How prompt was denrus in responding

[kibutzer]

Hi

 

Like many of you I am trying to decide between RO and Denrus. I have heard from RO US but no Denrus and it has been over a week. Any thoughts. Also how long were your days?

 

Although we Definetely want to see some key sites we are very interested in more local things, shopping non RO stores, experiencing what is left of Jewish Russia, any thoughts? Or I am just not used to the Russian way of communicating.

 

Any info would be helpful?

[Juliadlf]

I have been communicating with Stan at DenRus and unfortunately there was a fire in the building next to their offices and they are having power issues.They were hoping today they would have power back on in their offices. Stan had been emailing from a local cafe. We are also waiting for their final quote so we can compare with RO.

 

Julia

[cadreamer]

Also, you may or may not know that there are licensed independent guides who will custom design a tour anywhere you want to visit. The guide meets you at the dock with a driver and car. You do not have to have a visa to tour with them. I know there is a post from last summer by Mike Brill who used the same guide we used and went to the Jewish Synagogue with her. Her web site is http://www.alla-tour.com and you can reach her at info@alla-tour.com You could do a search on cruisecritic for St. Petersburg Synagogue and hopefully find the info from Mike. We can not say enough good about Alla. She is a rare find - very knowledgeable, organized, fluent in English and very personable.

[CASkippr]

I've been waiting about two weeks for DenRus to reply. I emailed them again this week. If I don't hear back I will try Red Oktober.

[CASkippr]

I've been waiting about two weeks for DenRus to reply. I emailed them again this week. If I don't hear back I will try Red Oktober.

 

Leah

[Juliadlf]

In update to my prior post, I've not heard all this week from Stan :( as I was hoping for a final quote.

Hopefully, the power is back on and we will hear next week.

 

It's always a good idea to contact other tour companies, ie RO or Alla Tours, for your comparison so you get an idea of what each is able to provide for your tour group. In the end, I don't think there is a big difference in pricing, just a matter of who you feel more comfortable dealing with and who is providing the best customer service.

 

Julia

[Kathy & George]

Cadreamer, thanks for the info. It will be our first trip to the Baltic and we are looking forward to a great tour.

[Jill_b]

I wrote to DenRus because I saw several posts saying they were not responding. I got a reply in 15 minutes from Olga, just like all the times I wrote last year. She said they were fully repaired and working normally. She also asked if I could relay a message that if someone has not gotten a response it is likely the message never was received so to send it again. She is the one who gives quotes. She said AOL mail accounts sometimes block messages from Russia. I've hears that from others also.

 

I got the details of how the phones and internet were out from the 6th of January because of a fire in the communications vault in the bank next door. They use fiberoptics which melted but all have been replaced.

 

After the perfect experience I had with them last year, I can not imagine not answering is intentional. It would be a shame to have a small delay, 5 months before travel to cause someone to book a lesser tour.

Jill

[Juliadlf]

Jill b: Thanks for the comment.

The person who contacted me from DenRus was a person by the name of Stan Jacox, DenRus Ltd not Olga. Never heard back with the 2006 prices even after I sent follow-up emails. I will ask the person on our roll call who finally responded to them. They too were having problems getting a response but finally did. I chalked up the whole thing to them having the problems in their office and trying to catch up with all the emails.

 

As a side note, I did have communications from Olga Danilova,RED OCTOBER Land-Sea Travel. She was very good in responding quickly and answering questions. However, I do note that they do discourage certain requests but in the end, they do accommodate.

 

Alla-Tours was very quick in responding and was able to provide some additional thoughts to the itinerary.

 

Julia

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BIGREDDD]

All,

 

I googled DenRus and saw your comments. We have been having a great deal of difficulty getting a response from Stan at Den Rus as well. We started our inquiry in January and our e-mail was interupted by the fire. Stan gave us additional e-mail addresses which generated a response once. We even called the office in St Petersburg and spoke to Stan for about 30 minutes. We are waiting to hear back firming up the itinerary. We haven't heard anything in two weeks. Is anyone else still having problems?

[evoni]

During the last 2 weeks, I've been getting back replies from Olga at DenRus within 24 hours. Yesterday and today is a banking holiday there, so I don't anticipate hearing back from her regarding my latest question until Monday..:).

 

Diana

[Juliadlf]

All,

 

I googled DenRus and saw your comments. We have been having a great deal of difficulty getting a response from Stan at Den Rus as well. We started our inquiry in January and our e-mail was interupted by the fire. Stan gave us additional e-mail addresses which generated a response once. We even called the office in St Petersburg and spoke to Stan for about 30 minutes. We are waiting to hear back firming up the itinerary. We haven't heard anything in two weeks. Is anyone else still having problems?

 

I never did hear back from Stan even after a follow-up email however someone on our roll call did get a response from the same person that evoni named. The roll call group put together it's "wish list" for the tour in St.Petersburg and I sent both RO and DenRus an email 2 days ago with the wish list.

RO responded today with the updated itinerary. I'm sure DenRus will respond also.

 

Julia

[RHayes8793]

We received our tickets and final price last week from Denrus for Sep 2 Star Princess.

[clem&donna]

I have made up mind to go with Denrus but can not get back reply from them. I thought it was just my computer. I will keep trying. We will be on the Amsterdam May 26 in St Petersberg.

Donna

[SaylorGirl]

They are very fast in reply, unless it is as stated they had electrical problems. They are a great group. We obtained our own Visas so we went independently, but they were very helpful to us in getting our Visas and always replyed quickly. I can't say enough good things about Stan, he is the best.

[sumguy1]

If you are using a hotmail or any other free email, make sure you check the emails in your Junk folder (for spam). Sometimes the filter will put the email in Junk specially if the email address wasnt saved in your address book. I turned off my spam filter completely not to miss any email I would need. Some places could use different email addresses than what I have for them, and it is so important not to miss a single one specially if you are arranging hotels/transportation/restaurants reservations/etc... Truely my inbox gets full of junk, but this is the trade-off

[MTemple212]

I have written Denrus within the last 24hrs and have gotten several replies back from Stan as I had emailed again to ask other questions. Everytime I write to them, I get a response usually within the hour. Remember there is an 8 hour time difference from there to the east coast of the US.