Considering Masha for tour feedback please

[thecook]

I am traveling with a family group in May.We are considering using Masha for a 2 day private tour of SPB. I would like feedback both positive and negitive on Masha. I am concerned that she works independent of a large company. Has anyone addressed this issue with her? I would hate to get to Russia and have her sick and unable to escort our tour. Thanks in advance for any help.:)

[sbhdmh]

All positive to report on our experience with Masha. She is SO responsible, responsive and on top of things I am sure there is no way she would leave you stranded. Although she is setting up her own company she is still very much involved with some of the larger companies. For example the tour ticket for visa-free travel is issued through a larger company. I would ask her directly what would happen if she was unable to meet you. I assume she would, in case of dire urgency only, arrange for someone else to meet you. I really cannot say enough good things about her. Let me know if you have any questions I may be able to answer.

[thecook]

Thank you for your input.. you have addressed my concerns. I plan to ask her about not being able to meet us. I really liked her responses to my initial inquiries and would feel comfortable working with her.

[fabnfortysomething]

Thank you for your input.. you have addressed my concerns. I plan to ask her about not being able to meet us. I really liked her responses to my initial inquiries and would feel comfortable working with her.

Hi

we've just booked Masha for next July based on the previous posters recommendations-I didn't think to ask what would happen if she was sick on that day for instance-would be interested in any reply you get

 

Lyn

[sbhdmh]

Hi Lyn: Glad to hear you decided to give Masha a try. If she does even half as a good a job for you as she did with us I'm sure you'll have an amazing tour. Too bad you're going to miss out on all that extra time "enjoying the gift shop" though :rolleyes:

 

Please tell Masha the art professor and his wife say hello and be sure to post after your trip so I know how it went.

[thecook]

I have sent an e mail to Masha..I will let you know what she says when I get a reply

[thecook]

I received an e mail from Masha today. She was most helpful with my many questions. On this matter, she stated that she does work alone, but is settting up a new company with a friend that would be available to cover for her in the event she cannot lead our tour. She also has many guides that are friends that would work with her in case of an emergency. I hope this makes you feel comfortable with your decision. I plan to contract with her as soon as she returns to St. Petersburg later in the month.:D

[GuideDiva]

Wow, this sounds really risky. Who is sponsoring you, surely a guide can't do that since she is not a tour operator and the laws are very specific. There are probably 300 guides with the name Maria, Masha is a nickname.

 

If you have problems or not, your visa free entry says a recognized tour operator is sponsoring you and taking full responsibility for you, to you and to the government during your off-ship time. Being away from your sponsor means being illegally in the country. If you must have one guide, book your tour through her employer so the employer is responsible for you and can get you through immigration/customs, not her or else you might be in more trouble that you can imagine.

The whole idea of trusting a non-registered part-time guide in place of a tour operator is silly. What if she does not show up, guides are all booked in the summer, the good ones are busy with large tour operators? She is going to call a neighbor who just happens to have an old Lada to drive you around?

What until she has a registered business, backup and some sort of insurance to protect you in case of the worst. Your trip insurance will not pay claims that arise when using illegal services. When guides say they are licensed, it means they are allowed to enter museums and guide, but that is not a tour operator who has permission to sponsor foreign guests.

Even with registered tour operators only a few have liability insurance and no car/van has it on paying passengers unless specifically for Transport for Hire. Even with liability insurance only one company it seems has insurance that honors claims from outside Russia, because is uses the same cruise industry insurance as the cruise ships.

There are so many technical and logistics problems with what you are proposing that anyone who knows would say you are taking an incredible risk, and for what purpose?

Good luck.

[sbhdmh]

While I agree that you should be careful when arranging a private tour I can tell you from personal experience that our tour ticket was issued through a larger tour company Masha works with. She was not "a non-registered part-time guide" as GuideDiva suggests. I suggest that any and all questions be posed directly to Masha. We were totally satisfied with the responses we received from her. We also had a family of Russian ex-patriots on our tour who called the tour company that issued our tickets and verified everything. We had absolutely no problems.

[Ashland]

While I agree that you should be careful when arranging a private tour I can tell you from personal experience that our tour ticket was issued through a larger tour company Masha works with. She was not "a non-registered part-time guide" as GuideDiva suggests. I suggest that any and all questions be posed directly to Masha. We were totally satisfied with the responses we received from her. We also had a family of Russian ex-patriots on our tour who called the tour company that issued our tickets and verified everything. We had absolutely no problems.

How do I contact Masha... Will be there in Aug 2010....Thanks so much ...

[gfranzen]

We've also booked Masha in July 13&14 - hopefully not your dates?

[thecook]

I see that my previous post has been removed. I apologize if I did something inappropriate.

I received an email from Masha explaining that she does work independently, but under the umbrella of a large company. This company issues the visa and provides insurance for her patrons. This all legal. Masha has been quick to repond to any concerns that I have had. I feel comfortable with my decision to tour with her in St. Petersburg.

[thecook]

I appreciate your concern. I am not only relying on Masha's word, but that of others who have toured with her previously. One poster had a Russian ex pat in her group that checked on Masha to discover that her operation is indeed fully legal under the Russian law.

[momothree]

After reading a few "glowing" posts about her on the board and after multiple e-mails back and forth with Masha, I had pretty much decided to book a 2-day tour with her in August 2010. I had made inquiries with a number of tour companies, and comparatively speaking, Masha has impressed me with her thoughtful and individualized approach to addressing my group's specific concerns and areas of interest.

 

However, I have to admit, that as I plan this for our group of 9, I'm feeling a tremendous amount of responsibility that "things go well." It's not just MY trip, it's the entire group's that I'd be "ruining" if I pick the wrong guide. I'm feeling a lot of pressure that things "go well." To bolster my confidence that I have made a good decision, I have tried to find other sources/references/testimonials other than the few that are already on this board or on Masha's website, but have been unsuccessful. That has me a bit worried.

 

SBHDMH, since you are welcoming questions, and quite honestly the only only CC member who I can find who has posted specific comments about Masha...

How, may I ask, did you learn about her in the first place?

What was it that made you comfortable with working with her?

The thing is, I already like her and appreciate the leg-work she has done for me already. But, I guess I need more reassurance from a few more sources that she's as "amazing" as she seems. Sorry if this sounds to "needy."

 

Like the OP, I would really like to hear what other's experiences have been with Masha, good or bad.

[sbhdmh]

Hi Mom: I completely understand - I felt the same way. I planned our trip and had 2 other families join us. Despite their agreement on the selection and great communication from Masha I also felt the weight of the decision on my shoulders. One other member of our group, ourcruise2009, did weigh in but did so on the MSC board. I had posted a thread called MSC Rumors Fact or Fiction there and they weighed in on Masha as part of their comments. If you post your email address I will email them and ask them to contact you, if you like.

 

I found Masha's website online - I just googled "private guide St Petersburg" and contacted more than a dozen guides and companies that I found. Her first reply set her apart from the others. Her research in finding the History of Jews in Russia exhibition brought her to the head of the pack. It came down between her and another private guide in the end but in all her communication she just came across as a "mother hen." We live near New York and my husband had a terrible experience when he visited the Russian National Tourist office. After that experience we decided that we wanted to work with someone with a "warm" personality. No offense intended but many Russian nationals we have encountered over the years would not be described as warm and fuzzy. Her research, quick responses and warm personality sold us. The Russian ex-pats on our tour agreed that the demeanor could make or break the experience for us. In fact we arranged for a second guide for a few hours on day 2 since my husband needed extra time at the Hermitage and Russian Museum. The second guide had exactly the personality we had hoped to avoid, confirming our initial choice of Masha.

 

I really hope that others post experiences with her after the coming season. I don't want to appear to be a cheerleader - I just appreciate someone who went so far above and beyond the call of duty in doing their research for us. I told her at the end of the tour that I would post a good review. She just seemed so grateful. She said "I know that right now people have only a website to go on. I know it is hard to make a decision that way."

 

I'm not sure if this helps at all. In the end you need to go with whoever makes you the most comfortable and will offer you the best tour. Many people just go with the ship's tour rather than taking a chance on even the largest private company. A private guide starting their own company is, as I've said before, a leap of faith. I can only tell you it worked out great for us. That doesn't mean that we wouldn't have also had a wonderful tour with Alla, Anastasia, SPB or any of the others that receive rave reviews here on CC. I just know we would not have had a private tour by the curator of the History of Jews in Russia exhibit. We still would have had a great time but that extra made a big difference for us.

[momothree]

sdhbm... Thank you SO MUCH for your response. It sounds like you had a very special experience in St. Petersburg. Masha has been great about answering my questions as well and "going the extra mile" to research answers to questions about activities that are "off the beaten trail."

So far, I am impressed and plan on going with Masha. If I can talk my travel companions into it, we'll be painting nesting dolls!

 

Actually, I just had dinner with them tonight and told them what my thoughts are re the "pros and cons of Masha" and, to my relief, their response was "Sounds good... as long as we're not going to be taken into some back alley and 'disappear'?"

I'm thinking... "Boy, our standards are REALLY high! :rolleyes:"

Hopefully that means that toughest person in our group to please is ME!

That sure makes my "job" planning this trip a lot easier.

 

So, at least at this point I have their support. I'm really excited and feeling pretty comfortable about this. Of course, it's still pretty early in the planning process, so I have plenty of time to analyze this decision to death and will continue to scour these boards for "masha feedback." :)

[sbhdmh]

sdhbm... Thank you SO MUCH for your response. It sounds like you had a very special experience in St. Petersburg. Masha has been great about answering my questions as well and "going the extra mile" to research answers to questions about activities that are "off the beaten trail."

So far, I am impressed and plan on going with Masha. If I can talk my travel companions into it, we'll be painting nesting dolls!

 

Actually, I just had dinner with them tonight and told them what my thoughts are re the "pros and cons of Masha" and, to my relief, their response was "Sounds good... as long as we're not going to be taken into some back alley and 'disappear'?"

I'm thinking... "Boy, our standards are REALLY high! :rolleyes:"

Hopefully that means that toughest person in our group to please is ME!

That sure makes my "job" planning this trip a lot easier.

 

So, at least at this point I have their support. I'm really excited and feeling pretty comfortable about this. Of course, it's still pretty early in the planning process, so I have plenty of time to analyze this decision to death and will continue to scour these boards for "masha feedback." :)

 

LOL! I think we may be very much alike... The best thing to keep in mind is that the visa situation in Russia makes your tour company responsible for you. Once you get through immigration they have to answer to the Russian government if you "disappear"! (One reason you really don't have to worry about returning late and missing your ship.) And of course you don't pay until the end of day 2 so they have added incentive not to let you down. Oh yes, I kept analyzing and analyzing and analyzing. Others on the tour had total confidence in me (gulp!) but I barely slept the night before arriving in St Petersburg thinking what if we can't get off the ship, what if the guide I arranged is a disaster, etc. It all worked out perfectly but I have to laugh at you voicing all those conversations I had in my own head last summer!;)

[Tess111]

While I agree that you should be careful when arranging a private tour I can tell you from personal experience that our tour ticket was issued through a larger tour company Masha works with. She was not "a non-registered part-time guide" as GuideDiva suggests. I suggest that any and all questions be posed directly to Masha. We were totally satisfied with the responses we received from her. We also had a family of Russian ex-patriots on our tour who called the tour company that issued our tickets and verified everything. We had absolutely no problems.

 

What is the tour company that issued the tickets?