FYI for those working on this:

I just spoke with Pinnacle after I downloaded and read all of the Russia visa info pertinent to our trip.

Its too early to do the application - you have to do it online, print it out, then send everything right away to Pinnacle. But they won't be able to process the visas until around March since they have to wait for all the specific stuff that Silversea has to provide, ie letter of support, permit for visiting restricted access areas, etc. The application expires within 30 days. The deadline to send our application and passports is March 27 so they can get it all done by the May 16 deadline that Silversea has for receiving the visas for our voyage.

We will be gone 3/17 - 4/11 - smack dab in the middle of all that - they said that I could apply in Feb; but if they don't have what they need from Silversea they won't be able to process everything and get our passports back before we leave for the Asia cruise.

So, I am going to get second passports so I don't have to worry about it - they think that this is the best option. Then they can be working on all that stuff while we're gone in the normal time frame. They're sending me the application to apply for them.