We're going on a 12 day Moscow to St. Petersburg river cruise in a few weeks. Has anyone else done one of these? Any recommendations for attire during 1) shore excursions; 2) evening meals? Any other comments/insights welcomed.
Anyone cruised in Russia?
- Thread starter friar1610
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My mother did this many years ago. Her observation was that they seemed to stop at every town along the river with a church, no matter how small or large. And that many were under repair to the extent no one was allowed to enter or were closed for some reason. She was not impressed with the tour operators or the sites they selected.
The food was OK, not great. She wore comfortable shoes & cloths, since there was a lot of bus travel.
The food was OK, not great. She wore comfortable shoes & cloths, since there was a lot of bus travel.
Do you have to obtain ONI (or whatever we're calling it now) permission before going behind the Iron Curtain?
I'm always a tad paranoid about my name being on some Cold Warrior list.
No, I didn't need their permission because I'm well outside the time frame when that was required. And, they ain't commie Soviets any more; they're our capitalist Russian friends, so no more Iron Curtain.
rescueme
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
We had a 2-day stopover in St. Pete's last year while we on our Baltic Cruise.
It may be that since we were on a cruise ship, the rules were different, but we could not get through passport control without having a valid on-shore tour ticket (from the ship) or used an authorized private shore (pre-approved) tour guide.
You could not just get off the ship and "walk around town" on your own.
If you are on an internal river cruise, the rules may be different outside the "big cities", but you should have that info from your tour company or travel agent. BTW, a separate visa was not required, but of course a valid passport was.
It may be that since we were on a cruise ship, the rules were different, but we could not get through passport control without having a valid on-shore tour ticket (from the ship) or used an authorized private shore (pre-approved) tour guide.
You could not just get off the ship and "walk around town" on your own.
If you are on an internal river cruise, the rules may be different outside the "big cities", but you should have that info from your tour company or travel agent. BTW, a separate visa was not required, but of course a valid passport was.
Grainiac
Recycles dryer sheets
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- Aug 12, 2010
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The international cruise ship passangers are the ONLY exception for Russian Federation visa requirements. I would guess that since the OP will be originating the cruise within Russia, they will be required to have a visa prior to entering Russia and starting the cruise. With a Russian visa there should not be any restrictions for freely roaming in the port cities.
Yes; that is the case. We had to get visas (which are not cheap.) And they ask a lot of questions, particularly about any military service you may have had.
