skellis

You do not have to use the credit card you put into the personalizer as your card for payment, as they will swipe whatever card you bring for your on board purchases. I have done this for over 5 years with no problem and it should expedite your check in. Just put one down for getting your boarding pass and luggage tags and use another one for your check in. It's not worth getting all worked uabout as they can't really use it for anything since you are fully paid, and cancelling the cruise would be like cutting off your nose to spite your face. I don't like he procedure myself (and have even putt in an old card number, with no problems.) Also I like printing out my luggage tags myself, and having my boarding pass to look at as it makes it seem more real.:D

Just take ten deep breaths and think about relaxing once you get on board.

We also did the DenRus tour in September 2009 (from the Emerald Princess) and found it to be fantastic. We were able to see everything we wanted to, and get in and out of the majority of sights before the huge busloads from the cruise ships even got loaded, and due to the size of our group (10-12 people) we didn't have to wait for the people who think the time to return to the bus was just a suggestion. We all got together on our roll call so I highly suggest that you join your roll call and find out whether any of them have booked private tours and are looking for additional people. We payed less for the tour and got more for our money. Our driver and guide were great and helped us to maximize our time. Even though Princess said that the Princess tours were to disembark first we just went to the lower gangplank which was empty and got off at 6:30 -45 am without any questions or problems and were the first through the Russian immigration. Our guide and bus were waiting and we didn't return to the ship until almost 12 hours later. We left the same the next morning and were back on the ship in more than enough time.

We subsequently got together with most of the same roll call members for a tour in Poland.

DenRus took care of everything, visas included and couldn't have been more helpful or professional. We were able to avoid the worst of the crowds, see more than the Princess tour, customize the tour, and avoid having to be part of the hordes getting on and off busses. We also had earphones for our guid to describe what we were seeing.

It was the tour of a lifetime, and I will remember it always.