. The next day we stayed in St. Petersburg for the day with a local driver and guide and they didn't give us a Visa.

Here's a photo of my Visa. I'm glad I took the photo, I thought it was interesting how they spelled our names. [emoji1]

We were on the Silhouette last May-June for the Baltic cruise and it was one of the best cruises we had taken. Both the ship and the itinerary are excellent.

 

The tours in St. P (by Alla, SPB, etc) include the visa. Just ensure you print the document that they send you, carry it off the ship with your passport and you wont have any problems. You can check out my picture-review below which has details on our days in St.P

 

P.S. Prepare for LONG lines while getting off the ship AND at immigration. nearly all tours start really early in the morning since there is alot to cover in St.P.

What a great find! Just finished reading your review and now even more excited about our Silhouette Baltic cruise in May! Your information and thoughts are most helpful.

We start in Amsterdam and end back there after 12 nights.

We have sailed on Reflection so know the type of ship.

I guess we better pack jackets for the weather. We start on May 14th but spending two days in Amsterdam prior.

I see that you will be sailing on Allure soon. We just came off of her two weeks ago for the second time. If you have never sailed that class of ship before I think you will adopt another child! One of the best!!!

Thanks again and we will say hi to your first child and will take care of her.

We were on the same cruise with Nik and Knollmom and it is probably our all time favorite cruise. In St Petersburg we went with TJ Travel and they arranged a special Jewish heritage tour for us. Like all of the other major companies they arranged our visas but that meant we could not leave the ship unless we were going somewhere with them. If you want to go out on your own after a day's touring you cannot do it unless you have arranged a separate tour with the same company. We had planned to do an evening tour with TJ Travel but they did not have a full trip and offered us the option of going or not... we opted to not go because after a full day we needed the rest. TJ did a great job for us, I have heard wonderful things about the others as well. Tourism is a key part of the current Russian economy and they know and work hard to keep the tourists happy and coming. Note, my signature has links to my pictures, password is Baltic 15.

I would suggest packing layering clothes because we had 90+ degree weather in Russia and parts of the Baltics on our May cruise. You never know. We had 95 degrees in Moscow and a week later we had 60 degree weather in Paris.

We had a different experience and were told only via a ship organized tour could we get off. for any other tour or organizer a visa was required. I hope Alla can arrange it so no visa as it is a huge hassle. And St. Petersburg is wonderful. Spent 3 days on our own at just the Hermitage. Got to go there in the morning before the tour buses pour in. Peter's Palace is worth the time to get there. Catherine's is closer and the Amber Room incredible.

 

As relations between the US and Russia not too cordial be sure what the current rules are for visas.

That information is incorrect.

We were on the same cruise with Nik and Knollmom and it is probably our all time favorite cruise. In St Petersburg we went with TJ Travel and they arranged a special Jewish heritage tour for us. Like all of the other major companies they arranged our visas but that meant we could not leave the ship unless we were going somewhere with them. If you want to go out on your own after a day's touring you cannot do it unless you have arranged a separate tour with the same company. We had planned to do an evening tour with TJ Travel but they did not have a full trip and offered us the option of going or not... we opted to not go because after a full day we needed the rest. TJ did a great job for us, I have heard wonderful things about the others as well. Tourism is a key part of the current Russian economy and they know and work hard to keep the tourists happy and coming. Note, my signature has links to my pictures, password is Baltic 15.

We are using TJ also in St.P, using them in Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Time can't go by fast enough!