Russian VISA, do you or don't you?

[johndmoser]

Sorry to resurrect an old topic, but I've just returned from my TA (just made my final payment on the June 9 Eurodam Northern Europe). She had a letter from HAL insisting that passengers not using the HAL tours in St. Petersburg must have a Russian VISA.

 

Is this true or not?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes -- that is correct -- if you do independent tours in Russia -- you have to get a Visa.

And this needs to be well in advance of the cruise as it may take time to send your passport(s) to get the Visa and get them back.

[luvs2travl]

100% correct. If you are doing a ship-sponsored tour, you will NOT need a visa. Anything on your own, you will. Visas take time, so if you plan on going off on your own, you might want to get the process started ASAP!

[Scrapchick]

I found THIS on the AARP web site in repsonse to a query about cruising and visas... We are booked on a Baltic cruise in July and will be in St Petersburg for 2 days, so this is something I am concerned about. I hav also seen tour web site which say the same thing.

 

I'm not trying to say anyone is wrong, but I really do want the FACTS... I do not want to get to Russia and find I can't get off the ship. Neither do i want to get there and find I didn't need to apply for that visa after all, because I'm on a private, pre- arranged tour...

 

"The general rule for visiting Russian ports of call is that you can do it without a visa, provided you have a valid passport and the port stop doesn't exceed 72 hours. Your shore excursions must be escorted or supervised by an authorized tour company, and you cannot stay overnight on land. Virtually all cruise-ship companies stopping in Russia ensure that passengers meet these requirements, so you won’t need to arrange a visa in advance."

[cruzmaven]

<Yes -- that is correct -- if you do independent tours in Russia -- you have to get a Visa.

 

And this needs to be well in advance of the cruise as it may take time to send your passport(s) to get the Visa and get them back. >

 

<100% correct. If you are doing a ship-sponsored tour, you will NOT need a visa. Anything on your own, you will. Visas take time, so if you plan on going off on your own, you might want to get the process started ASAP!>

 

----------------------

 

This is absolutely the wrong information, sort of.

 

Yes, if you take an independent tour you will need a visa. BUT, the tour operator will obtain the visa for you. You do not have to send your passport anywhere or do anything yourself. (At least this was the way it was when I was in St. Petersburg last summer, I doubt things have changed.)

 

You will only need to obtain a visa on your own if you are planning on going off the ship on your own (without a tour guide). Unless you are very familiar with St. Petersburg and can speak Russian, that is not recommended.

 

There is much more, and better info about this on the Northern Europe and Baltics board.

[Shelledpea]

If you arrange tours through an independant operator Alla or Denrus etc then they are effectively sponsoring your stay in the country and you do not need to apply for a visa as you will be covered by theirs.

 

However you will not be allowed off the ship, if you are not doing a ships tour or a pre booked tour with a licensed agency, if you do not hold a russian visa.

 

From one of the tour agents websites:

 

On your way out of the ship you will have to pass through the immigration office; here you should present your passport, a tour ticket (which will already have been supplied to you by our company) and a photocopy of that page of your passport which contains your photograph and personal details. The immigration officer will keep the photocopy in his office and return your passport and tour ticket to you. After checking the documents, the officer will give you a red laminated card which is your pass into the city.

Important: a photocopy of the passport is not required on the second day of the tour.

 

Enjoy your trip

Shelley

[RuthC]

...my TA ...had a letter from HAL insisting that passengers not using the HAL tours in St. Petersburg must have a Russian VISA.

 

Is this true or not?

 

Yes -- that is correct -- .

 

100% correct.

Since when is it correct that you must have a Russian visa if you aren't taking a HAL tour? At least as recently as 2008 you needed to be on a supervised tour, but HAL did not have to be doing the supervision.

If you booked through Red October, Alla, Denrus, or any of the other authorized tour providers you received a verification that got you through Immigration, then met the tour guide. You had to stay with your guide.

 

It's only if you wanted to tour on your own (not a great idea in St. Petersburg) that you needed an individual visa.

[newfarmers]

yes, you do need a visa to tour St Petersburg but as others have said if you are going on a private tour (with Alla, Denrus, SPB etc) the tour company will provide a blanket visa for your group.

 

Apparently some of the cruise lines are very emphatic that if you don't take a ship's tour you willl be stuck onboard. They also have a habit of telling non-ship's tour guests that they have to wait until ship's tour guests have debarked.

 

That's a load of bunkum and anyone has the right to get off when ever they want once the ship is cleared. Check your contract and try to find anything that gives the ship the right to provide preferential debarkation if you book ship's tours. As is recommended on the Baltic boards, join the queue and just walk off. Anyone tries to stop you, keep walking, and if they touch you would have very right to have them up for assault.

 

If you intend to tour St Petersburg unaccompanied, you will definitely need to arrange the visa prior to arrival.

 

The Baltic Ports board is a wealth of information on this matter, along with recommendations for a vast array of private tour companies. We're in the process of deciding who to tour with right now as we're travelling to StP in early September.

[bbwex]

If you are going to explore St. Petersburg on your own, you need to get a visa. If you are taking a private tour, the tour company gets your visa. When you get off the ship and go through Russian immigration each day, you need to show them the ticket the tour company sends you AND your passport. This way, they know that the visa is taken care of. They will give you a small red piece of paper about the size of half of a movie ticket. You need to keep this and return it as you return to the ship. When you get off the next day, you need another day's ticket and your passport, and you will get another red "ticket."

 

You have to have a visa, but private tour companies arrange for them for their customers.

 

Cruise lines have been spreading all kinds of rumors -- that if you are not taking a ship's tour, the Russians require you to wait until all ship's tour people have left --- another crock of you know what. The Russians did not/have not issued any such orders. The ship will not really stop you from getting off, they are simply trying to make more money on their tours.

 

This was all the subject of a lot of threads on CC last summer.

 

I considered getting a separate visa, but it is expensive (about $200 by the time all is said and done), and it turned out that I never would have gone anywhere anyhow. Our private tours took up the entire day each day, and we did add a ship's tour to go to the ballet one evening. (The ship gets the visa for you for that, the private company gets them for the day trips.) It was all no sweat at all.

 

As for the private visa, I thought about getting off at night to see the lighted bridges. HOWEVER, I did find out that the immigration desk closes each evening, and if I had been out at 2 A.M., I would not have been able to get back on the ship until morning. Bagged that idea, and fortunately since Oceania ships are smaller, we were all of the way in on the river and I could see the lighted bridges from the ship.

 

Yes you do need a visa, but if you take a private tour, they get it for you!

[luvs2travl]

I apologize for the way my post was worded. When I said "..anything on your own.." I meant going ashore unaccompanied either by a ship's sponsored tour or by an accredited tour agency. By saying 'on your own' I meant simply that. By your self - solo - alone - nothing more.

 

Mea culpa! :o

[Shelledpea]

From Cruise critics own page on travelling to europe:

Plan Ahead for St. Petersburg: Making that once-in-a-lifetime trek to St. Petersburg and want to explore the city independently? Beware of the visa issue. Russia requires U.S. citizens to obtain a visa in order to wander the streets (an exception applies to those booked on ship-sponsored excursions or through independent tour operators with the appropriate registration), and you must obtain it in advance of your trip (you will not be allowed off the dock without it). The cruise line has little incentive to help passengers on this issue because, of course, they profit much more if travelers buy their shore excursions -- and, perversely, the cruise lines usually supply the forms with your travel documents, which often arrive fairly close to your departure date.

 

The cost of a visa ranges from $131 to $300 (depending on whether your turnaround time is two weeks or overnight), and it must be obtained from the Russian embassy or a Russian consulate. You might also consider a visa service, such as Zierer. There is an extra fee, but in this case the fee may well be worth it because the qualifications are very exacting. You will need to submit two passport photos. For more info: www.visittorussia.com.

 

Independent tour operators with the appropriate registration can provide customers with an "invitation" (also known as sponsorship) if you book in advance (allow at least two weeks). We tried that on our last visit and had a wonderful experience with Red October (www.redoctober.us), one of St. Petersburg's best-known tour companies. For more info: What to Expect: An Independent Traveler's St. Petersburg.

[PROCRUISE]

Sorry to resurrect an old topic, but I've just returned from my TA (just made my final payment on the June 9 Eurodam Northern Europe). She had a letter from HAL insisting that passengers not using the HAL tours in St. Petersburg must have a Russian VISA.

 

Is this true or not?

 

We cruised on The Eurodam, Baltic Sea cruise in June 2009. We spent 2 days in St Petersburg with Red October Tour and did NOT need a Visa. This may have changed. We also had no trouble with HAL immediately getting off the ship even though we had heard that they might try and stop us. Have read about some really bad experiences on other cruise lines when those who have booked private tours have tried to get off the ship.

[fann1sh]

Denrus, one of the reputable tour companies mentioned above by RuthC and others, has an online page about this:

 

http://www.denrus.ru/disembarking.html

 

For those who don't like to click on outside links, the gist of it is cruise lines make pax believe they must have a visa if they don't use ship's own tours - scare people out of booking private tours.

[taxmantoo]

Bottom line is EVERYBODY needs a visa... whether HAL gets it for you, or an independent tour operator gets it for you, or you get it for yourself, you will have one and it will be required to go through immigration control. In some cases, your ticket (Denrus, Alla or other) is in fact your visa proof...

[sunshine nana]

If they are still available, read some of the reviews of the Emerald Princess from summer of 2009 and you will see that Princess did everything in their power to hold back passengers who had booked with DenRus, Alla and Red October including outright lies. The truth is if you book with one of these companies, you send them your information and they get your visa at no cost to you other than the tour. Princess did hold independent passengers back until all of their tour customers had disembarked, but that in no way affected the independent tours who are used to it.Your TA has either not gone to St.P or is parroting the cruise company line.

[mtnmommy]

My family is on the Eurodam Baltic cruise on May 29 and plan to take a private tour, as are other people on our Roll Call. I just received the letter from HAL regarding Russian visas, and it is rather confusing. To me, it read like you had to obtain your own visa unless you were on a HAL excursion, so I can see how your TA took it that way. There is a small part, however, about needing "A Reference Confirmation Letter (Invitation) from Baltic Travel Company in Russian and English, or another licensed tour company that provides its services to passengers in Russia." Note the "another licensed tour company" part.

 

All the major independent tour operators state that you are covered under their blanket Visa (you have to provide them with passport info, etc., when you book.) I am very grateful to all the wonderful information provided on Cruise Critic, however, or I would not have investigated this option.

 

I would love to hear from more HAL cruisers about their Baltic experiences last summer, just for reassurance. So glad to hear you had no problems, Procruise. I'm a little nervous, but with our party of six--including two children--the private tour makes so much sense for us.

[baggal]

Last June we were on the Eurodam in St. P. There was absolutely no problem whatsoever getting off the ship in St. P. Yes, there was a long line, but no one from HAL ever asked anyone what kind of excursion they were taking - unlike reports from Princess. The tour companies tell you to get off the ship as early as possible and meet on the pier at 7 a.m.(!). The line to disembark must have started around 6 a.m. because by 6:30 a.m. there must have been several hundred people on line already. Once we got off the ship there were HAL personnel directing passengers to the available Russian immigration agents. HAL couldn't have been more helpful and we breezed through immigration.

 

So the answer is that yes you need a visa but it can be arranged by HAL, an authorized private tour company or "do-it-yourself" if you happen to be meeting Russian friends or relatives in St. P. (the only reason why you would do-it-yourself).

 

Everything went very smoothly for the two days we were in St. P. The thing to remember at all times: THIS IS STILL RUSSIA and they haven't gotten rid of some of the old ways. But HAL couldn't be more helpful to their passengers.

 

BTW, the Baltics cruise on the Eurodam was absolutely the best!

[baggal]

I also wanted to mention that HAL accomodates its passengers with a VERY early breakfast service in the Lido while in port in St. P. and Warnemunde (Berlin).

[mtnmommy]

Thank you so much, Baggal! Very reassuring to me. Hmm, thinking maybe a later start time on the tour, however--don't want to line up at 6 a.m. with the kids. (Well, actually, I don't want to line up then. I always use the kids as an excuse, but they are bigger troopers than I am!)

[baggal]

Thank you so much, Baggal! Very reassuring to me. Hmm, thinking maybe a later start time on the tour, however--don't want to line up at 6 a.m. with the kids. (Well, actually, I don't want to line up then. I always use the kids as an excuse, but they are bigger troopers than I am!)

 

All the private tour groups tell you to be on the pier around 7 a.m on the first day. The port is actually some distance from many of the sights and traffic in St. P. is impossible. (the streets weren't designed for cars). You don't need to get on line at 6 a.m. You'll be ok a little later.

 

Have a great time. St. P. is amazing!

[treasure4two]

I apologize for the way my post was worded. When I said "..anything on your own.." I meant going ashore unaccompanied either by a ship's sponsored tour or by an accredited tour agency. By saying 'on your own' I meant simply that. By your self - solo - alone - nothing more.

 

Mea culpa! :o

We got back in July, 2009 and if you are on your own, you DO need a Visa. Russian immigration is the toughest I have ever seen-took us two hours to get through the first day. It was like they were trying to catch you making an honest mistake. Do not take a chance, it is not worth it, especially in Russia-lots of rules and people watching you. It would be the biggest mistake of your cruise.

[luvs2travl]

We got back in July, 2009 and if you are on your own, you DO need a Visa. Russian immigration is the toughest I have ever seen-took us two hours to get through the first day. It was like they were trying to catch you making an honest mistake. Do not take a chance, it is not worth it, especially in Russia-lots of rules and people watching you. It would be the biggest mistake of your cruise.

 

We took only the ship's tours on our two-day visit in St. Petersburg, and were covered by HAL's visa. However we heard of some passengers on our ship that experienced the same degree of difficulty you describe above. I did not want to speak to that as I was not directly involved & had no first-hand knowledge of what the actual difficulties were. We just took the advice from our TA & stuck with the HAL tours. Thanks for confirming what I thought to be accurate. :)

[cruzmaven]

All the private tour groups tell you to be on the pier around 7 a.m on the first day. The port is actually some distance from many of the sights and traffic in St. P. is impossible. (the streets weren't designed for cars). You don't need to get on line at 6 a.m. You'll be ok a little later.

 

Have a great time. St. P. is amazing!

 

Some of the cruise lines with smaller ships (ie Oceania, Azamara, Regent) can dock in the middle of the city, very close to the Hermitage and other main sights. So traveling into and out of town is not a problem. The bigger ships dock at the new cruise port which is outside of the city.

 

Just something to consider.

[YXU AC*SE]

We got back in July, 2009 and if you are on your own, you DO need a Visa. Russian immigration is the toughest I have ever seen-took us two hours to get through the first day. It was like they were trying to catch you making an honest mistake. Do not take a chance, it is not worth it, especially in Russia-lots of rules and people watching you. It would be the biggest mistake of your cruise.

 

I think it also has to do with where your are ported. We were in Sochi, RU last fall on our Eastern Med / Black Sea tour aboard the Rotterdam and presented our visas to RU's immigration officers on B deck, prior to boarding the tenders. Quite honestly, they really didn't know what to do with them (I guess there aren't that many independent cruise pax getting off the ship in Sochi.) After a couple of minutes of consultation, we got an entrance stamp and were sent on our way. The didn't even bother to stamp our visas -- but they were valid for a single entry, for a specific day, so it's not like we could use them again.

 

Once our tender arrived at the Sochi Marine Terminal, we wandered off on our own, unchallenged / unfettered (which really quite surprised me) enjoyed the sights and ended up among other things, having quite a memorable lunch on the boardwalk along the Black Sea.

 

Scott.

[Robin7]

My son has been living in Russia since September. We are planning on going to Russia in 2011, and I have just begun learning about the visa requirements. This is from the US Department of State web site:

 

International Cruise Ship Passengers: International cruise ship passengers are permitted to visit Russian ports without a visa for a period of up to 72 hours. Passengers who wish to go ashore during port calls may do so without visas, provided that they are with an organized tour at all times and accompanied by a tour operator who has been duly licensed by Russian authorities.

 

The full information is here: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1006.html

 

Robin