Should we get visa for St. Petersburg

[Point Loma Cruiser]

Traveling on NCL Jewel 6/10/08; thinking about the ship's shore excursions vs. private tour company in St. Petersburg. There are six of us. We understand that visas are not required for either ship's excursions or private company tours, but we wondered if it might be smart to have a visa so that we can do some independent touring if time permits. Any thoughts on this from those of you who've been there, done that? Thanks for your help.

[leprechaun2]

You really don't want to stray off on your own in St. Pete. Stay with the ship's excursions. Much safer. IMHO, of course.

[lamwnfa]

I wouldn't go out on my our either. The port (at least where we docked) was quite a distance from any of the sights and not in a very particularly "nice" area. We booked a private tour with Denrus and were absolutely delighted with the whole experience.

[insidecabin]

Some smaller ships dock close to the center but most are at the industrial port,

 

I think using a private tour guide and make it for the full 2 days is the way to go, you will be so tired you won't want to do anything else.

 

On our trip we used Alla and some stayed out for an evening meal but were still back around 9pm IIRC, another option for the evening is the ballet.

[exarche02]

We were there last summer. We used the ship's excursions for both days and couldn't have been more pleased. I don't think I would have wanted to go off on my own even I did have a visa. Once during the tour I had to use the restroom and the tour guide told me to go across the street to a hotel (my husband and I had to go alone). Well, once we got in the hotel we couldn't find the restroom and no one working in the lobby spoke English or could understand what I was asking...that was enough for me of being on my own in Russia. :)

[skwir]

Going it alone is not a good idea. Niether are the ship tours. There are some very good tour companies out there, the best being Red October. They will personnalize your tours to your tastes and time schedule. They get all the documents needed. The cost will be around the same as the ship tours but no large groups and the guide is your personal guide.

[soozles]

I would get a visa just in case, but it's your choice. My parents got visas when they went on that cruise, but they're both originally from Russia, my mom is actually from St. Petersburg (although then it was still Leningrad). So they went off on their own, walked to my mom's old apartment and school. But, they also know the language and speak fluently as they immigrated to the US as adults, and still have the Russian/European style of clothing, so they could pass for Russian nationals instead of tourists. Not sure if it's advisable to go off on your own if you don't know the language and are obviously a tourist.

[taxmantoo]

Traveling on NCL Jewel 6/10/08; thinking about the ship's shore excursions vs. private tour company in St. Petersburg. There are six of us. We understand that visas are not required for either ship's excursions or private company tours, but we wondered if it might be smart to have a visa so that we can do some independent touring if time permits. Any thoughts on this from those of you who've been there, done that? Thanks for your help.

 

Welcome Aboard...We already have a roll call going for this cruise and you can get lots of information there.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=694390

 

I have already organized a private tour with Anastasia Travel for 8 people (actually still looking for 2 to fill up). They look after the visas and we get to travel in a much smaller and manageble group than with the ship's excursions at a fraction of the cost (I really don't care to find out out long it takes 50 people to go to the bathroom). I'm sure as more and more people book for the cruise the roll call will expand and more people will be looking to form private groups. It definitely is the way to go in St. Petersburg.