Just returned from GCT Russia Revealed

[H2Otstr]

Just returned late last night from our GCT trip from St. Pete's to Moscow with a pre trip to Helsinki and Tallinn. There have been some great tips from past cruisers, so I won't address those, but I am going to address a few items from our trip. Thanks to USNavyGuy for his review of this same trip and also Fran and Lisa (Pixie) for their great tips.

 

Shampoo: Only shampoo provided was the liquid shampoo/body wash in the shower stall. Wish that I would have brought my own. Hair conditioner was provided.

 

Snacks: We had a couple "split" meals and I wish that I would have brought some extra snacks from home for those events. We had late lunches and then a couple "split" meals. If we had an event that took place near dinner time an early light meal was provided around 5 pm (keep in mind that we just finished lunch around 2 to 2:30 pm) and then another light meal after we returned from the event, around 11 pm. I never went to these meals because I was not hungry 3 hours after I ate lunch and did not want to eat at 11 pm. I did have a couple packages of crackers that I snacked on, but wish that I had brought a couple more. Even a yogurt and piece of fruit would have been good. I could have taken those from the breakfast meal had I known our meals would have been irregular. GC went out of their way to make sure that we were well fed :D.

 

Souvenirs on the ship: These were very nice and reasonably priced. They had everything from small bowls to exotic jewelry (with the price to match). You can shop every day and take your time choosing the right item. If one is an Inner Circle Member a 5% discount is applied. Payment is in the form of Rubles cash or Credit Card. US$ are not accepted on the ship. GC sells a very nice map at the front desk. It is very detailed and shows the route of our trip from start to finish. It was 9 Rubles.

 

Odds and ends: Be sure to bring a head scarf for the church visits.

 

If you buy something at a grocery store and want a grocery bag you must pay for the bag (around 5 Rubles). You must also bag your own items :D. There are Pepsi and Coke products for sale everywhere. We had a small fridge in the room so we could buy items on shore and keep them in there. Ice was available from machines on the ship.

 

The coffee creamer in the dining room was AWFUL. I think that it was skim milk. Wish that I would have brought some powdered creamer from home (had I only known :rolleyes:.) My husband brought a couple bags of his favorite granola from home and enjoyed it very much.

 

If one is prone to sea sickness then bring some meds. Like Fran's trip, our ship did some rocking and rolling in the lakes. The waves were about 3 feet, but the Captain said that they have had even 15 foot waves. They cannot sail (if I remember correctly) if the waves are over 7 feet.

 

Money/dollar bills: Wish that I would have brought more $1 bills for tips. I usually have at least 50 dollar bills but this time I didn't. Dollars are accepted for the local tour guides and bus drivers.

 

If anyone has any specific questions I will address those.

 

Sharon

[suspaul]

Sharon, Great helpful tips!

Susan

[MGS13]

Thanks for the information. We are taking our first river cruise and it is on GCT. We are doing the Budapest to Bucharest on Nov 1. Were your thoughts about the Russia cruise indicative of your other GCT cruises? Any suggestions to a first time river cruiser? Thanks

[Coral]

I brought a ton of snacks from the US and I was thankful I did!

[H2Otstr]

Thanks for the information. We are taking our first river cruise and it is on GCT. We are doing the Budapest to Bucharest on Nov 1. Were your thoughts about the Russia cruise indicative of your other GCT cruises? Any suggestions to a first time river cruiser? Thanks

 

I would have to say NO. We have been on 3 other GC river cruises and this one was very different than the ones in other parts of Europe. I have never been on a GC trip where we had the split meals. I often bring a few snacks with me, but usually end up eating them in the airport or on the plane.

I think because we had such a long ride back to either St. Pete's or Moscow (they allowed 1 to 1.5 hours) for the optionals that the dinners were off schedule. Usually the evening optionals only require about 1/2 hour bus ride to get to the venue.

 

Have fun and if you have any specific questions please feel free to ask.

[shoshona2]

I have traveled all around the world and ALWAYS bring breakfast bars, raisins and raw almonds. There is always a time they come in handy. Once I was on a airliner that was delayed on the runway and gave the snacks to little kids whose mothers were most appreciative. On our Russian trip, I lived on snacks as the food was not good and lost 4 lbs. I wasn't too upset since I needed to lose the weight.

 

Sheila