Visas in St. Petersburg--what is the truth?

I am booked with Holland America for a Baltic sailing in August and just received their shore excursion booklet with a letter regarding the visa policy. They clearly state that unless you book their shore excursions for St. Petersburg you MUST obtain your own visa and if not, you will not be able to tour independently. I take this to also mean touring with a private tour company which is what I have booked. The tour company says the visa is covered by them. What is the truth here and what are your experiences? I don't want to get there and not be able to get off the ship. Is this a scare tactic by the cruiseline to get you to book their excursions? Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this.

EVERYONE must have a visa.

If you book a shore excursion with HAL, they'll get you a "group visas".

If you book with an authorized private operator, they'll get you a "group visa"

If you want to wander around on your own, you'll need to get your own visa.

I'm sure HAL's language has been vetted by their legal department, and that it is correct. HOWEVER, by contracting with an authorized private operator, you are -in effect- obtaining your own visa.

We are doing a private tour in St. Petersburg and got Russian visas for our 2 day stay. It was actually quite painless and only took about 2 weeks.

Here is a starting point.

http://www.russianvisa.org/

We are doing a private tour in St. Petersburg and got Russian visas for our 2 day stay. It was actually quite painless and only took about 2 weeks.

Just curious why you got a VISA if you are doing a private tour?

The tour agency usually gets one for you as a "group Visa"

What they are trying to do is get you to buy their overpriced shore excursions.

I've been checking on CCL for our trip next year, and have found that I can save $90 usd per person booking it through ALLA tours. They get the visa for you. You also pay them on the second day of your tour. They will accept cash, but it must be in perfect condition.

Dont belive the hype that the cruiselines are giving you. They just want you to buy through them.

Tim

We are arriving St. P. on the Oceania Regatta on 7/25 for 3 days. We also researched the the many tours through the Roll Call on Cruise Critic, and on this site, teamed up with two other couples who were booked with Alla Tours for the 3 days in port. I looked at Red October, Denrus, and Alla as well as the Oceania tours.

I haven't seen the particular language about only ship's tours having the required visas in the tour descriptions just sent by Regatta, but the travel agent who is our Liaison w/Oceania sounded very dubious when I told her we intended to not book with the ship's tour and had booked with Alla. She was very certain that we needed out own visa, and when I told her we had already received and downloaded via internet, papers in Russian and English which would get us to the tour group at customs control, and that they held the group tour visa, she was even more confused.

I agree with the other reply that this is the cruiseline's way of protecting their own tours. The other two couples and I have checked and researched Alla and several other tour groups very carefully. We all have considerable travel experience, though not in St. P. We like the flexibility of Alla and that we could be just 6 persons in a van choosing our own itinerary, and are willing to try this rather than be herded on a large tour bus with a much larger group. It is not only a saving over the ship's tour, but appears to be a higher quality experience, IMHO.

There may be risks in this, but there have been many positive posts from those who have previous toured in St. P. with any of the private tour agencies mentioned above. We'll certainly be posting our impressions when back in the USA....

Someone on the July 25th sailing of the Splendor wrote to Carnival Corp and posted the response on our roll call (July 13th)

As some of you may recall, I was very upset with Carnival and the St. Petersburg visa letter they sent to all of us sailing on the Splendor this summer. I wrote them a letter and received Carnival's response today. I've posted a copy of this message on the Northern Europe/Baltic board and am also posting a copy of it to each of the roll calls for the Splendor to make sure everyone has it.

 

My original letter and Carnival's response are shown below.

 

Carnival stated that its

 

"aim was for our valued guests to understand they would need to plan ahead and decided what they wished to do when visiting St. Petersburg. Unlike any other port, guests cannot simply disembark at will and visit 'on their own'. We wanted to be sure our guests understood that, once on board, their options would be limited unless they made their own personal arrangements in advance."

 

Carnival also recognized that

 

"guests may choose to arrange for their own tours in advance through other Russian tour companies at their own risk. In those cases, Carnival would then not be responsible for their level of success."

 

To me this is the same risk that would be taken by any Carnival passenger deciding to do a private tour in any port, such as in the Caribbean or in the Med (i.e., if you miss the ship on a private tour, Carnival won't wait, but if you take a Carnival tour, Carnival will wait).

 

I hope Carnival's response proves helpful to those deciding on whether to take a private tour or a Carnival tour.

 

My original letter and Carnival's response follow.

 

 

 

Carnival Officials,

 

Thank you very much for sending us the Carnival letter regarding refunding the fuel surcharge. Having an extra $120 will be helpful given the current state of the dollar vs. the Euro and the British Pound.

 

The second Carnival letter you sent, “IMPORTANT INFORMATION – Visa Requirements Carnival Splendor – Northern Europe/Russia Cruises 2008,” is very troubling. This topic has been discussed greatly on various message boards and roll calls on Cruise Critic’s web site. From the ominous tone of the letter, it would appear that Carnival is trying to force passengers to choose the cruise line tour and not a private sponsored tour. The Carnival letter is a gross misrepresentation of what can and cannot be done in St. Petersburg, Russia by cruise ship passengers. The Carnival letter states the following:

 

 

All visitors to St. Petersburg must be in possession of a Russian Tourist Visa, unless participating on a Carnival sponsored tour. The requirement for a Russian visa is waived for Carnival guests of all nationalities while participating on a Carnival tour. Guests who have purchased one or more of the available Carnival tours (including Private Vehicles) will not require a visa to go ashore while participating on the tour. However, guests who wish to go ashore to do their own sight-seeing, must be in possession of valid Russian Tourist Visa. Visas cannot be obtained during the cruise.

 

 

In my opinion, this paragraph is intended to intimidate, bully, and/or scare every Carnival passenger into falsely believing that Carnival alone has some special visa waiver power in St. Petersburg, Russia. I will detail why this isn’t the case later in this letter. The above paragraph states that all visitors must be in possession of a Russian Tourist Visa, unless participating on a Carnival sponsored tour. It then adds that the visa requirement is waived while participating on a Carnival tour and that Carnival tours will not require a visa to go ashore. The only honest statements in this paragraph are the last two sentences which state that guests, who wish to go ashore to do their own sight-seeing, must be in possession of a valid Russian Tourist Visa and that such a visa cannot be obtained during the cruise. I venture to say that the vast bulk of passengers touring St. Petersburg will not be doing so with an individual Russian Tourist Visa. Most passengers will be touring either through a Carnival tour or a private tour where the visa requirements have been waived for both the Carnival tour and the private tour.

 

I have done a great deal of research into what type of tour to do in St. Petersburg, Russia. In this research, I found that untold thousands of cruise ship passengers visiting St. Petersburg, Russia have utilized private tour companies authorized by the Russian Government and not the specific cruise line sponsored tour. These cruise ship passengers have not and do not require an individual Russian Tourist Visa to tour St. Petersburg as long as they are participating in a tour run by a Russian authorized company. The normal visa requirements are specifically waived for this type of cruise passenger if you are in a Russian port for less than 72 hours and participating in a tour run by an authorized Russian tour operator. This is the same waiver requirement that Carnival mentions in its letter. The only difference is that Carnival makes it sound like it is the only entity that has the visa waiver requirement. In reality, there are several Russian authorized tour companies, such as Alla Tours, Red October, and Denrus to name a few, that also have visa waiver requirements for their tour participants.

 

Because this issue deals with visas, I went to the United States Department of State’s web site to find out the “official” answer to the question of what type of visa is or is not needed by a cruise ship passenger when visiting Russia. I found the pertinent information listed in two different places. The first is on the Department of State’s regular web site under the category called International Travel Information for the Russian Federation. The link is http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1006.html Within this category, there is a specific section titled Entry/Exit Requirements. The 25th paragraph in the Entry/Exit Requirements section states:

 

 

Special Entry/Exit Requirements for International Cruise Ship Passengers: International cruise ship passengers are permitted to visit Russian ports without a visa for a period of up to 72 hours. Passengers who wish to go ashore during port calls may do so without a visa only if they are part of an organized tour, operated by a licensed Russian tour company approved by the Russian Immigration Service. According to Russian legislation, cruise passengers on organized tours must remain with their tour group and/or a representative of their tour company at all times while ashore. Tour operators affiliated with cruise companies as well as a variety of local tour operators in Russia are licensed to provide tour services to cruise passengers. Note: These special entry/exit requirements do not apply to river boat cruise passengers and travelers coming to Russia on package tours. These travelers will need to apply for visas prior to entry, and should follow the general guidelines provided for entry/exit requirements.

 

 

 

The second U.S. State Department source is listed under the Consulate General of the United States for St. Petersburg, Russia. The link is http://stpetersburg.usconsulate.gov/citizen_ship.htm This source states:

 

 

 

 

 

Special entry/exit requirements for international cruise ship passengers:

International cruise ship passengers are permitted to visit Russian ports without a visa for a period of up to 72 hours. Passengers who wish to go ashore during port calls may do so without a visa only if they are part of an organized tour, operated by a licensed Russian tour company approved by the Russian Immigration Service. According to Russian legislation, cruise passengers on organized tours must remain with their tour group and/or a representative of their tour company at all times while ashore. Tour operators affiliated with cruise companies as well as a variety of local tour operators in Russia are licensed to provide tour services to cruise passengers. Travelers should contact their tour provider directly to verify that the company has the appropriate license. The Consulate cannot verify a company's license, or recommend individual tour operators. Note: These special entry/exit requirements do not apply to river boat cruise passengers and travelers coming to Russia on package tours. These travelers should follow the general guidelines provided for entry/exit requirements.

 

As one can plainly see from both of these U.S. State Department sources, Carnival and any other tour companies authorized by the Russian Government have the capability for visa requirements to be waived. To me, it's obvious Carnival either doesn't understand the entry requirements or is choosing to ignore those requirements to try to get everyone to take a Carnival sponsored tour and not a tour from a competing tour company, such as Alla Tours, Red October, or Denrus, which are fully licensed by the Russian Government.

 

After reviewing the above U.S. State Department sources, I want Carnival to reassess the misleading information it is disseminating about St. Petersburg visa requirements and to respond to the issues I’ve outlined in this letter. Specifically, I want Carnival to tell me whether I am wrong in my main assertion that other Russian authorized tour companies, such as Alla Tours, Red October, and Denrus, provide St. Petersburg tours similar to those provided by Carnival where the normal visa requirements are waived and that you don’t need an individual Russian Tourist Visa to participate with these Russian authorized tour companies.

 

I have been an extremely loyal Carnival client for many years and my family, relatives, and friends have spent tens of thousands of dollars on Carnival cruises during those years. We have always been very happy with our Carnival experience. However, Carnival’s “Visa Requirements” letter has left a very bitter taste in my mouth. I’m looking forward to your response to the issues raised in this letter.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

John Hunt

Carnival Splendor 7/25/08

Booking Number 2S1F01

e-mail: jhuntgolf@comcast.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 19, 2008

 

Mr. John Hunt

Carnival Splendor - July 25, 2008/Booking Number – 2S1F01

Email: jhuntgolf@comcast.net

 

Ref: Russian Visas – St. Petersburg

 

Dear Mr. Hunt:

 

Many thanks for your recent letter regarding your concerns about the information received pertaining to the need for Russian visas while the Carnival Splendor visits St. Petersburg this summer. Please be assured that our intentions are always to provide the most accurate and comprehensive information to our guests in order for them to have the best possible experiences in our ports of call.

 

In order to accomplish this goal, we also consulted several governmental websites as well as tour operators, ground-handlers and port agents in St. Petersburg along with our own Carnival sister-companies including Holland America and Princess who have years of experience sailing in the Baltic. Because Russian ports have different requirements than almost any other port we visit in the Baltic, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Canada, etc., our aim was for our valued guests to understand they would need to plan ahead and decided what they wished to do when visiting St. Petersburg. Unlike any other port, guests cannot simply disembark at will and visit “on their own”. We wanted to be sure our guests understood that, once on board, their options would be limited unless they made their own personal arrangements in advance. We do not have the possibility of providing actual Russian visas on board to those guests wishing to visit independently.

 

Indeed, guests may choose to arrange for their own tours in advance through other Russian tour companies at their own risk. In those cases, Carnival would then not be responsible for their level of success. We realize a visit to St. Petersburg may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for many so our aim is to do all possible to provide a positive experience to all so they will not be disappointed.

 

We appreciate your loyalty to Carnival and trust our response has clarified our intentions. We shall update our letter concerning Russia to clarify the visa issue and add the need for all guests to have a photocopy of the main page of their passport available for Russian immigration control upon their first disembarkation in the port of St. Petersburg.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mercy Luengo

Director – International Reservations

Carnival Cruise Lines-Miami

Our group went with Denrus last year and we didn't have any problems. Each person received an email 2 or 3 weeks before the cruise which provided document attachments which you print before leaving home to present to Russian immigration officials in St. Petersburg. You present this printout along with your passport and in a matter of seconds they stamp your passport and you walk through immigration. Only a few steps after exiting the immigration booth there will be a tourguide from your tour company, Alle, RO, Denrus, ect. to meet you. Directions are given of the exact procedure when you receive your email and you can always reply to ask for any clarifications. Good luck and don't worry, everything will be fine. Ken...

I am booked with Holland America for a Baltic sailing in August and just received their shore excursion booklet with a letter regarding the visa policy. They clearly state that unless you book their shore excursions for St. Petersburg you MUST obtain your own visa and if not, you will not be able to tour independently. I take this to also mean touring with a private tour company which is what I have booked. The tour company says the visa is covered by them. What is the truth here and what are your experiences? I don't want to get there and not be able to get off the ship. Is this a scare tactic by the cruiseline to get you to book their excursions? Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this.

We were there last year. If you book a private guide, they supply you with a card to get you through customs, (mailed to us in our case). we had no problems and in fact got through much quicker than the ships tours, who had to use a different customs agent. (Highly recommend getting a private guide for SP, you will see so much more than with the ships excursions)

If you want to explore totally on your own, (NOT RECOMMENDED), then you need a personal visa that you get on your own. They were supposed to be building a new cruise ship terminal, not sure if that has been done. If not you will port at the industrial port, and it is a good 1.5 or 2 miles just to get to the gate, if you could find your way.

If using a ships tour, the ship takes care of it. The lines try to make it appear intimidating to do a private tour and the wording on that is confusing. The fact is the ship is basically arranging a private tour for you through a Russian tour agency. You can do the same thing on your own.

FWIW, we would strongly recommend you get a private guide for SP, you won't be disappointed.

RonC

We just returned from the Celebrity Constellation cruise that began May 3, and ended May 17. We were in St. Petersburg May 10 and 11, and used Alla Tours for the two days, selecting their "Comfort Tour". We were a group of two couples who frequently take vacations together and this was a private tour for just the four of us. I had been corresponding with Alla for several months, setting up the details, such as selecting the itinerary and a ballet to attend during the evening we were there. Alla was extremely helpful and prompt in returning my emails during this process. I supplied her with personal information that she requested and she emailed me "tickets", which I simply printed at home and took with us. When the ship docked we were shortly allowed off the ship and went through Russian Immigration located in a small building right on the dock. We gave them our passport, a copy of the ID pages of the passport and the "ticket" sent by Alla. They kept the copy of the passport, returned the original (after stamping it) and the ticket, and gave us a small red card. When returning to the ship, we returned the red card as we went through the building on our way in. This procedure was repeated each time we left the ship and returned, except you only had to give them the copy of the passport once. On the final return to the ship, they stamped the passport again. This was a quick and easy process, despite the dire warnings that Celebrity had issued in their written communications, which caused some needless worry on the part of one member of our group.

Here is the e-mail I got from ALLA about our tour in 2009. There is a VISA section, general information on the tour

Dear Tim,

Thank you very much for the inquiry of the tour. We are much delighted to receive your e-mail as the sigh of good reputation of our company!

My name is Alla Ushakova and I will be a contact person for our further communication – to discuss the itinerary and possible changes, to give you additional information and explanations and to answer your questions.

First of all I wanted to let you know that we do accept bookings for the next year of 2009. The tours booked before December 1st of 2008 will be conducted with the prices valid for summer2008. I am sure there will be saving on the tour because unfortunately prices for the tours tend to be higher each year. So, I think that booking in far advance has obvious advantages.

I already can give you the information on the tours and services we offer for our cruise passengers.

We worked a package tour for our cruise visitors for the summer 2008. Main advantages of this tour are:

1. This tour includes the best sights and museums of St Petersburg including such additional conveniences as early entry to the Hermitage museum (before the regular opening time) and hydrofoil ride from Peterhof summer residence to the city’s centre. Program of the package tour is not a subject for any modifications/changes.

2. Group’s size is limited to 20 people. We at the office reserve the right to add people to those who have already booked the Complete Package Tour in order to compose the party of up to 20 people.

3. We use comfortable air-conditioned Mercedes vans for transportation and highly trained tour guides.

4. Cost of the tour is $300US per person. Cost of the tour is not changeable and doesn’t depend on the actual number of people in the group.

Please find the program attached together with additional explanations of the differences between the package tour and custom tours.

For those who want to customize the tour or would wish to keep their party private or limited to a certain number of participants we have worked three sample tours: Moderate, Strenuous and Comfort tours. They will give you a rough idea of what is advisable to see in St Petersburg during your very limited time. They are attached to this e-mail together with the scale of prices which change depending on the group size. The document contains detailed information on which museums are included into each tour (inside visits) giving you the clear idea on how the tours differ from each other. Any of these tours will be a good starting point for designing your custom tour. Please have a look at them and let me know which one suit you better

Visas.

Visas are not required for the tour. We’ll supply you with visa waivers which are your pass through the customs/immigration offices without any problem. Actually this document in different sources could be translated to English differently. For example, blanket ticket; tourist ticket; booking confirmation. But it is the same document even for those tourists who attend the cruise company sponsored tours.

Meeting.

Your ship will be docked in the commercial port which is a customs zone what explains why the access to the port area is strictly limited. However, you will be met by your guide together with your driver and vehicle inside the port, just few steps from the ship. The guide will have a sign Alla Tour or a name of the participant of the group or name of the group if you have it (or would like to have it!). It will help to recognize each other very fast. After meeting you’ll drive to the city’s centre (some 20 minutes) to start your tour.

Touring.

Your guide and driver will be with you throughout the entire day and at the end of the tour you’ll be driven back to the ship. The tour is very flexible and if some requested changes are possible your guide will accommodate them (shortening time in a museum, expanding time in a museum, excluding/replacing museums, desire to go to a restaurant on the evening or attending a folk show without prior notice).

Transportation

For the tours we use air-conditioned western vehicles:

Up to 2 people – Audi sedan

2-4 people – Mercedes mini van with either 4 or 6 passenger seats

5-6 people – Mercedes mini van with 8 passenger seats

7-10 people - Mercedes mini van with 12 passenger seats

11–14 people - Mercedes mini van with 16 passenger seats

15-19 people - Mercedes mini van with 21 passenger seats

20 and more – Touring buses with up to 35 passenger seats

Group size

Regarding the group’s size – we provide tours for parties of any size. Package “ Complete St Petersburg ” tour is limited to 20 people in the group.

Group size for custom tours is the subject for our clients to decide if they want to share the tour with the other cruisers or want to keep the party private. As you see in the attachment with itineraries cost of the tour depends on the group size. That’s why most of the cruisers do prefer to comprise larger groups in order to down the per person cost. Search for the tour companions is conducted by both our office and our guests.

Booking.

We don’t require any deposits. It will be enough to e-mail to me e-mail expressing your firm intention to book the tour. After that I book the time of the guide and it is absolutely firm that you have professional fully licensed guide with excellent command of English waiting for you on the day of arrival.

To book the tour, please supply me with the following passport information:

1. Full name as in your passport

2. Date of birth

3. Passport No

4. Name of the ship

5. Citizenship

This information will be used solely for issuing the tour tickets for your group – your permission to disembark the ship without regular tourist visas. Tour ticket is the document used by all tourists without visas, including those attending the ship sponsored tours. Besides the tickets, this information is supplied to the immigration office where the list of visa-less tourists is formed.

Payment.

Payment could be made the following ways:

1. We accept credit cards: Visa and Master. Other types of credit cards are not accepted. We will charge the sum of payment for the tour from your credit card in Rubles. The currency exchange rate will be established according to the current rates of the Russian State Central Bank but please, mind that the exchange rate will be no less than 24.5 Rur for 1$.

2. Payment could be made in Euro, rubles or US dollar cash* on the morning of the second day of the tour.

*Please be aware – we won’t be able to accept foreign currency (euro or US dollar bills) in bad condition: bills should be clean (have no writings, stamps of any kind), crispy and new (have no slightest defects/damages). It is the requirement of our banks and we must follow their rules. If this requirement is failed, the bank commission for such bills will be 10% off their value.

I have attached yet another document with information on the evening optional programs. You are welcome to choose whatever type of an evening event you’d like to attend during two nights you stay in the city.

Please feel free to ask questions.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Alla Ushakova

CEO, Cell +7 911 932 6633.

Skype name: allok0306

Tim