Best way to disembark in St.Petersburg

[Tair]

Hello,

Could someone kindly advise what is the best way to disembark when we arrive in St.Petersburg to take the Alla tour? We are first time cruisers and heard it could take more than an hour waiting on line.

Thank you for your help.

Tair

[leenie29]

Hello,

Could someone kindly advise what is the best way to disembark when we arrive in St.Petersburg to take the Alla tour? We are first time cruisers and heard it could take more than an hour waiting on line.

Thank you for your help.

Tair

 

We were on the NCL Jewel last month and also did an Alla tour (it was amazing!). Yes the line can be very long but it doesn't take that long to get through it, it's a pretty quick procedure to go through once you get through the cruise's disembarkation line. So get to ship's disembarking area before they allow you off the ship and wait. This way you'll be ahead of the cruise's tours which usually have to wait in the theater until the ship is cleared. It's really not as bad as it seems and I did with two impatient kids and an impatient husband.

 

Eileen

[moomax6]

We just returned from a Baltic cruise and were able to get right off the ship to meet our Alla tour guide. Our ship announcements told us that we couldn't get off until all of the ship tours had departed, but I had read about this on CC and knew it wasn't true. We were ready to get off the ship as soon as the ramp was ready and went off without any problem and right through immigration. There were no separate lines for ship tours and private tours. Our guide told us that it is illegal for the ships to say this and unfair to the small private tour companies. I don't know if it is illegal, but it does seem unfair to the private guides. Just have your passport, Alla ticket and copy of your passport ready and you shouldn't have any problems. Alla is very organized and we had a great tour with EKaterina.

[little britain]

We too were on an Alla tour last month - everyone on a private tour was asked to meet in a lounge at 7.25 (the 'naughty room' I called it!!!). Anyway at 7.40 we were asked to go down stairs, and we were off and through customs by 7.50. This was on Century and couldn't have been easier. On the first day, have your tour ticket, passport, passport photocopy the the ID page in hand, they will take the photocopy, stamp the passport and give you a red laminated card which is your pass into the city (and ignore the tour ticket LOL!).

There were 5 lines for customs - 4 were for X tours and one for private but they couldn't care less and we were directed to the shortest line. We had a great time with Ekaterina over the 2 days and would totally recommend her.

[stunnedinva]

Here's what Alla sent us last month:

 

Disembarkation instructions

 

Dear guests.

Our company, your guides and drivers are waiting for your arrival to St Petersburg. These are the last minute instructions for our fast and easy meeting and your informative and smooth touring in St Petersburg.

 

1. Majority of the cruise ships arrive in St Petersburg at the early hours in the morning. It takes about 30 minutes for the Russian immigration authorities to clear the ship. As soon as the ship is cleared all passengers are allowed to disembark the ship regardless to which company they have booked their tours with.
   
2. Please be aware of the change of time in each port of call. Usually time should be shifted ahead for 1 hour at each port of call. Please check with the ship’ information centre on how to adjust your watches to the correct St Petersburg’s time.
   
3. Please be aware that disembarkation in the morning of arrival will be more intensive and hectic and it might take about 30-40 minutes of staying in line to the passport control. Please take it into account when planning for the time of heading to the ship’s exit.
   
4. To pass through the immigration control in Russia you would be asked for your valid passport, copy of your passport (color or black & white) and tour ticket which proves your booking a tour with a Russian travel company and is regarded as you visa. These three documents are the only ones you will need! No other documents of any sort like confirmations of anything or letters of invitation to whenever are required.
   
5. Please don’t forget the tickets at home. If it happened that your tickets are forgotten or lost somehow on the way you would need to e-mail us from the ship requesting the new set of tickets. For fast and correct actions from our side please indicate in the subject line “Urgent – new set of tickets is required” and indicate in your direct e-mail the name of your ship, dates of your stay in St Petersburg and first and last name of the persons who require the new tickets. The more information you give to us then faster we’ll be able to find your set of tickets in our files. Please use the following e-addresses: info@alla-tour.com and allatour2008@gmail.com or call us at +7 911 932 66 33 (cell phone is on 24h).
    
   Those who have registered in our new message exchange program and have entered their passport information in the booking form are able to print their tour tickets any time from their personal account.
   
6. Be sure that you are well acquainted with your tour program in St Petersburg which we provided you with. If you don’t have your St Petersburg’ itinerary, please request it and within 24 hours we’ll e-mail it to your inbox. Tour program is the only document which regulates your exact timing and activity in St Petersburg. Please, pay special attention to the time of the start of your program. Please, don’t be late to the start of the tour (see ##1, 2, 3).
   
7. Your driver and guide will be in the port waiting for you at the ship in some 15-30 minutes prior the meeting time appointed in your tour program. You will recognize your guide after the company’s sign "ALLA TOURS".
    
   - If you got off the ship earlier the appointed time and see nobody with this sign, don’t worry, just wait some 5-10 minutes.
    
   - If you are late, your guide and driver will be waiting for you for not less then 1 hour.
    
   Please don’t be late for the meeting with your guide, especially if you are a part of a group!
   
8. Disembarkation in St.-Petersburg is very easy and fast process and the way how it will go in your particular case depends very much on your knowledge and understanding the rules:
    
   a) All passengers onboard are equal and each passenger has the right to disembark the ship at the time which will make it possible to meet the guide/representative of the tour operator and start the tour on time indicated in the tour ticket.
    
   b) There is no difference for the Russian immigration office/officers between the passengers based on the tour operator they have booked their tour with. The only duty of the Russian authorities is to check the documents of the passengers (passports, tour tickets or visas) but not to sort the passengers due to any characteristic.
    
   c) The main document for each passenger to disembark the ship is the tour tickets. Tour ticket is unique document for each Russian tour operator and might have different look and design. But tour tickets of all tour operators should contain the following information: name of the passenger, citizenship, name of the ship, valid date of use, tour program of the day and starting time of the tour.
    
   
   
9. Cruise line administration might try to create different obstacles on the way off the ship for the passengers booked tours independently. There could be different ways of providing passengers with false information regarding disembarkation in St Petersburg, but the most common way is the informative letter brought into the cabins in few days prior arrival to St Petersburg. The information might be of the following sort:
    
   a) tourists booked tours independently are asked to gather at a certain place for disembarkation together where they will be waiting for the “special invitation” for disembarkation which might be after 9:30am. Please, don’t follow such instructions. For correct actions please read carefully ##1, 2, 3.
    
   b) Tourists can be given round-shaped stickers (just like the tourists who booked the cruise sponsored tours) with a number which will be far away from 1 to 10 and which later will indicate the order of disembarkation of the groups. Stickers with first numbers will be given to the passengers booked cruise sponsored tours and the last numbers of stickers will be given to those attending private tours. After clearance of the ship passengers are invited to disembarkation in accordance to their stickers’ numbers. Thus, tourists who have booked private tours will be invited to go ashore after all cruise line sponsored groups have left the ship. It might be after 9:30am. Please, don’t wait for the special invitation. When disembarking the ship you won’t need any stickers. For correct actions please read carefully ##1, 2, 3 and pay attention to what you will be really asked for at #4.
    
   c) cruise information might announce of the “new rules” for disembarkation set up by the Russian immigration authorities due to which disembarkation for private groups is allowed only after a certain time. For your correct actions please read carefully ##1, 2, 3.
    
   IN CASE OF RECEIVING INFORMATION LISTED at #9 a), b), c) OR ALIKE, PLEASE ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH YOUR BEST INTERESTS AND RULES LISTED at #8 a), b), c). IT WILL MAKE YOUR WAY OFF THE SHIP EASY, FAST AND SMOOTH.
    
   

[Tair]

Thank you all so very much for your extremely helpful information. Tair

[pattyj 1204]

I also want to thank you for taking the time to post the above information. It seems to me that the ships should not try to obstruct any legitimate passenger from leaving the ship. We'll see how this is going to wash out on our cruise in 18 days.

[stunnedinva]

I also want to thank you for taking the time to post the above information. It seems to me that the ships should not try to obstruct any legitimate passenger from leaving the ship. We'll see how this is going to wash out on our cruise in 18 days.

 

It seems that many cruiselines do this, unfortunately. NCL didn't make a big deal about it in advance; when we came down to disembark and didn't have a sticker for one of their shore excursions, the crew just told us to go back up to Deck 5 and wait for the announcement for disembarkation (which would be made after all their excursions had left the ship). Instead, we followed Alla's instructions, ignored the crew, and soldiered on with the rest of the "legitimate" shorex-ers and probably saved 45 precious minutes of our first day's tour from being lost. :D

[nabby]

I want to thank you for the info too. I'm just hoping that by the time we are there (late August) they will be so tired of dealing with angry passengers that they will just let everyone go without giving them a hard time. ;)

[Moose Tracks]

We were on Century in 2007 and had the same experience as Little Britain. A few days prior to arriving in St. P. we were given a survey asking about our private tour particulars...I suppose anyone not on a ship's shore excursion received this paper. Our group were to meet Alla Tours for 8:00, but we all put our meeting time as 7:30 on the survey. We were told by the ship to meet in one of the lounges at about 7:15 and were off the ship before 7:30 (we were in fact one of the first groups of people off). Only took a few minutes to clear customs and we were on our way. Elena was there waiting for us. The second day you could just get off whenever you wanted...no need to go to a lounge and wait to be called. You'll love St. Petersburg.

Lynn

[7SeasLover]

We had heard rumors that we would not be allowed to leave the ship unless were were on a ship's tour. At our meet and greet, we asked the captain if this was true and he said absolutely not.

 

We walked right off the ship, however, the concierge escorted our group. He took us to a check-out counter that was not yet open. As our group exited the elevator we saw a huge line of folks waiting to get off. One man yelled out, "Hey! The line is back there!" (He didn't realize we were following the concierge.) Other than that there was no problem getting off the ship.

[kristacpa]

Just off the Crown Princess today...and we had a very stress free time disembarking in St. Petersburg. Our Princess Patter indicated that everyone on independent tours or visas would have to meet in the Michaelangelo dining room to get a gangway pass to disembark beginning at 0630. We got there early (say 0615), got Group #1, and within 5 minutes of the Captain announcing on the speaker that we had docked in St. Petersburg at around 0645, our group number was called to be allowed off the ship.

 

Our family debated whether the language in the daily patter had changed, or whether people have just had different interpretations as to the ships "position" as it relates to how it would let those NOT on its tours disembark.

 

Our Alla tour was with Elena as well, and they really weren't quite ready for our group to be off that early!

[sbwmail]

Guests on the Carnival Splendor's first visit to St. Petersburg were not allowed to take private tours, forcing them, today, to take Carnival Sponsored tours if they wanted to leave the ship, according to John Heald's blog. Is any other cruise line having this problem?

[hxl2001]

I read the blog - It did mention a group of 80 that the Russian immigration wouldn't allow to enter because they didn't have proof of a group Visa.

 

I didn't see anything that suggested that Private tours were not allowed - hopefully the Tour Tickets we have (from Alla in our Groups case) cover the 'Group Visa' and should allow us entry.

[Mike073]

Alla's tour tickets are are your visa for her group. You will not have any problems.

[gentlemancruiser]

Alla, Denrus and Red October should give you tour tickets in advance of your arrival in ST. Petersburg. These work as your visa. If you are taking a ship excursion then you shore excursion ticket is your Visa.

[CJcruzer]

Lots of cruiselines tell you you must take their tours or buy your own visa for St. Pete.

 

When you book with alla, Denrus, Red October, part of the pricing includes the visa they apply for to cover your stay in Russia...

 

When we printed our vouchers for Denrus (last year) - there was a voucher for each day - AND the times for each day (6 out of 8 were continuing on in the evening for the folkloric show)....

 

For our folkloric show - we were dropped off back at the ship (driver and guide waited) - we had about 1/2 hour or so to freshen up, put down bags, etc.) and we were driven over to the Nikolaevsky Palace - the driver then left, guide remained with us in the theatre, and walked us back to our ship (this way we saved the expense of driver for the whole evening). We were able to do this since we were docked right in town, and the walk back to the ship was over a bridge and a few blocks.

[sbwmail]

I wish we could get the real story from the 80 who had problems, because the tour operators are reporting that all went smoothly as far as they knew that day...what happened?

[LHT28]

It sounds like they did not have the proper paperwork ..but 80 is an unusually high number for private tours to be just one operator

 

the story at http://johnhealdsblog.com/2008/07/19/good-morning-ladies-and-gentlemen-youre-not-in-kansas-anymore/#more-4259

[mrstravel]

Hi,

I am on the crown princess and have a tour booked with alla. I am a little confused. I know that I will not go in the independent tour line in the terminal. I will go in the shortest line because the Russians don't care. What I am confused about is when I go to get off the ship people are saying they just walked off and others are saying they reported to the independent tour section and got a gangway pass.

So, do I need a gangway pass and then I just get off with it but not on my turn? (after the Princess tours) or do I not get a gangway pass and just walk off? Thanks for your help.

Cheryl

[amd92602]

We just got back. Leaving the ship and going through immigration was a breeze. There is no independent tour line. Don't worry. Alla and the van were waiting for us just outside the immigration office. Have a nice time.

[SHE'SACRUISER]

We were in St.P's about a month ago and took a private tour with Alla. Our group of 8 met in one of the lounges on the first day, along with all the other independent travellers. We were escorted off the ship together and breezed through the immigration. As we passed through we handed in our photocopy of our passport and received a little card and stamp in our passport. when we returned that night the card was removed. The next day the customs agent checked our stamp and we went to join our tour guide. I just read John Heald's ( the cruise director on the new Carnival Splendour) blog from St. P. It was the first time the ship had been there and things did not go so smoothly. All passengers were suddenly told to have their photocopies stamped by the ship the day before arriving, a request from russian authorities, which turned out to be unnecessary and about 80 private tour passengers were refused entry because they did not have the right paper work. Make sure you have your tour tickets with you. We had copies of the tickets for the others on our group in case someone lost theirs. Everything was great for us so I hope you have the same enjoyable time that we did.

[Starlaker]

We just got off the Crown Princess yesterday also. What a wonderful trip. I had really stressed about getting off in SPB but thanks to all the great info I got here it went as smoothly as could be and we were the 7 & 8th people off the ship. We went down to 4 forward at 6:30 and there were 6 people already there. We all lined up and went right out as soon as they opened the check out. The crew there didn't even blink at us being there. We went straight through passport control (the Russian agent even smiled at me!) and were ready to go on our tour with Red October before 7. That put us ahead of schedule and we were able to drive around the city with hardly any people around at all. Very nice as it certainly got crowded later.

[mrstravel]

starlaker

did you have to get a gangway pass or did you just walk off?

thanks

[Starlaker]

We just walked off after checking out with our cruise card. No questions, no problems. The Russian passport officials didn't even look at our tour tickets that showed we were on a group visa with Red October.