St Petersburg: visa or ship tours?
Apr 6th 2003, 12:58 pm
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
St Petersburg: visa or ship tours?
My wife and I will visit St Petersburg in late May aboard a cruise ship. If we
take tours offered by the ship we need no visa. Otherwise we must buy a visa
at $70 US, not cheap. I'm inclined to get the visa and strike out on my own.
We're there two days. I could stumble around on my own or find a tour there in
St Petersburg or do both.
Can a person get into the great museums, like the Hermitage, arriving with no
prior arrangements?
This seems a little bizarre, that if you take a tour offered by the ship you
need no visa but if you take a tour arranged by an agent ashore you must have a
visa. Am I missing something?
John
take tours offered by the ship we need no visa. Otherwise we must buy a visa
at $70 US, not cheap. I'm inclined to get the visa and strike out on my own.
We're there two days. I could stumble around on my own or find a tour there in
St Petersburg or do both.
Can a person get into the great museums, like the Hermitage, arriving with no
prior arrangements?
This seems a little bizarre, that if you take a tour offered by the ship you
need no visa but if you take a tour arranged by an agent ashore you must have a
visa. Am I missing something?
John
Apr 6th 2003, 3:52 pm
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: St Petersburg: visa or ship tours?
> My wife and I will visit St Petersburg in late May aboard a cruise ship.
If we
> take tours offered by the ship we need no visa. Otherwise we must buy a
visa
> at $70 US, not cheap. I'm inclined to get the visa and strike out on my
own.
> We're there two days. I could stumble around on my own or find a tour
there in
> St Petersburg or do both.
> Can a person get into the great museums, like the Hermitage, arriving with
no
> prior arrangements?
> This seems a little bizarre, that if you take a tour offered by the ship
you
> need no visa but if you take a tour arranged by an agent ashore you must
have a
> visa. Am I missing something?
Visa-free cruises only allow you to visit the city with their tour guides.
That's how they get around the usual stipulation of a visa to enter the
country. It boils down to, if the offered tours are acceptable, the
cruise is a good deal for you. I'm not sure of where the cruise ship
docks, but I suspect it might be near the Pribaltiskaya Hotel on the
west side of the city. You can always take a taxi from there to the
Hermitage Museum. Normally it might only cost $5-10 USD (in
rubles, probably), but since May is the 300th anniversary of the city,
the rates might skyrocket. Many taxi drivers speak no English, only
Russian, so learn how to say "EHR-ma-tahg moo-ZAI-ee? SKOL-ka
E-ta STO-eet??" (Hermitage Museum? How much does that cost?)
Casimer
If we
> take tours offered by the ship we need no visa. Otherwise we must buy a
visa
> at $70 US, not cheap. I'm inclined to get the visa and strike out on my
own.
> We're there two days. I could stumble around on my own or find a tour
there in
> St Petersburg or do both.
> Can a person get into the great museums, like the Hermitage, arriving with
no
> prior arrangements?
> This seems a little bizarre, that if you take a tour offered by the ship
you
> need no visa but if you take a tour arranged by an agent ashore you must
have a
> visa. Am I missing something?
Visa-free cruises only allow you to visit the city with their tour guides.
That's how they get around the usual stipulation of a visa to enter the
country. It boils down to, if the offered tours are acceptable, the
cruise is a good deal for you. I'm not sure of where the cruise ship
docks, but I suspect it might be near the Pribaltiskaya Hotel on the
west side of the city. You can always take a taxi from there to the
Hermitage Museum. Normally it might only cost $5-10 USD (in
rubles, probably), but since May is the 300th anniversary of the city,
the rates might skyrocket. Many taxi drivers speak no English, only
Russian, so learn how to say "EHR-ma-tahg moo-ZAI-ee? SKOL-ka
E-ta STO-eet??" (Hermitage Museum? How much does that cost?)
Casimer
Apr 6th 2003, 10:53 pm
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: St Petersburg: visa or ship tours?
OCEANRADIO wrote:
> My wife and I will visit St Petersburg in late May aboard a cruise ship.
> If we take tours offered by the ship we need no visa. Otherwise we must
> buy a visa at $70 US, not cheap. I'm inclined to get the visa and strike
> out on my own. We're there two days. I could stumble around on my own or
> find a tour there in St Petersburg or do both. Can a person get into the
> great museums, like the Hermitage, arriving with no prior arrangements?
Absolutely. They're just museums, they want you to visit. They charge
foreigners extra, so they will be happy to see you.
You will miss things not going on a tour - but you will experience so
many other things. There is nothing like trying to order a meal from
someone you share no language with.
Learn the cyrillic alphabet if you have time. Being able to read signs
helps a lot: and many russian words that look quite strange written down
are pronounced the same as their english equivalents.
> This seems a little bizarre, that if you take a tour offered by the ship
> you need no visa but if you take a tour arranged by an agent ashore you
> must have a visa. Am I missing something? John
They still like to control foreigners: with the tour group you will have
no freedom of movement. I'd guess the cruise ship has some sort of
group visa arrangement.
Note you need an invitation to get a visa. Normally the hotel or your
tour provides this. You'll have to get one from your cruise. Hopefully
that won't be a problem.
joan
-- Joan McGalliard, UK http://www.mcgalliard.org
> My wife and I will visit St Petersburg in late May aboard a cruise ship.
> If we take tours offered by the ship we need no visa. Otherwise we must
> buy a visa at $70 US, not cheap. I'm inclined to get the visa and strike
> out on my own. We're there two days. I could stumble around on my own or
> find a tour there in St Petersburg or do both. Can a person get into the
> great museums, like the Hermitage, arriving with no prior arrangements?
Absolutely. They're just museums, they want you to visit. They charge
foreigners extra, so they will be happy to see you.
You will miss things not going on a tour - but you will experience so
many other things. There is nothing like trying to order a meal from
someone you share no language with.
Learn the cyrillic alphabet if you have time. Being able to read signs
helps a lot: and many russian words that look quite strange written down
are pronounced the same as their english equivalents.
> This seems a little bizarre, that if you take a tour offered by the ship
> you need no visa but if you take a tour arranged by an agent ashore you
> must have a visa. Am I missing something? John
They still like to control foreigners: with the tour group you will have
no freedom of movement. I'd guess the cruise ship has some sort of
group visa arrangement.
Note you need an invitation to get a visa. Normally the hotel or your
tour provides this. You'll have to get one from your cruise. Hopefully
that won't be a problem.
joan
-- Joan McGalliard, UK http://www.mcgalliard.org
Apr 7th 2003, 3:54 am
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: St Petersburg: visa or ship tours?
On 07 Apr 2003 00:58:43 GMT, [email protected] (OCEANRADIO) wrote:
>My wife and I will visit St Petersburg in late May aboard a cruise ship. If we
>take tours offered by the ship we need no visa. Otherwise we must buy a visa
>at $70 US, not cheap. I'm inclined to get the visa and strike out on my own.
>We're there two days. I could stumble around on my own or find a tour there in
>St Petersburg or do both.
>Can a person get into the great museums, like the Hermitage, arriving with no
>prior arrangements?
>This seems a little bizarre, that if you take a tour offered by the ship you
>need no visa but if you take a tour arranged by an agent ashore you must have a
>visa. Am I missing something?
>John
Are you on the Constellation?
Anyway, I have solution to your problem. Russian tour operators can get you a
"pass" (i.e. no visa needed), are less expensive than those outrageous Celebrity
tours, and you get a van instead of a bus, to boot. I am on the Constellation
for that date and we are using Red October for both days in port.
Email me.
--
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
- Abraham Lincoln
>My wife and I will visit St Petersburg in late May aboard a cruise ship. If we
>take tours offered by the ship we need no visa. Otherwise we must buy a visa
>at $70 US, not cheap. I'm inclined to get the visa and strike out on my own.
>We're there two days. I could stumble around on my own or find a tour there in
>St Petersburg or do both.
>Can a person get into the great museums, like the Hermitage, arriving with no
>prior arrangements?
>This seems a little bizarre, that if you take a tour offered by the ship you
>need no visa but if you take a tour arranged by an agent ashore you must have a
>visa. Am I missing something?
>John
Are you on the Constellation?
Anyway, I have solution to your problem. Russian tour operators can get you a
"pass" (i.e. no visa needed), are less expensive than those outrageous Celebrity
tours, and you get a van instead of a bus, to boot. I am on the Constellation
for that date and we are using Red October for both days in port.
Email me.
--
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
- Abraham Lincoln
