How much time does it take to get off the ship in St. Petersburg for a private tour?

I would appreciate some information--Does anyone have an approximate length of time it takes to get off a ship in St. Petersburg if not on a ship's excursion? Since the ship is not tendered I'm thinking there shouldn't be any hold-ups but with the visa requirements, I'm just not sure. Once the ship has cleared is it reasonable to assume you could be off in 1/2 hour or less? Thanks so much!

It took us less than a half hour last summer but I have read on these boards tales of people for whom it took longer.

It took us less than a half hour last summer but I have read on these boards tales of people for whom it took longer.

I agree. The thing to note is that there will likely be a mad rush for many to get off the ship, and if other ships are in (which there typically are), they channel through only 2 (IIRC) buildings with immigration checks. So plan for 30 minutes. It may be a little longer, or shorter. Don't worry, your tour provider knows all this, and won't leave without you.

If you absolutely hate to wait, one possibility might be to start on day 1 at 10 am, and day 2 at 8 am. The bottleneck is caused by the customs officials carefully scrutinizing everyone's paperwork upon their initial entry; subsequent entries are quite fast, as the custom officials only look to see if you have already been processed and have the official stamp in your passport. One tour company suggested this alternate timing to us since we didn't know if our 3 year old could handle the lines. We had a private tour - if you are in a larger group, I don't know if you could get 16 people together who would want to do this. It makes sense though, since it doesn't actually lead to your spending less time in St. Petersburg.

I've heard of some cruiselines where they tell you that those who book ship's excursions will have priority in debarking at SPB. Not true. Those with private tours can exit the ship at any time once it has been cleared.

The lines can be long to go through immigration, but you likely won't spend more than 30 minutes waiting. (I think it took us about 20 minutes the first day and less the second day.) And, as CruiserBruce says, your guide won't leave without you.

I've heard of some cruiselines where they tell you that those who book ship's excursions will have priority in debarking at SPB. Not true. Those with private tours can exit the ship at any time once it has been cleared.

 

The lines can be long to go through immigration, but you likely won't spend more than 30 minutes waiting. (I think it took us about 20 minutes the first day and less the second day.) And, as CruiserBruce says, your guide won't leave without you.

This perhaps needs a little more explanation.

The line for immigration is the only pinch-point.

The process on Day One takes mebbe a minute, no more than two minutes per person. That's not very long, but if there are fifty people in the line ahead of you .......... well, you do the maths. :eek:

Most ships don't distinguish between ship-sponsored tour passengers & independents, so you're unlikely to be deliberately disadvantaged.

But some ship staff (particularly Princess) have been known to tell independent passengers to assemble in a bar, theatre or wherever at a certain time - usually quite late. This is so that they can get their tour groups off the ship & into the immigration lines ahead of the independents.

So the answer is easy.

Ignore such instructions.

Arrange for your group to meet up on the ship at a designated point handy to the gangway & earlier than ship's tours assemble in their various meeting points. As soon as the ship has been cleared for disembarkation, get off as a group ahead of ship's groups. You can get to the immigration desks with no line & be on your vans before ship's tours have even assembled. :)

If the length of the lines at different immigration desks are very different & you're directed to an inordinately long one, it's because ship staff are trying to herd independents toward just one or two desks & leaving the others for their tour groups.

Organising immigration lines isn't within their remit, and they have been hauled over the coals by Russian immigration for doing that - so head for the shortest line.

To repeat - this has happened intermittently with just one or two rogue cruise lines, it's not a problem for most.

Follow the instructions given by your tour operator, not the ship.

Bear in mind that just one person who's late will hold up your van - and if they get off the ship a little late it can be very late by the time they get to the front of a long immigration line.

I got the e-mail addresses of those on our van from our tour operator (Alla), and we met up on a sea day to arrange where & when to meet up for disembarking in SPB. It worked a treat - everyone there on time, no immigration line, through in a flash, and out of the port well ahead of schedule.

Because the immigration paperwork has been done on Day One, the process is much much quicker on Day Two or if you go ashore for an evening excursion - they just glance at your tour ticket & passport.

JB :)

I would appreciate some information--Does anyone have an approximate length of time it takes to get off a ship in St. Petersburg if not on a ship's excursion? Since the ship is not tendered I'm thinking there shouldn't be any hold-ups but with the visa requirements, I'm just not sure. Once the ship has cleared is it reasonable to assume you could be off in 1/2 hour or less? Thanks so much!

Study the list of ship's excursions and note the times. Make sure you are off the ship for your private excursion while the others are gathering in the lounges. This will help cut down on the crowds and delay. Don't let anyone on the ship tell you the ship excursion customers have the right of way. Some private companies even give their clients a message to that effect to present to excursion officials who interfere with your departure. However, if you are at the exit while the ship's groups are still gathering you're typically not bothered.

The Russian officials are careful and deliberate as they look over your documents, but they're not obstructionist or difficult.

My husband and I were number eight and nine off our ship. I know at least two passport stations were open but I don't think more that three were open that early. I doubt we waited more than two minutes to advance to the passport desk. Once there the process took no more than two minutes. Sometimes officials get very insistent about one person at a time at the desk. But mothers and children were routinely allowed to go through as a group. Husband's and wives seemed to be a more variable situation.

I'm wondering if anyone has returned to the ship after the day tour, before heading out for an evening program? We are heading out to ballet at Mariinsky (commencing at 730pm), and are wondering if it is a good idea to return to the ship to freshen up and change after our day tour. The tour operator advised that it is up to us, and that if we return to the boat they will issue additional tour tickets/visas for the evening.

Does anyone know how long it takes to clear customs in the evening?

I'm wondering if anyone has returned to the ship after the day tour, before heading out for an evening program? We are heading out to ballet at Mariinsky (commencing at 730pm), and are wondering if it is a good idea to return to the ship to freshen up and change after our day tour. The tour operator advised that it is up to us, and that if we return to the boat they will issue additional tour tickets/visas for the evening.

 

Does anyone know how long it takes to clear customs in the evening?

Since you & probably everyone else will have disembarked that morning, going thro immigration that second time is quick & easy - and of course only a small proportion of passengers will be going ashore then. I'd be very surprised if it cost you even ten minutes.

It'll be a bit of a rush generally because of going back & forth to the ship, but although day wear is OK for most evening excursions it isn't a great idea for the ballet. Hence IMHO it's best to return to the ship.

JB :)

We did a private tour and were off the ship a the first available time. Our group of 8 took less than 15 minutes. The longest hold up is the stern faced immigration officer who slowly and deliberately studies passports, faces, tour visas, then decides which page is best to stamp in the passport.

So, as mentioned above, if there are lots of people ahead of you, that deliberately paced immigration officer becomes very backed up.

Since you & probably everyone else will have disembarked that morning, going thro immigration that second time is quick & easy - and of course only a small proportion of passengers will be going ashore then. I'd be very surprised if it cost you even ten minutes.

 

It'll be a bit of a rush generally because of going back & forth to the ship, but although day wear is OK for most evening excursions it isn't a great idea for the ballet. Hence IMHO it's best to return to the ship.

 

JB :)

Thank you John!

Last week, on disembarking the Regal Princess, we waited well in excess of 30 minutes to clear immigration in St Petersburg - our "deliberately paced" immigration officer was watching the clock! Other lines moved more quickly, but it's all in the line chosen. Six lines were open - four of them moved quickly, two did not. Returning to the ship was initially slow, but they opened more lines. And, by comparison , we zoomed through for all subsequent entrances and exits.

There were no comments from Princess that I saw about ship's tours or private tours. We were all in the same lines waiting to be processed.

I had inquired at Passenger Services during our cruise last week and was advised to allow at least 40 minutes to get through immigration in St. Petersburg. We were on a private tour scheduled for an 8am pickup, so we left our cabin about 7:10 and were through immigration and with our tour guide in less than 30 minutes. However, people who left their cabins around 7:25 did not get to our tour group until 8-8:15.

I had inquired at Passenger Services during our cruise last week and was advised to allow at least 40 minutes to get through immigration in St. Petersburg. We were on a private tour scheduled for an 8am pickup, so we left our cabin about 7:10 and were through immigration and with our tour guide in less than 30 minutes. However, people who left their cabins around 7:25 did not get to our tour group until 8-8:15.

Hence my comment at Post #9 ;)

JB :)

Thanks to everyone for the great tips and information. I appreciate your comments!

This is all interesting - I see from another post that RCI ( Serenade of the Seas) have a leaflet saying that if you have booked a private tour you must wait in the lounge till the ship's tours have left. They even claim that "Russian immigration officials have advised that priority is given to those with RCI tour booked"

This seems to be extraordinary disinformation coming from the company. Does anyone have experience of this? Needless to say we will now just ignore this instruction! ;)

We disembarked on 6/22 with the silhouette (arrived at 7, cleared at 7:30) and we had visas so no tour group to meet up with. We specifically waited until about 8:15 to disembark because we were meeting a private guide at 9am in the terminal. It took almost the whole 45 minutes to get through the the line even at that time.

This is all interesting - I see from another post that RCI ( Serenade of the Seas) have a leaflet saying that if you have booked a private tour you must wait in the lounge till the ship's tours have left. They even claim that "Russian immigration officials have advised that priority is given to those with RCI tour booked"

 

This seems to be extraordinary disinformation coming from the company. Does anyone have experience of this? Needless to say we will now just ignore this instruction! ;)

We were on the Serenade, in St. Petersburg on June 2. We had that "letter" in our cabin the evening before. I ignored it and nobody asked me anything about what tour we had. I'm not sure how early the line started forming on the ship, but it went up the stairs from Deck 2 (I'm pretty sure this is the deck that we exited the ship from); our cabin was on Deck 4. We went to the centrum about 7:30 am and the line was already halfway up the stairs to Deck 5. Once the line started moving, we were off the ship in probably 15 minutes.

And yes, as someone said earlier, the private tour reps know that you are sort of at the mercy of the ship and Russian immigration as to when disembarking will actually start happening. They'll wait for you.

This is all interesting - I see from another post that RCI ( Serenade of the Seas) have a leaflet saying that if you have booked a private tour you must wait in the lounge till the ship's tours have left. They even claim that "Russian immigration officials have advised that priority is given to those with RCI tour booked"

 

This seems to be extraordinary disinformation coming from the company. Does anyone have experience of this? Needless to say we will now just ignore this instruction! ;)

That is something ships and their port agent got in trouble for in 2009. Once the ship is cleared, about 20-25 minutes after tie-down, immigration and the port administration have invited you to present your documents. There is no priority to ship sold tours and who disembarks and when is of no concern of the immigration officials, just that all those coming ashore do so as quickly as possible so officers do not have to man the inspection booths all day. Just be prepared to leave as soon as the gangway is opened, you have the right.

A few posts were giving wrong information. There are not just two inspection booths, but 6-12 open in the morning and you can get into any of the lines.

If going on an independent tour, leave as early as possible because getting stuck behind 1500-2000 people going on ship sold bus tours tend to be very slow due to chaos both on the ship and once they are off the ship.

Those taking ship sold tours usually did no research and have no clue as to what they are going to see and also are not sure where to go or what to do to join their buses. You can tell instantly who is on a private tour and one on the ship tours by their alertness and knowing more of what to do to get off the ship and join their group.

Each immigration officer has a list of all the independent and private tour members so the ticket is used only as a clue as to which tour operator list to look for the official sponsorship, checking passport details and you are done.

When in port, pay attention to what the tour operator and immigration officials say, not the ship cruise staff. The crew however are to be listened to for safety issues while on the ship, cruise personnel on the other hand have little knowledge what is going on ashore and are likely to give bad information like the claim that the ship sold tours have priority due to immigration request.

Spbstan - thank you so much for this. Very helpful!:)

This is all interesting - I see from another post that RCI ( Serenade of the Seas) have a leaflet saying that if you have booked a private tour you must wait in the lounge till the ship's tours have left. They even claim that "Russian immigration officials have advised that priority is given to those with RCI tour booked"

 

This seems to be extraordinary disinformation coming from the company. Does anyone have experience of this? Needless to say we will now just ignore this instruction! ;)

Yes! Our private tour company warned us that some cruise lines send out this false information to intimidate cruisers on a private tour. Our company, White Night Travel, took the initiative and wrote out a brief statement directed at the cruise ship officials. It said that any attempt to hold up private tour clients is illegal. I printed out that email along with our tour tickets. (I've already written about this in Post #7)

I never had to use this printed message. We had planned our meet-up with the guide early enough that the ship-excursion folks were still gathering in the lounge. We reported to the ship's security quite soon after the Captain gave the all clear to disembark and we were off the ship with no issues.

Know your rights. Show up early enough to minimize any challenge to your rights. Be prepared to speak up for your rights, preferably armed with a note from your tour company. If you're still challenged or held back, keep going up the chain of command to insist on your legal right to disembark.

Some time ago, an employee of the Russian government involved with port embarkation issues, came on the Northern Europe board asking for the names of cruise lines who try to violate cruisers rights. Some time ago, the St. Petersburg government stopped Princess from holding back private tour folks. carfla7, if you can find that thread, you might want to alert the government official that RCI is up to the same inappropriate behavior.

Thanks for all the great Information!

If we disembark as a couple early before our tour transportation has arrived,

is there a terminal right there with seating, shops or the like?

Or do we simply have to stand there and wait?

Thanks for all the great Information!

 

If we disembark as a couple early before our tour transportation has arrived,

is there a terminal right there with seating, shops or the like?

Or do we simply have to stand there and wait?

There are some shopping kiosks, but I doubt they will be open when you seem to be planning on going through passport control. There are definitely benches directly opposite the passport control booths. Our guide was sitting there waiting for us.

What time is your meet-up with your guide? How far in advance do you plan on going through passport control?

There are some shopping kiosks, but I doubt they will be open when you seem to be planning on going through passport control. There are definitely benches directly opposite the passport control booths. Our guide was sitting there waiting for us.

 

What time is your meet-up with your guide? How far in advance do you plan on going through passport control?

The meet up is at 9 AM. Do you think going out at 8 AM is a good idea?

The meet up is at 9 AM. Do you think going out at 8 AM is a good idea?

That probably will work. Upthread, Kellie in Texas describes her experience on a large ship. She said she was on the line to disembark at 7:30 AM. She couldn't leave immediately, but once the line started to move it took them 15 minutes to clear the ship's security. She did not mention how long it took her to clear passport control.

At the least, I recommend you look at the ship-sponsored excursions for your St Petersburg port call. Check for the time when most of the excursions are being told to assemble in the lounges. You'll definitely want to beat those crowds.

I'd rather go too early, clear passport control in less of a line, and sit on the benches to wait for my transportation than go somewhat later and spend the same over-all time standing in line at the passport booths.