No tour booking ahead of time...St. Petersburg?

[merela]

My parents and 4 other family friends are on their way to Copenhagen for the 6/14 Star Princess cruise.

 

I have been doing basic research and emailing them the information I've found on this board.

 

Since a majority of them are not fluent in English, they have opted to do their own walking tour around different ports of call.

 

With St. Petersburg, the visa would have cost them US$300 or more each, but without it they can't really leave the ship. As they are going to be in St. Petersburg for over 36 hours, I suggested that they take a tour from either DenRus or Red October.

 

As they are already on their way to Copenhagen (from Taiwan), I will have to email them the information I find on Denrus and RO.

 

Can they arrange tours with Denrus or RO while they are on the ship? Or can they arrange the tours once they get to St. Petersburg? Is it true that Denrus and RO will facilitate and waive visa requirements if they use their tours. Where can my family find Denrus or RO representatives in St. Petersburg?

 

TIA

[lamwnfa]

I would have to say that with them already enroute it's too late to get with RO or DenRus. You have to have a ticket/voucher from the company (along with your passport & copy of your passport) to even get through immigration. I had to send our passport info to DenRus before they could issue tickets. At this point I think their only option is to book a tour through the cruise line, if that's still possible.

[merela]

I guess they can do Princess tours instead since it's so last minute.

 

Thanks again.

[DON M.]

I belive if R.O. or Denrus gets all the information needed to secure a Visa, they can schedule a tour 5 or 6 days before arriving in St.Peters. so I dont know if that is possible for you or not. At this point the ships tour is probably a better option.

[merela]

can anyone recommend a good tour or a combination of different tours offered by Star Princess?

 

TIA

[cdfev]

One of the members of our 8 person Red October Tour did not start the pursuit of the Red October tour until they got on the Star Princess (4 days prior to arrival in Saint Petersburg).

 

Surprisingly, the Russian immigration people never looked at our Red October vouchers or sponsorship letter when we got off on 5/29/05. We were in the middle of one of the debarking Princess tours and perhaps they assumed that we were with the ship's tour.

 

I'd encourage you to contact Red October and see if they can secure the visa for your party with such short notice. I think that they can.

[PacificCruiser]

My parents and 4 other family friends are on their way to Copenhagen for the 6/14 Star Princess cruise.

 

 

Since a majority of them are not fluent in English, they have opted to do their own walking tour around different ports of call.

 

With St. Petersburg, the visa would have cost them US$300 or more each, but without it they can't really leave the ship. As they are going to be in St. Petersburg for over 36 hours, I suggested that they take a tour from either DenRus or Red October.

 

If your friends are speaking any of the common European or Asian languages, just request a guide who is fluent in that language.

The visa waiver program is for people in Russia for 72 or few hours.

Visa costs vary by country of citizenship but US based Russian consulates charge $100 for a visa, not $300.

 

 

Can they arrange tours with Denrus or RO while they are on the ship? Or can they arrange the tours once they get to St. Petersburg? Is it true that Denrus and RO will facilitate and waive visa requirements if they use their tours. Where can my family find Denrus or RO representatives in St. Petersburg?

 

TIA

 

They need to send their passport and other information to either of those companies immediately or they can not process the group visa for them. Normally, 10 days before sail date is required because the tour ticket used to get off the ship is expressed mailed so the passenger has it in time before they dock in Russia. That tour ticket is essential to get through passport control at the dock.