Staying overnight in St Petersburg

[Carolla5501]

We are on the Serenade in June with an overnight in St Petersburg. We decided to tour on our own and got Visas. Based on feedback from travelers and info from the agency I got a single entry visa.

 

So I have now read a report where the immigration authorities at the port will only let me off the ship ONCE. At this point with less then a month to go my options are not great. I could get a new multi entry visa but I figured with the overnight shipping etc it was another $300. Or I could just get a hotel in St Petersburg and stay off the ship all night.

 

Will they let me do that? (The ship, I am not worried about the Russia authorities. My Visa covers the 2 days)

 

Thanks

[cruisenfever]

We are on the Serenade in June with an overnight in St Petersburg. We decided to tour on our own and got Visas. Based on feedback from travelers and info from the agency I got a single entry visa.

 

So I have now read a report where the immigration authorities at the port will only let me off the ship ONCE. At this point with less then a month to go my options are not great. I could get a new multi entry visa but I figured with the overnight shipping etc it was another $300. Or I could just get a hotel in St Petersburg and stay off the ship all night.

 

Will they let me do that? (The ship, I am not worried about the Russia authorities. My Visa covers the 2 days)

 

Thanks

You may want to post your question over on the Northern Europe & Baltics forum.

 

Having been to St. Petersburg twice now, with an overnight both times, we would never think to do the city on our own. I am going to assume that you can speak, understand and read Russian enough to get you around.

[xxoocruiser]

You really should contact the Russian Consulate or Embassy for an accurate answer.

[Carolla5501]

I appreciate your responses but

 

1. I am doing this without a tour. That is not open for discussion

 

2. The question is not one the consulate cares about. I have a valid Visa and can stay in St Petersburg.

 

 

I have sent my TA an email to check with RCL to make sure I can get back on the ship. That really is my only open question. If I don't come home Night one will they let me back on night 2.

[cruisenfever]

I appreciate your responses but

 

1. I am doing this without a tour. That is not open for discussion

 

2. The question is not one the consulate cares about. I have a valid Visa and can stay in St Petersburg.

 

 

I have sent my TA an email to check with RCL to make sure I can get back on the ship. That really is my only open question. If I don't come home Night one will they let me back on night 2.

With any itinerary that has an overnight in port, you are usually free to do what you want during those 2 days. RCI just wants you back on board 30 minutes prior to departure.

[dani negreanu]

1. I am doing this without a tour. That is not open for discussion

 

2.

 

Carolla, DH and I've done St.P. without a tour for 4 days. We've booked the Hermitage online for 2 days, that was the only thing we've done ahead. I've made my lessons on TripAdvisor, bought rubles before going, took a boat through the canals for English speakers, the hydrofoil to the Summer Palace, and we DON'T speak Russian. You'll be fine.:)

[eandj]

With any itinerary that has an overnight in port, you are usually free to do what you want during those 2 days. RCI just wants you back on board 30 minutes prior to departure.

 

Russia is different than other ports. There are very strict entrance policies. This isn't like the easy to do overnights in Venice or other popular stops.

Edited May 27, 2015 by eandj

[eandj]

I appreciate your responses but

 

 

I have sent my TA an email to check with RCL to make sure I can get back on the ship. That really is my only open question. If I don't come home Night one will they let me back on night 2.

 

 

 

It is up to your TA to get you the accurate answer. And clear it with your cruiseline.

[Ashland]

I might misunderstand your concern...however I thought that since your ship in only making "one" port entry that's all you'll need. It's not the amount of times you personally come & go off the ship. And that information of the dates you will be in port should be on your visa.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Ashland

[Carolla5501]

It is up to your TA to get you the accurate answer. And clear it with your cruiseline.

 

 

Would you like to know what Royal told my TA?

 

They claim there is no such visa and no one can leave the ship unless they have a tour guide. So obviously getting useful information from them over the phone is going to be a challenge. However, she does believe I can stay overnight in St. Petersburg if that becomes necessary

[Carolla5501]

I might misunderstand your concern...however I thought that since your ship in only making "one" port entry that's all you'll need. It's not the amount of times you personally come & go off the ship. And that information of the dates you will be in port should be on your visa.

 

 

That apparently has always been the way it worked. According to the poster on trip advisor they are changing the rules. I have sent an email off to the visa people who interact daily with Russian consulate to see if they can get me some additional information

[Ashland]

That apparently has always been the way it worked. According to the poster on trip advisor they are changing the rules. I have sent an email off to the visa people who interact daily with Russian consulate to see if they can get me some additional information

Yes the old way was easy...sorry to hear they've changed things..makes it difficult to get updated info when they do..

 

Best of luck and I'm sure you'll have it straightened out before you leave.

 

Enjoy St Petersburg..we certainly did.

[minsterman]

We visited St Petersburg overnight in 2010 (I appreciate things may have changed in that time) however we also got our own visa and did it on our own (we don't speak Russian!) but found the city very easy to get around (we got a taxi to/from the Port, the taxi guy at the port actually wrote the address of the Port in Russian for our return journey, which we found helpful.

 

We found the taxi drivers spoke English of some description, usually enough to get understood.

 

We did get a multiple entry visa as we returned to the ship each night, however, I don't see why you couldn't get a hotel in St Petersburg if you don't want to risk not being allowed in on the second day. (That was why we got the multiple entry visa but I appreciate that's done now and you have a single entry whether you like it or not!)

 

We have stayed off the ship in Livorno, where we booked a hotel in Florence and came back the next day. We did tell them as we got off the ship that we weren't returning that night, but they didn't seem that interested!

 

Overall I would thoroughly recommend doing St Petersburg "on your own" as we found it a beautiful and pleasant city. Before we went my other half was worried about safety and thought we should have done a group tour of some description, but after we'd had our two days there she is now glad that we did our own thing.

 

Obviously this is subject to the usual caveats about taking care in big cities, but we didn't find it any more intimidating than anywhere else (apart from the Russians don't smile much!) and we managed to make ourselves understood everywhere we went.

[Carolla5501]

The Visa company is working on my issue. They are trying to get clarification from the Government for me. They will also waive the fees if it turns out they got me the wrong type of visa. So I may be shipping the passport back out :)

[eandj]

Would you like to know what Royal told my TA?

 

They claim there is no such visa and no one can leave the ship unless they have a tour guide. So obviously getting useful information from them over the phone is going to be a challenge. However, she does believe I can stay overnight in St. Petersburg if that becomes necessary

 

Lol Seems they will say what they need to to get cruisers to book THEIR excursions.

But lots of agents and cruise ship reps don't offer accurate info. It's not just your line.

[Coolcruise02]

Please come back after your trip and let us know how it went. We visited a few years ago and did a private tour and loved it! Of course, most people we met on board were told they had to do a ship tour! (HAL ship)

[Donna_In_India]

I'd be very interested to hear what happens with the visa and about your trip once you're back. We're on the Serenade (July 2016) and since my husband is required to get a visa, my daughter and I might get one as well. I'm just dipping my toe in as far as researching excursions and we really love going on our own wherever we are.

 

A multiple entry visa sort of doesn't make sense....you are not leaving the country and re-entering, unless re-boarding the ship is considered leaving the country? Unfortunately it's not the cruise line's responsibility to provide the correct info regarding visas and I would NEVER ask them - same with airlines, etc. I have read that you cannot leave the ship at night (after returning from a tour during the day) unless you are going back out with a tour. You can't just go out for dinner or explore unless you have a visa.... Just seems to make sense to do on your own - since tours are 8-9 hours returning around 5-6 - we could stay out an extra 3-4 hours a day! Enjoy your cruise!

[Bollinge]

As you can see below, I have been on many cruises and to half the countries in the world.

 

Once you disembark the ship with your single-entry visa, you can do what you want until it's time to get back on board for sail away. So book a hotel room.

 

Last time we had visas and did everything independently and had no problems, except on the metro where all the signs were in Cyrillic. We had to count the stops, and on one occasion went one stop too far. That was ten years ago, and there are far more bilingual signs and English speakers now.

 

This time the visa regulations are far more onerous for British citizens, requiring us to visit the consulate in person to be fingerprinted, so we have booked a private tour for almost what the visas would have cost.

 

Many of the crew will be out all night, at various "night-clubs", so there will be no problem for you being a dirty stop-out too! Best to let the room steward/front desk know so they don't worry where you are, but they wouldn't anyway unless you fail to show up on departure.

 

So do your own thing. I am sure you will have a great time!

Edited June 1, 2015 by Bollinge

[Carolla5501]

Thanks everyone!

 

We had our Russian friend call her consulate and they really seem totally clueless on if I need a multi entry visa or a one entry visa. (One official told her one thing, but she called again just in case and got response two)

 

So we booked the Ibis for the night. It's not fancy, but it's a good location and I think we will actually enjoy it. We wanted to wander around in the evening and this makes it easy. WE will let the cruise ship and our steward know. Right now my other half is considering going back to the ship anyway in the evening to get our overnight bags so we don't have to haul them to the hotel first thing but I am voting against that. I figure the IBIS can keep them until the room is ready.

 

Will report back after the trip!

Edited June 1, 2015 by Carolla5501

[scubacruiserx2]

Thanks everyone!

 

We had our Russian friend call her consulate and they really seem totally clueless on if I need a multi entry visa or a one entry visa. (One official told her one thing, but she called again just in case and got response two)

 

So we booked the Ibis for the night. It's not fancy, but it's a good location and I think we will actually enjoy it. We wanted to wander around in the evening and this makes it easy. WE will let the cruise ship and our steward know. Right now my other half is considering going back to the ship anyway in the evening to get our overnight bags so we don't have to haul them to the hotel first thing but I am voting against that. I figure the IBIS can keep them until the room is ready.

 

Will report back after the trip!

 

 

 

We just got back from 12 nights in St. Petersburg and most if not all Metro Stations are in English . Here's a map in English and Russian .

 

 

 

Your hotel is near the Red line between the green and yellow . This is pretty far from the port and the tourist area shown in this map .

 

 

 

 

This area is the main area of St. Petersburg and is halfway between the port and the Isis . Would you consider staying here where everything is in walking distance ? Our first apartment was by Spilled Blood and there is a nice hotel , on the water near there .

 

 

 

 

 

It comes complete with security so you can rest comfortably !

[Pet Nit Noy]

... Right now my other half is considering going back to the ship anyway in the evening to get our overnight bags so we don't have to haul them to the hotel first thing but I am voting against that. I figure the IBIS can keep them until the room is ready.

 

Will report back after the trip!

 

Whoops! The legal reasons that prevent you from going back the ship and re-entering the country apply whether you are sleeping overnight in your stateroom or stepping on board for the 30 minutes which would be required to grab your overnight bags.

 

It won't work and, then, where will your husband be if he can't get off the ship for the second day of touring?

Edited June 1, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[Carolla5501]

No. He has a 3 year multiple entry visa. He can get off and on the ship as much as he wants. I will not be returning to the ship as I have a one entry visa.

[scubacruiserx2]

We just got back from 12 nights in St. Petersburg and most if not all Metro Stations are in English . Here's a map in English and Russian .

 

 

 

Your hotel is near the Red line between the green and yellow . This is pretty far from the port and the tourist area shown in this map .

 

 

 

 

This area is the main area of St. Petersburg and is halfway between the port and the Isis . Would you consider staying here where everything is in walking distance ? Our first apartment was by Spilled Blood and there is a nice hotel , on the water near there .

 

 

 

 

 

It comes complete with security so you can rest comfortably !

 

 

 

Did you see this post ? Another consideration - When we went to Moscow , we wore the same clothes and carried our toothbrushes in my wife's backpack purse . This would avoid a return trip to the ship . Or go with your husband and wait in the terminal until he returns from the ship with your suitcase . :)

[Pet Nit Noy]

No. He has a 3 year multiple entry visa. He can get off and on the ship as much as he wants.

 

Outstanding! I can't tell you how happy I am to read this.

 

At least this debate is down the typical dynamics of husbands and wives and doesn't involve the Russian bureaucracy! We're having the husband/wife variety, too, in the midst of our planning!

Edited June 1, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[Carolla5501]

Just in case any in else on RCL is curious I did get confirmation from the cruise line that there is no an issue with my overnight stay plan

Edited June 2, 2015 by Carolla5501