Anyone have this problem with Red October

[Jane110]

We used Red October in July and chose to pay them the 3% additional fee they charge for paying with a credit card. They were upfront about this charge and we had no problem with their policy.

 

We agreed on a set amount in American Dollars that our tour would be with the 3% tacked on.

 

When you pay Red October, they then take the dollar amount quoted and convert it to ruples and charge your credit card in ruples.

 

I just received my credit card statement and the charge for Red October is $80. higher than they quoted us. The other couple we traveled with had the same thing happen to them. I called my credit card company to dispute the charge and they told me that they tack on a conversion fee. I realized this, but their fee comes to about $20.00, which still makes Red October's fee about $60. higher than they quoted us. I fully realize that currencies fluctuate daily and no one can quote down to the exact dollar - even a $20. differential wouldn't make me question this. However, this seems excessive and makes me think that maybe Red October wasn't so honest when they put down the ruples on our charge card.

 

My credit card co. is requesting documentation of Red October's original quote and they'll look into it, but I'm not that optimistic about the outcome.

 

Has anyone else had a similar experience with Red October? How was it resolved?

 

Thanks,

Jane

[ajcruiser]

After reading your post I checked and I suffered about a $15-20 overcharge based on the Red October conversion (after factoring in the surcharge by Red October and the surcharge by my credit card company). They seem to be about one ruble per dollar higher than the bank rate. In my case this overcharge is about 2-3% of my total bill. I only blame myself for not paying in cash like I had originally planned. A much smarter decision. I still got my money's worth and will not pursue it.

[Andee]

My husband trvels out of the country on business with some regularity, and he charges everything he can on Visa. When he gives me the receipt, the price is, of course, in the currency of the country he was in, and he writes on the receipt the amount in USD based on the conversion rate that day. When I reconcile the Visa bill, there is often a noticable difference between what he wrote and what we're charged.

[aqua]

We also had a higher than expected credit card bill. This only happened in Russia; not in countries using the Euro or the Pound. I am upset with myself because I had planned to pay RO in cash on the second day. However, we were asked to settle on the first day. I should have emailed Laura in advance and asked when we would be expected to pay the bill instead of assuming it would be on Day 2.

[porky113]

We came back and checked our VISA bill and it was a little higher then expected..when we where filling out the paper work at Red October we paid half cash and half on the VISA...what I did notice was when calculating the differences, first we agreed upon the price in American currancy and then she converted it to Ruples using 30RP's as the exchange rate....I did question them on that at the time as other places where 22 to 30rp...they advised that that was the exchange rate used for that day..... I agreed and signed the invoice. For what they offered us for the 2 days I didn't mind the difference at all.

We did find the same thing when we bought something expensive from another store, when we got the Visa statement the exchange rate was a little higher then expected. let us know how you make out with Visa.

Ed

[Toots]

It's too bad your experience with RO will cloud your memory of that wonderful city. Best of luck in getting this resolved. We paid cash the second day and don't know what we would have done if they had asked for it the first day. Why are they so inconsistent in their policy?

 

On the lighter side: Our RO guide took us to a grocery store on Nevsky Prospect because we had extra time. DH saw these wonderful-looking cream horns and bought two. We had no rubles so he put it on his Mastercard despite my misgivings. You'll never believe this - the charge came thru on the statement as 18 cents!

[KathyMG]

We had the same thing happen when we were there in July. RO pretty much uses 30 Rubles to the dollar, regardless of the daily rate fluctuation. I think the only way to get around it is to have them quote us in Rubles, not dollars, or pay in rubles. It's always a problem when you let a vendor "decide" what the exchange rate is.

 

Kathy

[mek]

Our tour with Denrus was also slightly higher. I guess it's the exchange rate.

[Jane110]

Sounds like they like to make "mistakes" in their favor after quoting a price. Seems too many people here are being charged more than what the agreed upon price was.

Seems to be the Russian style of doing business. :-(

 

Good thing to warm others about. Know the rate of exchange BEFORE signing the charge slip at the Red october (or Denrus) office.

[aqua]

When we questioned Red October, we were told that the exchange rate for the summer was 30 rubles per dollar. I'm guessing that it will remain that rate for now. You also need to be aware of this when buying things in the Red October Store- my sister had a higher than expected bill for good she purchased there.

[juliejoe]

Today, 30 rubles = $1.03. The charge for our 2 days with RO is $568 for the two of us. If we use our credit card, we will pay $17.04 for the 3 % upcharge and another $17.04 for the difference in exchange rate. That's a lot :eek: - but we are not excited about carrying that much cash either. :(

 

Is there a maximum in traveler's checks that the purser's desk will cash each day?

 

What to do? What to do? I'm so excited that it's even a decision we get to make! :D We leave 2 weeks from today to see parts of our world we NEVER in our wildest dreams thought we'd see.

 

Julie

[Jane110]

Julie,

 

Yes, we anticipated an extra 6% - the 3% R.O. upcharge and then another 3% that our CC would charge us. But we did it for 2 reasons: 1. We didn't want to carry that much cash and 2. We wanted the FF miles that we get on our CC.

 

My problem here is that even figuring in the 6% additional to the quote, our bill is $60.00 higher than it should have been. Had the descrepency been about $20., I would have chalked it up to currency fluxuation, but this is too much to just let slip by, imho and I'm disputing the charge with my CC company. The other couple that traveled with us had the same thing happen and are also disputing it. We put the charge on a Citibank Visa and they put it on an AMEX. It'll be interesting to see if we both get a satisfactory resolution.

 

BTW, on a side note......You'll be taken to the Red October store on the second day to settle up your bill. You don't need to be too worried that the prices there are that much higher than on the streets and in the flea markets for souveniers. They're slightly higher, but not by enough to make you feel like you're being "taken". The prices on the items at the RO store will just have a number and no indication of currency of whether it's dollars or euro's.

Before my trip I was told by someone that the prices are in dollars, but when I got there, I was told it was euro's. So it seems that RO changes from euros to dollars to see what will give them more for an item. We found that street vendors will always give you a one to one ratio. So, take dollars for the street vendors, it'll work out in your favor.

 

You'll also be taken to a store for a bathroom/free coffee & chocolate break. I believe the name of that store is Onegin and no russians are allowed inside, except for those that work there. The prices in this store are outrageous and I'd stay clear of buying anything there.

 

Jane

[aqua]

We had to pay our bill on the first day, not the second. We were surprised because, based on CC posters experiences, we didn't expect to pay until the second day. We were caught unprepared because of paying early and also because they divided our group's bill differently than we planned. If you have a group, be sure and calculate everyone's payment in advance (in rubles!) You have to settle while standing at a little table with a line of people behind you, so it can be a little difficult.

[juliejoe]

Jane,

 

Thank you for the tips. I don't blame you a bit - I'd question that extra $60 too! I did call our credit card companies and the card with Chase had an extra 3 % charge - so we will use our MBNA card as it does not charge for out of US purchases. We get FF miles with both - part of our reason for wanting to use a card too!

 

I appreciate so much all of you who have returned to the boards following your Baltics cruise to help those of us yet to sail.

 

Julie

[Jane110]

My pleasure Julie.

 

You have a credit card that gives you FF miles and doesn't charge you a fee for oversea's purchases? Lucky you!

 

Have a great trip!

 

Jane

[japiscopo]

I believe you pay RO on which ever dayyou are scheduled to go to the RO store. We are scheduled to go there on the first day, so I assume we will be paying on the first day.

 

Mary Lou

[thecruisechick]

It seems to me when the error keeps coming out in RO's favor it's time to re-think how I am going to pay them.

 

Has anybody tried using ATM machines in Russia (if they exist there)?

 

I answered my own question. I think ATM's are the way to go. I've used them all over Europe.

 

http://www.travel.spb.ru/theguide/stockexch.html

 

Just have the driver stop at a ATM machine on the way to pay RO.

[juliejoe]

:confused: If you stop at an ATM - won't you be withdrawing rubles? In that case, RO would tell you how many rubles - based on 30 to the # of USDs they quoted you. This is the same amount they would charge your credit card in rubles. You would save the 3 % for using a credit card - plus you'd save any charge your credit card company might make.

 

However - Ijust read this from a link provided on another thread:

CREDIT CARDS

Credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are now accepted at the most banks, hotels, restaurants and big department stores. You may withdraw your cash with Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) widely available throughout St.Petersburg or directly at a bank with a clerk there. As with all foreign currency transactions, a commission will also be taken. You should check in shops whether they have any additional charges if you pay with a credit card. You will need rubles for regular stores and local transportation. It could be difficult to use your card out of the city.

 

I think we are going to proceed with our credit card - knowing in advance what to expect them to charge to it in rubles - using their conversion rate of 30 to the $. We'll be sure that is what we're being charged, before signing anything.

[mek]

Julie - So you're leaving in two weeks? It's hard to believe the Baltic season is winding down! I've been following the Grand all summer on the cruise cam. Which day are you leaving? I don't believe I told you I booked a Med/Greek Isle cruise on The Brilliance of the Seas for next June. 12 nights round trip out of Barcelona. I'm already checking out the Med boards and planning. We were so happy with the private tour in St Petersburg, that I'm going to book a couple of them for this trip, especially Rome. We were there on another cruise and did a ship's tour and this time, we would like to see more and at our pace. I know you will LOVE St Petersburg - it's an amazing city.

[vtrav]

For anyone who wants to use cash - when we were met at the dock we got in the car and paid a women from Denrus right away. She gave me a receipt, and then left and we went on our tour. I was also worried about having all that cash, but it was fine. Red October and Denrus are quite reputable so I wasn't worried. With Denrus you are right next to the Princess buses with all the passengers on the dock when you are paying.

 

I was worried about all those credit card fees. I read that you paid 3% surcharge but then you had to pay the credit card something also to exchange.

[hebeeast]

Your post made me call my credit card company. I was told that the 3% fee applies to all countries that they are required to convert from a foreign currency. So this applies to more countries than Russia.

[aqua]

I called 5 different credit card companies before we left the county. Each one told me they charge a 1% conversion fee. The exception was American Express, which told me they charge 3%. The 3% that we paid Red October is a fee that their bank charged them. When we paid our RO bill, we also paid our credit card's conversion fee in addition to some still unknown fees for Russian conversions. This happened to me, my parents, and sister. We all used different credit cards/debit cards and all had much higher RO bills then we expected. Juliejoe, I hope your credit card really doesn't charge for foreign purchases, but you might triple check. My parents called the bank who issued their credit card and were told there were no conversion charges. When they received their statements, they were charged a 1% fee. They were then told that the BANK doesn't charge a conversion fee, but the CREDIT CARD COMPANY does!

[juliejoe]

aqua -Thanks for the tip. I called again - MBNA does not charge but Visa does charge 1 %. That's less than the 3 % Chase wanted for us to use their credit card but it's looking better for paying RO with cash!

 

heebeast - you are correct, the charge is for all foreign currency conversions. At least in other places there would not be the 3% Red October charge, plus the approx. 3 % lost when RO converts USD to rubles. We'll still plan to use our ATM for local currency and/or our credit card in other ports.

 

Julie

[hebeeast]

Was told on our rollcall post that Captial One is one the credit card companies who does not charge the credit card converstion fee.

[photofoot]

We have just returned from our cruise on the Grand Princess. I was in charge of a group of 11 people and we used Red October. Laura told us we could pay either day. I choose the second. Our choice was to pay in cash. Why incur all the extra charges. Be aware that when you get your itemized charges on your invoice make sure the balance is correct. RO had totaled it with a 3% increase assuming we were paying with a credit card. When I pointed this out it was corrected immediately. I can't praise RO enough for the wonderful tour we had. :)