Red October US questions??????

[dbh62ark]

I love your CruiseCritic name (Live the Good Life). You're very welcome, and I hope you have a great time on your cruise.

 

:)

Donna

[BLS]

Please tell me more about the "Gold Room".

Also what can we expect in the way of weather in mid September?

 

Thanks for all you help!

 

Aloha,

Bev

[NancyIL]

Mike e-mailed me in a timely fashion, and was generally very good about "tweaking" my itinerary to my wishes. However, in the end I chose DenRus. The clincher was that RO discouraged taking the hydrofoil from Peterhof (see my thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=135296 about the hydrofoil), and DenRus had no problem with it.

[stanj]

Please tell me more about the "Gold Room".

Also what can we expect in the way of weather in mid September?

 

Thanks for all you help!

 

Aloha,

Bev

Hi Bev

The Gold Chamber is the room in the ground floor( the naming convention in Russia like much of Europe is the ground floor is the 1st floor and one about the ground floor is the 1st floor, which Americans call the Second floor) of the Hermitage that has a priceless collection of ancient gold artifacts from the territories of the Northern Black Sea Coastlands and Northern Caucasus, mostly created by Scythian, Greek and ancient Oriental craftsmen, from the 500-300 BC. It is quite a unique collection.

 

The weather will great. It is my favorite time of year. Usually it is warm, +70-75 F, lower humidity, and few if any mesquitoes, and a more relaxed feel to the city. Russians call what we call Indian Summer, "Women's Summer" and that seems to fit, most of the large number of Russian tourists have gone back home to other regions, the kods are back in school, the theaters still have full schedules of performances but the tickets easy to get, no lines for museums except the Hermitage...nice time to visit and nicer time to live in St Petersburg

[JodiBB]

stanj....

 

What is the temperature like in mid-August? Anything like September?! It would be great if the temps were in the mid-70s!!

[stanj]

Jul

stanj....

 

What is the temperature like in mid-August? Anything like September?! It would be great if the temps were in the mid-70s!!

The summer really seems like summer in July and August, not hot, except for local who are used to much colder. Last summer the highs got to mid 80s F. with 35-45% humidity. That was very warm to me but I was not wearing jackets at 32 F We had a lot of rain last summer but they were short showers that just keeps the greenry deep dark green and the skys clean and very blue. I am from California and it is pleasant for to see a summer with everything staying green and fresh instead of golden brown covering the hills and valleys like back in my home state. Going out to Peterhof by hyrofoil to picnic and swim or going out to the wood and some of the thousands of lakes was a real pleasure. The summer before was a lot drier and warmer but the spring was late and the snow was heavy enough to stick as late as the 3rd week of May. I expect May to be very nice this year like last year. Visitors like mid summer most due to the warmth but I prefer May and September. We usually get crisp days by mid to late October and snow by the end of the month. It is too bad few people come in the winter because it can be very nice if properly prepared. The Gulf of Finland moderates the cold so further inland or south is noticably colder in the winters.

[slivers]

Noting the Red October US link on this page, I attempted to email them to get answer about payment for a tour that was previously booked with RO in Russia. First, the email link under Contact Us writes an incorrect email address into your emailmail form. Two "/" marks are inserted. This is wrong; mail was not delivered. I re-emailed without the "/" marks and got an immediate, automatic reply. But no other response to my questions.

 

I'll be glad to email RO in Russia, but perhaps someone here knows:

 

I had read on these boards that there is discount for cash, as opposed to credit card, payment. But does that mean the price we were quoted is the discounted cash price, so we would have to pay an upcharge to use a card, or is the quoted cost the amount before a discount if we pay by cash.

 

Also, our rates were quoted in US$. But I also understand that "merchants" are not allowed to accept dollars. Will RO take dollars or will I have to get rubles from an ATM? Is one handy to RO's offices?

[BLS]

The price quote is the "cash " price.

Anyone using a credit card will incure additions service fees.

so looks like cash works best

[CA traveler]

I emailed Galia from Red October with many. many questions and the payment responses were: prices quoted were for US cash; credit card payments have additional charges from Red October and of course now most banks and credit card companies.

[stanj]

The price quote is the "cash " price.

Anyone using a credit card will incure additions service fees.

so looks like cash works best

 

It is not quite as simple as that. Cash has fees attached to it also, ATMs have fees and the risk of having your US currency refused for being suspect is a real concern. If you do being US bills, larger bills of perfect condition are the only ones to bring. No matter how carefully you inspect your bills for marks(ink or moisture marks of any kind), visible wear and even the slightest tear, some will be refused for being suspect. If you intend to bring cash, call your bank and ask them to save uncirculated $100 bills for you and bring those with you. It is possible to exchange worn and marked bills but that can only be done at the Central Bank and be fined a substantial fee for exchanging defective bills, up to 40% of its face value.

ATMs have their own fees which balances out the various payment methods to being about the same. A major advantage with CCs is your protection and right for refund when protesting a charge for poor service, faulty products or incomplete work that cash does not have.

Personally, I use cash whenever possible and make sure I find a tourist who going home to sell my soiled or used US currency to. Anywhere else in Europe banks take generally circulated US bills.

The DoJ estimates that more US $100 bills are in circulation in Russia than in the US. It also estimate that for every legitimate $100 bill there a counterfeit $100, which explains why Russians are so careful about bills. I've never seen a counterfeit bill in Russia and and knowing how carefully they are inspected by every exchange bank or private citizen, I don't see how they would go undetected.

More and more merchants are stopping the policy of charging the discount rate of up to 4.5% for using cards.