Percy, I believe lots of us are beginning to heed your advice.

About Currency:

I seem to get away with murder !!!
because...............

I went through the whole Baltic Cruise and NEVER had to exchange currency!!!!!

I used US$,or euros or my Mastercard.

Copenhagen , Tallin and Helsinki were no problem at all.

In Gdansk Poland I paid for lunch with my credit card.
then
I went to a Polish Bakery( you have to go into a Polish bakery!!!)
I wanted a few sweets and when I handed her some US$ she added that she would prefer local currency.

I told her I had none and was only here for the day off a cruise ship.

and did not want to get local currency just to buy some pastry but I would be happy to pay extra for them in US$..... she started to bend down like she was going to put the pastry away ...but

instead put them in a paper bag and gave them to me FREE!!.. so down Long market Street I went ,past the huge town hall eating my poppy seed covered pastries.

Then came Oslo, and out Cruise Director on the ship said you will have to exchnage into local currency because few places will accept euros or US$.

I got off the ship in Oslo , got a taxi and told him I only had euros and $US and that is all I could pay him with.

He smiled and said "get in". and off we went !!!

In Stockholm,they told us on the cruise ship that The Vasa Museum will only take local currency or a credit card ( but that it was complicated using the credit card).

I paid in euros for any place I went and for any purchases ( beer!!)I made in Stockholm.

I am not a beer drinker as such but I always have the local beer whereever I go on holidays in Europe.!!

Do I have beer in my fridge right now..no I don't.

It was a bit tricky in St.Petersburg but I made it through with only US$ or euros or my credit card.
Good Luck to all you Baltic travellers.

Also you do NOT have to wait that long wait to disemabrk and waiting to get your number color tag called!

Percy

Thanks once again, Percy, concerning currency. I've written to a few of the cities' tourism offices to get some feedback. Also, I've been reading the letter sent by Carnival, and it is, indeed, written with very tricky wording. It talks about the individual Russian Tourist Visas persons time of disembarkation under St.Petersburg Immigration Process, which has nothing to do with the way a ship disembarks its passengers.-

It would be interesting to know if anyone on a cruise ship in St.Petersburg went to disembark and was told to go back and wait for another hour!!!

I just cannot see that happening.?!

You are at the Exit/ Extrance of the ship...you are ready to disembark...you have ten feet to walk down the ramp ...and they tell you "No!"

Has this happened to anybody.?

Percy

Trapsma and Percy - do you think they mean passengers who do not have a visa arranged for them by the tour companies not necessarily Carnival. Perhaps there is more red tape so to speak in getting a visa if you are going off on your own. Just guessing about this but maybe they check everyone who has a visa from a tour private or Carnival and then issue visas to individuals????

Percy - I know you are monitoring this thread so I will ask my question here. I am now in the process of booking a tour in Athens. I have a rate from athens taxi (Paul) who came highly recommended but as he says he knows all of the info but isn't a licensed tour guide. I see you recommend Dennis so I will email him (do you think I will get such excellent info from him cause I know "Percy"!!!) In your opinion do you think it is better to use him if he is licensed? Paul sounds like a neat guy but we will be in Athens for a few days so we can spread the touring out a bit. Your kind advice is always welcome (and needed) Thanks Percy.

PS I would like to see the picture of you Grethe the guide in Copenhagen. We will be touring there as well. [email protected]

Hi traveller69

Your fellow Paul will be okay,get a price from Dennis also.

You see it goes like this:

You have to be a licensed tour guide in many European Countries.

That is why is some places ,you have a driver and a tour guide , like I did in Rome.

Now this does not mean that the driver does not know anything......it just means that he is not licensed and therefore it is not legal for him to start guiding you.

If Paul says he know all the info,then I am sure he knows all the info.

I think on another thread I listed places to se in Athens.

Now about the tour guide in Copenhagen ...Gretha.

I will e-mail you a few pictures.

But for sure mention my name.
Gretha is in Dresden Germany right now....Dresden is a georgeous place.

Please tell her Percy says Hi !
Percy

Here is how the immigration process is worded from Carnival: "Guests on a Carnival tour.....will disembark first upon arrival in St. Petersburg. Those guests with individual Russian Tourist Visas will disembark after the tour guests........

In addition to the above, guests not on a Carnival tour must present the following:
- Russian Tourist Visa attached to each passport
- A Standard Tourist Confirmation verifying service arranged by the Russian travel agency sponsoring the individual Russian Tourist visa

We anticipate guests with individual Russian Tourist Visas being able to disembark at approximately 9:30A.M.....Guests who have not purchased one of our tours and do not possess an individual Russia Tourist visa, or whose visa is not properly supported by the proper documentation (such as a Standard Tourist Confirmation), will not be permitted ashore in St.Petersburg."
*********
I believe the documents one receives from Alla, Red October, or DenRus is what "Standard Tourist Confirmation" means. Also, the word individual may not apply to the use of a Russian tour company, unless individuals are going out totally on their own. The wording is very tricky.

On another site, one person said their group could not leave until the ship's tour customers, but didn't mention the circumstances.

Thanks for the information trapsma.

Actually when I booked with Alla
She ...

1.Send me an e-mail confirmation for the dates I was being in St.Petersburg.

2. e-mailed me tickets for both days

3. I had my passport (Alla took care of the visa problem)

However.....

When I disembarked and went into the little Customs Office...all the Customs lady asked for was my passport.

I guess she assumed I had everything else !

But , holding people back until 9:30 AM is cruise ship bribery to take their tours.

I was on Princess and they gave me no hassle at all and I was off the ship at 7 AM!!!

Can you imagine having ,say, Alla waiting for you.... you can see her and you only have to walk 15 feet to get off the ramp and the cruise ship is telling you to wait for another 2 hours !!!!

Amazing if anyone lets themselves be intimidated to that extent!!

hmm
Percy

No, Percy, I cannot imagine being held back. The letter is, as I said, very sneaky. If not read word for word, it almost makes one believe the worst. For instance, one line reads: "We anticipate guests with individual Russian Tourist Visas...." I noted the "anticipate". There are a number of other carefully worded sections.

I received a letter from DenRus letting me know they have received hundreds of correspondences pertaining to this issue, and all they can decide is that the cruise line doesn't like the competition and St.Petersburg is the only port they can accomplish this sort of intimidation.

Has anyone used Anastasia for 2 day tour in St. Petersburg? Need Help please. what was the cost- are they relaible and does it include the cost of blamket visa? what is their contact person and e-mail

Hi I have just come off a Costa Cruise .And yes this is what the cruise ships say as they want you to book with them . I booked with my husband and 2 other friends with Red October it was approx 475.00 US for 2 days they picked us up from the ship and dropped us back so we were not with the herds . They send you a letter of introduction as well as 2 tickets and with 2 photo copies of our passports we got straight off the ship went through the custom line o.Out to the van and away we went . The only draw back with this was we couldnt wander around by ourselves we had to have a guide with us the whole time .,but we saved 70.00 on visa . If you need more info please contact me .

Thanks, yakka, for your reply. I and a few others I've met on the Internet have booked with DenRus and expect no problems from the ship's staff. We'll be on the Splendor, and this year is its first visit to Russia.

This forum is great for information.