Cruises to St. Petersburg
Aug 9th 2004, 1:38 am
#31
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Cruises to St. Petersburg
Markku Grönroos <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> ?ystein kirjoitti:
>
> >
> >It is not difficult or expencive to arrange your own visa. If you
> >apply more than 10 days before you need to pick it up you get a better
> >price than if you need it on a shorter notice. Make sure you have a
> >letter of invitation before you arrive at the embassy. If the hotel
> >
> >
>
> What about one is not invited and yet willing to apply for a visa? It is
> not granted?
The short answer is no.
It is easy to get one though. When you book a hotel they give you an
invitation. Normally for the number of nights you are saying there,
but If you ask for a say 7 days invitation in order to book
accomondation for 3 nights there, it should be possible. Just remember
to say this clare, before you book.
Øystein
> ?ystein kirjoitti:
>
> >
> >It is not difficult or expencive to arrange your own visa. If you
> >apply more than 10 days before you need to pick it up you get a better
> >price than if you need it on a shorter notice. Make sure you have a
> >letter of invitation before you arrive at the embassy. If the hotel
> >
> >
>
> What about one is not invited and yet willing to apply for a visa? It is
> not granted?
The short answer is no.
It is easy to get one though. When you book a hotel they give you an
invitation. Normally for the number of nights you are saying there,
but If you ask for a say 7 days invitation in order to book
accomondation for 3 nights there, it should be possible. Just remember
to say this clare, before you book.
Øystein
Aug 9th 2004, 4:13 am
#32
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Cruises to St. Petersburg
On 9 Aug 2004 03:34:51 -0700, [email protected] (?ystein)
wrote:
>Laura F Spira <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected] k>...
>> Karen Selwyn wrote:
>> > ?ystein wrote:
>> >
>> >>
>> >> No, if I can guess from what country you are by your name, you have to
>> >> have a visa to visit Russia.
>> >
>> >
>> > Do not use the information about land-based tour travel or independent
>> > travel to answer visa questions about cruise ports of call in Russia.
>> > The process is quite different. Cruise lines have made arrangements for
>> > passengers taking ship-sponsored excursions in the city of St.
>> > Petersburg to do so without the need for a tourist visa. Cruisers
>> > wishing to tour independently or with St. Petersburg-based tour
>> > companies must still obtain a visa. By offering their passengers the
>> > "carrot" of visiting Russia without a visa, the cruise lines have
>> > developed a strategy for maximizing their income for their excursions.
>> >
>>
>> My understanding is that visas are always required for visiting Russia,
>> however you arrive. For those arriving on a cruise ship, taking the
>> cruise company's tour saves individuals the bother of getting their own
>> because the company does it for them on a group basis. Similarly, when
>> visiting Helsinki independently on a previous occasion, I was offered a
>> sea trip to St Petersburg: a visa was needed but the tour organisers
>> would arrange it. I have no doubt that the premium paid for the service
>> is significant but I don't know how much cheaper it is to arrange your
>> own visa, or how easy this is.
>You have the exact right impression. Some travel agenies arrange the
>apply for visa for their customers, but everybody (from a country that
>need a visa) has to have a individual visa for entrying Russia. There
>have been some simplifications when it comes to city-breaks and other
>short visits the last few years, but as
>rule of thumb you need a visa _before_ you arrive to Russia.
For what it's worth it saays at
http://gotorussia.vand.ru/15.phtml:
"No visa is required for foreign tourists traveling as cruise
passengers on board foreign and Russianships and going ashore in
Russian ports if they are in possession of a valid national
internal orforeign passport, and on condition that the stop in
the port does not exceed 48 hours, and travelersstay overnight on
board the cruise ship and leave the port on board the same ship"
************* DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
wrote:
>Laura F Spira <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected] k>...
>> Karen Selwyn wrote:
>> > ?ystein wrote:
>> >
>> >>
>> >> No, if I can guess from what country you are by your name, you have to
>> >> have a visa to visit Russia.
>> >
>> >
>> > Do not use the information about land-based tour travel or independent
>> > travel to answer visa questions about cruise ports of call in Russia.
>> > The process is quite different. Cruise lines have made arrangements for
>> > passengers taking ship-sponsored excursions in the city of St.
>> > Petersburg to do so without the need for a tourist visa. Cruisers
>> > wishing to tour independently or with St. Petersburg-based tour
>> > companies must still obtain a visa. By offering their passengers the
>> > "carrot" of visiting Russia without a visa, the cruise lines have
>> > developed a strategy for maximizing their income for their excursions.
>> >
>>
>> My understanding is that visas are always required for visiting Russia,
>> however you arrive. For those arriving on a cruise ship, taking the
>> cruise company's tour saves individuals the bother of getting their own
>> because the company does it for them on a group basis. Similarly, when
>> visiting Helsinki independently on a previous occasion, I was offered a
>> sea trip to St Petersburg: a visa was needed but the tour organisers
>> would arrange it. I have no doubt that the premium paid for the service
>> is significant but I don't know how much cheaper it is to arrange your
>> own visa, or how easy this is.
>You have the exact right impression. Some travel agenies arrange the
>apply for visa for their customers, but everybody (from a country that
>need a visa) has to have a individual visa for entrying Russia. There
>have been some simplifications when it comes to city-breaks and other
>short visits the last few years, but as
>rule of thumb you need a visa _before_ you arrive to Russia.
For what it's worth it saays at
http://gotorussia.vand.ru/15.phtml:
"No visa is required for foreign tourists traveling as cruise
passengers on board foreign and Russianships and going ashore in
Russian ports if they are in possession of a valid national
internal orforeign passport, and on condition that the stop in
the port does not exceed 48 hours, and travelersstay overnight on
board the cruise ship and leave the port on board the same ship"
************* DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
Aug 9th 2004, 7:40 pm
#33
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Cruises to St. Petersburg
Hatunen <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>. ..
> On 9 Aug 2004 03:34:51 -0700, [email protected] (?ystein)
> wrote:
>
> >Laura F Spira <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected] k>...
> >> >
> >>
> >> My understanding is that visas are always required for visiting Russia,
> >> however you arrive. For those arriving on a cruise ship, taking the
> >> cruise company's tour saves individuals the bother of getting their own
> >> because the company does it for them on a group basis. Similarly, when
> >> visiting Helsinki independently on a previous occasion, I was offered a
> >> sea trip to St Petersburg: a visa was needed but the tour organisers
> >> would arrange it. I have no doubt that the premium paid for the service
> >> is significant but I don't know how much cheaper it is to arrange your
> >> own visa, or how easy this is.
> >
> >You have the exact right impression. Some travel agenies arrange the
> >apply for visa for their customers, but everybody (from a country that
> >need a visa) has to have a individual visa for entrying Russia. There
> >have been some simplifications when it comes to city-breaks and other
> >short visits the last few years, but as
> >rule of thumb you need a visa _before_ you arrive to Russia.
>
> For what it's worth it saays at
> http://gotorussia.vand.ru/15.phtml:
>
> "No visa is required for foreign tourists traveling as cruise
> passengers on board foreign and Russianships and going ashore in
> Russian ports if they are in possession of a valid national
> internal orforeign passport, and on condition that the stop in
> the port does not exceed 48 hours, and travelersstay overnight on
> board the cruise ship and leave the port on board the same ship"
>
This might be true. I see the quote is from a travel agency and not
from the Russian authorities though and that means there could be
misunderstandings or the information could be outdated. That the rules
changes relatively rappidly does also imply that Russian police and
customs authorites have a hard time catching up (those who have asked
a littele unusual questions about the declarance rules know what I
mean).
I also have read that there are different rules depending on where you
are from, when it comes to more flexible short stay in Russia. For
instance it has become easier to visit at a city break in St
Petersburg for EU-citizens, but this rules (that is what I read) is
not valid for Americans. The reason is that one does not expect
American citizens to go that far for a weekend.
But again this could be true. It is also a special situation compared
with my focus on a tourist visa that should be registered within 3
days and therefore of course is most relevant for a stay for 3 days or
more (up to 30 or 90 days).
Jan
> On 9 Aug 2004 03:34:51 -0700, [email protected] (?ystein)
> wrote:
>
> >Laura F Spira <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected] k>...
> >> >
> >>
> >> My understanding is that visas are always required for visiting Russia,
> >> however you arrive. For those arriving on a cruise ship, taking the
> >> cruise company's tour saves individuals the bother of getting their own
> >> because the company does it for them on a group basis. Similarly, when
> >> visiting Helsinki independently on a previous occasion, I was offered a
> >> sea trip to St Petersburg: a visa was needed but the tour organisers
> >> would arrange it. I have no doubt that the premium paid for the service
> >> is significant but I don't know how much cheaper it is to arrange your
> >> own visa, or how easy this is.
> >
> >You have the exact right impression. Some travel agenies arrange the
> >apply for visa for their customers, but everybody (from a country that
> >need a visa) has to have a individual visa for entrying Russia. There
> >have been some simplifications when it comes to city-breaks and other
> >short visits the last few years, but as
> >rule of thumb you need a visa _before_ you arrive to Russia.
>
> For what it's worth it saays at
> http://gotorussia.vand.ru/15.phtml:
>
> "No visa is required for foreign tourists traveling as cruise
> passengers on board foreign and Russianships and going ashore in
> Russian ports if they are in possession of a valid national
> internal orforeign passport, and on condition that the stop in
> the port does not exceed 48 hours, and travelersstay overnight on
> board the cruise ship and leave the port on board the same ship"
>
This might be true. I see the quote is from a travel agency and not
from the Russian authorities though and that means there could be
misunderstandings or the information could be outdated. That the rules
changes relatively rappidly does also imply that Russian police and
customs authorites have a hard time catching up (those who have asked
a littele unusual questions about the declarance rules know what I
mean).
I also have read that there are different rules depending on where you
are from, when it comes to more flexible short stay in Russia. For
instance it has become easier to visit at a city break in St
Petersburg for EU-citizens, but this rules (that is what I read) is
not valid for Americans. The reason is that one does not expect
American citizens to go that far for a weekend.
But again this could be true. It is also a special situation compared
with my focus on a tourist visa that should be registered within 3
days and therefore of course is most relevant for a stay for 3 days or
more (up to 30 or 90 days).
Jan
