Russian Visa

[oddjob26]

Hi

 

Has anyone had any experience with getting a Russian tourist Visa, we are going on the 15/05/2012 - Jewel of the Seas sailing to St Petersburg and we want the freedom to explore St Petersburg ourselves.

 

Main question is, will a single entery visa cover us or, will we need a multi entry visa for every time we enter exit the ship.

 

I know with the tours you do not need a visa (either ship based or Russian operated), but they are quite restricted and I can not find one that says (NIGHT OUT IN ST PETERSBURG DRINKING VODKA IN A LOCAL CLUB FOLLOWED BY CASINO UNTIL THE EARLY HOURS) :)

 

who said I have a 1 track mind:D

 

Any experience would be greatly appreciated

 

Regards

Oddjob

[Stich17]

A visa will cost as much as a trip, they are very expensive, so you might as well do a tour. Think when I checked a while back it was around £150 !!!

[JMG680]

I tried to get a Visa in 2008 for the Euro Cup final, and it was $70 for the application to get one, weather it was granted or not, I tried 3 times at $70 a pop and was not granted one all three time, but I am military and that may have been why.

[oddjob26]

A visa will cost as much as a trip, they are very expensive, so you might as well do a tour. Think when I checked a while back it was around £150 !!!

 

True, it is very expensive, however, for a once in a lifetime trip, it would be nice to have the freedom to explore

[minsterman]

Glad to see someone else thinking of going it alone - a lot of people seem to think that an independent tour is the only way to do it!!

 

We went in 2010 and wrote a small review of the St Petersburg bit here:

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1256265

 

We got our own visa from http://www.visitrussia.com who we found very helpful (though a bit more expensive than doing the whole visa thing yourself)

 

We had to get a visa each (me and other half). From memory we got a tourist visa for a double visit as we were in port 2 days.

 

Hope this helps and you get sorted with your visa!

 

Feel free to ask any more questions!

[Stich17]

See http://ru.vfsglobal.co.uk/allaboutyourvisas.html

[oddjob26]

thanks all for your help, stuck at work at the moment so I will read through your review tonight

 

Regards

 

Oddjob

[TLCOhio]

True, it is very expensive, however, for a once in a lifetime trip, it would be nice to have the freedom to explore

 

Be careful what you wish for!!! There are some folks, sadly, in Russia who do target tourist to lessen their worries in carry money in their wallets, etc. You get my hint?? With a guide and being in a group helps provide more safety and protection. Being a single, walking around at night can involve some risks. This is based on discussions with people who have been there and encountered those challenges for being travelers in St. Petersburg. This has even involved the police. Don't assume all is easy, perfect and safe in Russia. You need to be careful there. We had a great experience in St. Petersburg, but others were not always so lucky!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 57,832 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 56,407 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[little britain]

Hi

 

Has anyone had any experience with getting a Russian tourist Visa, we are going on the 15/05/2012 - Jewel of the Seas sailing to St Petersburg and we want the freedom to explore St Petersburg ourselves.

 

Main question is, will a single entery visa cover us or, will we need a multi entry visa for every time we enter exit the ship.

 

I know with the tours you do not need a visa (either ship based or Russian operated), but they are quite restricted and I can not find one that says (NIGHT OUT IN ST PETERSBURG DRINKING VODKA IN A LOCAL CLUB FOLLOWED BY CASINO UNTIL THE EARLY HOURS) :)

 

who said I have a 1 track mind:D

 

Any experience would be greatly appreciated

 

Regards

Oddjob

We booked a 2 day tour with Alla therefore we had our visa covered.

Through Alla we requested that we wanted to go out for dinner by ourselves in St P. Alla sent through restaurant recommendations and made our reservation for us. She arranged for a driver to pick us up from the ship, take us to the restaurant and bring us back again. OK, it wasn't the greatest meal I have ever had, but it certainly was an experience, and we felt like we were playing hookey being out by ourselves at night whilst everyone else was stuck on board!!!

I have never read of anyone else doing this.

I am sure Alla will get you your Casino and vodka experience if you ask.:D

[rs38]

I wouldn't try SPB on my own. Others would and would probably do it well. The tour companies were so accommodating that I'd find it hard to believe that they wouldn't be able to arrange what you are looking for.

[StPetersburgPort]

Dear oddjob26,

answering your question, just SINGLE entry visa will be ok