St Petersburg Immigration Regulations

[JOYCAROL]

I will be disembarking in St Petersbug off the Century in July and would like to know if there is a problem getting off the ship if you have arranged a tour/excursion with a licensed Russian tour agency such as DenRus or Red October. The Celebrity Shore Excursion Guide I just received claims that unless you book a Celebrity excursion directly with them, there is a delay in getting off the ship until 9:30AM. The Russian tour agencies insist that if you book with them and provide all the necessary information (passport numbers etc.) , the ship cannot prevent you from leaving whenever you are ready to disembark.

 

Has anybody had a similar experience when using a licensed Russian tour operator in St. Petersburg? It is my understanding that the VISA regulations/requirements are handled by the tour agency for these kind of "private tours" for groups that book with them, and there is no reason the ship's authorities can prevent you from leaving whenever you please.

 

Thanks for any feedback on this subject.

[Sea Day Cruiser]

I'm on the Star Princess in June. We've also booked a tour with DenRus. Princess information was the same as what you got from Celebrity. One of our group called Princess and was told we wouldn't have any problem getting off. I've also read that it's nothing to worry about, that as long as you have the proper documents you will have no trouble. Sounds like Princess and Celebrity are both saying the same thing in their shore excursion info.

[sjbdtz]

When we arrived in St. Petersburg on the NCL Jewel last year, we presented ourselves on deck 4 mid-ship when they said that the ship had been cleared (about 8a.m.).

 

We went through passport control (10-15 mins) and found our driver (30 seconds).

 

Nobody from the ship asked us which tour we were on, or whether we were on our own...

 

I haven't cruised on any other lines, so I don't know whether they do things differently.

[dileep]

I will be disembarking in St Petersbug off the Century in July and would like to know if there is a problem getting off the ship if you have arranged a tour/excursion with a licensed Russian tour agency such as DenRus or Red October. The Celebrity Shore Excursion Guide I just received claims that unless you book a Celebrity excursion directly with them, there is a delay in getting off the ship until 9:30AM. The Russian tour agencies insist that if you book with them and provide all the necessary information (passport numbers etc.) , the ship cannot prevent you from leaving whenever you are ready to disembark.

 

We were on the Constellation and we got off at 8 am without a problem. Just disembark after they make the announcement that the ship has been cleared. They had separate lines for ship's tours and independents anyway.

 

Red October sent us a tour coupon (ignore what tour it says, ours said half day) that was enough along with our passport.

 

Have a great time. St Petersburg is fantastic!

[JodiBB]

no...you won't have any problems. We got the same message from RCCL last summer....the cruise ships write these messages to prevent from any reprecussions in case immigration does deny you entry and to instill fear from using private companies and using their excursions.

 

We walked right off the ship at 7:00 am promptly (and we were told by RCCL that we wouldn't be allowed off the ship until 9:30 am), walked up to the immigration window, gave them our passport, a copy of our passport and showed them the RO tickets and they let us through...no questions asked!

[seafish]

Jodibb -in your previous post you said - "we walked up to the immigration window gave them our passport, A COPY OF OUR PASSPORT and showed the RO tickets and they let us through ... no questions asked". Could you please further explain the ... A COPY OF OUR PASSPORT ... comment? Do the immigration people need to retain something? Thanks - SeaFish

[MTemple212]

They keep a copy of the first page of your passport. The first page is the page that has all the info on it along with your picture.

[seafish]

They keep a copy of the first page of your passport. The first page is the page that has all the info on it along with your picture.

 

MTemple212 - Thanks for the info. We always have passport copies with us as we travel ... but - we were not aware that Russian immigrations will retain copies. Good to know so we are prepared for Sept 1-2 St Petersburg tours. Again thanks - SeaFish

[MTemple212]

Seafish, yeah we usually have copies of our passports as well. We also place a copy in each piece of our luggage in case it gets lost.

[JodiBB]

Seafish...only on the 1st day of your entrance to St. Petersburg, you must provide immigration a copy of the first page (with your photo and information) of your passport for their records. You do not need to do this for the 2nd day.

[dileep]

Seafish...only on the 1st day of your entrance to St. Petersburg, you must provide immigration a copy of the first page (with your photo and information) of your passport for their records. You do not need to do this for the 2nd day.

 

The Russians will give you another paper on the first day that you need to save for Day 2.

[JodiBB]

The Russians will give you another paper on the first day that you need to save for Day 2.

Hmm...interesting..we didn't get any paper...we did get a red ticket on each day from immigration that we had to return at the end of each day. Make sure you don't lose it! I don't know what happens if you do lose it, but I remember RO making a point to tell us NOT to lose it...so it can't be good?! :eek: :rolleyes:

[SaylorGirl]

On our cruise in September we went independently and had no problems leaving the ship even though we were told we wouldn't be allowed off until all the Princess tours had left the ship. We just waited by the gangplank and walked off. The great thing was while they were all standing in the long passport control line we were able to walk right on through the independent line with no wait. They do need a copy of your passport and in our case our visas.

[seafish]

JodiBB & dileep - Got it! Thanks for the info - very useful. SeaFish