We are leaving on the July 2nd Baltics cruise with my family (yes I am the 28 year old neice or one half of the "penthouse girls") and I have a Visa Question.

I currently have a Canadian work Visa (previously I worked for a Canadian company and did quite a bit of travel in Toronto) and I remember filling out paperwork to get that Visa.

My Aunt asked our TA about filling out paperwork for the Moscow side trip we are doing and she said Radisson is taking care of this for us.

Is this a group travel Visa? How would Radisson be able to fill out 7 pages of questions on us to grant that Visa. Are we missing something?

Please advise or I might have to sit in my room and cry when everyone else leaves to see Red Square :)

Thanks, Jenn

Jenn:

Congrats on that marvelous upgrade.

My DH was looking around the web for info on whether we'd need visas for a potential cruise and found this site:

http://www.travisa.com/travelvisa.htm

I'm sure a quick inquiry to your TA and/or Radisson will answer your question re how the process works. I suspect it's very different from a visa that authorizes you to work in a country!

It will be a wonderful trip and we'll all be awaiting your review (from your own perspective!). ;)

Hi Jenn,

Welcome to LCT! You're so lucky to be going in such a nice group ( and accomodations! :) ) to your Baltics cruise.

I assume you're going with the RSSC sponsored day trip to Moscow? If so, it's my understanding that indeed you don't have to do anything additional and that Radisson takes care of whatever is required. If you were going on your own, then you woukd have to worry about getting an individual visa.

I didn't do the side trip to Moscow but remember checking into the requirements at the time. I'm sure others that did it will chime in soon!

Have a great cruise!

Hey Jenn,

I just found this link on the Radisson site. http://www.zvs.com/login_form?came_from=http%3A//www.zvs.com/members&retry=
Log on this site with Radisson and 77720 and find our cruise. It states: Russia (Required only if going ashore independently or participating in Moscow the Beautiful program)

It doesn't look like we need a visa.

Last year we did the 4 night pre-cruise in Moscow. Yes, we had to have a Russian visa. We got it through Zierer Visa Service (ZVS). You have to carry it with you at all times. We saw alot of people having their papers checked by the police. We did not; but did see alot of people getting checked in and around Red Square. Check with Radisson and see if it is required for a one day tour from St. Pete's. You probably won't need one if you stay with the group but do not wonder off in a store or anywhere else. It is well worth the trouble of getting one if necessary. You will really like Moscow. The Kremlin is worth the trip; especially the Armory!

Thanks, J&J, We are taking the one day trip to Moscow and Radisson is taking care of the visa for us. I appreciate the heads-up to staying with the gorup while there.

If a foreign national takes any kind of a tour with a government accredited agency (Russian in this case) from the point of landing and return, no visa is required.There can be no breaking away from the tour for any reason.
If a private tour is contemplated, then a visitors' visa is required. Visas can be obtained from the embassies or consulates in large U.S. Cities. There is no need to pay agencies high fees to fill out forms and supply processing fees.
Just follow instructions precisely.

Nevi - I agree with you entirely regarding obtaining your own visa (if you need one, which is not likely if you're on the ship's tour) rather than use a service like Zierer. I was quite unimpressed by that service, since they charge twice what the visa costs and also keep your passport for an absurdly long period of time. When we got our private visas for St. Petersburg last year, we got them directly from the Russian Consulate in Seattle, for $80. each, and they only needed our passports for one week, as opposed to the six weeks quoted by Zierer. Since I was traveling a lot on business, I could not let Zierer have my passport for that long. Thus, if someone needs a private visa, you can get the sponsor letter from Radisson (I think it came from their Russian travel service and was very easy to obtain via email) and use the nearest Russian consulate, either in person or by mail (actually, FedEx or some other overnight courier service which tracks delivery). Cheers, Fred

By the way. The amount a country charges for a visa is the same amount that the U.S. charges a citizen of that country for a visa. It is called "reciprocity" in International Law.