Info Needed Regarding Independent Tours in St Petersburg and Visas

[TahoeTraveler]

I have been assured by SBP Tours in St Petersburg that no visa is required there since we are on one of their tours this August when the Eurodam docks there. However, I just got some documentation from HAL regarding visas that sounds very "strict" and indicates that they won't even let us embark at the start of the cruise if we don't have the proper documentation. I am sure SBP Tours knows what they are doing...but would like to hear from others who have done this. Were there any problems, and if so, how were they resolved?

 

Thanks a bunch for any past experiences anyone can pass along.

[Mary Ellen]

We did a private tour 2 years ago with Alla while in St. Petersburg on the E'dam. We didn't have any problems with Russian Immigration using the documents e-mailed to us by Alla. We strongly recommend using any of the private tour companies suggested on the Baltic forum rather than a 'big bus' tour.

[2ptu/000]

We were on the Veendam about two years ago. We did an independent tour in St. Petersburg. We had no problem. We exited the ship as soon as the ship was cleared, went through immigration and our tour operator was right there waiting for us. Tour operator has a Visa that covers you. Just like HAL's tour operator has a Visa that covers you. Had a great two days in St. Petersburg. The cruise lines likes to scare you into taking their tours. Don't let them. Have a great trip.

[TahoeTraveler]

Thanks for the replies, Mary Ellen and 2ptu. DH also thought the letter from HAL sounded rather bullyish, so it is really nice to know that you didn't have problems while in St. Petersburg.

 

Now if that darn volcano will just settle down so I can stop worrying about getting to and from Amsterdam...!:(

[sapper1]

We did a two day tour with Denrus while in St. Petersburg on the Eurodam last August. Our Denrus tour documents were our Visa. The private company will send you all kinds of information and are very adamant that you don't listen to the scare tactics employed by the cruiselines.

 

The ship's people may tell you that you can't go ashore until the ship's shore excursion people have left but once the ship is cleared by the Russian authourities they cannot stop you. The HAL shore excursion people will all be gathered in the theatre and the private people line up for the gangway. They will not make an announcement that the ship has been cleared but the people lined up to get off just notice that the scanning people are in place and they just go.-----so you are on your bus and on your way long before the ship's tour people get off. Denrus sent us a newspaper which explained the procedure that we were to follow. We were very impressed with Denrus and would use them again. They are much cheaper and you get to see more during your stay.

 

If you plan to go ashore on your own you will need a Visa. By on your own I mean without being part of an organized tour.

[pylonqueen]

We booked with a company called Red October. We were very impressed. They took care of visas. I recommend them highly.

[jcrandle]

Let me take the middle ground on this one. I believe that HAL is trying to prevent problems, rather than pushing their shore excursions. If you arrived in St. Pete and planed to walk off the ship and engage a taxi, you would be very disappointed. The Russian visa rules require that you either have a visa, or be booked on a tour with a company that meets their visa requirements.

 

HAL is not about to try to research which companies might have visa approval, as it is none of their business. So they have a blanket concern that puts the burden on you to research other shore excursions.

 

Now, I had a very pleasant 2 day trip with Denrus out of St. Petersburg.The travel agency provided the documentation that I needed to be allowed to leave the ship and join the tour. At arrival in Saint Petersburg, HAL informed us in the daily news that those with pre-arranged trips should exit the ship at 7 AM. We followed those instructions and showed our Denrus documentation with our passports to the Russian immigrations officer. He stamped our passports and we exited the small building and were were welcomed by the Denrus agent.

 

I really don't believe that HAL is trying to obfuscate the private excursion companies, but it does seem so. I would like to believe that they are trying to prevent pax from disappointments. However, I will listen to reason on this issue.

[TahoeTraveler]

Let me take the middle ground on this one. I believe that HAL is trying to prevent problems, rather than pushing their shore excursions. If you arrived in St. Pete and planed to walk off the ship and engage a taxi, you would be very disappointed. The Russian visa rules require that you either have a visa, or be booked on a tour with a company that meets their visa requirements.

 

HAL is not about to try to research which companies might have visa approval, as it is none of their business. So they have a blanket concern that puts the burden on you to research other shore excursions.

 

Now, I had a very pleasant 2 day trip with Denrus out of St. Petersburg.The travel agency provided the documentation that I needed to be allowed to leave the ship and join the tour. At arrival in Saint Petersburg, HAL informed us in the daily news that those with pre-arranged trips should exit the ship at 7 AM. We followed those instructions and showed our Denrus documentation with our passports to the Russian immigrations officer. He stamped our passports and we exited the small building and were were welcomed by the Denrus agent.

 

I really don't believe that HAL is trying to obfuscate the private excursion companies, but it does seem so. I would like to believe that they are trying to prevent pax from disappointments. However, I will listen to reason on this issue.

 

I too wanted to give HAL the benefit of the doubt, but rereading their letter does make it sound as if they would prefer that people not book independent excursions. Specifically, the letter states:

 

1. Guests not disembarking in St. Petersburg, no Russian visa is required.

2. Guests participating on a Holland America Line-sponsored shore excursion, Holland America Line will provide a blanket visa.

3. Guests sightseeing on their own or going ashore prior to, or after participating in a Holland America Line-sponsored shore excursion, a Russian visa is required and must be obtained prior to sailing.

 

There is no number 4 for those of us with independent excursions booked (nor does the letter address anywhere independent excursions) and for the uneducated, the letter does make it seem as if we still have to get a visa (ie...it sounds like we fall into #3). All I can say is, thank goodness for Cruise Critic and all you helpful people out there to set the record straight for us!!

 

Thanks again for all the replies!

 

Tami

[jtl513]

1. Guests not disembarking in St. Petersburg, no Russian visa is required.

2. Guests participating on a Holland America Line-sponsored shore excursion, Holland America Line will provide a blanket visa.

3. Guests sightseeing on their own or going ashore prior to, or after participating in a Holland America Line-sponsored shore excursion, a Russian visa is required and must be obtained prior to sailing.

Well, nothing they say is incorrect, but it certainly suggests that those are your only choices, and is therefore very misleading. jcrandle, I think you're being too generous to HAL!

We went to the Baltic on just our second cruise, and had only discovered Cruise Critic a few months before, so we went with just HAL excursions. We were not disappointed with what we did see and do, but came to realize later that we could have gotten better for less money with 3rd party excursions. :(

[cruisemom42]

Last summer some cruise lines took things a step further than the purposely misleading (yes, I am convinced it is on purpose) letter.

 

Princess, for example, announced that only pax taking their tours were allowed to disembark first and insisted on sending private tour pax to a separate lounge and detaining them there until all shore excursions had departed.

 

This resulted in some extremely ugly situations in which passengers refused to back down (not something I would do or advocate, but I can see their point). Princess swore up and down that they were "told" by Russian authorities that they "had" to do it this way to avoid congestion in the passport lines. Eventually it came to light that no such thing was required.

 

I understand cruise lines want to sell you shore excursions to make money, but as more and more passengers are becoming savvy and learning they can book their own tours, cruise lines are going to have to adjust and not use bullying tactics like this.

 

There will always be a captive audience for ship tours. Heaven knows, my own parents (3-star HAL Mariners and Princess Elite) will never do anything other than a ship tour. But I cruise mainly for the ports and I prefer to do my own thing. If cruise lines insist on trying to bully me into taking their tours, they will lose me as a passenger altogether as I am perfectly happy to take land tours instead of cruising.

 

I know Princess was not the only line doing this "heavy enforcement" last year. I cannot recall if HAL was doing it or not..... but best to be prepared.

[TahoeTraveler]

Last summer some cruise lines took things a step further than the purposely misleading (yes, I am convinced it is on purpose) letter.

 

Princess, for example, announced that only pax taking their tours were allowed to disembark first and insisted on sending private tour pax to a separate lounge and detaining them there until all shore excursions had departed.

 

This resulted in some extremely ugly situations in which passengers refused to back down (not something I would do or advocate, but I can see their point). Princess swore up and down that they were "told" by Russian authorities that they "had" to do it this way to avoid congestion in the passport lines. Eventually it came to light that no such thing was required.

 

I know Princess was not the only line doing this "heavy enforcement" last year. I cannot recall if HAL was doing it or not..... but best to be prepared.

 

Oh, Lord, I hope there isn't such a hoopla on HAL in August! It seems to me that as the people who have the HAL tours are mustering at their meeting place, they could be letting off those of us with other plans. We will just have to see though. Thanks for the heads up...at least we now know that this is a possibility.

[mtnmommy]

We sail on the Eurodam May 29 and are in St. Petersburg on June 3/4, so I will let you know how it goes. My family is booked with Alla Tours, and they have given us very specific disembarkation instructions. I, too, thought that letter was extremely confusing and was rather rattled when I received it. (Now that I'm rattled by volcanic ash, etc., I'd almost forgotten about Russia!) Seems that most folks on our roll call are on a private tour, and I really think it's the best option for us--especially since we have 2 young children. But that goodness for Cruise Critic, or I would never have known about it!

[ger_77]

We did private tours in Istanbul and Kusadasi and agreed to meet our guides just outside the pier about a half hour after the scheduled docking time. We had our breakfasts, then went down to the gangway and got off the ship. There were HAL tour groups all around us, but we just exited the ship with the rest of them., and weren't given a second glance at the scanners.

 

In Russia we didn't know that the private tour companies would cover our visas, so we took HAL's excursion - which was fine because it was a lovely tour. When we go to St. Petersburg on our next cruise we will certainly book a private tour.

 

Smooth Sailing! :):):)

[TahoeTraveler]

Again, thanks to everyone for all the helpful information.:):)

 

Mtnmommy, if you would please post again when you return regarding how it went with your tour, I sure would appreciate it. Good luck to you, and I will be keeping my fingers crossed that the unpronounceable volcano will stay quiet for you.:p

[redrover]

I am on this cruise too and have booked a private tour with SPB tours for St Petersburg. I have all the documentation necessary so we will see how heavy handed - or otherwise - HALs attitude is towards us "privateers"!

[TahoeTraveler]

I am on this cruise too and have booked a private tour with SPB tours for St Petersburg. I have all the documentation necessary so we will see how heavy handed - or otherwise - HALs attitude is towards us "privateers"!

Since you are with SBP (who we have also booked with), could you please post again when you return to let us know how it went? I'll be curious to know if HAL pulls a stunt like Princess did last year.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[ginger and professor]

We used DenRuss tours for a two tour of St. Petersburg. Since we were a family of four there was considerable savings booking our own tour. The small group size was great also. I would highly recommend them.:)

[momva]

We toured with SPB last August while on a Celebrity cruise. SPB was wonderful. You will really enjoy your tour. Very knowledgeable guides and very accomodating to our needs. Our table mates only planned a ship sponsored tour and loved it but realized that we had accomplished about 10 times more for the same price.

 

After boarding the ship, Celebrity sent us a note saying if we were using a private tour company we needed to provide our names to the front desk for a list they were compiling for the Russian officials. I have no idea if such a list existed. They also wanted us to gather in a lounge so they could hold us there while the ship sponsored excursions left first. We simply didn't show up at the lounge and walked off the ship when it was cleared. No problems from the ship or the Russian officials.

 

Good luck. SPB knows what they are doing. Follow their instructions and you will be fine.

[treasure4two]

We used DenRus also and were very pleased. The vans holding up to 8 can get into a lot of places the big buses can not-well worth it and actually probably cheaper than the ship's tours. One thing we ran into when we were there-we were on Azamara and the first day(we were there for 3 days), they made all the private tour people wait for the ship's tours people to get off first-which took about an extra 1 to 1 1/2 hours. They told us it was not a ship thing but a Russian visa rule and they said if any private people tours went off in the first group, that the Russians would stop all of us from getting off. Not wanting to be the ones responible if that was true, we all waited like little sheep(angry sheep) in line. The Russian people are not happy people (in my humble opinion) and they like all their rules(wait until one of those women in the Russian palaces start wacking their fans at you and telling you to move quicker, etc). Not a place to show your independence. I would say that if you can, pay the extra to see the Gold Room at the Hermitage!! Unbelieveable!! You all will have a great time!

[sapper1]

We used DenRus also and were very pleased. The vans holding up to 8 can get into a lot of places the big buses can not-well worth it and actually probably cheaper than the ship's tours. One thing we ran into when we were there-we were on Azamara and the first day(we were there for 3 days), they made all the private tour people wait for the ship's tours people to get off first-which took about an extra 1 to 1 1/2 hours. They told us it was not a ship thing but a Russian visa rule and they said if any private people tours went off in the first group, that the Russians would stop all of us from getting off. Not wanting to be the ones responible if that was true, we all waited like little sheep(angry sheep) in line. The Russian people are not happy people (in my humble opinion) and they like all their rules(wait until one of those women in the Russian palaces start wacking their fans at you and telling you to move quicker, etc). Not a place to show your independence. I would say that if you can, pay the extra to see the Gold Room at the Hermitage!! Unbelieveable!! You all will have a great time!

You were lied to. Once the ship is cleared the Russian officials don't care who gets off first. You just show your private tour excursion ticket to the immigration people and that "visa" is just as good as a HAL issused visa. I admit I have never seen a grumpier group of officials in my entire life but as long as you have your ticket you are good to go. The information the private company sends out prepares you for the heavy handed cruise ship tactics and explains that you don't have to listen to them. The ship people simply do not have the authourity to stop you from leaving the ship once it is cleared.

[Rutland Gate]

I visited Russia on business for many years. To get a visa, one needs a sponsor, which can be a registered company, in some cases an individual, a tour business, the Government, etc. If you are on a tour, the tour operator is responsible for your presence where it is supposed to be. Inturist, the government tour agency, used to be the only tour operator. As a businessman on my own, I had to register my passport and visa with the police whereever I went, and was issured a permit to be there. In some cases I was issued a map of the area, marked with places I was allowed to go on my own. If I were stopped, and didn't have my visa and police permits, I would be in trouble. Once outside the major cities, there are still check points along the highways where cars are stopped and papers checked. The Russian people are warm and friendly, but the police mentality hasn't changed entirely.

[sunshine nana]

We were booked with DenRus last July from the Emerald Princess (great tour and guide!) and we were held back from exciting by the crew until all the Princess tours were out. We were told the Russians required it. We still saw more for less money than the ship's tours.Amazingly, the second day, all got out at the same time showing that the Russians didn't care at all as long as we were with a tour.

[Sandy Haechrel]

The independent tour companies tell us no visa is required when you come on a ship, 72 hours allowed. We're looking at the Dancing Bear Tour Company, standard two day tour, up to 6 or 8 travelers. Please let us know if you're interested. The price goes down considerably with a second couple. We're two women friends traveling from Oregon. In st Petersburg on July 7 and 8' 2012 on Holland Eurodam.

[Sandy Haechrel]

The independent tour companies tell us no visa is required when you come on a ship, 72 hours allowed. We're looking at the Dancing Bear Tour Company, standard two day tour, up to 6 or 8 travelers. Please let us know if you're interested. The price goes down considerably with a second couple. We're two women friends traveling from Oregon. In St. Petersburg July 7 and 8 on Holland EURODAM.

[CruiserBruce]

To arrange shared excursions, the Roll Call boards are the place to be. Here is yours:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1534973