Grand Circle

[quilter06]

Any one cruised with Grand Circle recently? Would appreciate your comments.

[paul929207]

We traveled with GCT in Russia last August/September. We had a wonderful trip.

[sk8teacher]

We sailed with them last year, and overall enjoyed the cruise. The food was good, crew personable, guides delightful, but beware that most of their ships have pullman style beds that fold down from the wall. For us personally, they were not comfortable at all and thus we will not sail with them again.

 

Cheers,

[Kra]

We are in the process of planning our third river cruise with Grand Circle. We seem to study everything to death and this was our first choice of tour companies. It has proven to be a good choice. Another member mentioned the beds that pull down converting from daytime seating to nighttime accommodations. We found these most adequate and the linens used of high quality. If you have any specific questions I would be happy to help as much as I can.

[paul929207]

We have not had the pullman style beds on GCT trips to Russia and Egypt.

[cruisingmimi]

We did the Christmas Markets cruise Dec. '09 with GCT & absolutely loved it! Our 4 tour directors were absolutely the best and we had such a great time w/ them. Food was great also. We were on the River Aria ship. We booked the cruise 2 weeks prior to the cruise so took the only available cabin. It was on the 2nd deck mid ship and my only complaint was that the beds were the pullman style (you pull them out of the wall to open them). They were ok but not awfully comfortable. If you wanted to stay in the cabin and read, you had to pull the bed down. When the beds were up there were bench type seats but they weren't that comfortable. We didn't stay in our cabins all that much and the lounge area was nice to read in, play cards, etc.

 

I would probably upgrade to better bedding if I were to go w/ GCT again. I just checked out Vantage and their bedding on the 2 bottom decks are the same also. Other than this, we loved our cruise and can't wait to go on another one.

 

I am looking at the Rhine river for our next cruise.

[alru66]

Took the Holland & Tulip tour in April this year and the whole crew,food and tour guides were great. I traveled solo and felt welcomed during the whole time. Rooms are about the same size of most other ships, I hear, and the bedding was fine. My husband is now going with me next year on the Paris to Normandy cruise in June since I've been raving about the trip.

You can't not love it!:)

[lovetotravel62]

We just went on the Nice to Paris trip with GCT in May. This was our first river cruise, and we were thrilled. We sailed on the Provence--I heard too many bad reviews of the Chardonnay. The ship is small, only holding 46 passengers, but it was very nice to get to know the other travelers. The rooms are quite big (we had a lower room). The beds were regular beds, although twins, but that was not a problem for my husband and me. The food was excellent and the tour director was very welcoming and helpful. I would highly recommend GCT.

[Jeff in Torrance]

We've done two river tours with GCT; and, have had great times. It would be nice if the beds fit together; but, not a major issue. The beds are fairly comfortable.

 

Our most recent cruise was on the Aria, Vienna to Amsterdam, last summer. We previously did the Budapest to the Black Sea, when they actually sailed to the Black Sea. That was about three years ago on the Rhapsody.

[rogerdawhip]

I also took GCT's Holland and Belgium cruise in April. This was my 8th GCT river cruise and they keep exceeding my expectations. Food was great and service fantastic. I have been on a total of 13 river cruises counting Egypt and China and cannot wait until my next one.

[wvguy]

Questions for Paul929207

 

Hi everyone, this is my first post. DH and I have never taken a river cruise, but traveled quite a bit in Europe some years ago. We are considering a GCT Russian River Cruise this year or next. Looking at the 8/25/11 Russia Revealed - Moscow to St. Petersburg. GTC says no problem getting the visas in time. I think this sailing uses the TiKi Don.

 

Paul, would appreciate it if you could answer a few questions from your trip to Russia on GCT.

 

1. Were there good stair handrails up to the sun deck? GCT said about 20 steep steps.

 

2. Were there bathrooms on the bus on the included tours? GCT said "no" but thought I would ask someone who has taken the trip.

 

3. Did you buy the trip insurance from GCT? I haven't looked at the policy but would want a primary carrier.

 

4. Were you satisifed with the air arrangements? How many changes did you have flying to Moscow? We are in Central Texas, so would depart from NY or Atlanta using FF miles on domestic flight.

 

If I am posting in the wrong place feel free to let me know.

 

Dee L.

[paul929207]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

1. I remember the steps were steep especially to the sundeck, but there were handrails.

2. Some buses had bathrooms, but they rarely if ever worked.

3. Yes, we got GCT insurance. Had a cliam on another trip and they paid with no problem.

4. Yes, air was fine. We flew Greenville, SC to Chicago to Paris to Kiev. We did the pre-trip in Kiev.

[wvguy]

Paul, many thanks for your reply. I know the traffic is terrible in Moscow and a time consuming bus ride for tours. I have read on CC about 45 minutes to an hour, but one can sit in traffic that long in Austin. So, no bathroom would not be a problem.

 

Any negative/positive thoughts on the Boat Deck? That is all GTC has left for this sailing and some cabins mid-ship are available.

[BobNAnne]

Hi Dee,

 

Good questions. We are on the Boat Deck (#307) on the Aug, 25 cruise also (our first time with GCT).

Our friends just got back from the same trip and loved it (that's why we're going)

If you sign up, I'll look for you.

 

If anyone has taken the optional tours, I would love to hear about them.

 

Bob and Anne

[CT Granny]

I was on the GCT Tiki Don in May of this year, the first cruise of the season.

 

1. The stairs to the sundeck are steep but there are good handrails. People were considerate of each other going up and down.

 

2. Most of the buses included bathrooms but they requested that they be used only in an emergency. My "guess" is that facilities to empty them are not as good in Russia as elsewhere.

 

3. We bought our trip insurance from Travel Guard. I have never made a claim so I can't say whether they are any better than GCT or any worse.

 

4. We signed up at the last minute and had GCT organized flights. We flew from JFK to Moscow, non-stop on Delta. We flew home from Helsinki after the post trip extension on FinnAir and Air France. We had a four hour layover at DeGaulle. There was also a serious 'trek' between flights but we had plenty of time and the exercise felt good.

 

Dee, we totally enjoyed this trip. We were interested in Russia and what it was like today. The accommodatons were comfortable but not luxurious. We were in Moscow on Victory Day and so experienced fewer delays on the road there. I noticed that our captain always took the outermost position if there were more than one ship tied up. We never had to worry about outsiders traipsing through the ship.

 

Barbara

[hshowalter]

Quilter06 My wife & I have been on 3 GCT river cruises the last being an Egypt cruise Mat-June 2010. We have also been on 3 Vantage river cruises & will be going on our 4th on !0-23-11 Bucharest to Budapest. We have found Vantage to be higher but more tours are included in base price. We spent almost as much on optional Egypt tours with GCT as the base price.

[wvguy]

Thanks to all of you for your great information. Talking with some friends this past weekend we found that they would like to take a Russian river cruise next year, so we now plan to do that together in 2012. Bob and Anne, so sorry we won't be able to meet you but we hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

I think Grand Circle is the one for us!

[wvguy]

Thanks to all of you for your great information. Talking with some friends this past weekend we found that they would like to take a Russian river cruise next year, so we now plan to do that together in 2012. Bob and Anne, so sorry we won't be able to meet you but we hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

I think Grand Circle is the one for us!

[onespots]

Questions for Paul929207

 

Hi everyone, this is my first post. DH and I have never taken a river cruise, but traveled quite a bit in Europe some years ago. We are considering a GCT Russian River Cruise this year or next. Looking at the 8/25/11 Russia Revealed - Moscow to St. Petersburg. GTC says no problem getting the visas in time. I think this sailing uses the TiKi Don.

 

Paul, would appreciate it if you could answer a few questions from your trip to Russia on GCT.

 

1. Were there good stair handrails up to the sun deck? GCT said about 20 steep steps.

 

2. Were there bathrooms on the bus on the included tours? GCT said "no" but thought I would ask someone who has taken the trip.

 

3. Did you buy the trip insurance from GCT? I haven't looked at the policy but would want a primary carrier.

 

4. Were you satisifed with the air arrangements? How many changes did you have flying to Moscow? We are in Central Texas, so would depart from NY or Atlanta using FF miles on domestic flight.

 

If I am posting in the wrong place feel free to let me know.

 

Dee L.

 

Hello Dee L

 

September 2010

Took a pre-excursion Helsinki-Tallinn before boarding the " TIKI DON " St. Petersburg to Moscow. GCT did everything right. Tour director was great & all the local guides but one. ( you will have several ) We use GCT air service. Just becareful at final booking of flights & make sure you get what you want. ( they will work with you ) Interesting route from Phoenix to Helsinki, but little connection times. Comming home flew United from Moscow to Washington DC 2 hour layover for customs & on in to Phoenix ( couldn't been easier & we wanted direct flights ) Much better flights from Moscow back to the USA.

 

We checked out most of the cabins on every level, they all seemed the same. Stay away from the ones closest to the dinning room on both sides. All heavy traffic in this area, sometimes difficult for the passengers to get out of their cabin around the dinner hour. We were in 226 about mid-ship starboard side. Spent little time in the room except to shower & sleep. Cabin was more than adequate & very clean. Housekeeping was amazing, better than our ocean cruises. See no advantage as to what deck you stay on, as you can't see much from your cabin.

 

We took most of the optional tours except for the Russian Ballet & Star City. Favorites included the Moscow Circus, Moscow at Night, Yusupov Palace, Karelian Folk Show, Peterhof Fountains, & Tretyakov Gallery. We also had a free 1/2 day afternoon & went into St. Petersburg on our own to explore The Church of Spilled Blood. ( riding the Metro alone was quite an adventure ) This is a very interesting & educational trip. Reading what others have said about Viking & AMA, it appears GCT is a solid choice. Be prepared for lots of traffic in the big cities & long (45-100 minute trips into the city. All of our buses had toliets, however they discourage the use of them. So plan your restroom breaks around the bus.

 

We used Travel Guard, better coverage, lower costs. John

[wvguy]

Hi John,

 

I really appreciate your information especially on the cabin locations and airline flights. I'm reading more and more positive comments on GCT. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip and were well satisfied with this company. How was the weather in September?

 

Dee L.

[onespots]

Hi John,

 

I really appreciate your information especially on the cabin locations and airline flights. I'm reading more and more positive comments on GCT. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip and were well satisfied with this company. How was the weather in September?

 

Dee L.

 

Hello Dee L.

 

Send me an email & I will answer all questions you have in detail. This trip on GCT was great. The weather changed by port as it was getting to be fall/early winter.

 

Best Wishes, John

sfaigle@aol.com