Caropooh
POO, are you? POO POO, POO POO!
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2005
- Messages
- 11,200
I have a question about these private tours in St. Petersburg: Is anyone who booked with Anastasia, Denrus, Red October, etc. getting their own individual visas?
I'm getting conflicting information on whether a visa is needed. DCL says you must have a visa unless you are taking the ship's excursions. But all the tour operators say you don't need a visa if you are with a licensed local tour operator. Individual visas are expensive, but I'm worried about not being let off the ship if DCL insists we have our own visas.
Just curious... what's everyone else doing?
This is what I'm wondering about. There seems to be contradictory information. The DCL website says you have to get an individual tourist visa (issued and stamped on your passport) AND have the confirmation letter from the Russian tour company, or they won't let you off the ship. But the tour companies all say you do not need any visa if you are with a licensed tour company.
Also the DCL website states:
"Additional information is available at the U.S. Department of State website." But the U.S Dept. of state website says "International cruise ship passengers do not need visas if they remain with authorized tour groups at all times while ashore." See http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1006.html.
Just wondering: for those of you who have booked with a private tour...Are you going to get actual visas stamped in your passport beforehand? Did you get some document from the tour company that says "blanket visa", or did they just say don't worry you don't need a visa?
Here's my answer from where you posted the question on the "Baltic Planning" thread also!
The private tour companies will issue you a "blanket visa."
Once you book with them and get confirmed, they send you a form to fill out. They'll need names, passport numbers and expiration date, and a few other things. Closer to the cruise, they send you the documents you'll need to get off the ship. You'll aslo need 2 color copies of your passport.
This is what it says in the email I recieved from Anastasia.
There is just the completed visa-free form needed so that we could providethe visa-free disembarkation for You. You are welcome to send it any time,there is still no rush.Then, no later than one month before Your arrival we will send You all thenecessary documents and will be able to fix the Dollar price for theitinerary.
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