do NOT use Russian National Group!!!
Oct 10th, 2005, 09:37 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 559
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
do NOT use Russian National Group!!!
Russian National Group...
otherwise found at: www.russia-travel.com
I have just returned from 2 weeks in Russia with a group of 19 teenagers, and this company came very close to botching the ENTIRE trip for us. Just for some background information- I have traveled to Russia at least 8 times, and this was my second time shepherding a group from my school. I am a Russian teacher, and I was chaperoning with another Russian teacher from my school.
From the start, it was hard to work with the NYC agency- but my co-worker tried to tell me (repeatedly) that it was just "the Russian way" of doing business... for me, waiting 2 weeks to get an e-mail response is unacceptable, and this was with multiple phone calls in the 2 week span trying to politely request the necessary information.
The RNG was to book our flights, process our visas, book our train tickets to Moscow from StPb, and book our travel itinerary while in Moscow. They managed to individually book our flights (thus making it impossible to request seating together, much less a group rate- which I'm sure gave them a larger commission).
Then, they SAT on our visa order for at least 3 weeks after they were fully processed before returning us the passports, which made US have to pay extra for the express return (as was evident by the processing date on the visas). This was after multiple pleas at the end of the school year, as one of our traveling students was leaving for Greece for the summer, therefore needing his passport back.
We sent our train booking info. in April with specific dates and compartment assignments for our group. We were told that the RNG would not be able to mail us our train tickets, but we could pick them up at the StPb office when we arrived... and when we arrived, they were not there!! In fact, it took another 5 days for the train tickets to be PURCHASED and sent to us, meaning we did not get on the correct train class, as we had paid for.
The last nail in the coffin was when we arrived in Moscow and found out that we were supposed to have registered our visas within 3 days of arriving in Russia- and we had already been there for 11 days already.
This was completely contrary to what the agency had told us before departing, although both my co-chaperone and I were well aware of this being the old policy... but hey, its Russia! Policies change.
Of course, upon checking into the hotel, we learned that this would be a problem for leaving the country, and may cost us $50-$75 per student to remedy the problem at the airport.
When we tried to contact the company to see how they could help us, they were completely defensive, blamed us for the miscommunication, and said there was nothing they could do to help us.
Both my co-chaperone and I were LIVID by this point, knowing that we had done everything possible to make this trip run as it should. Luckily, at the last moment, having the official invitations from the school that hosted us in Saint Petersburg, coupled with our hotel registration in Moscow- we were able to leave the country.
So, to sum it all up- there are MANY other ways of finding reliable companies with which to book your trip. Russia is a wonderful place to visit, and I look forward to bringing a group again someday... but NEVER with Russian National Group!!!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions...
- from Katya
otherwise found at: www.russia-travel.com
I have just returned from 2 weeks in Russia with a group of 19 teenagers, and this company came very close to botching the ENTIRE trip for us. Just for some background information- I have traveled to Russia at least 8 times, and this was my second time shepherding a group from my school. I am a Russian teacher, and I was chaperoning with another Russian teacher from my school.
From the start, it was hard to work with the NYC agency- but my co-worker tried to tell me (repeatedly) that it was just "the Russian way" of doing business... for me, waiting 2 weeks to get an e-mail response is unacceptable, and this was with multiple phone calls in the 2 week span trying to politely request the necessary information.
The RNG was to book our flights, process our visas, book our train tickets to Moscow from StPb, and book our travel itinerary while in Moscow. They managed to individually book our flights (thus making it impossible to request seating together, much less a group rate- which I'm sure gave them a larger commission).
Then, they SAT on our visa order for at least 3 weeks after they were fully processed before returning us the passports, which made US have to pay extra for the express return (as was evident by the processing date on the visas). This was after multiple pleas at the end of the school year, as one of our traveling students was leaving for Greece for the summer, therefore needing his passport back.
We sent our train booking info. in April with specific dates and compartment assignments for our group. We were told that the RNG would not be able to mail us our train tickets, but we could pick them up at the StPb office when we arrived... and when we arrived, they were not there!! In fact, it took another 5 days for the train tickets to be PURCHASED and sent to us, meaning we did not get on the correct train class, as we had paid for.
The last nail in the coffin was when we arrived in Moscow and found out that we were supposed to have registered our visas within 3 days of arriving in Russia- and we had already been there for 11 days already.
This was completely contrary to what the agency had told us before departing, although both my co-chaperone and I were well aware of this being the old policy... but hey, its Russia! Policies change.
Of course, upon checking into the hotel, we learned that this would be a problem for leaving the country, and may cost us $50-$75 per student to remedy the problem at the airport.
When we tried to contact the company to see how they could help us, they were completely defensive, blamed us for the miscommunication, and said there was nothing they could do to help us.
Both my co-chaperone and I were LIVID by this point, knowing that we had done everything possible to make this trip run as it should. Luckily, at the last moment, having the official invitations from the school that hosted us in Saint Petersburg, coupled with our hotel registration in Moscow- we were able to leave the country.
So, to sum it all up- there are MANY other ways of finding reliable companies with which to book your trip. Russia is a wonderful place to visit, and I look forward to bringing a group again someday... but NEVER with Russian National Group!!!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions...
- from Katya
Feb 1st, 2006, 08:50 PM
#2
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Katya, I'm sorry you had to go through that. I'm trying to avoid a similar scenario myself. Can you recommend any dependable tour companies for an 8-10 day tour of Moscow and St. Petersburg in June for 2 people? We'd be leaving from Florida. I saw a trip from General Tours that included air fare from New York for $2599. Sounds pretty pricy, but I don't know if there's much cheaper. Thanks for your help!
Jim
Jim
Feb 2nd, 2006, 02:26 AM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 559
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Jim!
I wish I could tell you more, but most of my travel has been independent to Russia, so my experience with tour agencies is rather limited.
One recommendation I can make is to contact Marc David Miller (if you search his name on Fodors, his info. will come up) who works with Discovering Russia. While I don't know him personally, he seems quite knowledgable about Russian travel, and can definitely arrange a tour.
We will most likely use his services on our next exchange trip to Russia.
I hope this helps!!
Katya
I wish I could tell you more, but most of my travel has been independent to Russia, so my experience with tour agencies is rather limited.
One recommendation I can make is to contact Marc David Miller (if you search his name on Fodors, his info. will come up) who works with Discovering Russia. While I don't know him personally, he seems quite knowledgable about Russian travel, and can definitely arrange a tour.
We will most likely use his services on our next exchange trip to Russia.
I hope this helps!!
Katya
Feb 2nd, 2006, 12:16 PM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 559
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Barbara-
Yes, I wish it was a better report (meaning a positive experience with the RNG).
I am happy to report, though- the kids were fantastic and we had a great experience with them!
Yes, I wish it was a better report (meaning a positive experience with the RNG).
I am happy to report, though- the kids were fantastic and we had a great experience with them!
Nov 6th, 2006, 10:34 AM
#6
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Katya,
I am sorry to here your hardship when travelling to Russia. I used a San Francisco based agency www.RussianVisaGuide.com and I loved their service. They were ready to answer all my questions and provided best ways to handle various visa situations while in Russia.
I ended up paying $154 for my visa and $20 more for registration upon arrival to St. Petersburg.
I highly recommend them. Ask for referral discount. I believe they give $10 off if you're referred by former customer
I wish you a more pleasant experience on the next trip.
Regards,
Marco
[email protected]
I am sorry to here your hardship when travelling to Russia. I used a San Francisco based agency www.RussianVisaGuide.com and I loved their service. They were ready to answer all my questions and provided best ways to handle various visa situations while in Russia.
I ended up paying $154 for my visa and $20 more for registration upon arrival to St. Petersburg.
I highly recommend them. Ask for referral discount. I believe they give $10 off if you're referred by former customer
I wish you a more pleasant experience on the next trip.
Regards,
Marco
[email protected]
Feb 1st, 2008, 07:18 AM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Recently I have been to St. Petersburg with my wife. The whole trip was planned by Russian National Group. I am so satisfied with their service and can deffinitely recommend them.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about trips to Russia.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about trips to Russia.
Feb 1st, 2008, 07:31 AM
#8
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,376
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hmmm...james111 has exactly one post and this is it. Wonder what the chances are that this is a plant, something posted by the agency that katya reported? Sure smells fishy. And james111, don't you think Fodorites are savvy enough to recognize such a scam when they see it?
Feb 1st, 2008, 07:42 AM
#10
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,256
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
double hmmmmmm, let's see, katya with hundreds of posts over a three year period and james with one post today---
katya, thanks for your alert, I was on a large student group tour to Russia years ago and I remember what a headache it was for the group leaders but was so great for the students.
I'm thankful there are still teachers willing to put so much of their time into providing travel experiences for their students.
A big thank you to you, katya
Deborah
katya, thanks for your alert, I was on a large student group tour to Russia years ago and I remember what a headache it was for the group leaders but was so great for the students.
I'm thankful there are still teachers willing to put so much of their time into providing travel experiences for their students.
A big thank you to you, katya
Deborah
Feb 1st, 2008, 08:30 AM
#13
and you registered just to dig up a really old, moldy thread (look at the dates, man) to post your "experience".
And you want us to contact you for info about trips to Russia?? Just how are folks supposed to do that BTW?
Anyway, my guess (and I could be totally wrong - but I doubt it) is you work for, or are a friend of, RNG and discovered this old complaint - so you reg'd to post as a "satisfied customer". Am I close?????
And you want us to contact you for info about trips to Russia?? Just how are folks supposed to do that BTW?
Anyway, my guess (and I could be totally wrong - but I doubt it) is you work for, or are a friend of, RNG and discovered this old complaint - so you reg'd to post as a "satisfied customer". Am I close?????
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
MichiganDebi
Europe
5
Aug 28th, 2015 11:36 AM
