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Toofarfromthesea

By Toofarfromthesea,
in MSC Cruises

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Toofarfromthesea

Toofarfromthesea

Posted
Posted

If I am in the YC and I have booked a private non-ship, excursion with one of the Russian tour companies (e.g. Alla) will I get any kind of priority disembarkation and not have to deal with the 'ship excursions first' delays? Is this a situation where the butler would escort me off the ship ahead of the lines?

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Zephyr173

Zephyr173

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Thanks TooFar for asking this question. We are in the same situation as your are, in St-P on 30 August, also with Alla. Our tour is set to go at 7:30, and the ship docks at 7:00. I've read that customs can take a good 1 1/2 hours.

But remember that being YC means that the butler will escort us from YC through an exit reserved for YC guests, that bypasses the other. So getting off the ship is really quite easy.

The rest is a mystery to me as well.

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Cruisergal1208 Great Review Rare

Cruisergal1208

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Just a heads up. Make sure when booking your own tour in St Petersburg you are covered by a visa. Last time there we were told if doing a ships tour we were covered but must purchase our own if not. Maybe things have changed by now.

 

Never mind my comments. I educated myself on this tour company and see no visa requirements. Have a fantastic tour.

Edited by Cruisergal1208
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nealjr

nealjr

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Thanks TooFar for asking this question. We are in the same situation as your are, in St-P on 30 August, also with Alla. Our tour is set to go at 7:30, and the ship docks at 7:00. I've read that customs can take a good 1 1/2 hours.

But remember that being YC means that the butler will escort us from YC through an exit reserved for YC guests, that bypasses the other. So getting off the ship is really quite easy.

The rest is a mystery to me as well.

We were in the YC and getting off at St. Petersburg we weren't escorted off by our butler. We also had a private tour with Alla and we went through customs just like everyone else.Once we cleared customs we met the tour guild outside of the building. They are aware that clearing customs can take a little longer then normal and they will adjust the tour to make up the time lost. The only time we were escorted off the ship was at disembarkation.

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nealjr

nealjr

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Just a heads up. Make sure when booking your own tour in St Petersburg you are covered by a visa. Last time there we were told if doing a ships tour we were covered but must purchase our own if not. Maybe things have changed by now.

We were there in May and had booked with a private tour company and they sent us tickets a head of time and so when we went through customs we showed them our passports and tour tickets, no visas.

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JohnIreland

JohnIreland

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We were there in May and had booked with a private tour company and they sent us tickets a head of time and so when we went through customs we showed them our passports and tour tickets, no visas.

 

The tour ticket is the link to you visa. The tour company does the paperwork on their end.

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Toofarfromthesea

Toofarfromthesea

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Thanks for the replies. I wasn't as much talking about customs so much as just getting off the ship to go through customs. I've read the stories about ships on some lines making private tour people wait until people with ship tours get off first. So I was really asking:

 

1) is this an issue on MSC as it is on other lines, and

 

2) if the answer to 1 is yes, does being in YC circumvent the issue?

 

I was thinking that if you were one of the first people off the ship you might get through customs quicker, but in any case save on-ship waiting time.

 

I probably could have expressed that better in my OP.

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nealjr

nealjr

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Thanks for the replies. I wasn't as much talking about customs so much as just getting off the ship to go through customs. I've read the stories about ships on some lines making private tour people wait until people with ship tours get off first. So I was really asking:

 

1) is this an issue on MSC as it is on other lines, and

 

2) if the answer to 1 is yes, does being in YC circumvent the issue?

 

I was thinking that if you were one of the first people off the ship you might get through customs quicker, but in any case save on-ship waiting time.

 

I probably could have expressed that better in my OP.

 

We left the ship allowing enough time to get through customs which took about 15 minutes for the three of us. The ship tours met at different places on the ship and each group left together. There wasn't a mass group of people leaving the ship at one time which lead me to believe there was different times for each group which made it easier getting through customs.

We weren't the first group off because our tour didn't meet until 1 hour after we docked so I can't tell you how many people left prior to us. All that I can tell you is that we didn't have any problems getting off the ship nor getting through customs.

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Toofarfromthesea

Toofarfromthesea

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We left the ship allowing enough time to get through customs which took about 15 minutes for the three of us. The ship tours met at different places on the ship and each group left together. There wasn't a mass group of people leaving the ship at one time which lead me to believe there was different times for each group which made it easier getting through customs.

We weren't the first group off because our tour didn't meet until 1 hour after we docked so I can't tell you how many people left prior to us. All that I can tell you is that we didn't have any problems getting off the ship nor getting through customs.

 

Thanks, very reassuring. I wouldn't have worried so much but we only have the one day in SP so there is more than the usual sense of urgency.

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Fogfog

Fogfog

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Remember--getting OFF the ship is one thing--Getting through Immigration IN St P is another.

 

Your tour should provide you the documentation which you will give the immigration officer with your passport to enter Russia. You also get a small paper Visa you keep to disembark the next day---

 

We did a private tour in St P--and provided all of our info and passport details to the tour folks. They hand;ed the visa. That form was what the Russian immigration kept when they stamped our passport etc.

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nealjr

nealjr

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One thing to remember that will back up customs if there are other ships that are disembarking at roughly the same time as your ship. When we went through customs we were the only ship at that time which made it easier. Also customs had open 6-7 stations that were checking people through which helped getting through. Check to see if you have other ships that are due to dock the same day and time.

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Toofarfromthesea

Toofarfromthesea

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One thing to remember that will back up customs if there are other ships that are disembarking at roughly the same time as your ship. When we went through customs we were the only ship at that time which made it easier. Also customs had open 6-7 stations that were checking people through which helped getting through. Check to see if you have other ships that are due to dock the same day and time.

 

Good idea, thanks.

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CruisingFox27

CruisingFox27

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One thing to remember that will back up customs if there are other ships that are disembarking at roughly the same time as your ship. When we went through customs we were the only ship at that time which made it easier. Also customs had open 6-7 stations that were checking people through which helped getting through. Check to see if you have other ships that are due to dock the same day and time.

 

Do you know where to find the details? I recall someone posted a link to a website that had the details but i can't find it now.

We're in SPB later this month and have booked an independent tour, being delayed getting of the ship is a concern.

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nealjr

nealjr

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Do you know where to find the details? I recall someone posted a link to a website that had the details but i can't find it now.

We're in SPB later this month and have booked an independent tour, being delayed getting of the ship is a concern.

 

here are a number of websites that list ships in port. I use the following:

Cruise Timetables: https://www.cruisetimetables.com/

Cruise TT: http://ports.cruisett.com/

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