Payment Method for St Petersburg Tours

[calmac]

We've asked both Alla and DenRus to price a customised tour for us in St Petersburg. Both replied very promptly and we've now to choose which one we would prefer to go with.

 

One question my DH asked is "how do you pay?".

 

In Alla's e-mailed response she states that

 

"Booking.

I don't require any deposits.

Payment.

The payment is welcomed on the last day of the tour in US dollars cash."

 

Can anyone tell me what the deposit and payment situation is with DenRus? I've looked at their website but don't see anything and I've had a look here but couldn't find anything.

 

Thanks for your help.

[freddiebud]

Here is what Natalie sent me. I used the shopping cart method.

 

100% PREPAYMENT

 

Many people prefer paying for their tours in advance, prior to their arrival to St Petersburg. It can be done in several ways:

 

A. WEBSITE SHOPPING CART:

Since the price for Custom Shore Ex will be different for each party due to the details of their itinerary, you are expected to inform us that you wish to pay through the shopping basket and we shall provide you with the simple steps required to complete the transaction (the direct link will be e-mailed to you after we create your own purchase item on our Catalogue.

 

Important:

1) Please, be informed that your Credit Card will not be charged, except in the unique case that you will not show up, nor report to our waiting staff upon your ship’s arrival in St. Petersburg.

2) Please, be informed that paying to the Russian bank will be more costly than paying on-line. For your information the commission fee is charged by Russian United Credit Cards Company which has financial agreement on services with the above mentioned companies is to be paid. These commission fees are the following:

VISA International 2.9%

EUROCARD Master Card 2.9%

Diners Club International 3.5%

JCB cards 2.9%

American Express 4.5%

3) Inside the Shopping Cart you will also have an option to decide when your Credit Card should be charged. In case you do not indicate a clear date you will be charged instantly. You have the right to delay the charge until 30 days prior to your arrival in St. Petersburg,

 

 

B. PAYMENT BY CHECK DRAWN ON A USA BANK:

By Personal Check: You may make a payment by a personal check, provided the check has been received minimum of 45 days prior to your scheduled arrival in St. Petersburg.

By Certified Check or Bank Draft: In case the payment will be made by a Bank Draft, or a Certified Check, the check should be received not later than 30 days prior to your arrival in St. Petersburg.

 

C. BANK WIRE TRANSFER:

This system is often requested by organizers and leaders of our large size groups and it is available for anybody who prefers to use it.

 

 

UPON YOUR ARIVAL TO ST. PETERSBURG

BY CASH UPON ARRIVAL IN St. PETERSBURG:

This option is self-explanatory and each year preferred by many guests who do not wish to pay with credit cards. However, there are certain rules related to handling this option:

1) As in each case above you are requested to process an entry through our Shopping Basket f or our internal computerized handling of your booking. NOTE: Your Credit Card will NOT be charged except in the unique case that you will not show up, nor report to our waiting staff upon your ship’s arrival in St. Petersburg.

2) The group leader, or the head of the family is required to make the payment in full on behalf of his/her entire party. You are always aware of the price per person, or the total cost for your party, so the leader should collect the payment from each group member in advance, and make one lump sum payment to the DenRus representative for the total amount. DenRus representative will not accept individual payments from several group members separately.

3) The payment should be made upon reporting to the DenRus port representative in the morning of your arrival in St. Petersburg.

4) The cash amount should in clean USA dollars (the Russian banks do not accept old, dirty, stained money, nor money with stamps or writings on them) and for the exact amount of your invoice. There will be no exchange available at the port.

[calmac]

Thank you very much, freddiebud, for the very detailed and quick response to my query.

[Juliadlf]

I didn't see this in the posting by freddiebud but was listed in our information from DenRus for our custom tour:

 

Additional Information for Those Wishing to Pay by Credit Card:

1) By using your Credit Card and making the payment in the USA there will be no uncertainty of the fluctuating Russian Rouble v.v. US $ exchange rate, neither will the variable 2-4% additional charge levied by the Russian Central Bank apply. You will be charged exactly the price of your tour in USD.

2) The credit cards accepted by DenRus are: American Express, Visa, MasterCard.

3) Most interestingly – inside the Shopping Cart you’ll have the right to show the exact date you wish to have your Credit Card Account charged by writing your instructions to us. The last possible date is 30 days prior to your arrival in St. Petersburg. In case you do not indicate the date DenRus shall charge your account instantly

 

Julia

[calmac]

Thanks for this further piece of information, Julia. Not sure that paying by credit card would work for us as we are not US based, I guess I'll have to ask DenRus about that.

[grabbit97]

Alla said she would take cash, traveler's checks... we decided to take traveler's checks and cash them ON THE SHIP before we go on the day of the tour. That way we dont' have to carry all that cash with us.

 

Nat

[spearmint]

I didn't see this in the posting by freddiebud but was listed in our information from DenRus for our custom tour:

 

Additional Information for Those Wishing to Pay by Credit Card:

1) By using your Credit Card and making the payment in the USA there will be no uncertainty of the fluctuating Russian Rouble v.v. US $ exchange rate, neither will the variable 2-4% additional charge levied by the Russian Central Bank apply. You will be charged exactly the price of your tour in USD.

2) The credit cards accepted by DenRus are: American Express, Visa, MasterCard.

3) Most interestingly – inside the Shopping Cart you’ll have the right to show the exact date you wish to have your Credit Card Account charged by writing your instructions to us. The last possible date is 30 days prior to your arrival in St. Petersburg. In case you do not indicate the date DenRus shall charge your account instantly

 

Julia

 

 

Can you (or anyone) tell me if the same is true for Canadians using MasterCard? We plan to take the Value Excursion Package with Denrus, and with the Canadian Dollar at present having an improved value with the American Dollar, I thought of prepaying, very soon. If I e-mail the company and send my credit card number, will I simply be charged the American Dollar amount and then the credit card company will covert the charge? Thanks.

[Juliadlf]

Can you (or anyone) tell me if the same is true for Canadians using MasterCard? We plan to take the Value Excursion Package with Denrus, and with the Canadian Dollar at present having an improved value with the American Dollar, I thought of prepaying, very soon. If I e-mail the company and send my credit card number, will I simply be charged the American Dollar amount and then the credit card company will covert the charge? Thanks.

 

I can't help you on that one but would suggest you call DenRus directly. There is a telephone number on their website which is listed for the US but connects to their office in Russia.

Hopefully some fellow Canadians will be able to help so you can save a phone call.

 

Julia

[freddiebud]

Or maybe you can send Denrus an email. Here is the address I used:

 

info@denrus.ru

[jayjaycan]

Calmac & Spearmint.

 

Once you negotiate a price with DenRus you can prepay by credit card in U.S.D. via their secure web site. The credit card company will then convert to your local currency (GBP/CAD).

 

Alternatively you can pay in U.S $ cash before your tour begins in St.Petersburg.

 

Jim

[spearmint]

Calmac & Spearmint.

 

Once you negotiate a price with DenRus you can prepay by credit card in U.S.D. via their secure web site. The credit card company will then convert to your local currency (GBP/CAD).

 

Alternatively you can pay in U.S $ cash before your tour begins in St.Petersburg.

 

Jim

 

juliadlf, freddiebud and jayjaycan:

Thanks very much for the help.

[RJG1011]

We were in St. Petersburg last summer. We took a 2 day tour with Red October. It was fabulous and our guide was amazing. We were told that they didn't take traveler's checks and that we would have to pay dollars or rubles. No deposit was required and everything was perfect when we disembarked; our guide was there waiting for us. When we paid at the end of the two days, they took cash OR credit cards which we used. They had quoted a price, but we added some stops, so we paid for those in addition to the amount quoted. I highly recommend Red October - reputable, prompt and flexible.

 

This summer we're off to a totally different part of the world - a China river cruise.

 

By the way, we felt that St. Petersburg was the most interesting port by far. Our cruise stopped at all of the Scandanavian capitals and they were pretty much similar to each other - castles, crown jewels and lovely boulevards. We did take a fabulous bike tour in Copenhagen - not through the cruise line. If you want info on that, let me know.

[sultan_sfo]

If before leaving the US, the negotiated price is in US$$, then it is preferable to pay in cash. Otherwise, there is a possibility of double coversion -- RO converts the negotiated price in US$$ to Rubles first (because the credit card is charged in Rubles) say using a rate of 30 or 32 Rubles to a $ (quite normal). Then your credit card company converts it back to US $ at around 28 Rubles to a $. And then there is a conversion fee of 3%. We took US $ Traveller's checks (1.5% fee), and cashed it on the ship (no charge) and paid all cash to RO. I will leave it to the readers to do the math and not get into a discussion. /Sultan

 

Partial Quote:

.... they took cash OR credit cards which we used. They had quoted a price' date='

...[/quote']

[juliedawg]

So you are saying that I can get rubles for travelers checks from the Ship's Purser? Thanks for the tip.

[virgenia]

Juliadlf,

 

Can you help me? I can find nowhere on the Denrus website that allows for CC payment. My order still shows as pending, even tho I have received the shore excursion tickets via email. Where did you find the area to actually have your credit card charged for the excursions. You can email me at virgenia at aol dot com. Thanks

 

Ginny

[evoni]

Ginny, I'm paying DenRus by credit card today. Olga my contact at DenRus made an invoice for me, then provided a link to their USA credit card shopping cart. As far as I know if you want to pay in advance before you leave the states the DenRus person you are using needed to set that up for you, so you need to contact them directly about it.

 

Diana

 

Juliadlf,

 

Can you help me? I can find nowhere on the Denrus website that allows for CC payment. My order still shows as pending, even tho I have received the shore excursion tickets via email. Where did you find the area to actually have your credit card charged for the excursions. You can email me at virgenia at aol dot com. Thanks

 

Ginny

[virgenia]

Thanks Diana,

 

Stan was my contact, but he has been transferred according to one of the posters. I will contact Olga and see if she can help me out.

 

Ginny

[Juliadlf]

Juliadlf,

 

Can you help me? I can find nowhere on the Denrus website that allows for CC payment. My order still shows as pending, even tho I have received the shore excursion tickets via email. Where did you find the area to actually have your credit card charged for the excursions. You can email me at virgenia at aol dot com. Thanks

 

Ginny

 

Ginny:

Perhaps you indicated on the "shopping cart" which date to charge your card:

3) Most interestingly – inside the Shopping Cart you’ll have the right to show the exact date you wish to have your Credit Card Account charged by writing your instructions to us. The last possible date is 30 days prior to your arrival in St. Petersburg. In case you do not indicate the date DenRus shall charge your account instantly

 

 

Not sure if this could be what happened but contact Olga.

 

Julia

 

[virgenia]

Thanks Julia,

 

Boy are these boards slow today! Anyway, I did get it squared away with Stan this AM. He once again mentioned his problem with getting thru on AOL accounts at times. He gave me the link to find the shore excursion tour book and the disembarkment instructions. I already had my shore excursion tickets emailed to me (several times before I finally got it).

 

The weird thing is that my shopping cart always showed empty. I could see my order in my account but could not go anywhere with it and it remained in pending status. He said that changes when you pay and payment is scheduled in early July. Their website is not too user friendly, at least for this user. What is equally weird is that when I go into my account, I can see under the "What's new" section a list of clients and the total cost of their tour. I don't think that should be out there.

 

I see you are getting on the ship just as we are getting off. Hope you have a great trip!

 

Ginny

[sultan_sfo]

Sorry about my miscommunications. RO set the tour price in USD. When time came to pay after the St.Petersburg tours, RO gave us a choice to pay in USD or charge to our credit card. Paying in cash (US$) was definitely the cheaper way. As someone else has pointed out, to avoid taking a lot of cash, we take Travellers Checks and change them for USD on the ship. The ship will not give Rubles but one can buy Rubles in US. But this is not advisable because even the street vendors in SPb preferred US$ (more stable). /Sultan

 

So you are saying that I can get rubles for travelers checks from the Ship's Purser? Thanks for the tip.

[HappyMarv]

If anyone knows where one can buy Rubles in the US I'd sure like to know. It's my understanding that Rubles can't be bought outside of Russia.... ????

AND, Wonder if most cruise ships cash Travelers Checks into USD without a surcharge?

 

:confused:

 

Tks, Marv

[kadsd]

Oceania responded to my email yesterday with this response..."you may cash travelers checks on board and at this time, there is no fee. You may cash them for Euros or other currencies through the Purser or through the ambassador to a local bank that may be brought on board in certain ports...cash advances are limited to $500 a day."

Kathy