Thank you so much for your comprehensive report - just what I was seeking.

How did GCT handle your flights? Were you given choices/times etc or was there just the one flight from your gateway city?

You mention that you almost slept through wake-up at 3:15am - did you forget to leave your luggage out the night before, or was your departure flight really early?

I assume that you booked the optional tours through GCT. Do you know if any of the other passengers booked private tour operators?

You mentioned that the Hotel in St.Petersburg was a good 10 minute walk from the nearest Metro. Do you recall how far it was from the Moscow hotel to the nearest Metro?

Hi OldeBrit, here are your answers:

How did GCT handle your flights? Were you given choices/times etc or was there just the one flight from your gateway city?

We were assigned a flight without a choice. We flew out of Atlanta (we live in GA) but some FL people were sent out of JFK. I would say that if you don't like your flight you should call and see if there are any other options.

You mention that you almost slept through wake-up at 3:15am - did you forget to leave your luggage out the night before, or was your departure flight really early?

Since our flight left at 6am, GCT arranged to have us leave the luggage inside the room by the door to be picked up at 3am while we were at breakfast. Unfortunately, I relied on my travel alarm rather than a wake up call and slept through it. The bellman woke us up when he came to get the luggage.

I assume that you booked the optional tours through GCT. Do you know if any of the other passengers booked private tour operators?

The GCT tours were all great. I would suggest that you wait until you get there and use the hotel concierge to book any private tours if you feel you need them. We went on our own twice and GCT didn't have a problem with that. We hardly ever do group tours and we really enjoyed these. That's the best endorsement I can give.

You mentioned that the Hotel in St.Petersburg was a good 10 minute walk from the nearest Metro. Do you recall how far it was from the Moscow hotel to the nearest Metro?

You could see the Metro from the hotel in Moscow. It was about a block and a half away. You have to go through an underground tunnel but it was easy.

You are going to have a great time.

Thank you so much - you are very kind and patient with all my questions.

Thanks so much for your trip experience! I am of Russian descent, and have been wanting to "discover my roots" for some time now. Thanks again! Carol

ttt

Bookmark

Again, thanks for the informative report! Did the boat have internet access? Were there internet cafes that were easy to get to and easy to use? How did you stay in touch with home?

We didn't keep in touch with home. They had our numbers in case of emergency. I don't remember if there was internet on the boat. But there was definitely internet at the hotels. I heard it was very expensive.

About internet access on the Grand Circle boats, I am going on my 3rd river cruise with them this fall (actually my 18th Grand Circle Trip) and on the ships they only had one computer on which you could pay to send an e-mail, which I did but my kids did not receive it and one man had his own little computer and was unable to access any internet. However both river cruises were wonderful and as the others have mentioned, your family could get in touch with you if need be, through Grand Circle and you will be enjoying yourself so much that you won't miss it. Have a great time on whichever trip you take. Halfpint

Thank you for the detailed information of your trip and the pictures.

My wife and I leave for the same trip on 9/11/08 and are looking forward to a more restful trip than we took to China last year with OAT. It's going to be nice not to pack and unpack every 2-3 days. We were on a boat down the Yangste for 3-4 days in China and found the travel aboard the OAT/GCT boats is very nice and the food is excellent. I totally expect the same in Russia.

Your report answered some of the questions we had thought of, but also confirmed some of what we had already thought about the trip.

You mentioned using the concierge to get tickets to certain events. We would like to see a ballet in St. Petersburg, and have looked at the Kirov on line, but schedule of events lags somewhat. It is nice to know that the hotel has a concierge to help us. As you mentioned, I'd rather see the "A" group at the ballet. I understand that the tickets are pretty affordable for everyone including the locals. I think Russia believes in letting the public access to its culture.

Thanks again for the update and the pictures. I printed off all your comments and am going to put them in our travel folder.

Stainless
Houston

bookmarking

We just got back from the GCT trip to Russia and extension to Tallin and Estonia and I want to thank you for all the information you gave which was oh so helpful. My wife and I thought it was the best vacation we have ever taken. We loved everything about the trip. We took all the excursions and they were excellent. The boat trip waso much better than I expected. The food was never less than very good. By the way, the ballet excursion was a true highlight of the trip, Romeo and Juliet in a 250 year old theatre, seats right under the Royal Box. Please ask if you have any questions concerning the trip.

gmlawyer, I would love to read a detailed trip report!

I am still sorting through my 4000 pictures (now reduced to 3500). My wife is writing the travelogue. When it is done she will be putting it on her website. I will note it here in the future. She is a professional writer and it will be fun to read. Meanwhile, if you have any questions, you can email me at [email protected] or write them here.

gmlawyer, Great! We are doing the Russia Revealed which we booked before we read on this forum that it was not a great idea because of the traffic from the boat to the city. Anyway, we will go and have a great time I'm sure. I do have one question, GCT booked our flights with two hours to get from one flight to the next in CDG airport. Sounds rather close. Did you fly into Paris, what was the lay over time, etc.?

Had 3 hours in between flights. Flew direct on KLM from Detroit to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Moscow. Originally the flights GCT booked us had only 90 minutes between them and that had made me very nervous. Flights were 100% full.

We're booked on the GCT Russian Waterways in September of this year. We fly from Houston to Paris (CDG)and have about a 3 hour layover. Coming back we have about 90 minutes.

We arrive and depart from terminal 2E each way. According to the map of the airport (link attached below) we should not have any problems making the flights since they are in the same terminal and the bags are checked all the way through. I hope I'm reading the map right! I would have more worries if we had to change terminals.

http://www.paris-cdg.com/maps.html

Regarding time to get to the connecting flight: GCT takes lots of passengers on these vacations. I may be naive, but I trust that they want the trip to be successful and therefore have thought this out. Perhaps call GCT to voice your concern and see what they say. There are usually more than one passenger group on the same GCT trip on your flight doing the same connection.

sshirokov:

On the river, boats tie up next to one another and at times you have to pass through another to get to shore. We went through the Lenin, one of the ships on the tour you mention. It was old and dank looking. We were so happy to be on the Rossia. Also, check the size of the cabins, GCT has cabins that average 140 sq ft. The tour you mention doesn't say how big their cabins are. Even compared to Viking, GCT cabins are large, not one has bunks. I'm not saying your tour won't go to the same places, I know it does. I am just suggesting that the difference in price doesn't make up for the loss of comfort. And I definitely suggest the hotel stay.

We have been on three GCT trips (although no their Russian destinations) and have found their ships to be marvelous.

Clean, bright, first class amenities, large cabins, delightful and accomodating staff, great food, fun entertainment and good company with other passengers.

Price does not always equal value, of course.