kestasx

I am planning a visa free entry to St Petersburg on the St Pete cruise line. I will be arriving from either Alesund in Norway or Bergen. My question is regarding the arrival time. The St Maria sails from Helsing at 6pm, with the passport clearance, security what is the latest time that I can arrive at the port and get boarded? I find it difficult to get to Helsinki prior to 3pm, would that give me enough time. There is a flight from Bergen to Helsinki that arrives at 10.40am, that would be a much safer option, but it would mean I would have to change my itinerary. Any suggestions or comments. I am planning to catch the June 3rd sailing of St Maria. Thanks

WilcoRoger

3 pm at HEL airport or 3 pm downtown HEL? Even if landing 3 pm, you'd be latest 4 pm in the harbour, so IMO you should be good.

Hasn't St Peters' Line has info on latest boarding?

FFlash

Does the visa-free cruise they offer apply to citizens from any countries? I never thought about that...not bad. This opens some opportunities for some

kestasx

Arrival in HEL airport at 3pm, St pete's says 5.30pm last boarding. Not sure what immigration steps I will have and how long they take

FFlash

You will have plenty of time to transfer to the port, even with public transport

kestasx

Booked a flight from OSL to HEL arriving at 11.05am. No problem with boarding . Suggestions for what to do in Helsinki for a couple of hours? Also should I book the St Pete's line ferry in advance on the website? If anybody has done this appreciate your comments on what to expect on the ship and in St Petersburg. Thanks

Canarsie

I will be a passenger on a flight from Amsterdam which is scheduled to land at 5:30 in the afternoon at the airport in Helsinki. No baggage will be checked.

Departure of the vessel to Saint Petersburg is scheduled for 7:00 in the evening.

Is 90 minutes enough time; or is that cutting it too close?

henry999

If sailing is at 1900, check-in probably closes at 1800; maybe 1830. Coming from Amsterdam you won't have pass-control at HEL but even so, if you are very lucky (on-time arrival; gate rather than remote stand; quick off the plane), you might be out in front at the taxi rank at 1745. The problem is that you would then face rush hour traffic through the city to the harbour. I'd say your chances are slim to nil ... but I'm not a gambler.

Kallio

St Peter Line checkin closes 30 minutes before departure. Taxi ride from the airport to the West Terminal takes 30-45 minutes. That leaves 15-30 minutes for everything else, which would be too tight for my taste.

Canarsie

These answers are what I figured — plus the line has been acquired by Moby with only one vessel in operation starting in April; so there may be unforeseen impediments which otherwise might not have existed under its former ownership...

...but it never hurts to ask. I have a plan B anyway.

Thank you both for the responses.

smit0847

So Im wanting to do the visa free ferry trip from Helsinki to St P and back. Because the St Peters Line ferries dont run every day the usual ferry trips are either 36 hours (which Im guessing is too short to do much in St P) or 84 hours which requires a visa because it is longer than 72 hours.
They do have an option once a week where you can stay for the full 72 hours but its only once a week and you have to stay on the ferry for 4 hours after arriving at St P and then be back on the ferry 4 hours before it departs do you are there exactly 72 hours, no more no less.
I assume 36 hours is far too short there and its worth the hassle of spending 8 hours on a docked ferry in order to have the full 72? I have no desire to get a russian tourist visa and will probably never be in russia again but will be in helsinki with spare time so think its a great opportunity.
Thanks

tsastor

You could check if the bars and saunas are open. Else, bring a couple of old Reader's Digests.

WilcoRoger

36 hrs in SPb is enough to get a feel of the city - the canals, the Winter Palace (I'd skip visiting the Ermitage museum inside and opt for the Russian Museum), some churches, Peter-Paul fortress, taste the food, etc. Of course it's nothing but scratching the surface.

I'm not so sure about your 84-8=72 hrs idea. The Russians probably (!) count the hours by the scheduled arrival/departure times of the ferry, so in the worst case scenario you won't be allowed off the ship!