Visa in St. Petersburg

We are doing the Copenhagen Cruise on April 29th on the Regal. Besides the excursions that Princess does, is there a way to see the city without a Visa?? Private companies that might be at the ship?? or might Princess bus you in like to the city like they have done at other ports?? We always like to do some things on our own. Particularly, since we have two days in St. Petersburg. Has anyone every gotten a Visa from the Russian Embassy??:D

You need to have a visa if doing a DIY.

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We did this cruise earlier this year and used SPB Tours for two days and were very happy. They handled visas as do all tour companies. St Petersburg is overwhelming, I would suggest not to DIY.

If you take an organized tour with Princess you will not require a visa. Princess provides you with a document that acts as the visa. If you pre-book a private tour with tour companies like SPB or ALLA they will provide you with a document by e-mail which acts as your visa. In all cases you are not allowed to leave the tours with the licensed tour company.

If you wish to exit the ship on your own, or leave a tour and explore on your own you will require a Russian visa. Just a comment, if you book any of these tours you really would not have very much time to look around on your own. These are long two day tours.

I am assuming you are traveling with a U.S. passport.

We did this cruise earlier this year and used SPB Tours for two days and were very happy. They handled visas as do all tour companies. St Petersburg is overwhelming, I would suggest not to DIY.

We also used SPB for total of 5 tours and was probably best set of tours we have ever done.

Can not imagine trying to do St Petersburg on your own.

We did this cruise earlier this year and used SPB Tours for two days and were very happy. They handled visas as do all tour companies. St Petersburg is overwhelming, I would suggest not to DIY.

We, also, used SPB they are top notch.

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We used TJ Travel the two days we were there in August and they took care of everything for us.

We have used both SPB and Alla ... BOTH are top-notch, excellent companies. I cannot recommend one over the other as we had nothing to complain about for either one. Both guides were superb ... both tour itineraries were great ... both handled pre-booking communications very well ... both supplied all required visas and tour tickets in advance ... no "hiccups" anywhere. Oh, forgot to mention - both were priced WELL-BELOW the cost of similar ship-sponsored tours and were in SMALL groups of approximately 8 people.

We would never consider the overpriced overcrowded ship excursions in St Petersburg (or just about anywhere else). In St Petersburg we book with either TJ (just used them last year) or Alla. Both are excellent companies and pay for themselves because they provide the Group Visas. On one visit we actually did get our own personal visas and did our own thing....but with the current visa cost (and hassles) it just makes sense to book with a licensed tour company. On our most recent 2 day TJ tour we had a group of 10 passengers and moved around in a brand new Mercedes mini-bus (with seating for 20) with a terrific guide and driver. There is a big difference in visiting places like the Hermitage or Peterhof in a small group...versus being stuck with 50+ on a cruise ship tour.

In fact, last year we noticed (on line) that there was a full length performance of Swan Lake (we love this ballet) in town the same night we were docked. So I sent an e-mail to TJ and asked if they could get us tickets and arrange transportation under the Group Visa. Within a day it was all arranged (at a nice discount). When we left the ship at about 7pm, we were met by a car/driver just for us...who took us to the ballet and then was waiting for us at the end. All this for less money then the cruise line's own ballet tour where they were herded (like cattle) on to a big bus, into the theater, etc.

Hank

We are doing the Copenhagen Cruise on April 29th on the Regal. Besides the excursions that Princess does, is there a way to see the city without a Visa?? Private companies that might be at the ship?? or might Princess bus you in like to the city like they have done at other ports?? We always like to do some things on our own. Particularly, since we have two days in St. Petersburg. Has anyone every gotten a Visa from the Russian Embassy??:D

We are also on this same sailing - my husband and I and a few other people are booked with TJ Travel for the 2 day excursion. They are all day excursions- maybe you should join us??

If the day is not long enough for you, they also offer evening excursions, but you are not allowed to go off on your own.

eclue:cool:

How far out did you book with SPB or ALLA? I am booked on the Regal at the end of July 2018 for a Baltic cruise. Thanks for any recommendations you might have.

How far out did you book with SPB or ALLA? I am booked on the Regal at the end of July 2018 for a Baltic cruise. Thanks for any recommendations you might have.

We booked Alla 3.5 months before the cruise. Have fun!

We booked Alla 3.5 months before the cruise. Have fun!

Thanks

We joined a CC group doing a two-day tour in St Petersburg with SPB. They were excellent.:) I wouldn't even consider a DIY in Russia. You would have to get your own visas (expensive) that are not required if you do a tour with a recognised tour company. Then getting around would not be easy and you may have safety concerns. This last comment is from personal experience several years ago, but I am not sure that things would have improved.

How far out did you book with SPB or ALLA? I am booked on the Regal at the end of July 2018 for a Baltic cruise. Thanks for any recommendations you might have.

We booked SPB about 3 months out for St Petersburg and than started seeing discount offers from them for other ports on cruise and added additional tours to it.

When we went, we did the Princess excursions which take care of that. I have read others on these boards who do private excursions and that tour company handles the visa's for you. Either way, you do need a visa (or whatever Princess documentation that acts like one) to enter into Russia. When you debark the ship, you enter into a customs building where you have to show your passport. If I remember correct (and I could be wrong so please don't flame me)...I think we just had to show our excursion tickets or something like that....but it was all handled by Princess since we were on one of their excursions. On a side note, I think you really want to be guided into St Petersburg...unless you can read Russian...all street signs, highway markers, etc are in Russian.

How far out did you book with SPB or ALLA? I am booked on the Regal at the end of July 2018 for a Baltic cruise. Thanks for any recommendations you might have.

You could try now, but its pretty far in advacne with SPB, Alla or TJ. You just go on their web site, check out their offerings and fill out the form (or send an e-mail). If they have room on the tour you want, you should hear back within a day. Since they e-mail confirmations and all the Visa documents...this can be done at the last minute (as long as they have availability).

Hank

We booked with TJ Travel 7 months out....they have a full credit refund policy.

eclue:cool:

No one has mentioned roll calls. When we did our Baltic cruise, we ended up with a 10 person tour with Alla that was set up after I suggested it in our roll call.

I can recommend both Alla and SPB as our tour was wonderful with Alla, and our absolutely wonderful guide has since stated her own company, SPB.

We booked SPB about 3 months out for St Petersburg and than started seeing discount offers from them for other ports on cruise and added additional tours to it.

SPB gave us a discount because another tour group offered a lower price, our tour was also discounted as more people joined our group. Very satisfied with SPB.

We used SPB and couldn’t be happier. They took care of the visa. Our SPB tour took us to more places in a more intimate group at a fraction of the cost of using Princess. I believe we booked with them about three months out. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide. I wouldn’t hesitate to book with them again.

Thanks for all the suggestions as this cruise is on our to-do list. I personally could not image wandering around any Russian city on my own. Russia is not exactly the land of the free and carrying a US passport makes one suspect in the eyes of the Russian authorities.

Thanks for the many replies on how far out you booked, I have plenty of time yet. SPB says groups are 16-24 for flat rate groups. Did you book a "flat rate group" and they ended up being smaller than 16 persons?

Darrel

Thanks for the many replies on how far out you booked, I have plenty of time yet. SPB says groups are 16-24 for flat rate groups. Did you book a "flat rate group" and they ended up being smaller than 16 persons?

 

Darrel

Ours was flat rate and for the five tours we did with them in the baltic was about 12-18 people.

We used Alla for the three days we spent in St. Petersburg. It was a group of 8 from CC. It was wonderful and I highly recommend them, We booked about 4 months in advance. Our tours were full day tours and we were exhausted at the end of each day. We would go to dinner and then straight to bed to rest up for the next day. Now that I have been to St. Petersburg I cannot imagine doing it on your own; you would still want to hire a guide. The city is very spread out and getting around is not easily done as in other large European cities.

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