Viator Tsarkoye Selo Tour
Sep 4th, 2013, 05:19 PM
#1
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Viator Tsarkoye Selo Tour
As a warning to anyone considering using Viator for a tour of Tsarkoye Selo in St Petersburg, do be aware that their tours are NOT private. They will charge $180 for one person and $120 each for two. Okay, that makes sense so that the tour guide receives a certain minimum. However, when you only book one person they charge the full $180 and then book a second person on the tour anyway. Poor form Viator! 
Do NOT assume that just because you pay a premium for a single person on a tour that you'll actually be the only person on that tour.
Do NOT assume that just because you pay a premium for a single person on a tour that you'll actually be the only person on that tour.
Sep 6th, 2013, 01:58 AM
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Are you sure that Viator booked the second person? They are a tour consolidator and don't actually run the tours. I booked a Viator walking tour in Barcelona but it was run by the tourist office. The tourist office could have taken their own bookings in addition to Viator's.
Have you emailed Viator about this and tried to get a refund?
Have you emailed Viator about this and tried to get a refund?
Sep 6th, 2013, 05:01 AM
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<<<other than that, how was the tour? Isn't Tsarkoye Selo some distance from St. Petersburg?>>>
It's right outside St P, 30 minutes or so if there's little traffic. The tour guide was wonderful and she really tried to balance things between the two of us in the group. However, the other woman on the tour was completely obnoxious. Since she spent 25 minutes in the gift shop we didn't have time to do more than a quick jog out into the grounds for a glance around and then had to hurry back to the car. We were already running an hour late since they had the wrong hotel address for the other lady and we had to go all over St Petersburg. I was in the car for an hour before we actually started heading towards the Palace.
<<<Have you emailed Viator about this and tried to get a refund?>>>
Yep, their answer was that since it doesn't specifically say private tour that it isn't and therefore it's logical to pay more for one person than you would for two, even though they booked a second person anyway. To me there should either be the premium price or there should be a group tour, not both. I've never seen a tour with no lodging that actually charges a single supplement and then adds people so that they're not alone.
It's right outside St P, 30 minutes or so if there's little traffic. The tour guide was wonderful and she really tried to balance things between the two of us in the group. However, the other woman on the tour was completely obnoxious. Since she spent 25 minutes in the gift shop we didn't have time to do more than a quick jog out into the grounds for a glance around and then had to hurry back to the car. We were already running an hour late since they had the wrong hotel address for the other lady and we had to go all over St Petersburg. I was in the car for an hour before we actually started heading towards the Palace.
<<<Have you emailed Viator about this and tried to get a refund?>>>
Yep, their answer was that since it doesn't specifically say private tour that it isn't and therefore it's logical to pay more for one person than you would for two, even though they booked a second person anyway. To me there should either be the premium price or there should be a group tour, not both. I've never seen a tour with no lodging that actually charges a single supplement and then adds people so that they're not alone.
Sep 6th, 2013, 10:17 AM
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Iowa_Redhead,
“I was in the car for an hour before we actually started heading towards the Palace.”
Oh, I can see now why you were upset – having to pick up the other party, then having that person browse in a shop on your time. The guide should have proceeded without her or told her to keep up with the program. Sorry about your experience.
Your guide must have been a novice. The only group tours I have taken were in Paris and London where folks meet at a certain point, pay the guide, and then proceed apace.
“I was in the car for an hour before we actually started heading towards the Palace.”
Oh, I can see now why you were upset – having to pick up the other party, then having that person browse in a shop on your time. The guide should have proceeded without her or told her to keep up with the program. Sorry about your experience.
Your guide must have been a novice. The only group tours I have taken were in Paris and London where folks meet at a certain point, pay the guide, and then proceed apace.
Sep 6th, 2013, 10:39 AM
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It's not right but it is what companies do. I've run into this with shared shuttles. If I'm alone I pay the higher rate (for 1 person) even though there are other people in the car. Not the same pricing but the same principle.
Since you didn't get the full tour because you had to wait an hour you might want to contact your credit card company and see if you can get a prorated price.
I would be very annoyed about that tour, particularly since that woman was costing you precious sightseeing time. The guide should have gone ahead without her.
Since you didn't get the full tour because you had to wait an hour you might want to contact your credit card company and see if you can get a prorated price.
I would be very annoyed about that tour, particularly since that woman was costing you precious sightseeing time. The guide should have gone ahead without her.
