Customs clearance St Petersburg

Hello. Can someone tell us how long it takes to clear customs in St Petersburg. We are scheduled to arrive at 7.00am to start a tour at 8.00am. What time should we schedule for our groups to meet on the ship so we are on time to start the tour at 8.00am. Note: There are 2 other cruise ships in port with us.

There's no "customs" that cruisers on a SPB port-of-call would be aware of - the lines & the paperwork are for immigration.

When you go through SPB immigration for the first time, the actual process takes mebbe one minute per passenger for the immigration officer to check and record your passport & tour ticket details.

The delay is the waiting in line for your turn, and that varies enormously.

There will be a number of lines for immigration, it's not one line for the entire ship ;), but if you time it wrong the slow-moving lines will be long.

Ship-sponsored tours meet in public rooms - to avoid getting caught behind big ship's groups, check the meeting time of the first of those tours and arrange to meet your tour-sharers ahead of that time at an agreed place handy to the gangplank. At a guess, around 7 to 7.30.

Choose a place that's handy but not too close or obstructive, to avoid being understandably moved to avoid crowding the disembarkation area.

Then you can head down the gangplank as soon as the ship has been cleared to disembark, and be amongst the first to the immigration booths. :)

Do impress on your sharers the need to meet on time. And to bring with them their passports, tour tickets and other requirements.

Just one person fouling up & ending at the back of a slow immigration line can totally screw-up your plans to be heading out of the port by 8am.

If you are sharing with unknowns, your tour organiser can provide you with their e-mail addresses, and you should be able to get your sharers' cabin numbers. This is what we did and we arranged a little drinkie on a sea-day to get to know each-other, to swap stories and info, and to agree a time & place to meet for disembarkation.

For disembarkation the next day (or that evening) the immigration process is very quick - immigration staff already have your details and need only a cursory glance at your passport and tour ticket. So lines move quickly.

BTW, if you are told that all independents should meet in a certain place at a certain time (probably later than a number of ship's tour groups) IGNORE that instruction.

Princess have done this in the past in order to get their tour groups into the immigration lines ahead of the privateers - they've been hauled over the coals for this by immigration officers, independent cruisers and local operators, and I think (hope) that's a thing of the past.

JB :)

Hello. Can someone tell us how long it takes to clear customs in St Petersburg. We are scheduled to arrive at 7.00am to start a tour at 8.00am. What time should we schedule for our groups to meet on the ship so we are on time to start the tour at 8.00am. Note: There are 2 other cruise ships in port with us.

JB has provided you with an excellent answer. If you want to read more posters telling you the same thing with a bit more detail there's another recent thread on the topic. Scan down this page for the thread with an obvious title along the lines of "How early to..."

Personally, with two other ships in port, I'd narrow the window somewhat. I'd try to be off the ship no later than 7:15.

Better to wait calmly on the Russian side of immigration control than to anxiously wait on the ship's side.

Just got off a cruise to the Baltics that included 2 days in SPB. A couple of other things to keep in mind. Although your ship docks at 7am - it will likely take a little while for the shipped to be cleared to let passengers off the ship. We docked at 8am and had to wait until 8:15am - 8:20am before the ship was cleared to let passengers off the ship. Also anticipate the line up to get off of the ship to start early and be quite long initially.

AND avoid any sort of chatter with the immigration people. They are the most dour bunch I have ever seen. Do not do a 'Good Morning', "how are you today'.

Wait to be called, give them your paperwork and stand there and wait for them to wave you thru.

Cheers

Len

AND avoid any sort of chatter with the immigration people. They are the most dour bunch I have ever seen. Do not do a 'Good Morning', "how are you today'.

Wait to be called, give them your paperwork and stand there and wait for them to wave you thru.

 

Cheers

 

Len

And don't even smile! Seriously though I smiled and said Thanks when I was given back my documents. I even received a half smile in return. Lol

AND avoid any sort of chatter with the immigration people. They are the most dour bunch I have ever seen.

 

Cheers

 

Len

Hi, Len,

I believe they were trained at Newark airport, New Jersey ;)

JB :)

And don't even smile! Seriously though I smiled and said Thanks when I was given back my documents. I even received a half smile in return. Lol

We're flying out of Newark on Monday for our Med cruise. I'll be prepared...:p

Hi, Len,

 

I believe they were trained at Newark airport, New Jersey ;)

 

JB :)

ROTFLMAO

Cheers

Len