Russian Waterways Question for Coral

[2travelers]

Hi Coral: You didn't mention in any of your reviews whether you had breakfast with a local family. If you did, did you bring a gift or did you give cash? After reading the CC Boards, I think cash is the way to go, but some are suggesting a small gift from home. Did the cruise director make any suggestions? If they suggested cash was it in Rubles or USD, and how much did they suggest? We have had coffee and tea with several local families in different countries over the years, but it was never suggested that we give anything. Perhaps the tour company paid them to host us. It would be a lot easier giving cash than bringing something from home - the less I carry the happier I am. We leave a week from Tuesday and I think that I have it all together! Thanks to all of the posts and suggestions on CC I have my Rubles and my Mobal GSM phone - now I just have to get through this work week :D .......can't wait

Ronnie

[Coral]

Hi,

 

We had breakfast with a single woman. She was a French teacher and didn't speak much English at all. We had someone in our group who spoke a little French which helped considerably. There were 12 of us in each group.

 

St. Petersburg to Moscow does breakfast and Moscow to St. Petersburg does dinner. I forget which direction you are going. For breakfast, we were served a type of porriage/oatmeal (I didn't eat it but that is what it looked like to me), bilinis with a vanilla maple flavored sauce (very good), bread, ham and cheese (local cheese) slices (also very good), tea and water. Each group had the same meal served to them but some groups had one more item that the host made.

 

Most people were very afraid to do this meal but everyone ended up enjoying it quite a bit and was glad it was included. I personally thought it was the best breakfast of the week.

 

No one mentioned tips/gifts at all for this. I did ask an onboard guide and they suggested a few dollars as a gift. I mentioned this to my group and most of us all tipped $5-$10 in either US or the ruble equivalant with $5 probably being most common.

 

Our host showed us tons of post cards representing people from all over the US/Canada that people had given to them. Very few were addressed so I assume people brought post cards or small local books (tourism type) with them. If I was to do this again, I would probably bring a post card and I still think tips are better then gifts like candy. These families do this for income and they really need it. The house we went to was minimal and had an outside bathroom (not sure if there was an indoor bathroom or not). It appeared they took the living room and made it into a dining room for the summer to entertain us. They also presented their best plates and silverwear for us.

 

If you email me - I have half of my review done and I can send it on.

 

Theresa

[seapine]

Ronnie, It won't be long before you go. I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip. We're following the weather reports and may change some of our packing if it turns cold. We leave 8/22. Theresa had a good comment, to bring postcards from home along with giving a tip. Perhaps I can find a small photo book of our area for the host. Evie

[2travelers]

Thanks Coral, I will e-mail you. Hi Evie: I agree with Coral that these folks need the money. When we were in St. Petersburg about five years ago, we handed out dollar bills to all the seniors we saw. They are the ones that worked their whole lives for the state and ended up with nothing once Communism fell. Saying that, let me add that last year, on NCL Jewel, we did a Meet and Greet with about 38 CC posters. We did a grab-bag swap with items from the area we came from ($10 limit). It was just wonderful. So, I think that your idea of bringing something from where we are from is really a good idea as well. I will have my husband pick up some postcards from NYC when he is at work. We do live in New Jersey, but all we have here are high taxes and West Nile disease (and mosquitos, of course). The weather may just be getting a bit cold by the end of August in Russia. Not for us here in the East, but for you guys who have perpetual sunshine. Russia, we are told, has two seasons - July and winter! If I have any more questions, I will post...otherwise I will keep reading and post when I get back.

Ronnie

[seapine]

Ronnie, Well, San Diego has almost perpetual sunshine. :D Surprise - I grew up in Bergen county, NJ, and still go back to see family. Miss the fireflies. Have a really great trip!! Evie

[2travelers]

Hi Evie: Just an update. My husband called from work to tell me that he picked up 10 NYC postcards for $2.00. He asked how much that was in Rubles (can you tell I take care of the money in this house?). I told him it was around 50 Rubles....:eek: "What, you mean to say I just spent 50 Rubles on postcards - GEEEEZ". What else can I say...I will be sharing a very small room with this guy for 14 days....we usually hit the ground laughing...this should be fun. Bergen County - the most expensive county in the state to live in. Don't you miss it?

Ronnie

[seapine]

Ronnie, I moved to NH in the early 60's, and several years after that left for CA. Your remark about the Rubles reminded me to get on top of the money conversions. Also, our passports and visas are hung up in NYC :eek:. Wish you could retrieve them for us :). What other problems could be lurking around the corner before we leave? Evie

[pacmom]

Seapine,

 

If you are leaving soon, contact your congressman to help get your passport out of hostage--if it is with passport people. No suggestions if it's with visa people. Good luck. Pat

[2travelers]

We did our passports with ZVS as suggested by Amadeus. I was shocked at how fast they were done. Ours were sent to Washington, not NYC - go figure. We bought Rubles from an American Express office. They charged us $4.00 for the conversion. It is about 24 Rubles to $1 - so we got 6000 Rubles for $250.00. I figured that if we needed more, I would use an ATM. I know that in the larger cities, they use mastercard and visa. You get the best rate using those cards, so I would rather charge. I have know idea what else could be lurking around the corner - I always say we live by Murphy's Law - if it can go wrong - it will. I am hoping that our only glitch will be the short fiasco with our docs. It's always fun to have a bit of stress in your life before a trip, because I have no stress in my life at all :rolleyes:. Gives us something to talk about once we are on board! Yea...we made it!!!

[Coral]

2travelers - I probably forgot to tell you that I got $150 for just me... $250 will be fine to start and you can get more if you need it.

 

ZVS.com - When I read the instructions, I thought I could send it to 1 of 3 places (San Fran, DC or NYC I think). I called them up and asked them which one I should send to as Nebraska is equal distance to any of those places and they ended up telling me one place over the other 2. It probably doesn't matter as the guy was going to tell me to send it to the closest office.

 

Seapine - I probably should have told you that I put my "need by date" a month before I left..... Sorry...

[Coral]

I probably should add that they divided us in groups of 12 at the dock. Ours was a breakfast so we were divided by who got off the dock first. They put us in a minivan taxi with the family member in the taxi with us. No one noticed this in the beginning.

 

Our "host" served us breakfast with an assistance of a friend. She then showed us the post cards that people had brought which showed that she had entertained hundreds from all over. She had a US/Canada map and wanted us to sign it near where we came from. She explained the pictures in the room that we ate in (family members). She then turned on a tape player and asked a few guys to dance with her (which they did with no arm twisting).

 

Like I mentioned earlier, a lot of people in our group were sort of scared of this but they all ended up enjoying it. Heck, I wish we had breakfast and dinner every day at host families! The food was pretty good. Once we were all on the ship, the CD asked us how much we enjoyed the breakfast and everyone replied very positively and very loudly which implied to me that everyone did enjoy it and they were not just saying so.

[seapine]

Thanks CC friends for your supportive comments. I don't want to fret over this. It was my fault for assuming the visa's would be send back once they were completed. Wrong!

I was telling my neighbor about our visas and she told me they didn't know a passport automatically expires when someone turns 18 (her daughter). The family leaves for Europe 7/20, and had to pay $100 to expedite the new passport. Now we know, right?

Happy crusing, Evie

[Coral]

I was telling my neighbor about our visas and she told me they didn't know a passport automatically expires when someone turns 18 (her daughter). The family leaves for Europe 7/20, and had to pay $100 to expedite the new passport. Now we know, right?

Happy crusing, Evie

 

I would double check that information. I got my first passport when I was 17. I wanted to wait until I was 18 because it lasts longer (10 year verses at the time it was 5 year) but because I needed a Russian Visa, I had to apply before my 18th birthday. Thus, my passport only lasted 5 years and expired when I was 22.

 

I have friends who have a 17 year old. They got their passport renewed last year as she turns 18 this year. I am pretty sure her passport is good for several years.

[Coral]

This info has chaned since I was 17...

 

If you get your passport when you are 15 or under - it is good for 5 years. If you get it if you are 16 or older, it is good for 10 years...

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/fri/faq/faq_1741.html#ca66

[cruisingmyway]

to 2 travelers (Ronnie): hope that your experience is a fabulous one (can hardly wait for your review on CC). We haven't yet corresponded but I have been with Theresa and Evie, especially Evie as we have found out that the west coasters are on the same trip (I live in Vancouver BC and am travelling with 45 others from here on the August 22 Tolstoy sailing). I purchased some really nice (postcardy) bookmarks so was glad to hear Theresa's comments (also bought a couple of 2010 Olympic scarves to leave behind). Was also planning to leave some money and have already purchased $100 in US $1 bills to make tipping, etc easier.

Sharon

PS Wish Canada's passports did not expire in 5 years (especially with the long lineups we have lately - thank goodness mine is good until 2011).

[seapine]

Coral, Thanks for the info on the 18 yr old's and passports. Ill give this to my neighbor.

About our Visa's to Russia: We were incorrectly told by ZVS that they wouldn't send our visa's back to us until the "need date" when we filled in the form. I talked to the NYC office this morning and she said this wasn't so, and they do send them out as soon as they are completed. She had been out of the office for 3 days and our visa's will be sent next Monday, since we will be gone the next 4 days. We will get them on Tues. I guess what happens is that sometimes if someone doesn't know the answer to a question, they make up an answer that seems plausible. My stress level just came down many notches. Next time I apply for a visa, my "need date" will be 30 days from the time I fill in the form. Good advice, Theresa.

Evie

[2travelers]

Hi Evie: ZVS did put in a "needed date". I mailed everythingout on May 1st and in July 5th because from all I read it seemed that it would take that long. I got a letter from the ZVS about a week after I sent in the forms and the money saying that I was short by $8. Seems the forms with the info was a bit outdated. I sent the check and less than a week later, recieved an e-mail saying we were being processed...then less that a week after that, we recieved another e-mail telling us our passports were sent out. Everything was tracked by them. I think the entire process took about three weeks. So, I think that the "needed date" just lets them know that people are giving themselves enough time to get this done.

Sharon: Good idea about the $1 bills. We usually bring about $50 in one dollar bills. They are good for tipping and last time we were in St. Petersburg we gave them to many of the seniors begging on the streets. I usually never do that, but in this case we knew that that population had really taken a beating when communism fell. I am glad that you are reading the posts here. These boards are a wealth of information. Even bad reports are good, so you get a different perspectives on the same trip. Last October we traveled with many people from your neck of the woods. We were on NCL Jewel and had about 38 folks that connected through these boards, many from BC. We shared private tours and dinners with many of them. I know that this will be a fabulous trip. Coral (Theresa) has given me many insights as to what I can expect..this is our first River Cruise. I think the hardest task will be co-existing peacefully in a 116 ft. room with my beloved husband of 36 years :D... Keep in touch

Ronnie

[seapine]

For anyone still interested - Just got our visa's from ZVS by FedEx. Took 42 days!!! As CC readers recommended, next time we apply for a visa, we'll definitely put in a date 30 days from date of application as "need by" date. "A little bit wiser" Evie

[Coral]

For anyone still interested - Just got our visa's from ZVS by FedEx. Took 42 days!!! As CC readers recommended, next time we apply for a visa, we'll definitely put in a date 30 days from date of application as "need by" date. "A little bit wiser" Evie

 

That did take awhile. Must be their busy season. Mine took 17 days I believe.

[mingojr]

Just received my Passport with Russian visa from Generations Visa Service. It took 46 day to receive my Passport from themMingo

[mingojr]

Just received my Passport with Russian visa from Generations Visa Service. It took 46 day to receive my Passport from them .

Mingo