clarasong

Having endured a very negative experience with GCT, I would caution anyone who is considering them, to research the bad press they get...they do not support their clients when things 'go wrong' as they inevitably will sometimes, and have a reputation to 'bait, then switch', adding fees, tarriffs, costs etc., that are not explained in their brochures. Yes,when they are good, they are pretty good, but when they are bad, they are afful.

jackandann

clarasong,

How often have you traveled with Grand Circle? What were your specific problems and when did they occur?

Jack and Ann

clarasong

As I have posted elsewhere regarding this bizarre experience, we, a large group of us, booked to take a River cruise two years ago Spring...because of severe flooding, we and others worried and called repeatedly to make sure the Cruise was still scheduled...we even called the day before the cruise to ask if we shouldn't cancel, and were told emphatically that there were river boats on the rivers as we were speaking, no trouble. So we flew to Budapest, only to find out that there had not been a single boat on the river for weeks!! We were just lied to; Upon arrival, with no explanation, we were hustled in a hotel...while we were loading the busses, there was someone local trying to 'stiff' the people, charging $5 each for 'handling' our bags, from the curb to the bin under the bus, and our "Cruise Director' just stood there observing...didn't try to stop it... you had an option to hoist your own bags or pay the fee to this guy who was not even legitimate.

We were not told anything until the next day, when we boarded three busses for a three week tour of Eastern Europe, a place I never wanted to go. THe group that had preceded us on this 'non river boat bus tour' were also in the hotel, at the end of their experience and they were in a riotous mood. Incidentally, there were several people totally unsuited for that type of travel, (including one blind man), the busses were rickety, toilets non existant, we had no itinery and we didn't know from day to day where we were going to be, or what we were going to do. Food was substandard, everyone was 'bilking' us uncontrollably.

Example: In Prague, We were shown a 'seating' chart for a symphony in the 'Symphony Hall' that evening, we choose some nice seats and paid $25 each for them, but when we got to the Hall, the concert, as such, was a 'string quartet' in a side room, and the seats with out numbers on them had people sitting in them. They tried to seat us at the back of the room...in a staight back chair, no visibility, etc...the 'cheep' tickets, with everyone shruggiing their hands. After putting up loud and insistant resistance, we were finally seated in our own seats, the people there moved back where they belonged.

On and on...some people found glass in their soup one night...director did nothing. The upshot was that some (maybe many) on these tours refused to pay their credit card dues and GCT never challenged them...

We actually made several long distance calls to GCT central and they would not return our calls. This, and other behaviors on their part over the past years, are why they have such poor rating with the BBB.

Now we know folks, including us, who have had good experiences with the in the past. Guess the lesson learned is that they have problems with Quality Control, honesty to clients when problems arise, poor if any procedures, and poor public relations.

I think much of the issue is the subcontractors that they deal with, and the lack of imposed standards.

Well, that's enough about our experience, but I do think it behoovs people to know the entire history before they venture into a third world with no protection. And believe me, there are parts of Eastern Europe that are definitely "Third World", and people should be given chances to cancel a voyage if it looks dubious.

Stainless

We are signed up for the Russian Waterways in September, sailing from St. Petersburg to Moscow with GCT. We went to China last year with OAT and decided to use GCT for our Russian trip. Both trips were highly recommended by several people that had been to both places with the same companies.

GCT now stays in hotels in both cities with, I believe, just one night on board ship in Moscow before moving to the hotel.

This year GCT is giving (am sure they must have jacked up the price a bit to cover part of the cost) airfare on most 2008 trips. I verifed that by looking at the cost of the trip from various cities in US.

Was very pleased with OAT and hopefully will be with GCT. Suggest you do check them out. Like someone else said, cheaper is not always better.

Marsh

The GCT book that arrived today shows that river cruises in Russia this year will not include hotel stays in St. Petersburg and Moscow. We took that trip last June & stayed in nice hotels in both cities except for one night on the boat in Moscow. I think it is a big mistake for GCT to make this change. I don't know why they would do it. The commute will eat up lots of valuable time. I was very pleased with our tour, except that I would have liked more time in each of those cities.

LynnieD

Well if GCT is not staying in hotels in Moscow and St. Pete's anymore that makes my decision very easy. We had great results with Gate 1, and they area a real bargain.

gmlawyer

I am taking a GCT tour to Russia on June 19 and we are most definitely staying in jotels in Moscow and St Petersburg and the tour book which I just got last week so states. Also it says so on their web site.

Garfield

The webpage for GCT does not show hotel stays only stays on MS Tikhi Don, see
http://www.gct.com/gcc/general/default.aspx?oid=217194

OAT Russian Cruises show hotel stays

PIPERPAT

There are more then one Grand Circle trips go Russia. One includes hotel stays in the cities, and the other stays on the ship.

USNR

When we went to Russia with UniWorld, we stayed on board ship in both St. Petersburg and Moscow. I would estimate the dock was about 200 yards from a subway station in each city. A 10-minute walk. We reached the center of St. P. in about 15 minutes. It took slightly longer to reach Red Square in Moscow. True, street traffic can be bad, especially at certain hours. But we found subways were quick and very cheap. Timid souls took cabs and paid through the nose and wasted a lot of time. We felt perfectly safe and saw a slice of Russian life in those subways that cab-bound tourists missed.

Stainless

We are taking the GCT: Russian Waterways tour in September and are staying in hotels in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. The link someone referenced earlier is NOT the same tour. It is Russia Revealed: Moscow to St. Petersburg. Like PiperPat said, there is more than one trip to Russia.

gmlawyer

I didn't even know that there were two GCT trips that are basically identical. The only difference is that with the more expensive trip you stay in hotels in Moscow and St Petersburg rather than on the ship. Staying at the hotels saves considerable amounts of time but is more expensive. The hotel in St Petersburg is considered one of the more expensive hotels in the city and basically a long walk into the center of the city.

jcasale

Just thought I'd throw in another name to consider. My parents did a river cruise in Russia with Vantage Travel a couple of years ago and loved it. They partly went on that trip because they had traveled with Vantage several times in other regions and always had a good experience. I don't know how the price compares, but if you are looking for a good experience, it might be worth checking out.