Russian Visa

Is it just me or has anyone else had troubles with russian visa's ?

seems to be a moving target what is really required

1. passport (valid 6 months beyond)

2. 3 passport pics

3. official invitation

4. 2 copies of completed application

5. $150 cashiers check (was $100)

They keep changing the requirements and even hand carrying the package to the consulate in san fran i still wonder if i can get a visa in 2 weeks.

I am getting the impression they really don't want americans in russia (not that i blame them). I am on the St Pete run in july and was anxious to see what most say is a very interesting city. Now i wonder .. add the latest crime and i wonder more.

Has anyone done this - and was it easy of difficult ?

If you book the ship's tours, or, tours through one of the several approved tour companies, you don't need a visa....the temporary tourist visas are obtained by them.

We had a group of 10 on Celebrity's Constellation last month; we used Red October and were extremely pleased with their service!

We went to St. Petersburg on the Pride in 2001 and used a private driver so we had to have a visa. We used one of the services instead of going directly to the Russian embassy (I'm in the DC area.). I don't remember how long it took, but we hsd no problems.

You will love St. Petersburg, especially on Seabourn. You dock only a few blocks from the Hermitage whereas the big ships are way out of town.

Bill

I will be getting my visa this week. I went through Panorama Travel in New York. They have a websit. It was one copy of the form, one passport photo and a $150. I sent my passport to them two weeks ago and they sent it to the Russian consulate the next day.

Good luck!

Just to follow up. I got my passport back, with my Russian visa inside, yesterday. Panorama travel was really easy and efficient to work with.