From Russia Without Love

The Baltic, on many a cruisers list of places to sail with Russia and St Petersburg being a particular gem  of the area.  Steeped in history of Tsars and the Romanovs who ruled the country for centuries, it is a must do for any traveller.

Traditionally entry in to Russia can be a complex one with the visa application process, and I am told you may need a holiday just after applying and being accepted for this.  To be fair, this probably comes as no great surprise from a country that can be shrouded in so much secrecy.  The great news is though that cruise passengers qualify for a visa waiver of 72 hours when on land travelling with a licenced company.  Which is great news as the less visas you require the better.

When travelling ashore, it is recommended that you take your passport ashore with you, as at any time you may be asked to present this to officials.  Not so bad I guess?  This is generally recommended in most ports.

But what happens when you lose or have your passport stolen?  This happened to me earlier this year, not in Russia but in Benidorm, where my passport was stolen and I was forced to go to the embassy to have an emergency passport issued so that I was able to travel home.  Now here lies the problem.  In Russia, there is only one British Consulate located in Moscow, which is a drive of over 8 hours away or a 2 hour flight (if even you could fly without a passport).  If you are sailing on the East Coast of Russia as this area becomes popular, it could mean an 8000 mile round journey.    If you fail to leave Russia within the allocated 72 hour visa waiver, you could be arrested, face fines and be deported and banned from travelling within the Russia for life.

There was a British Consulate in St. Petersburg, but the Kremlin forced closure of this in 2018 in response to the accusations made regarding the Salisbury attacks.

The reason I am highlighting this is that although safe to travel within the country, with tensions with the West at a high, I dont imagine it would be a present experience being stuck here with no travel documents.