That St P visa Q yet again!!

[edinburgher]

Groan......yes I know, but...........

Having read through the various threads and replies, I still have a couple of questions on this topic and hope that you can help clarify a few points once and for all. :0)

 

We are sailing with a UK cruiseline in June/July. Its Thomson Celebration and it will be their first trip to Scandinavian/Baltic ports and we dont know whether they will make a good job of the excursions or not. We will DIY it everywhere but St Ptes because of visa issues. Because we know what the situation is with Russian visas, I called Thomsons today and it appears that there will be NO info of any kind on St Petes excursions until we get onboard. It seems that not one person in the UK can tell me whats on offer, or how much the excursions will be. Not ideal, in fact pretty poor. This means that unless we make alternative arrangements in advance, we will be in a "held to ransom" situation whereby we cant leave the ship unless on their excursions regardless of the content, and more so, regardless of cost. They could in effect, charge what they like and passengers will have to pay it to get off the ship. We are understandably a bit concerned about this as there is not even a mention of Russian visa rules in the brochure. Many passengers will just arrive onboard with no idea whasoever.

 

We know that we need visas for St Petes if we want to go it alone. We can get them in our home town. Is it feasable to do this given that the port could be some distance from public transport? And if we dont want to do organised excursions at all, then how do we get an "invitation"? and who would we list in the application form? Would we get the visa without an "invitation" from a tour company?

 

We also know that if we book excursions through a tour company such as Red October we dont need visas as we can use their "invitation". We assume that the same would apply and unless on an excursion with them we cant leave the ship. Thats maybe OK, but for what reasons would we book through Red October as opposed to booking the cruiselines own excursions? Are they cheaper? Are they just better? Whats the attraction? Why are they here on cruisecritic?

 

We would just be 2 persons. Husband has not been there before so our thoughts are to try to do some of the following:

A city tour, maybe brief Hermitage (I know, its enormous and brief is not ideal) maybe Peterhof (hopefully by hydrofoil) or Pushkin. And can anyone tell me if its possible for a tour to include simply walking/strolling some of the most scenic part of the central area of the city without the necessity to get independent visas? I remember lovely bridges and canals. We would like to call into some stores as well.

 

As we would be only 2 persons rather than several or lots of people, would Red October want us at all or would we be better elsewhere?

 

Thanks for any helpful info you can give on any of the above.

[DON M.]

Groan......yes I know, but...........

Having read through the various threads and replies, I still have a couple of questions on this topic and hope that you can help clarify a few points once and for all. :0)

 

We are sailing with a UK cruiseline in June/July. Its Thomson Celebration and it will be their first trip to Scandinavian/Baltic ports and we dont know whether they will make a good job of the excursions or not. We will DIY it everywhere but St Ptes because of visa issues. Because we know what the situation is with Russian visas, I called Thomsons today and it appears that there will be NO info of any kind on St Petes excursions until we get onboard. It seems that not one person in the UK can tell me whats on offer, or how much the excursions will be. Not ideal, in fact pretty poor. This means that unless we make alternative arrangements in advance, we will be in a "held to ransom" situation whereby we cant leave the ship unless on their excursions regardless of the content, and more so, regardless of cost. They could in effect, charge what they like and passengers will have to pay it to get off the ship. We are understandably a bit concerned about this as there is not even a mention of Russian visa rules in the brochure. Many passengers will just arrive onboard with no idea whasoever.

 

We know that we need visas for St Petes if we want to go it alone. We can get them in our home town. Is it feasable to do this given that the port could be some distance from public transport? And if we dont want to do organised excursions at all, then how do we get an "invitation"? and who would we list in the application form? Would we get the visa without an "invitation" from a tour company?

 

We also know that if we book excursions through a tour company such as Red October we dont need visas as we can use their "invitation". We assume that the same would apply and unless on an excursion with them we cant leave the ship. Thats maybe OK, but for what reasons would we book through Red October as opposed to booking the cruiselines own excursions? Are they cheaper? Are they just better? Whats the attraction? Why are they here on cruisecritic?

 

We would just be 2 persons. Husband has not been there before so our thoughts are to try to do some of the following:

A city tour, maybe brief Hermitage (I know, its enormous and brief is not ideal) maybe Peterhof (hopefully by hydrofoil) or Pushkin. And can anyone tell me if its possible for a tour to include simply walking/strolling some of the most scenic part of the central area of the city without the necessity to get independent visas? I remember lovely bridges and canals. We would like to call into some stores as well.

 

As we would be only 2 persons rather than several or lots of people, would Red October want us at all or would we be better elsewhere?

 

Thanks for any helpful info you can give on any of the above.

It sounds like you are a perfect canidate for a private tour that you can customize to your specific needs among other advantages like taking care of your visas.

But, the problem is with only 2 people it could get very expensive. Thus, my first priority would be to find others to join you. This could possibly be done with the tour company helping you out, a web-site for this ship if there is one, or when you get on the ship you could meet others to join you as long as you e-mail the tour company from the ship 5-days before arrival with all of the information on each passenger.

I would e-mail either Denrus or Red October and maybe they have suggestions and could even add you to tours with people from other ships in port on the same day.

[ElleninNY]

We used a visa service to get our Russian visas and they are providing us with the invitations. Perhaps you have something similar in Edinburgh. They do charge a fee but the Russian visa changes every few months and is quite complex so it is worth it.

[aqua]

In reply to the questions regarding Denrus and Red October, "Are they cheaper? Are they just better?" We used Red October for 2 days last summer on our Constellation cruise and they were outstanding. We had a family group of 9 people, so it may have been a little less expensive than the cruise excursions, but not much. I also talked to passengers who toured with the ship. They spoke of running through the Hermitage and not being able to hear their guide. (Because the crowds are huge inside, it is very noisy.) We also did not wait in line, unlike the Celebrity passengers. Red October hired someone to wait for us. Our guide teaches English at the university so she was well-spoken and knowledgeable. I spoke with passengers who used Denrus and they were pleased also. I think you will be happy if you use either company for a tour.

[stanj]

Hello Edinburger

There is a lot of information concerning visa on this list, I've posted several messages that covered it but in a brief overview: Russian visas are easy to get but they do require advance application. The items to include in your application are the visa appication form, a passport style photograph, your tourist visa Voucher (sometimes called Visa Support or letter of invitation), your passport with at least one unused page that will be fully covered by the pasted in visa document, and your consular fee.

The application form is a simple form that has not changed in over 10 years that you can print out from a pdf file from the Download section of my web page: Visa form

Use the Non-US citizen form of course. Someone suggested the visa requirements change very few months but she was repeat inaccurate rumors I've heard before but know to be wrong. The same form and requirements have been in place since 1992.

The visa voucher is a document sent to you by a hotel, tour company, Hostel or other authorized tourist service provider. Hotels will often send one for free if you have confirmed reservations with them but tour companies can provide it, for a fee, to anyone regardless of where they stay. One such highly recommended tour company specializing in cruise passengers which can provide the invitation in a few hours is Den Rus

 

Sent or take the application to your local Russian consulate at:

Russian consulate in Edinburgh: 58, Melville Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7HF, Scotland

Phone: +44 ((0)131) 225-7098

Fax: +44 ((0)131) 225-9587

Open hours: mon - fri 09.00-12.30

 

The consular fee is 18 GBP

For UK citizens, the original visa support(Voucher is requested) so have your tour company send you voucher by mail. I know Den Rus uses a courier service to take mail daily to Finland to mail there so it only takes a few days to get letter that way instead of the usual 2-6 weeks if sent through the Russian postal system. Other companies may use other mailing methods, there are several options, as with everything else in Russia.

Getting a visa is relatively simple but an even easier way to see St Petersburg is with one of the few tour companies authorized to run group or personal tours for cruise ship passengers without the normally required Russian visa. The three companies most people us are Arctur( the ones who run large bus tours for cruise lines....not recommended because they rely on herding 45-50 passengers on large buses with No flexibility but high commissions for the cruise line), Red Oktober and Den Rus. Since you are interested in a non-standard tour with maximum flexibilty, I think most will agree Den Rus is the best for flexibility.

Contact your tour company of choice as soon as possible so they can add you to the documentation they need to submit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the visa waiver. You can book a tour without any obligation so if your plans change and will not need to use the reserved tour, there is no cost, but you are safe in knowing that you have options and a way of getting off the ship.

The best advantage of getting your own visa is maximum flexibility in staying out and exploring the city on your own or with a guide, enjoying the glories of White Nights when there is a great many things to do well into the morning with festivals, performances in all the formal concert halls or theaters or night life. Having a smalll personal group with a tour company can give much of the flexibility of an indepentent visitor but with the addition of having a guide who can really open up the city with information, stories and insights that no guide book could provide. I recomend using a guide for at least one day or a city orientation even for those with visas because all signs being in Cyrillic and very little English spoken in everyday life of locals( many people speak English but most do not) After an orientation overview of the city, you can explore safely on your own in what is one of the great walking cities.

 

If you select a tour company for a customized visa-less tour, ask them to group you with a few other people who share your interests if you want to save money. The cost per person lowers as the number in the small group increases. A van tour with 6-8 people plus guide is about optimum for value.

If you have specifi questions I would be happy to answer as sort of an insider. I live in St Petersburg and know it well after about 100 visits and finally moving to my favorite world city 2 years ago from my native San Francisco. Originally my family came from just north of you in Scotland, another of my favorite places.

 

Good Cruising

[edinburgher]

Thanks everyone for your tips on this.

 

 

It seems that people prefer the smaller group sizes which these private tour companies offer, and I get the impression its possible to make better use of the time with a smaller group as you can move around more quickly and possibly cover more ground. I also get the impression that sometimes it can be cheaper than the cruise companies excursions, but not always.

 

So, I will contact Den Ruse and Red October to get an idea of what they can offer and the prices for 2 people. It may be that the price will be too high for 2 and we might need to just go with the cruise line.

 

Stan. Thanks for all that. It was kind of you to give us so much info. I had just wanted to know what would happen if we tried to get a visa WITHOUT having an "invitation". We had thought of doing St Petes completely on our own. Your info on this helpful. However, as far as I know, we do not pay for Consular Services at £18 a time. The UK site doesnt list UK citizens as being liable to pay any more than the £30 visa fee. I guess we will find out when we look in there.

[stanj]

Thanks everyone for your tips on this.

 

 

Stan. Thanks for all that. It was kind of you to give us so much info. I had just wanted to know what would happen if we tried to get a visa WITHOUT having an "invitation". We had thought of doing St Petes completely on our own. Your info on this helpful. However, as far as I know, we do not pay for Consular Services at £18 a time. The UK site doesnt list UK citizens as being liable to pay any more than the £30 visa fee. I guess we will find out when we look in there.

 

You can't get a visa without an invitation regardless of how you get a visa-through a visa service or by direct invitation, they both require a voucher(invitation) but in the case of the visa service they charge more to cover the voucher they get from an associate in Russia. You can get it yourself and bypass that.

The 18GBP consular fee IS the visa cost, not an additional fee on top of a visa fee. Faster processing times can be requested but the fee is higher, a lot higher for 1 day service for example.

So you have two different unrelated costs, the consular fee for issuing the visa and the cost of the invitation if not free from a hotel where the visitor is booked, in this case you have no hotel booking.

 

Have a great visit

[mborchgardt]

We will be using RO in August for StP. It's just my wife and I -- so we're also a group of just 2. We prefered to tour with RO by ourselves so that we could control the itinerary, schedule, etc. RO was very accomodating and didn't seem disappointed at all that there would just be 2 of us on the tour. The prices were higher for a group of two -- around $250 per person per day -- but it was worth it to us.

[japiscopo]

We went to the Baltic last August. We got our visas from Zierer Visa Service.

http://www.zvs.com. Zierer was able to supply you with invitations and everything else you would need to apply for a visa. The application is not hard to fill our, just time consuming. The cost for 2 people was $311 including shipping.

You could check the interest to see if Zierer has a representive where you are.

 

Also, we went (2 people) with a private guide for St. Pete's. It was great. You spend some time emailing back and forth to them until you are happy with your intinerary. They will do almost everything you would like to do.

Our cost for 2 days, 2 people with car and driver and guide was $1000.

 

I would not recommend seeing St. Pete on your own. The ship will dock very far from town and unless you speak Russian, language will be a problem

 

I have posted my travel journal (review) on this board (Baltic Ports). It is named "New! Baltic Cruise on Voyager. If you care to read it and if you have any questions, just post them and I'll try to answer.

 

Mary Lou

[Bollinge]

Dear Ed,

 

Suggest you check out my visa thread at:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=168115

 

You just pay £30, fill in the form, nip to the Russian consulate in Edinburgh and a week or two later, stamp, job done. Or they'll do it the same day if you want to pay extra for instant processing.

 

We never go on rip-off ship's excursions, so thirty quid to be independent is money well spent.

[edinburgher]

Thanks everyone. Theres some really useful info in your replies.