Do I need a Russian Visa for St Petersburg or Estonia? If so, is it expensive?

mpbear, just for Russia, and only if you plan to get off the ship on your own, not on RSSC excursions. Operators like Red October, if you book with them independently will take care of this. Otherwise, you can arrange it through the State Department website (not expensive, maybe $30 or so). Or you can pay extra and go through different services like Zierre. I don't think I am spelling this correctly.

Thanks. Should I get any vaccinations? Can't seem to find this out in RSSC brochure.

Like Olivia, I used a private guide for St. Petersburg, and so had to obtain my own Visa through the Russian Consulate in SF. It can be expensive. The basic cost is $100 but I think I ended up paying close to $250 per visa which included charges to expedite them ( they were running 2 weeks behind their normal processing time so I had to pay to expedite it :mad: ). We also needed a "sponsor" (our private guide sent us the appropriate paperwork).

Things may have simplified in the past two years, but unless you are going to be out wandering around on your own, I would use a service like Red October. You will then be under their "Group Visa".

No vaccinations are required.

mpbear, I didn't think I spent as much as Fogmalkin, but perhaps I did. All I know is I went the least expensive way, through the consulate. You might want to try this link to get the information you need about the visa, although I agree with her, just use Red October and you don't have to worry about all these arrangements.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1006.html

To my knowledge, you do not need any innoculations for Russia. I was there in 2001. RSSC is usually very good about letting you know what you need in terms of innoculations, visas, and such. If you have any questions or concerns, I would suggest either calling your travel agent or RSSC directly.

Thanks. I guess it's probably good to have the vaccinations anyway in this day and age.

But why get them if you don't need them, mbbear?

When we were going in 2001, I asked my Dr. about hepatitis vaccine, but he didn't think it necessary. As long as your D/T(Diptheria/Tetanus) is up to date, I wouldn't worry about it.

I was glad we got visas. We were on Navigator which docked on the river right in the city - and it was lovely to be able to get off the ship and take a walk. If you're on Voyager it might not matter as I think she docks further out of town. We had an outdoor cafe (bar <img border="0" alt="[beer]" title="" src="graemlins/beer.gif" /> ) right up the block and it was nice relax and people watch.

So, did you get your visas through a tour company or Russian Embassy. Also, are the Red October tours very superior to what is offered on the Voyager?

mpbear, if you are on a ship's excursion, it will involve coaches, and less use of time to see more. If you book private tours through RSSC, it is going to be VERY expensive. If you book through Red October, you will have neither coaches nor the need to get a visa on your own.

If you want to get your own visa, however, here is the link for information on how to do so through the consulate http://www.russianembassy.org/

What Olivia says is really the key to your question.

You have limited time in St. Petersburg. You want to make the most of that time. You do not want to spend it in line waiting to get into an attraction (believe me, the lines can be long!), and certainly not waiting for others at bathroom or "shopping" stops.

You mentioned that there will be eight of you. I would think that a mini-van can be arranged through Red October. For a first visit they will know what you should and can see within your time frame.

Within your private party you can use a cattle prod to keep your group on track and moving, or slow down and take time as you see fit.

We got our visas through Zierer. And we arranged a private tour for one day through Radisson for our party of 7. We thought it a good value becuase we could then customize to what we wanted and didn't have to wait on others as has been mentioned. It wasn't cheap but I don't recall it being outrageous either. We had a driver and guide for the entire day and thought it well worth the price for the experience. I didn't know about Red October at that time - but we figured that we may never get back to St. Petersberg and so seeing exactly what we wanted to see was worth the price. We did do some ship tours on other days and though they were fine we didn't like the crowds and lines.

and certainly not for Estonia...

They would (almost) be more likely to deny you entry if you had a Russian visa since they weren't happy nor willing participants in the Soviet Union!

Kidding aside, as you've already heard, only Russia and there only if you are doing something independently. Enjoy the Baltic...it's a great cruise!