Passports in Baltic

[dolliesny]

Are passports stamped in and out of each port or do we just go through that kind of control in Russia? Just trying to get all of the information I can. Guess we will take the ships tour in Russia. Anywhere else we need to worry about a Visa or perhaps chosing the ships tours?

[NH Cruiser]

If you book a tour either through the ship or using Red October/Denrus, they handle the visas for you; however, you cannot leave the ship on your own unless you purchase your visas. Check out the board for RO and Denrus information.

[JodiBB]

Are passports stamped in and out of each port or do we just go through that kind of control in Russia? Just trying to get all of the information I can. Guess we will take the ships tour in Russia. Anywhere else we need to worry about a Visa or perhaps chosing the ships tours?

 

The only port that you have to worry about booking tours is St. Petersburg, or else you cannot get off the boat (unless you've obtained your own Visas). All the other ports in Scandanavia allow you to get off without Visas and you do not have to book tours to get off the boat. This gives you a lot more freedom in planning your own itinerary.

 

As for passports for each country, I don't know if they'll want to see your passport for each debarkation or if your ship's card is satisfactory enough.

[realproperty]

We did the Grandeur of the Seas 2 years ago. Our cruise was out of Harwich England. Our passports were stamped entering and leaving SP in a little booth by the port. BTW, the band at the port is something awful but they play for cash and the band members look like they need it badly. UK customs got on our ship in Copenhagen and did UK customs on the ship so that there was no cusoms control or lines when we disembarked in England. No other passport control occurred and we stopped at Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Talinn and Copenhagen. You won't find customs even if you want to get your passport stamped.

[John&Betty]

On the cruises we have been on they have always taken our passports when we boarded and held them until the cruise was over. Is it different on a Baltic cruise?

 

In the past we have made copies to carry with us. We planned on doing the same for our May 7th Baltic cruise this year.

[japiscopo]

On our Baltic Cruise, the ship went through passport control for the passengers in Tallin, Helsinki, and Stockholm. You obviously will have to go through PC in the country that you board the ship. We did not have to show passports until St. Petersburg, where we had our own visas. If you do not obtain your own visas, you must (only in St. Pete) go on a ship excursion or Denrus, RO or other tour company. Have a great cruise.

 

Mary Lou

[Princess Di]

You are the ones with all the terrific maps that are sooooooo helpful to all of us. :D

The way I understand it is:

The Purser with the Purse will give everyone back the passports (I should think they would do this the night before docking in SPb so there is not a crush at the Pursers Desk in the morning). :cool:

You will have with you your Invitation from R-O or DenRus (which includes the group visa) and you show your passport & the tour pages to the Customs Official. He will give you a card to keep with your passport and then you give back that card when you go back aboard. If you lose the little card, there is a heavy fine (nobody ever defined the heavy).

I have always carried my passport in my secret (under the shirt) silk belly pouch when going ashore in Oz, NZ, Tahiti, and the Med. In Istanbul, the pre-cruise Hotel wanted to keep our passports overnight and the tour director collected them on the bus (at midnight, after our flight from Paris).

I refused to give mine and said they could have a copy, which they accepted. The next day, we learned that the hotel had lost one of the passports. The lady went crazy and had to be taken to the American Embassy to try to get a new one. :eek:

Her original was later found in a hallway of the hotel; however, it caused her a lot of worry.

I think that on the ship there is no choice. We shall have to trust them. :rolleyes:

Princess will probably address this process in the Patters early in the cruise. Yeah, I know, we want to know now.

[stanj]

Hi Di

The fine for losing the migration card is officially set at 600R or about $20 but the scare of spending time in a Russian jail causes some police to demand a lot more as a "tip". The reality is that there are seldom real fines charges for migration card loss or non-registrations, just suggestions to follow the rules next time.