Purchasing of travel insurance & Russian visa
 

We are taking a Regent's Seven Seas Baltic Cruise in the beginning of August and also doing a pre and post stay. Should we purchase travel insurance and if so, any suggestions on providers with reasonable rates. Our ages range from 50 -59. We have traveled extensively and never taken insurance before. However due to the many different components, we were considering it this time. We were taken aback by the expense of the insurance.

Another question is if we are going to be docked in St. Petersburg for 3 days should we get a Russian visa? I know that if we take the shore excursion or an authorized Russian travel company our visas are included but if we are docked and walk around would we need a visa.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

You will not be inclined to get off of the ship and walk around in St. Petersburg. Your ship will be docked at a very industrial port area far from the main part of town. When we were there for 2 nights we use Red October for two days of touring. We saw all we wanted to see and more and were happy to get back to the ship at the end of the day. Red October was much less expensive than the excursions offered by the ship and the tour was private. Us, the guide and the driver.

I'm a believer in trip insurance. Last year we had to cancel a trip due to a medical ER (unexpected surgery 2 days before we were scheduled to fly out) and recovered all of our out-of-pocket costs. I'm in your same age group. We usually get it because of the potential for something happening to my elderly mother that would necessitate canceling so you can imagine my surprise when I was the one with ER surgery! Second reason I get it is the medical evacuation portion of the insurance. Take a look at www.insuremytrip.com for some comparisons. Also if you have AAA look at their website.

I agree with chevre:

I would recommend either Red October or Alla Tours.

I had Alla tours and they handled everything perfectly.

Here is her e-mail address
Alla Ushakova

[email protected]

Forget about walking around off the cruise ship.

You dock about 6 miles from downtown in a shipyard and you will see about 50 cranes sticking up in the air...as they load and unload
cargo ships.

There are NO taxi's when you get off the cruise ship.

Take Alla or Red October and all your admissions will be included .
also.

Percy

You may not necessarily dock in that distant shipyard. When I was on Regent's Baltic cruise a few years back, we docked right near downtown. But I was told that we were scheduled to dock out in the shipyard, but a last minute change allowed us to use the nearer berth. One other cruise ship was there.

However, because you have only a couple of days in St. Petersburg, you do want to use a guide--either the ship's or one of the guides mentioned here. Look for someone who can get you into the Hermitage before the crowds hit. Once the crowds arrive, it's a mob scene.

I second the recommendation to look at insuremytrip.com. You'd be surprised what a range there is in costs. A lot depends on what you need, but be sure to get cancellation insurance and medical coverage if your own insurance doesn't cover you abroad (many do not). I always get insurance for cruises. And, yes, I had to use it once. It's expensive, but the risk is even more expensive.

Confirm with the cruise line if you need a visa, I think I saw in my travel documents that passengers must have a visa even if they don't plan to get off the ship.

I don't travel without travel insurance. With all the airline problems lately and weather related issues, it's just not worth it for me to risk my trip. I go with Travel Guard, and have found their prices really reasonable and the customer service has been helpful whenever I've called.

I was recently enquiring about a cruise that had a port of call in St Petersburg, since I have recently been to St Petersburg and I have spent several days in the city and seen all I wanted to, I asked if I could avoid getting a visa and just stay onboard. Unfortunatley, not. FainaAgain is right, you need a visa no matter what. I was told if i didn't have a visa in advance Russian authorities would force me to get a visa onboard and it would cost much more than what it would to get a visa in advance.
In my case, I choose to avoid a cruise that visits St Petersburg, because of the visa and since I have no intert in going back.

My advise, apply for your visa ASAP, make sure you have all your documents and ask your travel agent or cruise line for a letter of invitation which you will need for the visa application.

I am going to St. Petersburg in August, on the Splendor, and have decided to use DenRus tours. The company offers a set tour for $295 which includes everything my granddaughter and I are interested in seeing. We will also be going to the evening Folkloric Show for $56. The Visas are part of the ticket. I did check with Alla, and almost decided on her tour. I know Percy was very happy with her service. She is wonderful about communicating with clients, but then, all the companies have been. I didn't want to spend the extra money on a private tour with Red October. The person I communicated with informed me they have no fixed priced tours. I could have searched for other people to share a tour, but found it to be tedious. Also, I was contacted by Anastasiaworld, asking whether I wanted to join two other couples on one of her tours. There are at least two other people going on the DenRus tour, and I except to hear about more once I sign on to it.

I never used to get travel insurance, but now it seems imperative. My granddaughter has diabetes type 1, so it is a must in this case. My insurance with Liberty Travel is $170, and my granddaughter's is $49, which I don't think is a lot for 13 days. I've used a number of companies in my travels; luckily, I've not had to test any of them.

I hope you have a great time. This is a wonderful forum for ideas and advice. I've found it valuable.

Hello trapsma,

just read your reply. Its so interesting as we are doing the Splendor in August too( what are your dates) and my son has Type 1 Diabetes too. We too are looking for a private tour which is not too expensive and would be willing to join in a group.

If you travel outside of the USA medicl insurance is a must. Many insurance companies do not cover medical expenses outside of the USA and for someone on Medicare it can be financially imperative to have coverage. Check your coverage because if someone has a stroke or heart attack the costs of medical care can be over whelming.