where did you see it? Link?

The company is called St Peter Line (www.stpeterline.ru).
The ship originally ran between Stockholm and Helsinki as Silja Line's FINLANDIA and then became the QUEEN OF SCANDINAVIA of DFDS.

thanks

I think a visa is not required for up to 3 days if you stay on the boat - not i n a hotel (the ship line gets a sort of group visa). I would double check if that holds for a boat that just drops you off (if that is what this does - as a "ferry" would).

Geoff-

Thanks for that link. I read it somewhere else and it was not clear. This is good news. As long as they don't change the rules while I'm there, it sounds like something I'd love to do!! I hate sending my passport off to get visas - I guess I'm not very trusting.

ny-

That's not how I read it. The above website says 72 hours without a visa when arriving by ferry. That's quite a change from what I would expect.

According to the website reservations are available starting March 1:

"Sales of cabins on announced prices will start from March 1st, 2010 in the offices of travel agents, as well as at INFLOT Cruise & Ferry sales offices."

Sounds like an adventure!

Any recommendations for a reputable travel agent?
What exactly is INFLOT?

Thanks!

Inflot is a Russian travel company. The ship is owned by DFDS, a long-established Danish ferry company, and will be chartered to Inflot. The crew will be provided by DFDS's Lithuanian subsidiary. The statement below is on DFDS's website (www.dfds.com), dated 8 February. The last attempt to run a ferry on the route, in 2008 by a Finnish company, folded after a couple of months and carried very few passengers.


An agreement has been entered into today concerning the charter of the passenger ship QUEEN OF SCANDINAVIA for a three year period from 15 April 2010. The agreement includes purchase options and all conditions precedent for the agreement have been fulfilled.

The charter agreement is entered into with Inflot Cruise and Ferry Ltd. headquartered in St. Petersburg, Russia. QUEEN OF SCANDINAVIA is to be deployed on a new route between St. Petersburg and Helsinki in Finland. In connection with the charter agreement, an agreement between DFDS LISCO and Inflot Cruise and Ferry Ltd. concerning manning and technical maintenance of the ship during the charter period has been established.

QUEEN OF SCANDINAVIA was previously deployed on DFDS’ route between Bergen and Newcastle. After closure of this route in September 2008 the ship has partly been deployed as a hotel ship, partly been laid up.

Thanks for the information. How reliable do you think this route will be? I am especially concerned since the last attempt "folded after a couple of months and carried very few passengers." I also know about the new high speed train that will be operating this route.That will be even more competition, but it won't be running until the end of the year.

I will be traveling in late August: Moscow (3 1/2 days) overnight train to St.Pete (4 days),overnight ferry to Helsinki (1 day),ferry to Tallin (1 day) and overnight ferry to Stockholm (2 days). I think the itinerary works very well; please correct me if I'm wrong. But it is contingent on the ferry between St. Petersburg and Helsinki. Otherwise we have to take a 6 hour train and will loose either our day in Tallin or a day in St. Pete.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

pasqualino Check online for a ferry from St Pete to Tallinn. That may be a good alternative. Then you could take the fast ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki and the overnight Silja ferry from Helsini to Stockholm.

When I took the train from St Pete to Helsinki the train left around 1 pm so we had the morning in St Pete. Then we had the evening in Helsinki. We had to fill out a form entering Russia and another form leaving Russia declaring everything of value that we had. The Russian custom agents did open and look at a lot of bags - none of ours.

Bkmk!

Bratsandbeer, there are no ferries between St-Peterburg and Tallinn. There are no trains either and it seems to be about eight hours by bus which is more than I could stand.
It's very difficult to judge whether the new ferry service between Helsinki and St-Peterburg will last. I'd wait at least until the ship is running before deciding to book.

Thanks

I hope to take the ferry to St. Petersburg on April 29th or 30th, 2011. Once there, are we required to sleep on the ferry? Or can we roam about for 3 days? Is there a one way ticket available? If so what is the price? Are there American banks in St. Petersburg? Are there any 1-3 day river cruises in early May? RSVP. Thanks in advance. Chers...

The ferry does not stay in St Petersburg for more than one day. The PRINCESS MARIA sails from Helsinki on Monday, Thursday and Saturday evenings, and from St Petersburg on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The schedule is on St Peter Line's website:
www.stpeterline.ru/en/Schedule.aspx