Paulchili Posted June 23, 2011 #51 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Oceania's last letter: Guests who wish to sightsee outside of an Oceania Cruises tour must obtain a Russian Tourist Visa before leaving home. .....and you have - provided you are using one the the licensed and approved travel agents for your tour. They obtained the visa for you (if they asked you for your passport info). Enjoy your cruise and Sochi :). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comcox Posted June 24, 2011 Author #52 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Yesterday afternoon I received another email from Oceania with the additional statement added to what they had said before: Guests with individual Russian Tourist Visas will disembark after Guests on Oceania Cruises tours and must present the following to Russian Immigration: A valid passport and a Russian Tourist Visa. It is recommended that any independent tours or services be arranged no earlier than 90 minutes after the ship’s scheduled arrival. Guest who are not taking an Oceania Cruises shore excursion or who do not have a Russian Tourist Visa will not be allowed to go ashore in St. Petersburg or in Sochi. Please remember to carry the Russian Visa Support Letter you receive from the tour operator with you when you disembark for this tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 24, 2011 #53 Share Posted June 24, 2011 More rhetoric. Unless you are tendering in Sochi, you can disembark as soon as the ship is cleared. That has always been the case in SPB (with the same rhetoric). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted June 24, 2011 #54 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Hopefully someone on the Jun 27th cruise will post their experiences for Sochi & put this thread to rest Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Cruiser 6143 Posted June 24, 2011 #55 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Folks, if I may jump in here, perhaps I can put this issue to rest for you. I have just returned from a Baltic Cruise. ALL cruise lines try the same tactics on you--you can't get off until all our ship's tours have disembarked, yada, yada. They want you to book their tours. The fact is you can book with LICENSED Russian tour guides who will obtain a blanket visa for you. In order to do that, they will need your passport information. We used Alla. They will provide you with the documentation you need to clear Russian immigration. The ship will not be checking your documentation. As to the getting off the ship issue, our ship called a meeting for those with private tours and told us we would have to wait to get off until all their ship tours had left. We told them in no uncertain terms that we weren't standing for that kind of treatment and they eventually caved and agreed to escort us to the gangway at the appropriate time. So, arrange your tour with a reputable, licensed company, get your documentation from that company, and go in peace. You need to be aware that you will need to run the gauntlet of Russian immigration every time you leave or re-board the ship. The lines can be quite long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted June 24, 2011 #56 Share Posted June 24, 2011 So, arrange your tour with a reputable, licensed company, get your documentation from that company, and go in peace. You need to be aware that you will need to run the gauntlet of Russian immigration every time you leave or re-board the ship. The lines can be quite long. That is the key phrase ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredFL Posted June 25, 2011 #57 Share Posted June 25, 2011 One adl thing, unless procedures have changed and Happy Cruiser may be able to verify, when we got off the ship in SPG for a private tour we were handed a little red card, about the size of an index card. Do not lose that card or think it is advertising, etc. You will need to turn it back in when you go through immigration control to get back on the ship. Without it there are long waits, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolverine_Grrl Posted June 26, 2011 #58 Share Posted June 26, 2011 We went through one of the Russian tour companies (SPB) for our visit to St. Petersburg, and all we had to do was to give our full names/birthdates/place/& passport numbers to the tour company, in exchange for a "tour ticket" that we presented along with our passports at immigration. You definitely need to have that tour ticket with you each day, as you leave the ship. I misplaced mine in my purse the second day, and wouldn't have been able to go, until I found it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belmor Posted June 26, 2011 #59 Share Posted June 26, 2011 We are going on the Nautica August 26 2011 Black Sea. I know you will need a visa in Sochi. The tour companys provides them. Does any one know of a private tour comanys in Sochi? Does anyone know any private tour companyies in any of the other ports. We can arrange our own tour,as Oceania tours are very expensive. I did this when we went to St. Petersburg and Berlin. Let us know. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrssbi Posted July 10, 2011 #60 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Just home from Black Sea cruise on Nautica. Can answer any questions you may have regarding, Russia Visa, tours, etc. An absolutely fabulous cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted July 10, 2011 #61 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Just home from Black Sea cruise on Nautica. Can answer any questions you may have regarding, Russia Visa, tours, etc. An absolutely fabulous cruise. Steph So what was the situation in Sochi regarding VISA's or private tours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrssbi Posted July 11, 2011 #62 Share Posted July 11, 2011 There was absolutely no problem in Sochi. Oceania sent out many letters, notices, etc. about private tours, visas, etc. Don't read them. In one of the letters with other conflicting information they did mention the 72 hours visa ok with private guides. When the ship was cleared and when we were ready to meet our guide, we just walked off the ship. We did not go to the Nautica lounge as asked by Oceania in currents. Our guide (or the head of guides) met us before passport control and we showed our passports, met our guide and off we went. She mentioned that all she needed was our names before the tour. Any other questions please don't hesitate to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comcox Posted July 11, 2011 Author #63 Share Posted July 11, 2011 There was absolutely no problem in Sochi. Oceania sent out many letters, notices, etc. about private tours, visas, etc. Don't read them. In one of the letters with other conflicting information they did mention the 72 hours visa ok with private guides. When the ship was cleared and when we were ready to meet our guide, we just walked off the ship. We did not go to the Nautica lounge as asked by Oceania in currents. Our guide (or the head of guides) met us before passport control and we showed our passports, met our guide and off we went. She mentioned that all she needed was our names before the tour. Any other questions please don't hesitate to ask. Who did you do your private tour with in Sochi? We would really like to do one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrssbi Posted July 12, 2011 #64 Share Posted July 12, 2011 We used Sochi Holidays. Elene Miasoyedova....melena62@mail.ru Sochi Holidays is also the provider for all the Oceania tours. Elena was not our guide as she was doing one of the Oceania tours. However, our tour guide was excellent and Elena will give you options for available tours. Elena did meet us just before passport control at our assigned meeting time......we went through passport control and then she introduced us to our guide. If you have any other Black Sea questions don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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