Another ST. Petersburg private tour organization question

[Gary72]

Hello...I am contacting the three main tour companies in St. Petersburg regarding tours (Alla, Denrus, and Red October). My question refers to Red October. My responses have come via an agent whose title refers to Fortuna as the Managing Company and listed below it are Red October, Renaissance and Millenium Travel Companies. Not to be paranoid, but am I really communicating with the same Red October mentioned in these threads? Thank you in advance for your assistance...

[TLCOhio]

Hello...I am contacting the three main tour companies in St. Petersburg regarding tours (Alla, Denrus, and Red October). My question refers to Red October. My responses have come via an agent whose title refers to Fortuna as the Managing Company and listed below it are Red October, Renaissance and Millenium Travel Companies. Not to be paranoid, but am I really communicating with the same Red October mentioned in these threads? Thank you in advance for your assistance...

 

There have been a number of other posts and opinions posted earlier on this question. From reading all of those posts, it appeared that some of the larger operations tended to be less "custom/personal" and more semi-mass or formula driven. That personal attention was vital to us in planning, plus gave us more success. We used Anastasia. We found her to be much more responsive than the larger three you mentioned. In fact, in trying to communicate with a couple of those larger names, our results/reactions were mixed to put it kindly. If they won't or don't communicate well (or shuffle you off to a U.S. "agent"), that's another layer of confusion that might not be that helpful. You can check her website at http://www.anastasiaworld.com

 

The results of making something fit OUR needs and interests was important to us and we had super great success when in Russia late July and early August 2008.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Gary72]

Thank you

[taxmantoo]

We also used Anastasia and were quite satisfied overall. She was very easy to communicate with, always replied very fast. Very easy to customize the tour to fit your interests and those of your group. All in all, an overall good experience and would definitely repeat.

You will enjoy the Baltics. It is a wonderful cruise.

[belle907]

We also used Anastasia and were quite satisfied overall. She was very easy to communicate with, always replied very fast. Very easy to customize the tour to fit your interests and those of your group. All in all, an overall good experience and would definitely repeat.

You will enjoy the Baltics. It is a wonderful cruise.

We had the same experience with Anastasia last July. In fact, we are using her again next year on another Baltics cruise.

[RachelG]

Ditto with the recommendation for Anastasia. Very easy to work with and responsive. We paid her in cash on the 3rd day of our tour. She is a very nice professional lady and has good people working for her.

[bluenose2]

ditto Anastasia, we were 4 and customized our tour, had a great time

[cruiseidaho]

Another recommendation for Anastasia. Our group of six enjoyed a customized two-day tour with a fantastic, knowledgable guide, Kristina, at a rate lower than advertised by the "big three."

[TLCOhio]

Another recommendation for Anastasia. Our group of six enjoyed a customized two-day tour with a fantastic, knowledgable guide, Kristina, at a rate lower than advertised by the "big three."

 

"CUSTOMIZED" is an excellent and key word/goal! You need good preparation and planning in order to have your priorities focused most on what you want to see and do. "FLEXIBILITY" can be important and having a private guide will better allow things to fit YOUR NEEDS. Two in our group liked to take pictures. We needed that little extra time to get certain pictures and that also allowed more time for one of our group of four to rest her ailing hip. Some guides with ships or larger companies get wrapped up in their set, drill leader schedules that don't allow that needed flexibility for pictures, rest, stops, shopping. Cost is important, but be certain to make sure that the private company is open and flexible to make things more custom and fitting your exact personal needs. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio