St. Petersburg (getting off ship)

[leonardray]

Other ships are stopping people from getting off ships until their tours get off first. Has anyone had problems with Oceania in St. Petersburg. Thanks for your responses.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

Other ships are stopping people from getting off ships until their tours get off first. Has anyone had problems with Oceania in St. Petersburg. Thanks for your responses.

 

Maybe you should post this query on the main Oceania board. There might be people who have completed their cruise who won't be coming back to the Regatta roll call board for a while.

 

I sure hope there won't be a problem with the Regatta!

[DOJO466]

Other ships are stopping people from getting off ships until their tours get off first. Has anyone had problems with Oceania in St. Petersburg. Thanks for your responses.

 

Regatta did send a letter before docking in SP that says the tours get off first. And it baltantly said that the Russian Immigration controlled who got off and when..an absolute untruth. We ignored it and got off when we wanted with no problem. There was a line the first day but it moved quickly, days 2 & 3 no problem at all.

[loradora]

We took an Alla Tour in early June and had no problem getting off the ship.

[lovecruisingtoo]

Stanj, over on the TripAdvisor forums has posted a lot of background on this issue. Here is a link to the information he has posted:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g298507-i707-k2933915-New_Tactic_by_cruise_ships_to_intimidate_passengers-St_Petersburg_North_West_Russia.html

 

I also sent a note to FDR alerting him to the issue and the fact that O was sending out the letters with incorrect / false information.

 

Have not heard back from him.

[leonardray]

I would like to know who moved this post and why. If I wanted it on Oceania cruises that is where I would have put it. Please put it back to Regatta roll calls as that is the only Oceania ship that goes to St Petersburg at this time. Thank you

[Fontana]

We took an Alla Tour in early June and had no problem getting off the ship.

 

We were on the June 15th cruise (Dover to Stockholm). We had private tours for 2 days whilst docked in StP (the first day we went on the ship arranged day tour to Moscow).

 

Like loradora, we had *no* problems getting off the ship swiftly on both occasions.

 

I would like to know who moved this post and why. If I wanted it on Oceania cruises that is where I would have put it. Please put it back to Regatta roll calls as that is the only Oceania ship that goes to St Petersburg at this time. Thank you

 

*I only check the roll calls, if I have a cruise booked. At this time we haven't decided on the destination of our next cruise with Oceania, hence I would not have seen your question if it remained in the Regatta Roll Calls thread.

[jerseygirl007]

We heard the same thing when we visited St. Petersburg on the Rotterdam, 2 years ago. We had a private tour booked with Red October (which I highly recommend). Our group, along with others who were not on the ship's tours were at the exit early and were able to disembark immediately upon the ship being cleared. We had no difficulty.

[lovecruisingtoo]

I would like to know who moved this post and why. If I wanted it on Oceania cruises that is where I would have put it. Please put it back to Regatta roll calls as that is the only Oceania ship that goes to St Petersburg at this time. Thank you

 

I think this is the proper place for the post. It may be specific to the Regatta but it is not specific to one specific cruise.

[CintiPam]

Is St. Petersburg a tender port for Oceania? If not, it cannot take very long.

[orchestrapal]

NO, it is not a teder port.:)

[Hunding]

Is St. Petersburg a tender port for Oceania? If not, it cannot take very long.

 

The Regatta docks up the Neva River in the heart of the city (as does the Azamara Quest). From her bow you can look upriver and see the Hermitage on your right and the Peter & Paul Fortress on your left. Larger ships (i.e., most others) are consigned to the industrial harbor at the mouth of the Neva. It's really quite a plus in accessing the wonders of St. Petersburg - rather like sailing into Paris on a barge, and pulling up alongside a quai in the heart of the city.

[Bowie MeMe]

I would think that being in the center of town would be wonderful. I was on a megaPrincess and indeed getting in and out of the port area was a problem. For some reason had to have a red piece of paper and that was what caused the delay. While waiting in line for the Russian official there was a fantastic brass band of very elderly but lively gentlemen. Perhaps they have to check additonally for those on private tours because a visa is required to land in St. Pete and must be arranged/paid for prior to landing.

 

Flame alert!:p Why do the people that brag so much about how cheap they get their tours and how superior they are to not take shore excursions get so upset when passengers who have the line's excursions get first consideration and first off privledges? Rank has its privledges and perhaps cruise line shore excursions also have some privledges. If you just are patient all 3000 get off. Believe it or not I get tired of waiting for my specific tour to be called also but that does not mean I can get cranky, pushy or rude.

 

Do you get so upset that folks who pay extra to dine in a restaurant get a menu/service that is not what dining room gets? Very similar situation when you think about it. Life is too short to spend much time worrying about always being the pushy first one off. Better be the first one back on board also -- the ship does not wait for private tours.

[StanandJim]

The Regatta docks up the Neva River in the heart of the city (as does the Azamara Quest). From her bow you can look upriver and see the Hermitage on your right and the Peter & Paul Fortress on your left.

 

Actually there are five berths in that area of the Neva which can handle ships of the Regatta's size and it is luck of the draw as to which one you'll get.

We berthed right outside the Hermitage in '07.

 

It should be noted here that St. Petersburg is an unusual port in that one does not have free access to get on and off of the ship as you please.

 

A mini "customs office" is set up at the foot of the gangplank and passengers must be cleared by Russian officials to get off and onto the ship.

 

This "customs office" is open in the evening, but is not open all night. I believe it closed soon after midnight

 

On our cruise, two couples who had gotten individual Russian Visas returned after the customs officials had gone home and could not reboard the ship until morning.

[agnesd]

I was on the Regatta in June and we did not dock in town. We docked in the industrial shipyard located just beyond the city. We did not have to wait for the ships tours. We disembarked when the ship docked without any trouble.

[LAexNY]

I would think that being in the center of town would be wonderful. I was on a megaPrincess and indeed getting in and out of the port area was a problem. For some reason had to have a red piece of paper and that was what caused the delay. While waiting in line for the Russian official there was a fantastic brass band of very elderly but lively gentlemen. Perhaps they have to check additonally for those on private tours because a visa is required to land in St. Pete and must be arranged/paid for prior to landing.

 

Flame alert!:p Why do the people that brag so much about how cheap they get their tours and how superior they are to not take shore excursions get so upset when passengers who have the line's excursions get first consideration and first off privledges? Rank has its privledges and perhaps cruise line shore excursions also have some privledges. If you just are patient all 3000 get off. Believe it or not I get tired of waiting for my specific tour to be called also but that does not mean I can get cranky, pushy or rude.

 

Do you get so upset that folks who pay extra to dine in a restaurant get a menu/service that is not what dining room gets? Very similar situation when you think about it. Life is too short to spend much time worrying about always being the pushy first one off. Better be the first one back on board also -- the ship does not wait for private tours.

 

OK, here's your first flame:

You totally miss the point. It is one thing in a tender port for Oceania to give priority to their own tours. Only so many people can go on each tender. It is absolutely uncalled for, unnecessary and perhaps even illegal for them to do this at the dock when all that is needed is to walk down the gangplank. Especially when they falsely claim that it is a requirement of Russian immigration control!

[calvin81]

One more comment about the placement of this thread. I am booked on the July 26, 2010 Baltic cruise and feel it is too early to start a roll call. I'm sure there aren't many people booked yet. And the Baltic cruise is not the only one going to St. Petersburg. But I am very interested in learning about ports and how Oceania handles the St. Petersburg situation. I've looked in the ports forum, but many posts are other lines and aren't applicable. Thanks for moving it here.

[LHT28]

One more comment about the placement of this thread. I am booked on the July 26, 2010 Baltic cruise and feel it is too early to start a roll call.

It is never too early !! :D

There are roll calls as far ahead as Oct 2010

 

Lyn

[orchestrapal]

"Rank has its privileges and perhaps cruise line shore excursions also have some privileges. If you just are patient all 3000 get off. Believe it or not I get tired of waiting for my specific tour to be called also but that does not mean I can get cranky, pushy or rude".

 

I guess you HAVE NEVER BEEEN ON AN OCEANIA SHIP!

We have never experienced anything like you describe

and hope never to experience it.:confused:

[Bowie MeMe]

You are so right! My first O trip is coming in 35 days! I have been on the Tahitian Princess (former R) a few years ago and it was a wonderful experience. Small ship pleased me alot for that trip. Mega ships are great in some ways, smaller ships have a different kind of fun, and tiny ships (24 passenger river boat on Amazon River) turned out to be basic but oh so marvelous and different (Pirranah fish for supper -- I caught it!).

 

Before booking think about what you want from THIS vacation and try to match up considering cost, excursion possiblities, and size of ship. I have made many of these decisions over the last 25 years of cruising and I HAVE loved every cruise and usually for a different reason each time.

Hopelessly in love with traveling, severe itchy feet and wanderlust.

[Nancipants]

Just got back from the July 25 Baltic cruise. We received a letter about the order for disembarking in St. Pete, but there wasn't any reminder of this when it actually came time to leave the ship. It was very "much ado about nothing."

[LJRVancouver]

Did Baltic cruise on Regatta last August. Did not dock in shipyards but closer to town on Neva which is only suitable for smaller ships. We organized a tour through Alla tours (formed our group of 6 using the Alla bulletin board - strangers became great friends & continue to be in regular contact). 3 day tour highly highly recommended. As for getting off boat - O try & accomodate their excursions first but they can't stop you. We were down at gangplank when it opened - we even had the nerve to take the stickers they were giving to passengers to identify them on O excursions. No problems we were off & through pass control in no time at all. Alla arrange for your VISA but you must book tour before you arrive.

[1985rz1]

I'm sorry to say, but on our stop at St Petersburg (July 16-18) Azamara Journey Security folks did prevent private tour passengers from disembarking before the ship tours were off on the first day. We tried to get off, but were turned back.

 

This was the only downer on the trip...and we do believe that Azamara manufactured the "order" and that it was not a new rule instigated by Russian Immigration as Azamara purported. Perhaps it was a "rule" created by the vendors of the ships tours. It reflects poorly on Azamara and its reputation for honesty for what I consider an otherwise great line. It seems that Oceania was more accommodating.

[lovecruisingtoo]

Am on the Regatta now and they did publish the statement about Russian Immigration REQUIRING Oceania tours to get off first. However they did not enforce it.

 

Talked to the Purser and he vacillated about the "requirement". Bottom line he stood by the statement.

[CintiPam]

If it is not a tender port, is there really any practical difference for a 684-passenger ship if ship tour passengers are allowed to get off first?