If you go your own route for the visa, a couple of things to be aware of:

1) you have to give up your passport to get a visa now. Before it was just a copy of the page, but now you have to submit the passport (unless that has changed, and if it has somebody will certainly correct me). I wouldn't trust my passport to any of the common carriers to the consolute, so I would probably use a visa service.

2) They (the consulates) underestimate the amount of time it will take, so don't use the six day service if you really need it in six days. Using a visa service helps here, they drop it off and they pick it up again.

3) For the prices they want

Single-Entry visa:
$100 - six or more business days(*)
$150 - three-five business days(*)
$200 - next business day
$300 - same day

The day you drop it off or it's received does not count as a day



It's not really that much more money (in comparison to the fees) to use a service.

We did it on our own a couple of years ago. We had over two weeks, didn't have to send in passports, etc, and it all came back while we were on the trip. It was a cruise so it wasn't vital to us to have the visas, but we wanted them just in case we wanted to tour independant of the ship, but at the same time, if we really needed them we wouldn't have had them. Next time we will certainly use a service or do it in person at the consolute if they allow that.