Russian visa viking river cruise

[tobique33040]

We need a visa and Viking suggest Generations Visa. Any experience with them for a Russian visa? Other company suggestions? Thanks

[Hydrokitty]

we used GenVisa when we went to russia with Vantage. No problems, very reliable....all documents returned. Vantage took care of filling out much of the application and hopefully Viking will do the same. Only thing I would suggest is the insurance, which I don't remember how much it was but it was reasonable, $10 maybe) and it covered the cost of THEM getting replacement passports in the event they got lost in the mail up to $1000. I didn't need it, but it helped me sleep better. I would recommend them without reservation and I do not know of any other companies since genvisa is the only one I've ever used and will use them again. This is one time I would not look to save a few dollars.... spend the money and use Viking's suggested company. Apparently they all use GenVisa and there would be a reason for that!

[tobique33040]

Thanks so much! It really does seem complicated to do the visa application so I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with Genvisa. I feel much better using them now.

[Hydrokitty]

Thanks so much! It really does seem complicated to do the visa application so I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with Genvisa. I feel much better using them now.

 

Vantage sent us the application with explicit instructions for what to put on each line. The portion calling for where we would be staying and purpose of our visit and host responsible for us, etc. was all completed by Vantage which was a huge help since I had no idea what to put in there. Does Viking do the same? If not and you don't know what to put in, call Genvisa and ask. I say this because if you do it wrong they won't process it and they will tell you exactly what you need to put down. If they can't help you call Viking and ask them to tell you what to put down. The rest of it is pretty straightforward, just tedious. We were told to answer truthfully with as little information as possible! If you need help, and neither Viking nor genvisa can help, let me know, I still have my application and I will help if I can. You can e-mail me at chydro564@yahoo.com

[tobique33040]

We have paid 60$ extra pp for Genvisa to fill out the form. I'm not sure how they can know all the answers because I tried to do it online and could not, so I know there are a lot of specific questions. I'll wait and see. We leave Sept 3 so should be enough time. Thanks so much for your input - people on this forum and tripadvisor are so helpful and kind. Thanks again.

[4774Papa]

We used them for our Vantage Russia trip. No problems.

[Hydrokitty]

We have paid 60$ extra pp for Genvisa to fill out the form. I'm not sure how they can know all the answers because I tried to do it online and could not, so I know there are a lot of specific questions. I'll wait and see. We leave Sept 3 so should be enough time. Thanks so much for your input - people on this forum and tripadvisor are so helpful and kind. Thanks again.

 

Money well spent!!! Vantage was very explicit about completing form correctly. If memory serves, they would not even begin processing until 90 days before trip and we had our Visas within 30 days. I also opted for FEDEX shipping, I don't trust US Mail service!

[NanciEA]

We used them for our Viking trip to Russia last September and there were no problems. You cannot apply until 90 days out. For Russia there are a lot of questions, such as where your parents were born, all the places you have ever worked, were you ever in the military, etc. The hardest question for us was to list all the countries we had visited in the last ten years, with the dates we were there. We just listed the "major" countries where we had been, not every cruise ship stop. I was a little worried because our passports were nearing the end of their time and we had a lot of stamps in them. In the end, we and our traveling companions decided it was probably a matter of "if your check cashes your good" thing, as we all got them back very quickly with no problems.

[tobique33040]

Yes, I was wondering how they will answer all the questions to which I did I not give them answers, but I guess they know what they're doing. Perhaps they'll email me later. Thanks for all the input!

[Hydrokitty]

We used them for our Viking trip to Russia last September and there were no problems. You cannot apply until 90 days out. For Russia there are a lot of questions, such as where your parents were born, all the places you have ever worked, were you ever in the military, etc. The hardest question for us was to list all the countries we had visited in the last ten years, with the dates we were there. We just listed the "major" countries where we had been, not every cruise ship stop. I was a little worried because our passports were nearing the end of their time and we had a lot of stamps in them. In the end, we and our traveling companions decided it was probably a matter of "if your check cashes your good" thing, as we all got them back very quickly with no problems.

 

It's true isn't it? Listing all the countries and dates was daunting but for us biggest problem was DH's military history during Viet Nam with the Army Corps of Engineers!