St. Petersburg Russia confused

[dfilacch]

I just booked 2005 Baltic cruise. St. Petersburg is confusing. I see you need a visa.Also saw you need a tour to enter. So does than mean you can't go explore the town? That does not make sense this is the year 2004!!! Any info would be great


Thanks

[siam]

We were there in 2000 on the Millennium and at that time we didn't need a Visa if we took ship sponsored shore excursions but would have needed one to "do it on our own".

Mercury 5/98 Galaxy 5/99 Millennium 9/2000 Galaxy 9/2002 Galaxy 4/2003 Century 4/2004 B2B Century 4/2004 Galaxy 4/2005

[hebeast]

You have three options

1) Obtain your own visa (Cost will be $125 plus mailings to the Russian Embassy). Lots of detail how to do this on the Baltic Port board. This will allow you to come and go as you please.

2) Book your tour with Celebrity. Visa is not need because you will be traveling on a tour visa. You must stay with your group.

3) Book your tour with one of the Russian tour groups such as Red October. You again will be on a tour visa and must stay with your tour guide.

In the case of option 2 and 3, you will not have to obtain a regular visa for $125.

Again check the Baltic Port board for plenty of details on how to get your Visa (if you decide that is what you want to do) or recommendations on tour companies.

Hope this helps

[kitty9]

If you plan to get off the ship for even a very short time on your own, you will need a visa. If you stay with the ship's tours or with a Russian tourist company like Red October, you won't need a visa. If you take a side trip to another city, like Moscow, you will need a visa.

Darcie

[dfilacch]

Thanks for the info!!! How do I get to the Baltic ports board?

[rholbrook]

Click on Destinations on task bar.
Then click on the Northern Europe location.
Then click on St. Petersburg location.
Hope this helps
Ralph

[alcpa1]

If I might add my two cents...I would highly recommend that you take either the cruise shore excursions or sign up with a reputable tour agent. The sights that most people see are, for the most part, quite spread out and cabs [as we know them] are almost nonexistant. The dock is not centrally located and there was no public transportation servicing the ships when I was there. I was not on a cruise and in 8 days we certainly did not see everything. Take advantage of the ship or tour company, they will provide you with the best possible options in the limited time that you have. It is an enchanting city and I hope that you enjoy all that it has to offer. The only warning I have is DO NOT DRINK THE WATER.

[lssteele]

I have to agree with ALCPA1 that I would take a tour that is sponsored by the ship. There are so many neat places to see and it is so much easier to have it organized and done by the ship. If Catherine's Palace is offered as a tour I would recommend it. I also would only do half day at the Hermitage (that probably goes against other people's view) there is so much there that there's no way you can see it even in a day. Also Peterhof Palace..Wow!

Panama Canal on the Galaxy
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=FFA000&cdt=2004;11;25;19;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]

[Tatka]

Ok..I am Russian although I lived in MA for the last 8 years.

I would highly recommend to use professional tours or ship tours. They are expensive but the best option for you.

English , although tought in schools, isn't spoken by most of the people. It will be extremely hard to interact with the people.

About the cabs...There are alot of cabs there and high competition for the customers but again cab drivers won't understand you. Keep in mind that the names of attractions don't sound in Russian as in English.

For example: Hermitage is "Ermitazh" and
Petergof Palace is "Petrodvorets" etc.

I am sure there is public transportation from the port. When I visited St.Pete(Leningrad back then) about 16 years ago I remember helping a French couple who got lost to get back to the port. I think there is a subway line or tramway
line going there from the center.

St.Pete is huge and you will get easily lost there. So take a ship excursion or use Red October.

------------------------------
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Zuiderdam 8/21/04 FLL - Key West - Cozumel - Grand Caymans - Half Moon Cay - FLL
<LI>Splendour of the Seas 05/15/04 Barcelona - Marseilles - Villefranche - Livorno - Chivitavecchia - Naples - Barcelona
<LI>Century 07/12/03 Eastern Caribbean FFL-San Juan - St. Thomas - St.Maarten- Nassau -FFL
<LI>Komarno(Volga)07/91 Moscow - Astrahan' - Moscow (honeymoon)
<LI>Komarno(Volga)07/90 Moscow - Astrahan'- Moscow
<LI>Admiral Nachimov(or Nakhimov) (Black Sea)04/1986 Odessa - Batum [/list]

GO BRUINS!!!!

[Nancyquilts]

Three years ago we got visas, and there was a ship's shuttle into the city. The port is quite a long way away. If you don't have a visa, you can't leave the ship unless you are going on a tour. There was a souvenir shop next to the ship, but it was considered to be in Russia, and no one could enter the shop without a visa (I hope they've figured out capitalism better by now). [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[lysolqn]

Just back from our Baltic cruise and used RO for two days of touring in St. Petersburg.
You only need a visa if you're not taking a shore excursion or touring with a government approved tour company, in which case you are covered by a group visa.
I strongly recommend you do not do St. Petersburg on your own, if for no other reason than just the language barrier. Having been there, done that now, I'd say RO or other similar touring company is the way to go. They're efficient, know how to work the system so you don't wait on the very long lines, and costless than ship sponsored shore excursions.

[NYDee]

dfilacch,

When are you taking the Baltic in 2005. We are booked on the Jewel for the Aug. 19 sailing.

Dee

Sorry, forgot that I am not on the RCI board.

[hebeast]

Dfilacch

To get to the Baltic Board. Look above for the Message Board Home and click. You will see a long list of all the cruise critic message boards.

Look to the bottom and select the message board called Ports of Call.

Next look for the message board called Baltic.

You will find lots of information on Vistas and on the Red October and other tour companies.

[cruiseyguy]

The cruiseline pier in St. Pete/Leningrad is within a larger.secure cargo terminal area (cranes, rail lines, admin. buildings, etc.) located some distance (and past security checkpoints) from the city's commercial area. Taxis, buses, etc are available but first-timers would greatly benefit from organized tours-much more time and cost effective (plus no Russian visa required). Smaller cruiselines (e.g., Silversea) can dock much closer to the city but larger ships (Crystal, Celebrity, etc) must dock further out.

[dfilacch]

Dee,

We are going on the Baltic july 30th 2005 on the Connie. It sounds so beautiful. I never been in that neck of the woods.

Denise

P.S. thanks for the helpful advise

[NYDee]

Denise,

We had wanted to do the Baltic on the Connie in the summer 2005. But Celebrity waited so long to come out with the schedule. So we booked the Jewel while we could still get the cabin we wanted and could switch ships if we wanted. Then when the Celebrity prices came out they were a LOT more than the Jewel. And it is not sailing the same itineraries as 2004. So we decided to stay with the Jewel.

I know you will have a great cruise. Everyone we know that has done the Baltic, no matter which ship, has loved it.

Dee

[linh123]

We just returned from the Constellation, Baltic cruise. Regarding St. Petersburg, personally I would not try to do this port on your own. We used Red October and they were wonderful. The brochure says you can not get off the ship in St. Petersburg if you are not on a ship's tour or without an individual visa. This is not true. If you book with a company like Red October, they provide you with a group visa the same as the ship does. Also, if you book Red October, exit the ship exactly the way they tell you. Do not wait where the ship's staff tell you to. As soon as the ship is cleared, which does not take very long at all, you can get off the ship.