Need Advice on Russian Tourist Visas

[Rumpymuffin]

We just signed up for a Baltic cruise on Marina in July. It appears that we will need a Russian tourist visa if we want to do any independent exploring in St. Petersburg. Here is the explanation from our confirmation letter:

 

Those not participating in an Oceania Cruises shore excursion and wishing to visit Russia independently must obtain a Russian Tourist Visa. Visas cannot be obtained during the cruise. You are required to be sponsored by a licensed Russian tour company that will provide you with the necessary visa support letter and documentation.

 

You are further obligated to utilize the services of the Russian tour company that provides the visa support letter. After receiving the visa support letter you will need to directly contact the Russian Embassy for your travel visa.

Have any of you past Baltic cruisers had any experience with this? Is there a "licensed Russian tour company" that you can recommend? Does anyone know what what is meant by the requirement to "utilize the services of the Russian tour company"? Does it involve buying a certain number of tours, spending a certain amount of money, or -- ? Is getting a visa a long, laborious, and expensive process?

 

Would appreciate any advice from cruisers who have visited St. Petersburg and didn't limit themselves to Oceania's shore excursions.

[Mura]

You have two options.

 

Get your own visa. This is what we did back in 2001, but at the time the agencies that NOW exist which provide group visas did not exist. It was expensive but not impossible for us -- we live in NYC and we just went to a visa service -- and in fact using a service somehow came out cheaper than going to the embassy (which was not an option at the time).

 

We used the visa service because our guide was an individual who could NOT provide the required letter. We were traveling with Renaissance which did not provide such a letter. Perhaps Oceania does now.

 

You don't need that letter if you use ship's tours or groups like Red October and others which provide a group visa.

 

However, you cannot -- I repeat -- CANNOT walk off on your own. If you have your own visa, you can.

 

If the ship's tours satisfy you, or if you use a group like Red October (I'm not recommending them, that's just the one name I'm recalling at the moment -- do a search for other outfits, many have been recommended by earlier passengers) -- then you don't need your own visa.

 

Back in 2001 we had a recommended guide who charged all of $60/day to take us around. She got wise as to undercharging! If we went back today I think we'd book with one of the "small group" tours.

 

Getting your own visa means that indeed you can go around on your own. If you have a group visa, you MUST stay with the group. That's the case if you are with a ship's tour or with your own private group.

 

Have I repeated that enough??

 

I think you may be over-interpreting the requirements, however. If you use Red October or one of the other groups, you won't have to worry about buying a certain number of tours, etc. You will tell them you have a group of 8 or so people, and the number of days you want the service *(usually 1, 2 or 3 depending how long you are in SPB) and they will give you a price. It generally works out to much less than booking a bundle of ship's tours.

 

It's a lot easier now than it was when we were in St. Petersburg in 2001.

 

Mura

 

Mura

[LHT28]

1)Are you going to be doing a tour on your own ?

You will need to apply for an individual VISA

 

2)Are you wanting to go with a licensed guide? (recommended)

 

3) doing ships tours ?

 

2 & 3 NO INDIVIDUAL VISA required you will be covered by the group/blanket VISA of the tour company but you must stay with the guide

There are several recommended guide Alla, SPB-TOURS, Denrus, Red October just to name a few

most do the same itinerary & cost is very much the same pricing

smaller groups than ships tours

Join the Roll Call for your sailing others may have a group tour already booked & willing to share

 

 

[Paulchili]

St Petersburg is NOT the place to do DIY tours IMO for several reason:

1 Obtaining Russian visas is complicated and expensive

2 Unless you can speak and read Russian, you'll have trouble communicating and getting around

3 Sights are spread far and wide and transportation/taxis are not reliable.

4 tour companies jump the long lines to busy sights like Hermitage, Catherine's Palace, etc

This is a place to take ship's tour or better yet, sign up with one of many reliable local agencies (SPB, Alla's, etc). They will take care of your visas.

Do a research for recommended companies on Ports of Call boards.

Enjoy SPB

[Janet-]

We used Alla Tours and were very satisfied. We had to give them our passport details in advance. We took our emailed confirmation with us through immigration and had no problems.

[fairbourne]

We are recently back from a Baltic cruise on Regent (she says slipping that in quietly!)

 

We did their included tours and we were glad we did for every reason Paulchilli says. We did consider taking private tours but to be honest we were glad we didn't as the way Regent organised these tours I don't think it would have been any better done - there were approx 20/25 on a coach. We were very safe, transported in comfortable, clean coaches and all our guides spoke excellent English. It was an ideal first visit to St Petersburg. We did see private tours heading off with maybe 10 or 12 folk in a minibus, which to me defeats the point really, in this case with already included tours. Unless you did it just as a couple, it wouldn't be worth it IMHO. All the guides use whisper headsets so you can wander off a bit and still hear the guide, none of this crowding around to hear! But you are on Oceania, so some of my waffle above may not be relevant and you would have to work out the costs and whether it makes more sense to do private tours which can be cheaper than the ships excursions. The only thing I would say, the traffic in and around St Petersburg can be horrendous, so for that alone, it may be safer sticking with the ships excursions as you know they won't leave without you! We were I think on every tour never back at the time we were expected back. We watched people coming back just in time on the last day from their private tours! Everything was ready to go apart from the gangway and the captain was pacing! :eek:

 

We did speak to others who did private tours and were happy with them. I would suggest looking up some of the roll calls for suggestions of private tour guides. They will all arrange this blanket visa for you. All you need to get off the ship is your passport and your tour ticket. You will go through immigration every time you get off and back on the ship. They are very serious immigration people, don't get smart and huff and puff if there is a long queue (they will make you wait longer if they see you kicking up or being smart, as they did to one lady who huffed and puffed at the time it was taking! They did a very thorough check of her passport, very, very, very slowly!!). You will get your passport stamped only the first time you go through immigration but they look at this stamp in your passport and your tour ticket every time. We found it helped to have our passports opened at the page with the stamp on.

 

The guides keep a close eye on everyone and you must stay with the group, whether ship's tour or private.

 

We were so lucky we got into places like the Hermitage before the doors opened to the public and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Our guide there gave us the option of staying with the group or going off on our own and being back at the meeting point at a certain time. We chose the latter, so we did literally have most of the rooms to ourselves. The tours were all very efficiently organised.

 

Driving through St Petersburg, we did think there were lots of places we would have liked to have spent time exploring, but that would be for another time and for a longer visit, not a short cruise stop. There is just so much to see.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Here is the explanation from our confirmation letter: Those not participating in an Oceania Cruises shore excursion and wishing to visit Russia independently must obtain a Russian Tourist Visa.

 

If you have not yet visited the Northern Europe Port of Call board, do so immediately. The question of visas comes up regularly precisely because of misleading information from all the cruise companies. And the letter you've quoted -- which I assume is from Oceania -- is no different.

 

The letter suggests you have two choices: touring with the ship's excursions or visiting Russia independently. In fact, you have a third option -- touring with a private licensed St. Petersburg agency -- which doesn't require you to actually obtain a visa. (When I write about avoiding a visa, I'm talking about the full up application to a foreign consulate which involves money and temporarily surrendering your passport for a visa stamp. You certainly can't walk off the ship and stroll around St. Petersburg as you'll be able to do on the other ports on this same itinerary.)

 

In using the services of a private tour company, you are agreeing to stay with your tour guide throughout the visit. There is some wiggle room to that statement. For example, if you want to visit the ballet at night, your tour guide will not sit with you in the theater. You'll be dropped off and picked up for the performance. Some tour guides will let you walk independently in a limited area to do some limited shopping. If some independence is important to you, be sure to ask the tour company about their policies. If you want total independence, you will have to do the full formal visa application at a Russian consulate. The Northern European board -- not this board -- is the best place to discuss how a ocean-cruiser can obtain a visa. It likely involves leaving the ship and staying in a hotel for the time you'll be in St. Petersburg.

 

You are further obligated to utilize the services of the Russian tour company that provides the visa support letter. After receiving the visa support letter you will need to directly contact the Russian Embassy for your travel visa.

 

 

No. Total misinformation! There is no "after..." working with a licensed tour company -- no two-step process. The Russian tour company will send you tour tickets. These may not look like visa stamps, but they are legal and they work. (I assume that the tour agency pre-registers cruise visitors in some way, much like a formal visa pre-clears tourists for entry. But the fact is that whatever is going on behind the scenes for cruise visitors using a licensed agency is transparent to the guest. We do not have any contact with the Russian consulate to get a visa.)

 

The ticket states the dates of your visit, the times you'll be off the ship, your name, the name of the St. Petersburg agency with whom you'll be touring. Some tour companies add other identifying information like birth date, but basically, that tour ticket combined with your passport will get you through passport control successfully.

 

Have any of you past Baltic cruisers had any experience with this? Is there a "licensed Russian tour company" that you can recommend?

 

There are about ten excellent tour companies. (Consider looking at the rankings on Trip Advisor) These companies differ slightly so visit their web sites and write to perhaps four or five whose web site appeals to you. For example, some companies offer somewhat slower paced tours for cruisers with mobility or stamina issues. Others provide box lunches to maximize touring time. Others believe eating in local restaurants is an important part of the Russian experience and include somewhat longer lunch stops. Some are better for families traveling with children. Some help individual cruisers form small groups on their web sites. (For the companies that don't form groups, use your roll call to create your own tour group.)

 

We used the services of White Nights Travel and simply loved our experience. (My husband and I traveled as a pair; we were not part of a small group.)

 

Here's the link to White Nights Travel's web site:

http://www.wn-travel.com/

 

Like every other quality tour company, this company offers one, two, and three-day itineraries to match length of a port call. There are several options for each type. For example, there are three one-day options and five two-day options.

 

If you take nothing else away from this post, visit the Northern European board regularly. That way you'll be able to filter out the misinformation given out by the cruise lines and get advice on which of the many beautiful and fascinating St. Petersburg destinations you should visit.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[Pet Nit Noy]

The only thing I would say, the traffic in and around St Petersburg can be horrendous, so for that alone, it may be safer sticking with the ships excursions as you know they won't leave without you! We were I think on every tour never back at the time we were expected back. We watched people coming back just in time on the last day from their private tours! Everything was ready to go apart from the gangway and the captain was pacing! :eek:

 

I'm sorry, but the image of a captain pacing is appalling. I'm not saying your captain didn't pace, but why do so in plain view of the guests? What did he hope to accomplish? Was his pacing going to bring back the cruisers one minute earlier? I certainly don't want my captain to be putting on a public display of anxiety and disapproval! Your take-away from this experience is a vote for ship's excursions. My take away is that the captain needs a refresher course in leadership and public relations.

 

You've shared your anecdote so I'll share mine. Our visit to St. Petersburg was our second visit. As a result, we knew none of the standard tours, whether ship's excursions or private companies' offerings, would be appropriate for us. We found a tour company, White Nights Travel, that would totally customize a two-day port call. This meant that the company had to organize a unique itinerary. It's easy to keep repeating an itinerary; the tour company gets to know the fluctuations for traffic or density of visitors depending on time of time of day. However, our itinerary was new and likely never to be repeated. Nevertheless, our company knew what they were doing. We had satisfying visits to every place on our itinerary, delicious restaurant lunches, and, despite some appalling traffic, always arrived back at the ship exactly when we planned to be there, well in advance of sail away.

 

Now, your one experience doesn't mean a whole lot more than the one experience I've detailed. But the fact remains that the private tour companies stay in business by making sure their guests get back to the ship on time. The first time a company causes its guests to miss the ship, that news would be all over the internet.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[StanandJim]

It seems to me that it is the the Guests who need a refresher course in "Everything isn't all about me" :p

 

Between the Port workers and the people on the ship (both passengers and crew) that late Tour was inconveniencing hundreds of people, and risking big overtime charges, fines and fees for the Cruise Line. I wonder how blameless you would hold them if their lateness cost you money? :confused:

 

Oblivious tardiness is one reason why the Contract of Carriage had to be amended:

 

Section 23, paragraph 2:

Should the actions, or inactions of any Guest(s) result in the Ship not sailing at its scheduled departure time, Carrier shall assess Late Departure Fees, beginning at $1,000.00 per Guest, to said Guest(s) for any departure that is delayed more than 15 minutes beyond the scheduled departure time, to cover the costs levied against Carrier by Port Authorities, governmental and quasi governmental agencies, as agreed and liquidated damages.

 

Perhaps a bit of pacing was warranted.......for everyone involved! :eek:

 

 

[sammiedawg]

We had a great experience with SPB, they emailed a document we used to get off the ship. It was so easy to do a comprehensive multi day tour with them and we saw at least double the sites offered by ship tours. There were optional event cultural activities as well.

In a million years I would not DIY in this city for a multitude of reasons. The important sites of St Catherine Palace and Peterhof are not remotely close together, you need to be with a driver and guide.

Other highly rated private companies include Alla, Red October, Denrus., TJ, etc. We had quotes from all of them and it was difficult to choose which one. SPB customized our tour to some extent and they chose a terrific younger guide who related well to Americans and our young people loved him.

Edited October 15, 2015 by sammiedawg

[Pet Nit Noy]

Between the Port workers and the people on the ship (both passengers and crew) that late Tour was inconveniencing hundreds of people, and risking big overtime charges, fines and fees for the Cruise Line. I wonder how blameless you would hold them if their lateness cost you money? :confused:

 

No one is arguing about the potential costs of the group's lateness, but lacking any further information, it's quite a reach to claim the group's behavior was all about them. After all, ship's excursions occasionally return late. In those cases, no one claims the ship's excursion behavior was all about them. We have no clue why this group was late. Simply that it was.

 

But I'm not talking about avoiding blame. I'm talking about a public display.

 

Perhaps a bit of pacing was warranted.......for everyone involved! :eek:

 

Then we'll just agree to disagree. I don't want my presidents, generals, admirals, governors, CEOs, Chief of Police, ship's captains, etc to publicly pace.

[LHT28]

If the ship's tour is already included in your fare it it an option but why would anyone want to be on a bus with 25-50 people when they can do a tour with 10-12 sometimes less passengers

What happens when the ship's tour bus gets stuck in traffic ...the Captain will pace also

The private tours guides in Russia & elsewhere have the phone number of the Port Agent & if there is a problem they will contact them

 

All this scaremongering to get people on ship's tours is ridiculous it is not worth the guide's reputation to be late back to the ship

 

I have seen ships tour late back because some passengers cannot tell time or are just too selfish to be back on the bus when they are told thus holding up the whole busload of passengers

 

YMMV

Edited October 15, 2015 by LHT28

[StanandJim]

I have seen ships tour late back because some passengers cannot tell time or are just too selfish to be back on the bus when they are told thus holding up the whole bus of passengers

 

That happens with private tours also, as I KNOW that you well know.:p

 

By the way, 12 in a van or minibus isn't any more comfortable than 25 on a full sized bus, IMHO. The difference is in having control over the Tour content.

[LHT28]

That happens with private tours also, as I KNOW that you well know.:p

 

By the way, 12 in a van or minibus isn't any more comfortable than 25 on a full sized bus, IMHO. The difference is in having control over the Tour content.

 

yes 12 in a minivan is a challenge :D

Easier to coral 10-12 people than 30 though

 

Most of my private tours people were back on time some even earlier

[BenMurphy]

We had a great experience with SPB, they emailed a document we used to get off the ship. It was so easy to do a comprehensive multi day tour with them and we saw at least double the sites offered by ship tours. There were optional event cultural activities as well.

In a million years I would not DIY in this city for a multitude of reasons. The important sites of St Catherine Palace and Peterhof are not remotely close together, you need to be with a driver and guide.

Other highly rated private companies include Alla, Red October, Denrus., TJ, etc. We had quotes from all of them and it was difficult to choose which one. SPB customized our tour to some extent and they chose a terrific younger guide who related well to Americans and our young people loved him.

 

Hi

I must agree with the above post!

So much easier to do with a "local" guide.

We used "Dancing Bear " tours. Our guide was most informative and spoke perfect English,

She had the knowledge of which places to visit and when thus missing many of the crowds ,

They will arrange and email your visa to you,which you show when leaving the ship.

Guides have to be licenced by the Russian tourist board,so you will be perfectly safe. And they know the ships arrival/departure times so there's no chance of missing the ship.

Have a great visit

regards,

Josie

 

have a great visit

[fairbourne]

I'm sorry, but the image of a captain pacing is appalling. I'm not saying your captain didn't pace, but why do so in plain view of the guests? What did he hope to accomplish? Was his pacing going to bring back the cruisers one minute earlier? I certainly don't want my captain to be putting on a public display of anxiety and disapproval! Your take-away from this experience is a vote for ship's excursions. My take away is that the captain needs a refresher course in leadership and public relations.

 

Oh for goodness sake .... All of what you've interpreted from my comment is ridiculous. The tour was late back and the ship's crew had packed away the red carpet etc., and one security/officer chap was left on the dock waiting for the tour guests to return. The captain was not publically pacing as you've assumed incorrectly, nor was he displaying any of the "attributes " you wrongly claim and he certainly does not need any of your suggested refresher courses!

 

We happened to be sitting where we could see the bridge wing - the officers and the captain were watching what was going on on the dock, as they do every time the ship leaves its berth, in addition to the million and one other things they have to attend to at this time - no Captain wishes to be late leaving their berth for all the reasons J and S mentioned. If you have ever watched this very busy time for the Captain and the senior officers you would know that they do not take their eye off the ball when their ship is ready to go and the to-ing and fro-ing on the bridge is fascinating to watch. So I could have said they were ALL pacing! :eek:

 

 

My "take-away" from this is that on this occasion, we were happy with our choice. I also said that others had chosen to do private tours and they were happy with their choice. It was not a vote for ships excursions but this time it worked out well for us. Pheeeeew!

 

 

.

 

For everyone else, for somewhere like St Petersburg it was merely an observation I made from our experiences that traffic was very heavy, it is an enormous city and it takes a lot of time to get from one place to another, which other posters have reiterated. I was not advocating, nor scaremongering (where did that come from?) in any way that people should not take private tours if they so choose. Only that it was something that someone might want to consider as some folk can be anxious to get back to the ship on time. This is the first time we have taken ships excursions and we had all the doubts beforehand about being part of a larger group, no control etc., and you know what, we went with the flow and it was absolutely fine. This time.

 

I'm sorry OP that your original question has turned into a bit of a stooshie on here - I hope you have a wonderful time when you visit this fascinating city. :)

[Mura]

Regarding tardiness on tours, I can't recall a time on a private tour where this is a problem.

 

But at the same time as I say that, I also have to say that I can't recall this being a problem on ship's tours either -- at least not in the past 5 years or so. I do recall on a tour to Delphi (with Renaissance in 2000 so this is almost 16 years ago) there was one couple on the bus that never made it back to the bus on time. They didn't even pretend to apologize for holding everyone else up. They were rather unpopular with the rest of us ...

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

Regarding tardiness on tours, I can't recall a time on a private tour where this is a problem.

 

But at the same time as I say that, I also have to say that I can't recall this being a problem on ship's tours either -- at least not in the past 5 years or so. I do recall on a tour to Delphi (with Renaissance in 2000 so this is almost 16 years ago) there was one couple on the bus that never made it back to the bus on time. They didn't even pretend to apologize for holding everyone else up. They were rather unpopular with the rest of us ...

 

Mura

 

People like that deserve to be left behind just once - I bet they would never try that again :D

[Pet Nit Noy]

We happened to be sitting where we could see the bridge wing - the officers and the captain were watching what was going on on the dock, as they do every time the ship leaves its berth, in addition to the million and one other things they have to attend to at this time - no Captain wishes to be late leaving their berth for all the reasons J and S mentioned. If you have ever watched this very busy time for the Captain and the senior officers you would know that they do not take their eye off the ball when their ship is ready to go and the to-ing and fro-ing on the bridge is fascinating to watch. So I could have said they were ALL pacing!

 

Good grief! Suggest you look up the definition of "pacing." While there are many definitions, none suggests the purposeful to-ing and fro-ing you've just described. On the contrary, many sources include a definition like the following: "walking at a steady speed, especially back and forth, as an expression of one's anxiety or annoyance."

 

Usage: "We paced up and down in exasperation"

 

Ship's officers who are going to and fro fulfilling their regular assignments are not pacing according to any conventional use of the word.

 

We only know what happened based on what any of us write, so I suggest before you blow up at me, you re-consider your use of the word "pace/pacing" unless you actually mean it.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[fairbourne]

Good grief! Suggest you look up the definition of "pacing." While there are many definitions, none suggests the to-ing and fro-ing you've just described. On the contrary, many sources include a definition like the following: "walking at a steady speed, especially back and forth,

 

I think you missed an OR here

 

as an expression of one's anxiety or annoyance."

 

Usage: "We paced up and down in exasperation"

 

Ship's officers who are going to and fro fulfilling their regular assignments are not pacing according to any conventional use of the word.

 

We only know what happened based on what any of us write, so I suggest before you blow up at me, you re-consider your use of the word "pace/pacing" unless you actually mean it.

 

 

 

Pacing - moving back and fore - to-ing and fro-ing - at a steady speed is only one of several definitions and is exactly what I meant without the added anxiety, annoyance or exasperation. Here are some more meanings for you - I paced myself whilst writing this so as not to put adverse strain on my wrists as I type. I also paced myself at supper this evening as I wanted to save room for pudding! And oh yes, I paced myself whilst walking the dogs this afternoon as my dodgy hip is playing up. None of this with the slightest hint of exasperation, anxiety or annoyance.

 

The problem here is you assumed (and we all know what assume did!) a whole load of scenarios - time to pace yourself I feel! Oh and btw I don't blow up at anyone, simply because I paced myself whilst considering my response. :rolleyes: Anyway, you think what you want. I was there. :)

[Leejnd4]

Well...I'm going to refrain from getting into the "pacing kerfuffle" :p and just offer some good advice based on first-hand experience to the OP.

 

Many posts above have given you solid information about Russian visas and tours. But I want to emphasize one important point, which tripped up quite a few of my fellow cruisers when I did a Baltics cruise:

 

You do not need a Russian visa to take a tour with any of the established private tour companies!

 

This includes SPB, Red October, Anastasia (whom we used and LOVED), and many others. If you pre-book your private tour, they will provide you with all the documentation you need to exit the ship and meet your tour guide right off the ship. You will NOT need any additional documents or visas, or to pay any additional fees. Just your tour ticket is all you need.

 

I'm highlighting this because it is very common, and apparently still in practice, for the cruise lines to provide extremely confusing and contradictory information about the need for Russian visas. I can't say that Oceania does, but I've seen recent cruise docs from other lines in which they carefully word their information to make it appear you need a visa for any tours other than the ship's. The reason they do this is quite obviously to motivate you to use the ship tours. And if you prefer the simplicity of using the ship tours, that's fine...although in virtually every case you are going to get a better, and far less costly, experience with a private tour company than with the ship tours.

 

I want to emphasize this again: Do not pay attention to any information you get from the cruise line that indicates that you will need a Russian visa for a private tour! We were hit up HARD by our cruise line, Crystal, insisting that if we booked any tour other than theirs, we would have to pre-arrange for a visa. Just to be safe I even called them and spoke directly to their "documentation expert", who blatantly lied to me on the phone and insisted that if I booked a tour with Anastasia and didn't get a Russian visa, I would not be allowed off the ship.

 

It wasn't true. In spite of what we were told we went ahead and booked with Anastasia, we didn't get a visa, and we waltzed off the ship right to our guide. And their lying to me really put a damper on my enthusiasm for my first Crystal cruise. (Fortunately they made up for it in spades by providing the best cruise experience I've had to date...but it was definitely an ignominious start.)

 

The ONLY time you will need a Russian visa is if you truly plan on going off all by yourself, with no guide...which, as many have commented above, is really not a good idea in St. Petersburg, for a variety of reasons.

 

I encourage you to use your roll call thread to arrange for a small group, and use one of the private companies to get a small van. That's what we did, and we were able to plan our own tours, visiting the sites we wanted to see, without large buses or waiting in long lines.

 

This remains a pet peeve of mine, as I consider it an ethical lapse for a cruise line to knowingly mislead their passengers. I've been told that they are doing in "for the passengers' own good" because the visa situation "is complicated", but in truth it's really not. It's quite simple: if you tour with a licensed tour company, you don't need a visa. If you go off with no tour guide, you do. Pretty straightforward.

[StanandJim]

We only know what happened based on what any of us write, so I suggest before you blow up at me, you re-consider your use of the word "pace/pacing" unless you actually mean it.

 

It seems to me that the conversation in this thread has been quite respectful, but of course, different people read different things into the narrative.

 

For example, in Post 8 of this thread, you were adamant that, and I quote, "tour companies stay in business by making sure their guests get back to the ship on time.", my takeaway is that said Tour Company(s) will override Guest requests to extend the tour itinerary if there is a chance of transportation delays at days end

......resulting in a virtually guaranteed on time arrival, back at the ship.

 

Obviously, one or the other of those alternatives was compromised "on the day", because that Tours' return to the ship was......well...... pace provoking. :p

[tropicalkerry2002]

We had 3 days in St. Pete in 2012. I booked 2 full days, totalling approx 20 hours, thinking on the 3rd day we would just chill and enjoy the ship.

 

AS the cruise approached, I started looking more and more at a 4 hour "Subways and Shopping" type tour that O was offering, thinking I would like to see daily life. I contacted SPB, and they were quite willing to arrange a similar tour, so we could experience subway, Nevsky Prospect, and a market. The price per person was MUCH better than O's tour, but I had to have a minimum # of people...the same number as on the 2 other days of touring.

 

I emailed the others, and of course, everyone was most interested, so we had that all settled.

 

On our first day of touring, we weren't even halfway through the day, but we were all looking rather overwhelmed and jet lagged. Our wonderful guide asked if we would rather make our now 24 hours of touring into 3 days of 8 hours each. Bless her heart! We all agreed we would prefer that.

 

It was great! Meals were included for the first 2 days, and on the 3rd day, we were at a side street off Nevsky Prospect that had 3 or 4 restaurants, and we could go to whichever we wanted for lunch, so we weren't all together at that point.

 

We also used SPB for a Berlin Tour. Well worth the 3 hour bus trip each way. It was a fabulous city, and now we know we would like to spend more time there ...someday!

[buggins0402]

We just signed up for a Baltic cruise on Marina in July. It appears that we will need a Russian tourist visa if we want to do any independent exploring in St. Petersburg. Here is the explanation from our confirmation letter:

 

Those not participating in an Oceania Cruises shore excursion and wishing to visit Russia independently must obtain a Russian Tourist Visa. Visas cannot be obtained during the cruise. You are required to be sponsored by a licensed Russian tour company that will provide you with the necessary visa support letter and documentation.

 

You are further obligated to utilize the services of the Russian tour company that provides the visa support letter. After receiving the visa support letter you will need to directly contact the Russian Embassy for your travel visa.

Have any of you past Baltic cruisers had any experience with this? Is there a "licensed Russian tour company" that you can recommend? Does anyone know what what is meant by the requirement to "utilize the services of the Russian tour company"? Does it involve buying a certain number of tours, spending a certain amount of money, or -- ? Is getting a visa a long, laborious, and expensive process?

 

Would appreciate any advice from cruisers who have visited St. Petersburg and didn't limit themselves to Oceania's shore excursions.

 

We have visited Moscow independently with a visa on a land trip. We have also cruised to St. Petersburg. For the cruise we used one of the major tour companies, joining a small group tour set up by a roll call member.

 

Before the cruise I researched going independent and getting a visa (we prefer the flexibility of touring on our own). The cost of the visa through a processor would have exceeded the cost of the two day tour. As mentioned by Paul, the tours cut through the aggravation of getting transportation, lines, obtaining tickets and so forth. There is no way someone doing an independent visit could see as much as what is on the tours...these companies have the itineraries down to a science. And, the lines can be horrendous.

 

The negative with regards to using a tour is one does not really get a feel for the city, the people and its culture....you just run from site to site. So, if "feeling" the city is important to you, it might be worth it to you to get a visa. Rick Steves in his Baltic Ports guide book does have an itinerary that does look interesting for the DIY visitor.

 

Here's a tip if you go decide to join a roll call group...look for someone setting up a group of 6. Two of the people who had committed to the tour we were on were no shows. The price differential between a tour for 6 rather than 8, was only $25. The small difference in price for a two day tour was well worth it.

Edited October 15, 2015 by buggins0402

[Mura]

People like that deserve to be left behind just once - I bet they would never try that again :D

 

Especially since Delphi was a 3 hour's drive from our Athens hotels ...

 

Mura