TravelingAPor

18 minutes ago, Marselpo90 said:

as I understand it, the travel company must be registered as a tour operator, otherwise it will not be able to issue visas.

All the large, good  & top tour companies are registered.

Yes, a visit to St. Petersburg is fantastic.  Any tour company you use, will save you from getting your own Visa.

The half dozen tour companies, most popular here, are all excellent and reliable.  I would not use any small, unpopular tour companies, due to the newness of it.  They may be fantastic, but why take a chance?  You can go to Trip Advisor to check on a company.

Thank you, Hank for the suggestion.

Thanks marazul for the info.  I need to do some reading and comparing.  

I was thinking of cruising Greece, this summer and wanted to try the MSC cruises.  What do you think of my decision?  Thanks for your feedback.  I've done Italy & Croatia before and MSC seemed the best for me.

You were very lucky to be on a small ship and to dock in town.

Our ship had about 5,000 passengers and we were lucky it was not windy. I heard of a huge ship, missing the port because it was too bulky to navigate with the high winds.

I'm sure the new solution is better than last years long lines & long waits. Last year, it seemed like the whole ship got on line, at the same time. We all waited on line patiently, no one was sneaking ahead of other cruisers, on my cruise.

The Russian immigration officers took their time and grimly did their duty.

There is no reason to worry about the tour company leaving, without you. They want to get paid, at the end of your tour. No matter which company you used, the top few are all excellent! ENJOY!!! :D

That's really unprofessional of NCL. I know of one family that was able to sneak through but ended up waiting for the rest of their tour group because they were still being held inside the ship.

Last year, we used the Hydrofoil and it was an interesting boat ride. I loved the fact that Alla Tours gave us different types of transportation.

It just made it more interesting & exciting for the teenagers, in our group.

That doesn’t mean people wouldn’t appreciate a few words in their language.

Very true! Enjoy your cruise!

I found that we were able to use English, in most of the places we visited. We enjoyed our stop in Helsinki immensely.

Thanks Simon-t for your info. That certainly is not a hassle. Last year, the wait for immigration was horrible! I was exhausted before we even started. I'm happy the cruise ships found a better way to do it. Of course, the Russian tour companies, would be able to work around the situation. The new system sounds so much better than, what we endured last year.

SPB and the Baltic cruise was so awesome, I'd love to do the cruise again!!

petsgalore: Wow, last year there were rumors that ship tours had priority but it didn't happen. I can't believe they accomplished it, this year.

Thanks for your report.

It's still better to use a private tour to have a better time, on tour and to save lots of money!! Have your breakfast and take your time. The ship is going no where. ENJOY!!

The new disembarkation process, introduced this season, changes all that.

 

Folk need to be advised my those who've visited this season, rather than by you or I whose experiences are now irrelevant.

 

BTW "grim inspectors"? :confused:

Mebbe they were trained by immigration staff at Newark, New Jersey. :D

 

JB :)

Hi JB, Good to bump into you again! I agree with what you posted and am very happy things have changed for the better. My long wait, on line, is vivid, in my memory. By all means, please listen to the new cruisers that have gone through SPB!

Happy cruising everyone! :)

I'm not sure where you are getting your information (were you in SPG recently ) but on a similar thread of cruisers who have been there this year are saying about 45 minutes to go through immigration first day and much less on following days.It also depends on how many ships are in port and their capacities.

As you can see, I was on the Getaway, last July. The immigration lines at SPB were very, very long and the grim inspectors were taking their good old time, putting stamps in our passports. I heard about a fellow passenger, stuck, on a slow moving immigration line, missing her tour. Last year we were informed our wait would be 60-90 minutes. Allowing for more ships in port and other circumstances, I am recommending getting on line at least one & half hours to two hours for immigration. Things may have improved since I was on line, last July.

I'd rather be early, than miss the tour.

Everyone must go through immigration in SPB. The first day, the wait is very long and you should give yourself about 2 hours to get through the immigration line. Last year someone was late and her tour left without her. The second day, the lines will move much more quickly.

No Eileen. sadly we are not cruising or vacationing , my husband has been very sick since late summer . Hopefully in the future we can vacation again

 

I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope he has a full recovery. Thoughts and prayers are with you & your husband.:(

Yes, there are lots & lots of cobblestones in Tallinn. It is also an uphill climb with narrow stairs. I would think an umbrella stroller would be useless and you'd end up carrying the child.

TY :) Have a great summer!

Are you cruising?

Hi Pattymo,

We decided to go to Japan, in July. No cruise for us, this year.

Have a great day :D

The pick-up and drop-off would be the same for all the other SPB Tour companies. The top 3 or 4 are excellent!

There will be something like 5 ships docking the same morning we are. Will that make things exponentially slower?

Just imagine double or triple the amount of people every where you turn. It has to have some sort of impact. All those people getting their passports inspected and stamped. Imagine the long lines at immigration!

The private tour companies have a way of communicating to each other, as they approach each room in the Hermitage. My group was usually coming into a room, as the group in front of us, exits. I found it wonderful to be alone with all that wonderful art. As we left a room, I can see the next group coming in. At Catherine's Palace, it did get a little crowded. I was shocked at the amount of tourist in SPB. No matter what, you'll love it in SPB. :D:D

Very happy to hear that it is normal in SPB!

I agree... take early express walk off; lots of cabs; we did it and no wait at all.

I personally would not trust public bus when you are close for time.

Thank You!

Exactly what I said!!