Nic2

Hi all, I am planning to take my family on the Helsinki to St Petersburg visa free ferry trip this summer. The ferry arrives in St Petersburg on Thursdays and then departs on Sundays. That's three nights in St Petersburg, no? However when I clicked on the Moby link to look at the hotels on offer, it wouldn't allow a three night booking and said that the boat wouldn't be docked for that long. There is also mention in the schedule of the boat being used as a hotel on Thursday night. Does that mean that you can't disembark until Friday? Can anyone clarify this for me because I'm confused.

Andrew

I can only guess, because now Moby (new owner of the St. Peter Line) has only one ferry runnning to St. Petersburg, not two as last year. The 72 hour visa free visit I did last year won't work anymore the way I did it (arrive morning, stay two nights, leave the third evening). I thought they might restrict people from leaving the ferry until the early afternoon, let you stay three nights, and then insist you be back on board 72 hours or less from the time you disembarked. That was the only scheme that made sense - but you will need to find someone to clarify.

Are you required to book a hotel now via Moby during the booking process? You didn't have to last year. If it lets you make a booking without a visa number and doesn't require you to book any hotel, you can just book a hotel on your own. I used Booking.com . Again - maybe things have changed since last year now that there's a new ferry owner and only one ferry. The obvious thing to do is to try emailing Moby directly to ask - hope someone who knows English can respond to you in a timely manner.

There have also been a few TripAdvisor threads on this 72 hour visa free excursion to St. Petersburg - try digging one up or asking there.

Nic2

Thanks Andrew, I did try asking my questions to Moby but no reply. Maybe, because they don't start sailing until April, there's nobody around to answer questions right now. I suspect that, while the sailing times have changed, the booking form is still partly geared to last year and needs updating. No, I don't think that you are required to book your hotel with Moby but the question still arises, should I book two or three nights. Here, with a lot of reading between the lines, is my best guess. The over night stay on the boat that's mentioned for Thursday nights is probably for passengers who are on the cruise with a one night stop off and a whistle stop guided tour of St Petersburg. Otherwise, as you suggested in a previous post, I believe you can now stay three nights in St Petersburg but have to wait on board until two before heading off to your chosen hotel and then return to the boat at one on Sunday. Nic.

ticadonnita

When I look on the Moby site, it says leave on a Wed and arrive on Thursday and the ship leaves on Saturday to go back to Helsinki. That leaves barely 2 nights and 2 days in St. Petersburg. I clicked on cruise as it was cheaper than the ferry...
Has anyone done this since the company started back u poop in April? Would appreciate all information.

Andrew

I think that's exactly what I did last year: leave Helsinki on Wed, arrive Thur, spend Thur and Fri nights in SPB, head back to Helsinki Saturday night, get in Sunday morning. That's about as much as you can do within the 72 hour visa free plan. If you want to stay longer get a visa.

A cruise is a two nights on the ferry with the single day in St. Petersburg so even less time.

ticadonnita

Thank you, Andrew. There are 2 categories when booking ...cruise or ferry. For some reason cruise is cheaper and it looks like the same as ferry as it only has 1 night in a cabin. It does say one can spend Thursday night as well for more in a cabin.
I must have read your report incorrectly as I thought you got to stay in SPG on Saturday night. I am looking on booking.com too.

Dianedancer

I would advise that if you want to check out hotels it's ok to look at the various ones on Booking.com or hotels.com, etc., but then go to the hotel's own website to actually book your room. There's no reason to involve a third party in booking, especially if something goes amiss during your trip and you need to contact the hotel.
And lots of times a hotel will give you a reduction for booking directly with them vs some booking site.

ticadonnita

Thank you, Andrew. There are 2 categories when booking ...cruise or ferry. For some reason cruise is cheaper and it looks like the same as ferry as it only has 1 night in a cabin. It does say one can spend Thursday night as well for more in a cabin.
I must have read your report incorrectly as I thought you got to stay in SPG on Saturday night. I am looking on booking.com too.

ticadonnita

Interesting idea, Diane. I will try that.

Andrew

Dianedancer: <i>I would advise that if you want to check out hotels it's ok to look at the various ones on Booking.com or hotels.com, etc., but then go to the hotel's own website to actually book your room. There's no reason to involve a third party in booking, especially if something goes amiss during your trip and you need to contact the hotel.</i>

I have found many cases where the hotel itself charges more than the booking sites if you book direct. I am staying at one now in Italy where the hotel won't give me the same price that I get using Hotels.com (which has the best offer for this hotel, for some reason). So to save about 20 Euros a night, I book through Hotels.com (booked three nights in a row that way here).

I do try to book directly if I can. I just stayed at a B&B in Slovenia that was cheaper booking directly through them (they did not even require a credit card to hold the reservation), so I booked direct. If it costs less to use a booking site, then I'll go that way.

BalTickled

Does anyone have experience using the 72-hour visa-free entry when coming off a formal cruise ship for free time in the city?

My cruise stops in SPB for several organized tours, which take advantage of the visa-free entry. But it also has 2 evenings with nothing planned, and I would like to get off the ship to go have dinner.

It would be nice, for instance, if I could book the "City Bus Tour" independently and use that to qualify for the visa-free entry. It would be a quarter of the price of a single-entry visa and much less hassle. Does anyone know if this is possible?

Thanks!

Andrew

I think you won't have that option. The "City Bus Tour" is just a shuttle from/to the ferry to/from the center of town. It's literally like a hotel shuttle van (though there are lots of them to handle all the ferry passengers). There is no "tour" - probably less than you get from a chatty hotel shuttle driver. It's specifically designed for ferry passengers, just to create a legal nicety to satisfy the Russian law for the 72 hour visa-free visit. It's not a "tour" anyone could just sign up for.

As I understand it, you must be escorted around as a cruise passenger. But with the ferry visit and the "city bus tour," you can go wherever you want. The ferry company is essentially taking responsibility for ferry passengers for 72 hours in the city without a visa. As a cruise passenger, they aren't taking the same responsibility for you.