GCT Budapest to Black Sea

[nancycoop1]

We are booked on this trip for August 31st. Would love to hear from anyone who has done this trip or anyone that will be traveling with us.

 

Nancy

[Carhut]

Nancy, we did this trip last Aug. What would you like to know? The Danube isn't as pretty on this end although going through the Iron Gates part was outstanding scenery. The cities aren't as pretty as Western European cities. Lot's of plain buildings left over from the Communist era. In Croatia and Serbia, there was still evidence of the most recent war they had. Bombed out buildings. It was a very informative trip. The people seem like they are years behind. Some areas they were still farming with horses and transportation was horse and cart. We learned from the people first hand what it was like to live under Communism and also heard about the horrors of the ****s in WW2. Sure made us thankful that we could go back home to the good old USA.

[Carhut]

They blanked out the word for the German party that was trying to take over Europe. My goodness! I didn't know that was a bad word. It's just a part of history. Anyhow, I'm sure you know what I mean.

Carole

[Roses2]

We did the cruise from the Black Sea to Budapest with GCT last year. It is a very nice trip with interesting stops filled with old and new historical significance.

 

We had a bit of problem with GCT---but that is another story.

 

If you would like to see photos of the cruise itinerary go to: http://photos.yahoo.com/pandjrose

 

Click on 03 Eastern Europe

[nancycoop1]

Thanks for the information. Roses2 - your pictures are great - thanks. I hope we don't have any trouble with GCT.

 

Carhut - how strange that they blocked out that word - I know what you mean.

 

Are there any of the tours that you would particularly recommend or discourage? Any tips on shopping or restaurants or anything else you can think of?

 

I notice that the trip to Sezerande(sp?) includes a trip to a diamond factory. I am not really interested in a diamond factory and wonder if either of you took this and how much time is spent at the diamond factory and if there is anything else you can do instead of the diamond factory. It looks fairly easy to get there on our own.

 

Nancy

[Carhut]

I enjoyed your pictures, Rose. They looked familar as I have a lot of similar ones. You must have gone in cooler weather, as I notice jackets and dark clouds in the sky. We went the end of Aug. and it was wall to wall sunshine the whole trip.

Nancy, the tour to Szentendre was interesting. It was a bus ride to this village that was mainly for tourists. Lot's of little shops and several restaurants. Quite quaint and we enjoyed it. I can't for the life of me remember seeing a diamond factory. I'm sure we didn't. I looked in my notes and there was nothing mentioned about it.

The musical evening was in a small room in an old building that was supposed to have been a palace, with a man and woman opera singers and a piano player. All were excellent, if you want to sit and listen to 2 opera singers & a piano player and then have a glass of either wine (champagne ?) or orange juice during the intermission. Afterwards we had dinner at a restaurant which was pretty good and they had muscians playing for us there. The tour was OK, but I think a little pricey for what you get.

Enjoyed Holloko tour. Recommend it.

Also enjoyed the Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanassi tour. It was a good place to pick up souvenirs. Recommend this one, too.

[Roses2]

Thanks for the information. Roses2 - your pictures are great - thanks. I hope we don't have any trouble with GCT.

 

Carhut - how strange that they blocked out that word - I know what you mean.

 

Are there any of the tours that you would particularly recommend or discourage? Any tips on shopping or restaurants or anything else you can think of?

 

I notice that the trip to Sezerande(sp?) includes a trip to a diamond factory. I am not really interested in a diamond factory and wonder if either of you took this and how much time is spent at the diamond factory and if there is anything else you can do instead of the diamond factory. It looks fairly easy to get there on our own.

 

Nancy

 

Nancy,

 

We enjoyed the tour to Sezerande(sp?) and thought it worthwhile. The stop at the diamond factory was interesting also - there is a sort-of museum there which the guide took us around, then a short video, maybe 10 minutes, about the area. After that, as I recall, there was about 30 minutes in the "factory" itself where you can buy things if you wish. Outside that main room, on the way out to re-board the bus, there is an area that has good costume pieces for sale which I didn't realize, though I didn't buy anything anyway. Just looked.:)

 

As to other tours, we especially enjoyed the one that had us having lunch with a Vukovar, Croatia family and seeing a school there. You may have noticed the pictures from the school in our album. If you would like a copy of our detailed "trip report" send me your e-mail address and I will send on it to you.

Roses2

[Joan L]

We did the cruise from the Black Sea to Budapest with GCT last year. It is a very nice trip with interesting stops filled with old and new historical significance.

 

We had a bit of problem with GCT---but that is another story.

 

If you would like to see photos of the cruise itinerary go to: http://photos.yahoo.com/pandjrose

 

Roses2: Please tell us what the Problem with GCT was. It wasn't fair to just say you had a problem without stating the reason.

 

Thanks, Joan L

[Roses2]

Below is a copy of the letter that we wrote to GCT upon return. We believed it was a positive attempt to prod them to make some changes. They did not respond so we sent a second letter and they acknowledged the letter, expressed their apology, and granted credit which we shall not use.

 

Re: Eastern Europe Black Sea to Budapest September 20 – October 2

Dear Mr. Lewis,

We hope that you will take the time to read through our letter because we believe that you do not receive accurate feedback from your clients through your current feedback system. On both of our GCT tours this past year we, along with all other travelers, were exhorted by our Program Directors to only mark our feedback surveys with the grade of “excellent” and not to make negative comments. Therefore, you and your staff may not have appropriate information upon which to make changes in your programs.

We believe there are specific changes that should be made to the Eastern Europe Black Sea to Budapest tour based on our experiences on this tour. In this letter we will enumerate four specific instances.

We, and those passengers traveling with us on flights connecting from Dulles International Airport to Bucharest, Rumania with connecting flight in Munich, Germany, were disturbed by treatment by Grand Circle staff members upon our arrival in Bucharest, Romania.

Those of us arriving on this flight were arbitrarily denied the opportunity to clean up, shower, or even take time to bush our teeth, after our long air journey. When asked for the chance to perform even the most basic human needs, the Program Directors told us the briefing we had to attend was mandatory and that we were late and we were holding up others.

In fact our airplane was exactly 15 minutes late and the minor late arrival made virtually no difference in our actual arrival time at the hotel. I call to your attention the wording from your brochure describing this itinerary for the trip Eastern Europe to the Black Sea, “ Day 2 Arrival, Transfer, At Leisure: Arrival today in Bucharest. You are met at the airport by a Grand Circle representative and transferred to your hotel. You have the balance of the day to relax after your overseas flight. Lunch is on your own today.”

Your flight arrangements did not allow for even one minute of leisure time in Bucharest for our travel companions and us. The rigid, inflexible attitude of your Program Directors further compounded the problem by their refusal to delay the briefing for 15 or 30 minutes or set up a special briefing for our group.

We believe your brochure describing the trip is misleading and the treatment of was inexcusable.

Another example of poor operational planning occurred in Belgrade. Virtually all tour members wanted to attend the excellent lecture presented on Serbia: past, present, and future. However, to attend the lecture they had to climb four long flights of stairs to a lecture room. For some, this was an agonizing climb and they asked why the lecture could not have been arranged in another venue.

You certainly know your clients. Most of us are of advanced age and some a bit less mobile than others. We personally saw one of the men on the trip literally drag himself up the four flights of stairs. Luckily the lecture was outstanding. But the GCT planning for the event was sorely lacking.

We would like to call to your attention our disappointment with the optional Hollókö visit and home hosted lunch. Unlike the delightful included Serbian home- hosted lunch, the hostess did not eat with us and there was no interpreter. Therefore, the table conversation was only among us tourists. As a final insult, after the meal she peddled souvenirs.

Finally, when we booked the trip we notified GCT that Peggy was a vegetarian. During last year’s tour the Concerto food service staff prepared excellent vegetarian meals for her during the voyage. However, the Adagio staff made no such effort, other than the same dinner entrée for each evening, a plate of steamed vegetables. On the last night, after a special request to the staff, they prepared her only special meal, an omelet. Based on our previous trip, we had expected a bit more effort.

We chose this river trip with GCT over others because we were very pleased with our last year’s river trip on the River Concerto with your organization. Everything on the Christmas tour went off without a hitch and all of the staff with whom we interacted on the boat and the Program Directors fully deserved the rating of excellent. However our treatment upon arrival to begin this tour, the misleading information in your brochure, and seeming lack of quality control over some of the operations on this tour leave us sadly disappointed.

We request the courtesy of a reply.

[Joan L]

I am glad I asked you to tell us what problems you encountered. We have been travelling for many years. We have gone with several different travel groups on escorted trips. Nothing you stated was of any reason not to use GCT.

 

We are booked on a GCT tour on November 2006 and took advantage of the early pay discount. I was a little worried when I saw your post, but now am not worried in the least.

 

All of the the groups have minor problems for some travelers, but I am sure on your tour most of the people were very happy with the tour.

 

Joan L. :)

[lddam]

We are booked on a GCT tour on November 2006 and took advantage of the early pay discount.

Joan L. :)

 

 

Joan-

 

What trip have you booked on GCT for November. Just curious. My wife and I have booked an 11/6 cruise on the MS Chardonney. By any chance, is this your November booking?

 

Dave of ...

[Carhut]

Roses2

Cool Cruiser Join Date: Feb 2006

Posts: 70

 

Since you insist

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Below is a copy of the letter that we wrote to GCT upon return. We believed it was a positive attempt to prod them to make some changes. They did not respond so we sent a second letter and they acknowledged the letter, expressed their apology, and granted credit which we shall not use.

 

I'm just curious, what ship were you on? We did the Budapest to Black Sea on the Adagio last Aug/Sept. I think our program directors, all four were good. We did the pre-cruise in Prague. We experienced no problem except the luggage didn't arrive with us, but was the airline's fault. It came on the next plane, so we got it that evening. The only thing I can agree with you according to your letter to Mr. Lewis, was the Maitre D on this ship wasn't as good as the one we had on previous cruise. On the first cruise, I informed the waiter that I had food allergies and that Maitre D was on top of it at every meal. She made sure I was served a plate minus the foods that I was allergic to. So on the last cruise I told this Maitre D that I had food allergies, expecting the same treatment. Not! The first morning, I was going through the buffet line and she brings me this plate of sliced fruit. It was like an apple, pear, banana, plum, etc. All were sliced and it filled a dinner plate. No way did I want that plate of fruit. I had told her I couldn't eat strawberries and melon. Actually there was plenty of food for me to choose from on the breakfast buffet. However, she didn't give me any special plates the rest of the cruise. I wouldn't have thought anything of it if I hadn't been spoiled by the first Maitre D on the cruise the year before.

To tell you the truth, after reading your letter, it all seemed rather petty to me. JMHO Looks like they acknowledged your letter satisfactorily, so you should be satisfied. Why wouldn't you use the credit extended to you? Wish you could transfer it to me. Yes, my second cruise didn't quite meet the expectations of the first one, but then I find that happens when one repeats. The first one always seems to be best.

[Carhut]

Sorry, I see you were on the Adagio also. So you probably had the same Maitre D. Our program director was Christian and there was Istvan and 2 girls, that I can't remember their names right now. One was dark skinned and had real curly hair and the other was blond. We arrived in Prague at 5:30 p.m. and had to meet for orientation at 6:00. We were supposed to arrive at least 3 hours earlier, but we didn't get to AMsterdam in time to make our connection so had to wait for the next plane. Problem was the airline, because it was over an hour late leaving the US. Anyhow, thought I'd clarify a few facts.

[nancycoop1]

Roses2 -thank you for your kind offer to send me your trip report. I would love to see it. My email is: nancycoop1@msn.com. I shall look forward to hearing from you.

 

I have decided to try to do a little Christmas shopping while on this cruise (I can always find some way to justify shopping). Is there anything anyone would recommend that you found particularly interesting or a good buy? Thanks

 

Nancy

[Michael J]

Joan-

 

What trip have you booked on GCT for November. Just curious. My wife and I have booked an 11/6 cruise on the MS Chardonney. By any chance, is this your November booking?

 

Dave of ...

 

Dave :

 

We are booked on the Legendary Waterways of Holland and Belguim, MS Symphony :) 11/14/06, but we are taking the Pre-cruise in Amsterdam so are actually leaving Phila. on 11/11/06