The Russian Cruise Company will help you obtain a discount airline ticket to Russia before your Russian river cruise

Customer Testimonials

The Russian Cruise Company is owned by Express to Russia, TravExpress Ltd and is a member of ASTA (the American Society of Travel Agents). Offering excellent customer service is extremely important to us. We promise to give our all to make your time in Russia a wonderful experience. We want to leave you with great impressions of your trip. Below are some things our past clients have said about our services.

Elena, I just wanted to take this time to personally thank you for the wonderful experience we had in Russia. As you know by Don´s note we had a great vacation. You and Liza were so helpful in making the arrangements and being so flexible with all of the unexpected changes. The vacation was beyond our expectations. The individual tours via Elena, Maria and the driver Victor in St. Petersburg, made our experience richer by allowing us to sample the local customs, hear about the history and provided an opportunity to appreciate the culture. The people we encountered were friendly, helpful and genuine. Thanks so much for a lovely vacation and a lifetime of experiences we will not forget. We highly recommend your tour group. Suellen Jackson-Boner, USA Elena Suellen and I want to thank you and Liza for all your hard work that you did making our trip to Russia the best vacation we have ever had. We understand that you both went above and beyond the call of duty as we went through changes, changes to the changes and finally more changes. We would recommend your travel service without hesitation. We were so pleased with the professionalism and sensitivity of our guides and drivers. Thinking back I am not sure our Elena, our Moscow guide, was able to show us all the sites providing plenty of time at each location. She did a great job. In St. Petersburg Maria was amazing, she was able to avoid crowds as she took us room to room in the Palaces. She gracefully was able to make ad hock changes based on our needs. Victor, our driver was very helpful and also went beyond the call of duty. When he picked us up to take us back to the airport he even came up to the room to help with the baggage. Suellen and I believe the crew of the ship was working hard to make our cruise a good one. Our main issue with the ship was the tours and options tours offered. The staff and meals on the ship were very satisfying. We were happy with being able to stops at the small villages on route to see rural Rissia. Thank you both again, Don Boner, USA Hi Elena, We still have fresh memories of our wonderful visit to magnificent St Petersburg. Thank you for providing excellent service and wishing everyone in your Company a Happy New Year. Please pass on our special thanks and best wishes to Maria and Mikhail. Regards, Victor Nikolaenko & Family, Australia Dear Ksenia & Helena Just wanted to thank you for all the preparatory work and guidance ! Everything went very well and we had really some nice time (and weather) in Moscow. Really appreciated your professional help and wish you the best. Best Regards Hugues de Talhouët, France Dear Elena, Attached are few selected pictures from our Russia trip album. It all started with Elena, who patiently worked with us through numerous e-mails to help us plan the perfect itinerary. Elena went over all the minute details with us and we were ready to take off. Our guide Lena in Moscow was just great. She is very knowledgeable, interesting, personal, and courteous. We learned a lot from her in two days including the History of Russia. The panoramic tour was very informative. We also enjoyed Tolstoy Estate. By the end of our tours with her, we felt we were saying goodbye to an old friend. Valentina took us for our walking tours in Moscow. She too is great and knowledgeable. She tried to maximize our visit to the Kremlin and made sure we saw and learned everything. She was very helpful at Old Arbat and made our souvenir shopping a breeze. She also hooked us up with a nice restaurant there. Our driver Alexander took us on four trips from and to the airport. He was a pleasant young man and punctual. We joked around with him trying to help him improve his English. We found out that he is getting married in August. In St. Petersburg, our guide was Anna. Anna was like a breath of fresh air. She is young but mature and responsible. She tirelessly used the phrase “our beautiful city” numerous times a day. We loved her accent when she said it. She made sure to show us and prove to us how beautiful St. Petersburg is. Peterhof is like a fairy tale. Anna proved her expertise in the art when we toured the Hermitage with her. She has great insight and explained the paintings and art beautifully. Her driver Victor is a gentleman and very helpful. All our guides were very proud and enthusiastic about their country. Their ultimate goal was to make us appreciate Russia and to make sure we tell our friends about their beautiful country and we sure did. Thank you all for taking the effort to make this a once in a lifetime trip and an unforgettable experience. Said & Zein Kayyali, USA Dear Elena, I am sorry it took me so long to get back to you to express our gratitude for the marvelous job you did in arranging our tours and train trip to Moscow. Everything went beautiful. It was a wonderful experience thanks to you and your tour guide in Moscow, Lena, who gave us the best tours in the world. You should always use her because she is the best. Give Lena, our regards and express to her our gratitude for showing us your beautiful country. Regards, Nancy Pazos, USA Dear Elena, In the meantime I returned from St. Petersburg to Germany. I had a real great stay in St. Petersburg. I would not miss to thank you for your very interesting and well-organized guided tour to Catherine’s Palace and the Amber Room (together with my guide Maria) and the well-organized transfers from and to the airport. Thank you very much! With kind regards, Birgitta Janke, Germany Hei/Hi Mariya, Sorry for being a little bit late giving feedback from our great journey! We just needed some time to digest all the impressions and editing the pictures. Everything worked out really well to our satisfaction! You and your partners have done a great job. All transfers drivers were waiting for us and waiving the banners! We got all train tickets and hotel vouchersas promised. Moscow was beautiful and hot, Baikal was exiting and cool (only 2 of us went swimming before we new the temperature was only 6C :-). The trains were very comfortable with good service and restaurant cars (except train #364 which did not have any restaurant). Hopefully the Russian custom control also will speed up their check procedures soon so the boarder crossing does not last for 7 hours any more (since Naushki was not a very exiting city...) Mongolia also met our expectations and the ger camp was very comfortable (may be too well organised eliminating some of the challenges expected, and they did not serve us airag, the fermented horse milk beverage). Beijing was even more commercial and well organised than we had expected, but gave us the tourist traps and shopping which we needed after 15 days on the way! I have enclosed some snapshots from the tour. Than you again!Halvor Royset, Norway Hi everybody, I’m so glad let you know, that our stay in Russia in summer 2005 were very interesting, successful and very nice. We were in St. Petersburg for three days. We booked our hotelstay via internet und we get a answer shortly after booking. The paymentmethod was easy und correct. The hotel was a good choice. It was clean, centrally located und our voucher was accepted without difficulties. So I like to say thank you to all of the team. We will go to Russia in the summer 2006 too. I’m sure, that we will book our appartement and the invitation for the visum by your young growing company as well. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I’m looking forward to contact you in the next Year. Best wishes Sabine Dugge, Germany Sabine Dugge, Germany Dear Paul and Anna, I would like to thank you for the excellent accommodations and service. The information on the website and efficient email communication allowed making the right choice and facilitated the travel arrangements. My friends and I enjoyed very much staying in a clean and spacious apartment in the heart of St.-Petersburg, two steps away from the major attractions, and at a fraction of the cost of the nearby hotels. I am very glad to have chosen your business, I will use it again, and I will certainly recommend it to anyone I know. Please, keep up with the good work. Best regards, Alexander Alexander Salenikovich, Quebec Hi Marina Well we´re home after our wonderful cruise on M/S Russ and slowly recovering from jet-lag. I couldn´t miss the opportunity to thank you for your efficient arrangements and help, as this was my first internet tour booking and I was a little uncertain what to expect. Everything went really smoothly - transfer pick-ups on time (even early); the cabin and ship were comfortable and immaculately clean; the staff were great and particular congratulations to the tour guides - both on the ship and on shore excursions - they were really helpful and knowledgeable. I will happily be a reference for your travel service as we were really impressed with the smooth efficiency of the arrangements during our trip to Russia last year. By all means use my name and email. Again, many thanks for making our trip so memorable. Regards Lois Blight, USA Hi Marina, Best wishes to you in the year 2010 too! You can definitely use me as your reference. I am very happy with your services and hope your company will do great business despite the difficult times. Warm regards, Sandra Hi Marina, I enjoyed very much my visit to Russia with you and all was perfect concerning the cruise, reservation and so on. You can use my name and this email address for whatever you may need to advertise your cruises. Looking for warmer weather I shall go next week to Indonesia... All the best in 2010 to you, your colleagues and your company Best regards Pedro Amancio, Lisboa, Portugal Hello Marina! We are back in Puerto Rico and we want to thank you for the excellent service you provided to us. Thanks for everything. Irma Caballero, Puerto Rico Hello Elena, I want to let you know that Dana and I had a wonderful time in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Tonya, Valentina and Lena were fantastic!! What beautiful and clean cities!! I wish we had spent a day or two more in Moscow but we thoroughly enjoyed our time at Peterhof and Catherine’s palace. I could definitely see myself coming back for another visit. Thank you very much for arranging everything and answering all my questions. I will encourage people to travel to Russia for vacations and also refer them to you and Express to Russia. Thank you again, Rebecca McCarthy, USA Thanks so much Elena. It has been such a pleasure dealing with Express To Russia and with you in particular. I really appreciate your professionalism and helpfulness and I will definitely recommend you to my friends who are travelling to Russia. Best regards Louisa Fitz-Gerald, Australia Dear Alina, I´ve been back from holiday for a few weeks now. I just wanted to thank you again for all you did to get our train tickets to us at our hotel - especially as it was during your weekend time. My friend & I both had an amazing time in Russia. I will definitely remember Express to Russia for my next visit :) Thank you. Margaret Marchant, New Zealand Dear Elena, Thank you so very much for organizing our trip. Everything went wonderfully, and we really enjoyed our time in Russia. Moscow was beautiful, Lake Baikal was very cold, yet very fun to swim in, and the DPR Koreans that I met and made friends with in Vladivostok was beyond priceless. The guides you got for us did an exceptional job, and the drivers helped us out a lot as well. The hotels you got for us were great, and the room you got for us in the Vladivostok really made the long stay comfortable. The trains were also very enjoyable as was the Russian hospitality, although we really weren´t expecting people to be so generous or helpful. Overall, the trip was wonderful, and you arranged it magnificently. You really went out of your way to accommodate my schedule and help me with my schoolwork, so I really appreciate it; I couldn´t have done it without you. So once again, thank you for all of your efforts, and hopefully in the future you will be able to help us out again. Take care, and thank you for everything. Sincerely, Cody Frovarp, USA Hi Liza, I just wanted to drop you a line and to say I was very happy with the service you provided, especially when there was a problem with my transfer in St. Petersburg. Knowing I could reach you made my life a lot easier! If you would like to use me as a reference in the future please feel free to do so. Thanks again! Robert Charlton, USA Elena, Thanks for all you did to make my vacation a memorable experience. My guide was wonderful, and thanks to the kindness and generosity of the young woman who used her cell phone to call you and let the guide know where I was waiting when the meeting place was blocked off, I was able to see the Kremlin. St. Petersburg is definitely a city I would visit again given the opportunity. Jana Bettis, USA Good afternoon Marina, Thank you so much for all your hard work on my trip! I had a wonderful time and everything you had planned worked just beautifully. I was especially appreciative of Alla Levitina, my guide while in Moscow. She was so knowledgeable and agreeable to answer my many questions and her patient attitude made me feel very comfortable. She enabled me to vastly increase my understanding and appreciation for the people of your wonderful country. Thanks again and perhaps we can work together again in the future Regards, Doug Cheves Houston, Texas, USA Hi Alina, We LOVED the train ride. It was the highlight of our trip. Moscow and St. Petersberg were unforgettable. The people we met were so lovely. St. Petersberg is definitely a place we want to revisit over and over again. A part of us is still remains there. Thanks again and we look forward to doing business with you soon. Take care, Nico Sakellarides Hi Marina, I have just got back from my trip to Russia and I wanted to take a moment to tell you about my experience with your company: I was extremely pleased with the 2 guides you provided for my walking tours of Moscow & St Petersburg. Firstly both guides arrived at my hotels exactly on time and were very polite and friendly. They both spoke excellent English, they were very knowledgeable and they were interesting throughout the 3 hour tour. I even passed on your information to a tourist in the lobby of my hotel who enquired about my walking tour after she overheard the initial meeting between the guide and I. I also had you book a train ticket from Moscow to St Petersburg and you handled that really well including having the guide bring it to me prior to our walking tour. Your prompt responses to my email enquiries and your regular updates were very well received. Overall I was really impressed with your company and I would highly recommend you to anyone who is thinking of traveling to Russia. Thanks you!! Best regards, Tim Garth,USA Estimada Mariana Devuelta en Chile quiero dejar constancia y felicitarlos por el excelente apoyo que tuve en San Petersburgo el 29 de Mayo a mi llegada en el Celebrity por el servicio prestado por su oficina y en especial por la guía y el conductor que nos apoyaron. El equipo fue muy profesional y de trato muy agradable Muy atentamente,Eduardo Mewes R., Chile Marina, I want to express my greatest gratitude in making our tour a reality. We enjoyed the tour so much. It was very well organized and the guides were very professional and nice. We had a great time in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The schedule was well balanced with enough time to rest and do extra things. We had such a good time that we are planing to invite other family members to Russia and do the tour again possibly next summer. So as we get closer to the summer of 2010 I will contact you to help us with these future reservations. Sincerely, Mitchell Chaar, USA Hello Marina, Everything was perfect. Saint Petersburgo is marvellous!!! Thank you very much for your attention. We will recomend your Agency to our friends. B. regards, Silvia Tous, Spain Daria, Thank you very much for your quick reply to my emails. Excellent service. Best RegardsLIM SIEW K, Singapore Zdravstvyite Alina! Thank you so much for getting our tickets! I am so happy that everything is now in place and we are now ready to come to Russia! Please can you tell us where your office is in St Petersburg? We would like to come in and thank you for everything while we are in the area! Thank you so much for everything! Blagodaryu Vas za vsio! John Walker, UK Dear Daria, Many thanks to the work you and your team has worked to help a dream come true so i can go see my girlfriend in russia and propose to her! i found the services excellent, most helpful with added visas on your site that this site I have seen nowhere else. Russia is a new tourist destination and your team is at the forefront of providing a hassle free service. I will defenitly be using this site again when i next vist. A very happy customer mr ben adams Again many thanks to Daria and im looking forward to my holiday and engagement plans.Mr Ben J Adams Dear Anna, Thank you very much for your services and prompt disposition to help, I will certainly recommend your company. Sincerely, Enrique Castanon, USA Dear Anna, We want to thank you and your staff for all the help that made our holiday in St. Petersburg and Moscow a wonderfull time to remember. We will always cherish the days we spent in St. Petersburg, the accommodation was very good and confortable better than the one in Moscow. In both cities we were treated with respect on public transport and wherever we went. Thanks to all the drivers for all their help and a special thank you to the gentlemen who took us to the station. There is a possibility that we will travel to Russia again, there is always more to see and revisit the old places. All the best to everybody. Sincerely, Elisabetta and James Laird, Australia Dear Maria, Thank you for the email confirming my train from Moscow to St Petersburg. Thank you very much for all your hard work with my request over recent months. I greatly appreciate everything you have done. Yours SincerelyPaul Dempsey, UK Good Morning Elena! Just a quick note to thank you so much for all of your help in making arrangements for our day in St. Petersburg. We had the most magnificent time ever!! Your driver and guide were prompt and professional, and there was nothing we could ask for that they werenґt happy to do for us. We recommend your company highly, you are all highly professional and accommodating. So we thank you for that. Yana took us everywhere...a quick breakfast, a city tour, with stops...Peterhof and the Hermitage, and knew every possible thing about all of it. Did a wonderful critique on the artwork at the Hermitage, gave us some time for shopping, and appreciation of our surroundings. She was a wonderful guide...and made sure we saw everything. We had time for a fabulous dinner at a restaurant on the Canal, where we had the best borscht and chicken kiev and Russian Standard Vodka!!!! (We invited both Yana and the driver to dinner, but they both professionally declined). And guess what Elena, we did indeed go on the ґcanalґ ride. even in the drizzle of rain, so it was splendid! We never stopped until it was time to board the train.....both she and the driver must have been exhausted....I know we were, but with memories to last a lifetime. So thank you all so much for all you did to put St. Petersburg on the map for us with lasting, wonderful memories. Sincerely, Jeanne Coppola Giarratano, USA Dear Alisa: I wanted to tell you that our trip to Russia was absolutely fantastic. The drivers in Moscow and St. Petersburg were absolutely competent and professional. The guides impressed us with their deep knowledge of Russian history, architecture, and art, and with their ability to answer all questions and to accommodate our personal preferences. Also, the pleasant personalities of the guides in both cities made our trip extra enjoyable. Thank you so much for your help, and I will be glad to recommend your agency to anyone interested in traveling to Russia. With best wishes, Marie Hadji, Santa Monica, CA Hello Anna I must say you are one of the most efficient people I have worked with about this trip to Russia. I am very thankful for your attention. And I really appreciate the different apartment. It is within walking distance of many of the places I want to see in St. Petersburg. Thanks again James R. Tucker Dear Maria, Thank you very much for your help and good service. I had a nice time in Moscow. I particularly enjoyed my stay at the White House Suite. Best regards Ali Chouchane, UK Maria, I wanted to thank you so much for you and your staffs help. I enjoyed the stay in Moscow and I am really looking forward to another trip to see more. Svetlana and Fred were very curttious to me and also a great help. Also even enjoyed the ride back to the airport…..I like the way people drive there. Once again thank you Sincerely, Tim R. Thomason Dear Maria, Thank you very much - I look forward to receiving the tickets. May I take this opportunity in thanking your company for all your help in planning my trip on the Trans Siberian, it has been an excellent service - I canґt wait to start my journey. Yours sincerely, Joanna Timms Dear Nadia, I meant to write to you much sooner, but despite the delay, I can say that I was very pleased with the Arbat Flat, and especially with the help and support of your Moscow office staff. Svetlana was especially helpful with good advice and assistance with taxi arrangements. Both of the young women were cordial, friendly, and seemed to enjoy their work. They made a great impression on us. Best wishes and thanks, Alison Hilton, USA Hi Nadia, I am back in Australia after my great trip to Europe and wanted to send you a quick email to thank you for the great apartment that you arranged for my brother and myself in Moscow. I must admit when I saw the outside I was a little concerned but when I got inside it was great - great views and location. As a result of all your help making my trip so enjoyable I have been recommending your company to people back in Australia. As I am a school teacher a few of my colleagues who travel a lot have taken your details. Once again thank you for all you have done and if I donґt return in the immediate future some of my friends will. Kindest Regards John Hupalo, Australia Dear Nadia, We had a wonderful time in Moscow. We liked the apartment and especially the location of the building in the vicinity of the Tverkaya Ul. The arrangement with the driver at Domodedovo worked out beautifully. Bye bye Adrianus Hermus, Netherlands Dear Nadia, Thank you very much for the organisation, everything was very good. Also Moscow office helped me for the transfer to the airport yesterday. Thanks again for everything and i hope i can come again. Sincerely, Esin Usak, Turkey Dear Nadia, Thank you for perfectly organised arrangement. It was a pleasure to use your company and I will highly recommend it to my friends and colleagues. Best regards, Julia Gladchenko, New Zealand Nadia, Just wanted to say Greg and I had a wonderful time in St Petersburg and Moscow. I shall be recommending your apartments to everybody I know. Especially the St Petersburg apartment. Thank you very much. Thank you Aldo Bermudez, USA Dear Elena, We have just returned from our tour to Russia. Our entire tour with Express to Russia was very enjoyable. We feel we got very good value for our money. We enjoyed our hotels, the Bega seemed more like a 4 star than 3 star. Our meals were great. The best part was our tour guides and drivers. They did everything they could to make our tours satisfying and enjoyable. They were fun to be with and were extremely knowledgeable and insightful. Lena and Aleksander and then Leana made us feel welcome in Moscow. Sergie and Yuri brought to life, Sergiev Posad, Vladimir and Suzdal. And Tania and Victor helped us enjoy St. Petersburg and finally Nadia and Victor showed us Pushkin. Please pass along our thanks and appreciation to them. Regards, Ron and Marcy Allen ps. We did "Feel Yourself Russian" at the Nikalievski Palace one evening and found it to be a lot of fun and good value also.Ron and Marcy Allen, USA Dear Elena, Chava and I are back home in Israel after a magnificent holiday in Russia. We would like to thank you for arranging everything so well and especially for choosing two excellent guides. Lena Vinogradov was a delight in every respect, knowledgeable, intelligent and a wonderful companion. Natalya in Saint Peterburg was charming, very professional and great fun to be with. Victor our driver in Saint Petersburg was particularly kind and helpful. Thank you for your kind gift and you can be sure we shall further recommend your services to our friends in Israel. Dosvedanya, Frank and Chava, Israel Hi Elena, we are back to Canada, we enjoyed very much Russia, Moscow, what a nice city..... the guide was very good with a perfect french language Thank you again for your support Janine Rochon, Canada Hi Elena, I can´t tell you how much we enjoyed our trip in Moscow. Lena was great, very knowledgable, very helpful and took us to places we really liked. The second day was a bit too much for me and we had to cut the tour short by 2 hrs. The lady who took to the Tretyakov Gallery also did an outstanding job. I would certainly recommend your tour company to my friends. Eventhough the hotel was far from the city center, it was clean, quiet and had friendly employees. The breakfast was wonderful! Dinner was expensive but we expected that. I must say that doing this over the computer was a little scary but it worked out fine. Thanks ever so much for all you and your colleages did for us. I wish we could come and visit Russia soon again. Most Sincerely, Leila Lombardini Leila Lombardini, USA Dear Elena, I would like to thank you for all your help with our recent trip to Two Capitals and the Golden Ring in reverse order. Everything went really well, my Husband and I had a great time, really loved Russia and it’s people. All our Tour guides and Drivers were both friendly, helpful could not do enough to make our trip both memorable and enjoyable. The hotels you helped me choose, were in excellent locations and offered good breakfast and friendly service. Once again, Thank you. I would recommend your company to anyone. Regards. Joyce Evans, UK Dear Elena, I want to tell you what a wonderful job your company did with our Moscow visit. Both of the Lena´s were excellent-smart, nice most helpful. We have done a lot of travel and these two were great! Our driver was also very good. We had one Lena do the historical portion and was with us most of the time. Many, many thanks, Milton and Margie RubenMilton and Margie Ruben, USA Back again in office from my Moscow trip last week. We were very happy and satisfied with the car service you offered us and specially with Nikolaj, the best driver from Moscow. We wish to thank you and Nikolaj as well for this great support which made our stay and work in Moscow more than comfortable. Best regards, Emmanuil Gatsios, Germany Dear ELENA and Dear TANIA: I should have sent you a message with our THANKS!! as soon as we returned to US, Sorry for the delay - but anyway receive here our BIG THANK YOU!! for the Wonderful trip to SANKT PETERBURG!! Let us say WELL DONE to our GUIDE and Good Friend TANIA - her patience to explain time and again the details of Russian History was very valuable, because even when we believed we were familiar with this History it is different when you have to relate names and facts to specific places. To our Grandson NICOLAS the trip to RUSSIA was (he has said many times) the MOST IMPORTANT EXPERIENCE - for a person going for the first time outside AMERICA (he has been in central and South America before) going to EUROPE and in particular to an IMPPERIAL CITY is something very special GRETEL KAUFMANN and NICOLAS SCHANK, USA Elena, I was a member of the Music Tour that you handled this past week. We stayed at the Dynasty Bed and Breakfast. We all had a great time and your staff made all of that possible. Very, very nice. Eugene is a great tour guide, well informed and enjoyed his work. Marilyn Hanson, USA Hello Elena, Thank you so much for taking such good care of us while we were in St. Petersburg. Everyone enjoyed the tour, our guides, and drivers. We were even blessed with good weather. The hotel was certainly convenient to getting around on our own. It was a pleaseure to meet you, too. Thanks for bringing the Folk Show tickets to us yourself. We all enjoyed the performance and another opportunity to shop, of course. An added bonus was the city parade on Saturday. Thanks again. I just wanted you to know how pleased we were with our visit to your lovely city. Best regards, Bonnie Meyer, USA Dear Elena and team, We thank your team for making our visit to Russia so endlessly memorable -- and special appreciation to Nastya for helping Lola through my two days´ absence in hospital. Everything went well afterwards, especially with Julia on the Vladimir-Suzdal tour. Perhaps we may meet again someday. Stanley Toomath and Lola, New Zealand Dear Elena, We had a marvellous time in both Moscow and St Petersburgh. The hotels were good, the tours excellent and all of your arrangements worked very efficiently. I believe we were even very fortunate with the weather. Thank you very much for your help in organising the holiday. We will certainly pass on your details to anyone we know who may be visiting Russia. We would also like to thank our guide in Moscow, Leanna, for a wonderful tour and a very warm welcome to Russia. Our thanks once again, Best wishes, Ray and BettinaRay and Bettina Crayton, USA Hi Elena, I wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how much we enjoyed the tour through Russia. Let me start off by saying that I appreciate all of the attention that you gave me when preparing the trip. Your responses were prompt and your answers and suggestions were always helpful. Everything was very well organized by Express to Russia. The guides were very knowledgeable, nice, and punctual. It was great to have such personal attention in a small group. The tours were interesting and we learned a lot about Russia and its history and culture. It even sparked our interest to purchase a couple of books on Russia to learn more. The hotels were generally good for 3-star hotels. They were clean and the staff were friendly. Unfortunately, the hotel in Moscow had no hot water. I have a feeling that this is not uncommon and it takes away from the pleasure of the trip. The guides were also very attentive to my motherґs needs. For example, my mother doesnґt hear well from her left side so the guides made sure to stand on her right side so that she could hear better. Regards, Roger E. Rhoades P.S. Thanks for arranging such nice weather in St. Petersburg!Roger Rhoades, USA Sorry for getting back to you so late, but I have been quite busy these days in the office after my short vacations. The trip you organized was great, just amazing. Let me comment every aspect: - The train to St. Petersburg was quite an experience. The same trip that took us back to Tallinn in 4 hours, this train spent 9!! Basically stops almost 3 hours in the border were controls are done by 4 different police divisions (2 from Estonia and 2 from Russia). It was not only a trip to Russia, also to 40 years ago!! The Russian border guards were like the ones in KGB films, a bit scary. We all loved the experience, but we will not do it again :) - St. Petersburg was perfectly tied up. The bus was waiting for us at the train station, took us to the hotel were we could take a shower (obviously the train has not this). The guide we had was very well prepared, I would recommend her for any tour in Spanish, English or French as she was really fluent at the three of them. The hotel (Helvetia) it is a must. New and very well placed in the city. The restaurant was superb with an outstanding service. - The bus from St. Petersburg to Tallinn was a nightmare until the border due to the pavement. Russia´s road was so bad that the bus hardly speeded over 40km/h! Once entered to Estonia the road was smooth as silk! Thanks again for your help. Amazing trip we had. My family loved it! Very best regards, PhilPhillip, USA Dear Marina, We have just returned to Australia and this is the first chance I have had to contact you. I would like to thank you for organising the tour and also for the gifts that you sent to us at the conclusion of the tour. First of all, I must congratulate you on the way the tour was organised. From the time that we first arrived to the time we left, there was not a single problem and there was not a moment that we did not totally enjoy the experience. Well done! I must also make special mention of the guides and drivers. Because we had Victor and Jana for 4 days(sorry if I have spelt the names incorrectly), we got to know them very well and we were very impressed with the way they worked as a team. They went out of their way to make the tour unforgetable. Please pass on our thanks. The Moscow guides were also very helpful and we were impressed by the knowledge and willingness to help us durng our stay. I will certainly recommend expresstorussia to friends. Once again, thanks for a wonderful team effort. Ken and Mavis ProsserKen and Mavis Prosser, USA Marina,The tours were great. Thank you! Regards, ChuckCharles Miller, USA Marina, I´ve arrived in Poland and wanted to express my deepest appreciation for your planning the visit to Russia. The tour with Olga was the very best!!! Your support was truly superb. I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment and appreciate the opportunity to see your great country. Thank you. Please let me know if you are ever in Washington D.C. and I can return the favor or at least show you the places I´m fond of. Sincerely,Ron OswaldRon Oswald, USA Dear Marina,our group returned from Russia on Saturday. I would like to thank you very much for your excellent service, welcoming approach and overall support. All the hotels and dinners (maybe with the exception of dinner in Moscow) were very good, and all in all our clients were satisfied. We are well aware that you had a lot of work with our group, so once again thank you. I wish you all the best, and hope we will have a chance to cooperate once again in the future. My Kindest Regards, Lenka LudvíkováLenka Ludvíková, Czech Republic Hi Marina, We are in Tokyo and getting ready to return to Hawaii. The trip to Russia was great! Your planning and assistance was key to our having a really enjoyable time. We would like to thank you for all you have done for us. Thanks again, Rob and RonRobbie Fisher, USA Just back from holidays. We had an amazing time. Loved St Petersburg very much. Thank you for helping us organizing the trip. I found your website very helpful. And all staff very profesional and helpful as well. So big thanks again to everybody in the office. We would like to return to russia for moer holidays at some point. Zsuzsanna ZSUZSANNA SALDA, HUNGARY Chere Madame Maslaeva, Mon epouse et moi, tenons a vous remercier pour l´accueil et l´efficacite de votre agence durant notre sejour a St Petersbourg: appartement confortable, silencieux et agreable, sans oublier les petits details importants lorsque l´on voyage (petits sachets de the dans l´appartement, seche cheveux, planche a repasser, etc.), ponctualite et efficacite du chauffeur qui a assure notre transfert vers la gare de La Baltique lors de notre depart. Nous ne manquerons pas de recommander votre agence aupres d´amis qui desireraient visiter votre ville. Sinceres Salutations Michele et Claude BOUGARD-CARPENTIER, France Hi Elena, Please feel free to post this to your website and to share this with my tour guides in Moscow and St. Petersburg. I just wanted to email you to thank Express to Russia for the outstanding tour your company put together for me recently. I had a wonderful time and have nothing but positive things to say about the experience. First and foremost, I was blessed with incredible tour guides for both cities. They both had an amazing command of English and were both warm and easy to get along with. Their knowledge of the cities was also amazing, as evidenced by me commenting to my St. Petersburg tour guide once that it seemed like she could tell me something about every building we passed by. She was able to talk history, architecture, art, and a wide variety of other subjects. In both cities, I felt immersed by their knowledge, which added immeasurable value to the experience. I had no problems at all with the various occasions I was being picked up. Everything worked like clockwork and the drivers were always very polite. The fact that you gave me such a detailed itinerary before the trip made things a lot easier for me. Both hotels were also very nice and clean. I especially appreciated the flexibility that was shown when my flight into Moscow arrived several hours late. I had thought the tour for that afternoon would be cancelled, but my tour guide simply shuffled the itinerary around, with the result that I was not short-changed at all. My only suggestion would be to add an excursion to your St. Petersburg tour specifically designed for the Siege of Leningrad. When I asked, my tour guide stopped us by the monument to the Siege that is located on the drive to the Summer Palace. However, it would make for a good excursion to include a visit to the memorial, to the museum, and to the mass grave at Piskarevo Park (plus other sites). Many Americans are familiar with the Siege, so Iґm willing to bet that such an excursion would be popular. Thanks again! Iґve already told people I know to contact me if they ever want to visit Russia because Iґll set them up with your tour company. Sincerely, Andrew DeKever West Point, NY Andrew DeKever West Point, NY Dear Elena: Thank you for all the arrangements and good advice for my recent trip to Russia. Your driver, Victor, was perfect: he gave me a tour of the route from the airport and even taught me some Russian words. The hotel Nevesky was just right for me, a single. The staff couldnґt have been more friendly and helpful right up to my leaving; by then we were up to hugs for goodbyes! (We overcame the language problem with much laughter.) Not a fancy place, but more than adequate and the ladies made me feel very comfortable. I would recommend it to anyone! I loved Russia and hope that I can make the trip again... HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Best regards. Helen Helen Deckelman, USA Hello Elena! So very sorry this thank you is soo late but i wanted to thank you and your very fine organization for a truly wonderful trip! Everything went just fine and no problems at all! All members of our trip had a great time!We also wanted to thank you for providing us our truly great driver Nikoli Dimitrov! He was not so much our driver,but he was a true member of our party! He was GREAT!! We look forward to booking our trip to MAKS 2009 with your firm , and wish to have our new friend Nikoli as our driver.Many thanks to you all and wishing you the best for the new year.Thank you again Elena! I will write again in ґ09. Mark Mark Korade, USA Dear Elena We both want to thank you for arranging our wonderful holiday. St Petersburg is a beautiful city with so many lovely buildings and places of interest. It was all made so much more intresting by our two wonderful guides, Oksana and Albina, their command of English was excellent and their knowledge incredible and they were both so willing to help us with whatever questions we posed.Without them we would never have got so much from our visit. The guide at Novgorod again spoke very good English and was very informative. Our driver, Vasilly, was also excellent, driving us with great care and always there when we needed him and also very willing to help us. The same can be said of all the staff we met at the hotel who were all very pleasant and did their best to make our stay a happy one. We both feel we have learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed our holiday and we would love to go back to see more. thank you again SueSusan Holmes, UK Dear Marina, now we are in Paris.We want to thank you for all that you did for our nice trip. Irina and Tanya [the guide in St. Petersburg] were specially nice and efficient. The taxi drivers were on time always. Thank you again for your help. Sonia Echeverri Columbia, Sonia Echeverri Dear Nastya, just a few lines now that we are back to work, after some days spent in Berlin. I have to tell you that we found Fontanka 38 really nice. The first poor impression about the entrance and the stairs disappeared soon, just after crossing the door (I know itґs not in your hand, but the aspect of the stairs is a bit frightening for western tourists!). But once there, we appreciated the simple and functional Ikea style, not very different from what we have at home. The appartment was clean and comfortable, and we were really at ease. Besides, your services proved to be accurate, with transfers to airport on time and english speaking drivers. So, congratulations for your job, we spend five lovely days in yor city, and I will recommend you if I have the opportunity. Best regards!Oriol Nubiola, Lidia Sans, Spain Marina.I wanted to write as soon as we returned, but I was back to work almost immediately. My daughter and I had a great time in both places, Moscow and St Petersburg. First, the schedule was followed right on time by the very professional guides and drivers, which was very important to me, since I value punctuality and to keep up with the schedule when I travel. The guides (two ladies called Lena in Moscow and Anna in St Petersburg) spoke perfect English which I complimented all the time (we live in the US, but English is not my first language). They were very knowledgeable and answered all the questions we had about history and culture, aside of the descriptions of the places we visited. I thanked them personally, but I wanted to let you know that they add to making the trip enjoyable. The hotels were well located, the Cosmos hotel in Moscow is right across a metro station, which we used without problems. People gave us indications about maps and subway just by hand signs in different places, since they did not speak English, neither us Russian. My favorite hotel was the Pushka Inn in St Petersburg because of the charming building, the location and the attention of the staff. Also, breakfast at the Pushka Inn was excellent. The tour of the Kremlin and the Tretyakovsky State Gallery were my favorites in Moscow. As per the city of St Petersburg and all the places we visited there exceeded our expectations. I highly recommend your organization to any traveler; please feel free to add any of these comments to your website. Thanks again, Graciela Graciela Lopez,USA Marina, I am home and wanted to send you a special thank you for a well organized trip. I enjoyed my trip to Russia and the Ukraine. All the hotels were very good 3 star hotels. In fact, July 4th was USA National Day and the Lybid hotel gave me a bottle of champaign and a fruit basket. This was a surprise and very much appreciated. All the transfers were on time and cordial. All the tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable and the tours were helpful. The tours provided me with an orientation of the city on arrival before I travelled around independently. Suzdahl was a particularly charming town and very memorable. St Petersburg was very European and the Hermitage and Petrovets/ Peterhof was to be remembered. Moscow was a much more interesting city than I expected. The Kremlin was unforgetable and the excellent metro system made it easy to move around the city. Kiev was also interesting. The Caves Monastery was very unique and Independence Square was bubbling with activity. The 4 berth overnight train rides were comfortable and thanks for the lower berths. I had not thought of the sleeping locations. Every train departed and arrived on time. I had also been warned by everyone before leaving that St P and Moscow might be dangerous for non-whites. While I believe every big city has its dangers, I did not find a single incident dangerous nor did I experience any racism. In fact, on a few ocassions I was lost and even though there may have been a language barrier, helpful Russians pointed me in the right direction. Thank you again for a job well done. I will recommend to my local agent that they consider Express to Russia and yourself as an agent for Russia land tours. Spassibo Ernest Thomatis, USA Thank you for arranging the apartment and transfers in St. Petersburg. Everything was wonderful and we enjoyed the apartment very much. I will recommend you to my friends who travel to St. Petersburg. Amy Lesiewicz, USA/Russia Dear Nastya, Now that we are back home, though feeling rather ґhung overґ with the excitements of our visit to your extraordinary city as well as to Moscow, we are writing to thank you for your many kindnesses and your attentiveness to our comfort and convenience during our visit. You have a most impressive organisation which, we are sure, is enhanced in its work by the unwearying commitment of you and your colleagues. By the way, if you know of anyone who might be interested to explore a gap in the shuttle bus market, we think there must be an opportunity in ferrying visitors between Pulkovo I and Pulkovo II. A fare of 100 Rbl each way would probably not be unreasonable when taxi drivers ask (but in out case did not get) 1000 or 1500! It would be much easier than having to take the 39 coach towards the city and getting off and crossing the road to catch the 13 shuttle on its last stop before turning into Pulkovo II (even though that method is even cheaper)! Our kindest regards to you and your cooleagues who assisted us, With best wishes, Valerie and Gordon Read Gordon Read, UK I just wanted to send an email thanking you and everyone we met while in Russia for a wonderful holiday! My friend Shea and I had a fantastic time all round... everyone was so friendly and the service was excellent, particularly from you all at the Northern Lights, our guide Eugeny (wonderful!) and driver Michael (so courteous!) in St Petersburg. The staff at the Bega Hotel in Moscow were also extremely helpful, as was our guide, Liana. All in all an amazing experience. I have highly recommended going to Russia to everyone since Iґve returned to the UK and I would point anyone in the direction of Express To Russia for the excellent service and care we received. Many thanks again and keep up the good work! Justine Bond, UK Thanks very much for sending your newsletter. I was very pleased with your services last summer when I went to St Petersburg and i may envisage to come back next year. If so no doubt i will contact you. In the meantime, i wish you all a very happy new year. Best regards Margareth Thorion Margareth Thorion, France Dear Marina, Thank you to you and Elena and the rest of the staff for making our vacation so special. Everything went without a hitch, and the tour guides we had were great. Our guide in Moscow, Liana, was very knowledgeable about both the Kremlin and Russian art. Our guide in St. Petersburg, Anastasia, was fantastic. She went above and beyond any duties, and she was very knowledgeable about all the places we visited. She was very tolerant of our 7 year-old, and she was interesting, and warm and kind. She was a very good fit with our family. We would highly recommend your travel agency and guides to anyone traveling to Russia. Thank you and good job!Vicki Steinwurtzel, USA Marina, I wish I could have come by to thank you in person in St. Petersburg, but Yana said your offices were closed.. The trip was just fantastic ! Every thing went well for us. We have so many great stories and pictures to share with our friends back home. If you ever need references for anyone, please feel free to send them my email. Lena and Yana were both great guides !William Morgan Houston, Texas, USA Dear Marina, My family and I thank you for your good assistance and services in regard to our recent trip to Russia. You provided everything we needed for a safe and very satisfactory experience during our trip. Everything we requested, you provided, and your service personnel were excellent. While it is hard to single out any one person from such an excellent group of drivers, tour guides and travel assistants, because they were all very professional and very helpful to strangers such as us, we would particularly like to thank Anastasia, our guide in St. Petersburg for the last two days. She does an excellent job, is very professional, has patience and humor, and could not have been more helpful or informative. She has a great future in the growing business of tourism, but would do well anywhere and in any public position. Her intellect and communication skills will carry her far. All your people exceeded our expectations and we want to again thank them, and you, for your assistance. You made our trip comfortable and enjoyable and educational and took the stress out of the little things that so often create problems. Charles Hall, USA Dear Marina, We would like to say thankyou for your help in organising our fantastic holiday in Russia. We had a wonderful time and were very happy with both hotels, especially the petro palace who upgraded us to their "apartment" which was amazing. - the biggest bath I have ever seen and a built in coffee maker, my husband wants one for our house now! Everything worked out perfectly and I will recommend Express to Russia if I can persuade any of my friends to holiday in Russia. We tried to visit you in St Petersburg to say thankyou in person, but we were told you worked in a different office which we couldnґt find. Thank you again, and if you ever need any advice on holidaying in Scotland feel free to get in touch. Lisa Lisa Keany, Scotland Dear Marina, Thank you for everything that you did. We had an absolutely wonderful time. So good in fact that I have passed on your name to other people who plan to visit Russia. A number of South Africans and American. Your tours and tour guides are the best! We are already talking about all that we missed and thinking of taking in Kiev next time. Thanks once again. Jennifer Brennan, USA I hire an apartment on St. Petersburg on Nevsky 66. The place is perfect, in the best area to be (just 10 minutes walking to the hermitage). If you want to have dinner you just walk around and youґll find lots of restaurants. And the service is good they give me a lot of interesting information. I was very impresed of the apartment and the service. Thank you for everithing Dasha. Bernardo Gonzalez from MexicoBernardo Gonzalez, Mexico Dear Dasha We are now back home in Australia and I just wanted you to know that we appreciated the way you handled our booking in St Petersburg. It can be difficult sometimes dealing with tourists so, many thanks, we have good memories! Kind regards Carol McGarrickCarol McGarrick, Australia Hi Alisa, We just returned to America. Our days with Anna were great. Thank you for a great experience in St. Petersburg...and relay our appreciation to Anna and our driver.Lynn Connelly, USA Alisa, I just wanted to thank you for all the hard work youґve put in helping us organize our trip. Everything was wonderful and you were a big part of it. I would highly recommend your services to anyone whoґs going to Russia in the near future!!!!Mariya Kemper-Reiss, USA Hi Dasha, Thanks for making my trip comfortable and the apartment was perfect! Beso, Carlos Carlos Lewison, USA Hi, I have just come back from my trip to Saint Petersburg and I have seen the roses and chocolates that you delivered to Natalia and I just wanted to say a big thank you as they looked wonderful. Yours sincerely Steven TsangSteven Tsang Hi Dasha, Great to meet you last week, and thanks for everything. Brooke and I enjoyed the apartment quite a bit. Hope to see you again in May! Best, Jeffery MeyerJeffery Meyer, USA Hello Alisa: I wanted to thank you for helping make my trip so enjoyable. Elena and the driver on my city tour were very nice and quite helpful. Albina made my trip to the Hermitage one to remember. She is very knowledgeable about the art and history and conveys her knowledge quite well. My shopping trip with Albina and Victor was a real pleasure. Victor really made an extra effort to get me where I wanted to go and make sure I got what I wanted. A very nice day spent with two very nice people. Thank you again for helping make my trip one to remember. I have referred you to a couple of my co-workers. Regards, JohnJohn W. Penney, USA Dear Masha! Excellent service. Iґve got my tickets very quickly. Thank you Rich Richard Bradley UK Hello, Sdrastvitje, We enjoyed our little, clean, newly adapted room with tea, coffee and fridge in a rather safe and very central area. We met the owner when stoping with the taxi to ask where it is, because finding the adress should be marked very clealy. A picture on the web would be nice before booking. Thanks for you personal help on the phone. Kind regards Walter, Eva and daughter Nina Walter, Eva and daughter Nina Hello Elena!! Just wanted to say hi and thank you!! Everything was perfect as you arranged it. The driver was at the airport, the hotel was ready, no problem, and thanks to you. It was wonderful doing business with you, and will be a returning customer later this year. thanks, again, Ernie Mendez Ernesto Mendez, USA Dear Anna, We have arrived back in Pretoria and I am back at my desk. We were initially a bit apprehensive about setting up our tour on the internet, so I thought to let you know that we were very happy with every aspect of the service you provided. The bookings, appartments, transfers, rail trip and car/driver were all excellent. Many thanks. Regards Graham Graham Randall, Pretoria, South Africa Hi Paul, Martin and Elena here from New Zealand. Sorry I didnґt get back to you sooner but I have been a little busy at work and also entertaining my wifes sister who has come over from Russia for my wifes graduation from university. We had a wonderful stay in one of your St Petersburg apartments during the Russian summer. The apartment was imaculate, modern, clean and tidy and just around the corner from Nevsky Prospect. I have been to Russia on many occasions and the apartment "beat the hell" out of some hotels I have stayed at in Moscow. Needless to say, if I was coming back to St Petersbug again I would certainly stay in one of your apartments and I have no hesitation in recommending them to future visitors to your city. However. The biggest service your company did for us was to arrange the invitation which every private visitor to Russia has to have in order to get a visa. This service was invalueable and I have twice recommended you to fellow New Zealand travelers to Russia who used this service and one of them leaves for Russia in two days. For those unfamiliar with the invitation from OVIR, believe me when I say it is a nightmare of red tape and Russian bureaucratic nonsense and it usually takes my sister in law months to arrange after hours of standing in the famous Russian queue for documents. But, with your service, all I did was give you my details and 25 days later my invitation arrived. Once again. Thanks very much and my next invitation will certainly be arranged through your company. kind regards, Martin and Elena. PS. Many thanks to Ira who always kept us informed via email of what was happening prior to our arrival in St Petersburg.Martin and Elena Forman, New Zealand Dear Paul, We so very much enjoyed our stay in St Petersburg. For me especially it has been a long held ambition to come to Russia, and now I will certainly return. I was impressed by the spaciousness and quality of your lovely apartment, it was so central and yet so peaceful. I love the fact that the building was old and original and maintained this impression, balcony and big windows, while being so modern and comfortable inside. Everything we needed was provided. You and your staff were so helpful to us. I have traveled a lot including Prague and Venice, both noted for their beauty, but for me St Petersburg itself is by far the most unique and beautfull city. Ivarna Kalinkova and Edward Henry, South Shields, UK Dear Maya, I`d like you to thank you for your excellent hospitality and services provided during my wife and her guests visit to St.Pete. Starting from meeting late at night on time I heard that everything was perfect; the central location, european fit out, clean, tidy, economic. This was her third visit and the best accomodation services taken among all. Others like beverages, city maps, etc were a bonus. You will definetely be the first that I will remember in my next St Pete visit. Regards, Deha Deha, expat from Moscow Dear Katya, Once again thank you for organizing the apartment for us in St Petersburg. The service from your office (and via the website) was friendly, efficient and helpful. Our apartment (Moika 28) was delightful to stay in for the week. It was very clean when we arrived and had plenty of room for two couples. The location was fantastic. Kind Regards BenBen Rogers, Australia Dear Maya, Many thanks for once again your swift response and the professional standards that you operate to; it is truly appreciated. I will have to make sure that when I am in Russia next that I buy you a drink for keeping romance alive between Natasha and myself Best wishes and thanks again Chris Chris Bradly, UK I want to thank you at this time for the wonderful service that I have received. It is my intention to return to Europe in March and at that time I will use your company to go to St. Petersburg once again. Regards Ray Ray Middleton, New Zealand Hello Anna, A brief & belated note to thank you for all the effort you put in to making our holiday fantastic – we really enjoyed ourselves! The apartment at Moika 28 was excellent and all the transfers worked really well. So thanks again and I hope many more people use your service! Kind regards. Anne Bell, Australia Dear Anna, Paul and Co, Just to say how much we enjoyed our stay in St Petersburg thanks to you all. The possibility of renting apartments when we go to St Peteґs is excellent and you sorted out all issues very well. Cooks Restaurant was great by the way - so thanks for the recommendation. See you soon and if we can be of any assistance to you in Moscow just let us know, Kind regards, Peter & Vanessa & Family Vanessa and Peter O’Brian, Ex pats in Moscow Hi Masha, I just wanted to thank you for organizing such a great trip for us. Our guide Anna was great, smart and very educated on all topics, fantastic to have around! The hotel was very confortable, Georg the driver was efficient and so typically russian, I think... If one little detail could have been better it is to combine both excursions out of St Petersburg the same day since most of the road is the same. But trully I will recommend your organisation to friends and relative that may want to come and visit St Petersburg. Thank you for your great job and your follow-up. Francoise FRANCOISE BELFROID, Belgium Hello Alisa, Hello Dasha We came back three weeks ago and had to attend to lots of chores that are now all under control. Please accept biiig thanks from Mr. Sims, my husband Dan and myself . Your organization of our visit to your beautiful country was impeccable. We felt well-taken care off and very special! We loved all the tour guides you have allocated to us - but Elena Vinogradova in Moscow, a wonderful human being who was closer to our "age" and far more experienced a guide - was our favorite! We shall certainly recommend your agency and Elena Vinogradova as a guide - to anyone that we know wants to visit Russia. Young Anna and especially Elena Kaschevskaya made our stay in St. Petersburg a very, very enjoyable affair. They were efficient, knowledgeable, extremely helpful, kind and personable young ladies. We fell in love with the driver Sasha in St. Petersburg! What a character! We even christened him with two more "informal" names: "The formula 1 driver Sasha" or on occasion: "a Kamikaze driver Sasha"! :-)))) Still, Sasha got us where we were going in the shortest period of time through the heaviest road traffic with admirable driving skills and without the scratch - on the car or the passengers! :-)))) [this is supposed to be a "smiley face"] We did have a slightly disturbing experience when Mr. Sims was pick- pocketed in St, Petersburgґs underground, but he managed to cancel his credit cards before the big damage could be done and soon got back on his feet. After that incident however, he was not willing try the underground transport again. Well, I guess this says it all Alisa. Ah, yes, I hope Elena Kaschevskaya mentioned to you that my husband wanted to bring you a bunch of flowers as a way of thank you for taking such good care of us. We are so sorry that we never had enough time left in St. Petersburg after the guides would return us back to the hotel - to make it to your office before closing time. So here is a picture I took of the of flowers we wanted to buy for you... Thanks again for everything and....KEEP UP A GOOD WORK. Kind regards Sonja MyersSonja Myers, USA Andrei, Many thanks. I would like to say that I have been very impressed by your prompt service and customer care. I will be recommending your service to my family and friends.Simon Futo, Great Britain Myself and my friend Kevin Foy stayed in the Ermitage until Sunday the 22nd of August.I just wanted to drop a note to you to thank you for being so professional and kind to us. We will certainly recommend the Ermitage to our friends! Seamus Sweeney Dear Elena We have just arrived home from our holiday, having spent a week in Finland after we left St Petersburg. This is just a quick email to thank you and your colleagues for all your help with our arrangements. It all went very smoothly. We loved St Petersburg and will definitely come back for a longer stay at some point in the future. Best wishes Kate Heyman-Carreno and Antonino Palumbo Kate Heyman Dear Elena, I am writing to thank you for organising the excellent hotel Admiral for us in St Petersburg. The room, bathroom etc were very nice and the ladies in charge were extremely kind, friendly and helpful. Also the tour of the Hermitage on July 5th with Anna Lapteva was the highlight of our time in St Petersburg. This most beautiful and highly educated young woman gave us three (my husband, daughter and me) a personalised tour of the beautiful treasures in the Hermitage and taught us a lot about the development of Modern European art over the centuries. Her high level of knowledge and her charming manner was very very impressive. Please pass on our appreciation to Ms Anna Lapteva if possible! Thank you again! Yours sincerely Mara McKenzie Mara McKenzie Hi Alisa!! Thank you so much for your help!!! We had a great time with Julia!!! We appreciate all you did!!! Our time in St. Petersburg will NEVER be forgotten!!! My father still talks about it and I´m sure he will for a long time!!! Julia did an incredible job as well as Alexi the driver. I know none of this could have been done without you so please accept our sincere thanks. If there is anything we can do for you... please let me know! Again - thank you so much!!!!!Joy Ellsworth, USA Hello Elena!! Just wanted to say hi and thank you!! Everything was perfect as you arranged it. The driver was at the airport, the hotel was ready, no problem, and thanks to you. It was wonderful doing business with you, and will be a returning customer later this year. thanks, again, Ernie Mendez Ernesto Mendez, USA Dear Elena, We enjoyed our stay in Saint-Petersbourg. The Filippov hotel is very nice. Thank you very much. Best regards Nathalie Charriere, France I would have sent you a message anyway to say thank you very much for all the help you gave us in organising our visit to St Petersburg. We are now safely returned. Everything was wonderful. The staff at the hotel at Vladimirsky III were friendly and helpful. The hotel itself was perfect, all that was needed, with a great location for seeing everything. When we needed a big bar and excellent jazz music, we popped into the ground floor of the Radisson, on the next corner! The Bliny restaurant around another corner was good too. Being able to walk to all the places we wished to see was also helpful in getting a sense of the city. We were especially happy to be very close to the Ackhmatova Museum. We came because of the Mannerheim Exhibition, at the General Staff Building, saw the ballet Don Quixote at the Mariinsky, visited especially the Dutch masters at the Hermitage, and the magnificient Russian Museum; and took a boat trip out onto the river! The taxi met us exactly at the airport, and was helpful in making sure we reached the destination, which is not simple, with the hotel up the stair case. I would strongly recommend your services to anyone else contemplating a visit to the city, and we thank you very much indeed.Anne Page, Great Britain Many thanks for all your help in making our stay in St. Petersburg such a wonderful experience for my family. The apartment was lovely, centrally located, and very reasonably priced. Loved the high ceilings and big windows. The location could not be better. My father has a pacemaker and he walks very slowly, but he had not trouble making it to the Hermitage, St. Isaac´s and the Assumption on foot. There was a 24-hr market around the corner, and a lovely pastry shop a block away. The price was better than a hotel, or any of the other apartment rentals I checked. This was my third trip to St. Pete with my wife and son. The two previous times we had stayed at a friend´s house. This was our first time with you and I did not want anything to go wrong as my parents, who are in their mid-70s, were joining us this time. I appreciated Dasha´s quick and reassuring responses throughtout, as well as Natasha´s help and professionalism. Also, I am very glad we took advantage of the transfers to and from the apartment. The driver was punctual, reliable and corteous. In short, my parents are walking on air after their first visit to St. Petersburg. It is a wonderful city, but you really helped make our stay truly enjoyable for the whole family. Many thanks to you. Francisco Gonzalez Francisco Gonzalez, USA Dear Anna, We are back home in Bangalore after a very nice hoilidays in Moscow & St.pґburg. Thanks a lot once again for the excellent arrangements. R. Krishnamurthy Mr. and Mrs. Krishnamurthy, India nous avons passe un excellent voyage ! hotel tres bien et les transfers aussi. la ville est merveilleuse.... merci encore pour vos services. Jack Daniel, France Dear Anna, We have arrived back in Pretoria and I am back at my desk. We were initially a bit apprehensive about setting up our tour on the internet, so I thought to let you know that we were very happy with every aspect of the service you provided. The bookings, accommodations, transfers, rail trip and car/driver were all excellent. Many thanks. Regards Graham Graham Randall, Pretoria, South Africa Our whole family had a great time in St. Petersburg, and you company’s help was a big part of that. They were always kind and helpful and arranged for all kinds of things, from a great babysitter to advice on nearby stores. The city is so stunning, and being able to stay right in the heart of things walking distance to all the sights made our trip much more enjoyable than others we know who stayed farther out and didn´t have the kind of help that you offer. We also highly recommend that anyone going buy the Knopf Map Guide before coming, it helps you to understand where the apartments are as well as the many other amenities and aspects of the city. Lizzie, David & Havivah Saltz. David and Lizzie Saltz Athens, GA Hello Anna, A brief & belated note to thank you for all the effort you put in to making our holiday fantastic – we really enjoyed ourselves! The accommodations were excellent and all the transfers worked really well. So thanks again and I hope many more people use your service! Kind regards.Anne Bell, Australia I want to thank you at this time for the wonderful service that I have received. It is my intention to return to Europe in March and at that time I will use your company to go to St. Petersburg once again. Regards RayRay Middleton, New Zealand Hello Anna, Thank you so much for all your efforts to deliver the flowers at the changed date and at so late a time, I appreciated it. I would also like to thank you for such an excellent service and I will am sure I will use this service again, and others. I also found all the info on the website regarding all the services offered very informative and will hopefully use them when I eventually visit St. Petersburg. At that time, I will need accommodation, holiday visa, etc. Thank you again for the excellent service, I have been told the flowers are very beautiful and look forward to seeing the pictures as soon as you have them. Regards, John John Kwok, USA We were pleasantly surprised with our accommodation in St. Petersburg, because we had been late in booking for a popular Russian holiday weekend and expectations were low. The apartment was clean, comfortable and conveniently located so we could walk to the tourist highlights and great restaurants. Victor and Anna were very gracious hosts and I certainly intend to contact you again when I want accommodation in St. Petersburg.Marjorie Jackson, Ex-pat, Moscow Dear Maya, Many thanks for once again your swift response and the professional standards that you operate to; it is truly appreciated. I will have to make sure that when I am in Russia next that I buy you a drink for keeping romance alive between Natasha and myself Best wishes and thanks again Chris Chris Bradly, UK Dear Maya, I`d like you to thank you for your excellent hospitality and services provided during my wife and her guests visit to St.Pete. Starting from meeting late at night on time I heard that everything was perfect; the central location, european fit out, clean, tidy, economic. This was her third visit and the best accomodation services taken among all. Others like beverages, city maps, etc were a bonus. You will definetely be the first that I will remember in my next St Pete visit. Regards, DehaDeha, expat from Moscow Our experience has been very positive. As newcomers to St. Petersburg, your company helped us find accommodations in an ideal location overlooking the Neva River. We are grateful for the efficient service. You facilitated communication between us and the Russians. We were very pleased with your assistance and would not hesitate to use your services next time. Ludovic and Lamia Descouens, France, Concord Catering Dear Paul and the rest of the team, I wanted to write to you to express my appreciation for the way we were treated. Firstly, the accommodations were excellent and very reasonably priced for its location in St Petersburg. It was my parents´ first trip to Russia, so having somewhere so central, comfortable, and within walking distance of all the great sites was ideal. We especially appreciated the guided tour that you organised for us at very short notice - the interpreter and guide was absolutley brilliant. We felt that you made a special effort us to organise this, and that the service was very personal and helpful. Working with you over e-mail to organise the booking was also very straightforward - you were always very quick, helpful and courteous, and I felt that things were being done confidentially. It was interesting to have the details and correspondence all recorded on a secure site. Although I speak some Russian, having people who speak very fluent english is obviously very reassuring for others like my parents who would struggle to communicate generally in Russia. I hope that I can come to St Petes again to enjoy your services once more. Best wishes to all of you. NikkiNicola Smith, Spain Dear Katya, I wanted to thank you and the rest of your team for a truly wonderful trip to St. Petersburg. But especially you, because of your patience and willingness to work with me to make my second (but not last!) visit to Russia truly great. Tell Paul I said hi. Thanks again and I will of course be using your services again when Nina and I come back to St. Petes (as a married couple of course!). Sincerely, Jeff McDaniel Jeff McDaniel, Ohio Dear Katya, Once again thank you for organizing the apartment for us in St Petersburg. The service from your office (and via the website) was friendly, efficient and helpful. Our apartment (Moika 28) was delightful to stay in for the week. It was very clean when we arrived and had plenty of room for two couples. The location was fantastic. Kind Regards BenBen Rogers, Australia My time in Spb was made so easy by your company. You saved me money, frustration and time. The lodging was very comfortable and central, but the customer service is what really sets you apart - nothing is too much trouble, you re-assured and supported me, and offer great value for money. Iґve already booked my time with you next year. Thats a 100% recommendation.Clive Langham, UK Dear Anna, Paul and Co, Just to say how much we enjoyed our stay in St Petersburg thanks to you all. The possibility of renting apartments when we go to St Peteґs is excellent and you sorted out all issues very well. Cooks Restaurant was great by the way - so thanks for the recommendation. See you soon and if we can be of any assistance to you in Moscow just let us know, Kind regards, Peter & Vanessa & FamilyVanessa and Peter O’Brian, Ex pats in Moscow I have spent my last summer in St. Petersburg and I stayed with you on 2 different flats. Everything was perfect, from the transfer from airport up until the end of my holiday. Thanks for the professional people and perfect service. Daniele Daniele, Rome, Italy Dear Paul and Anna, I would like to thank you for the excellent accommodations and service. The information on the website and efficient email communication allowed making the right choice and facilitated the travel arrangements. My friends and I enjoyed very much staying in a clean and spacious apartment in the heart of St.-Petersburg, two steps away from the major attractions, and at a fraction of the cost of the nearby hotels. I am very glad to have chosen your business, I will use it again, and I will certainly recommend it to anyone I know. Please, keep up with the good work. Best regards, AlexanderAlexander Salenikovich, Quebec My family of 5 spent 3 glorious days in St Pete. We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment rented to us by your company. You picked us up at the train station, took us to this apartment that had a great location in the center of the city. The apartment was very clean, comfortable and spacious. It was kept clean by a local maid. I would highly recommend your services for their value and location. Thanks again, Percy P Batlivala & FamilyPercy P. Batlivala, New Delhi, India Dear Paul Your team is friendly and competent and you could not do enough for us when we visited Russia in June 2004. The flats we rented were spacious and reasonably priced and situated centrally. The Russians, not unlike the Scots, are dour but proud of their fascinating country and generally helpful. Moscow may only require a few days, but St. Petersberg demands a full week and is best seen on foot. Make sure to have tea at the Astoria hotel -Hitler could not! Alan AndersonAlan Anderson, Scotland To Paul and the staff, I wanted to thank you very much for your help in my recent visit to St. Petersburg. I visited the city from November 2 through November 13, 2004. Every step of the way, from initially looking at apartments online, to booking the apartment, to follow up emails, to actually getting the transfer to the apartment was handled not only professionally but personally. It is a nice touch that you provided a personal contact at your office that I could reach at almost anytime of the day. Her name, of course, was Katya. She was a delight to work with. She handled all of the arrangements with patience and grace. I have visited Russia before, but never St. Petersburg and had some concerns about using an apartment versus a hotel. Utilizing an apartment instead of a hotel room was not only a savings in money, but was so much more comfortable as well. The apartment was very clean, warm and fully equipped from a satellite television, to bath towels, to pots and pans for the kitchen. Having a cleaning lady stop by every few days was a nice touch. I am a business owner myself and I know how it can be tough some times to always put your best face forward to clients. But I stopped into the office several times and the staff was always eager to answer any questions and help me with anything. There was one time I remember I had to stop into the office and Paul was the only one there as it was a holiday weekend. He took the time to help me and my fiance out and even hailed a cab in the pouring rain. It is touches like this that make your company great and I see only a bright future for you. I definitely will recommend your company to anyone who asks and will be utilizing your service in the near future for an apartment in Moscow next year. When my future wife and I come back to St. Petersburg (hopefully very soon), of course, you will receive a call from us. Thank you again for all your help and wonderful service. I wish you a happy new year and continued success. Respectfully yours, Jeffrey P.S. Hi Katya!!Jeffrey A. McDaniel, Ohio, USA Paul, Having made several trips to Russia in the past few years, the idea of spending another two weeks in small, expensive hotel rooms was not exciting me. The opportunity to rent an apartment had some real advantages. The service from your company were precise, timely and without problems. Your people were courteous and helpful and the apartments met my expectations 100%. I will certainly have no hesitation in using your services again and recommending them to my friends and business colleagues. Nick Nick Lockyer, KPS Maritime, Australia I am a German Expatriate working in Saratov, Russia. I use my vacation to get to know the country. For a four day trip to St. Petersburg with my parents who flew in from Germany, I made a reservation with your company. The accomodation was right next to Nevsky Prospekt and very well equipped and very clean. You also organized tours for us to Tsarskoje Selo and Pavlovsk on the first day and Peterhof on our second day. You picked us up in a very comfortable Van and while riding to the sightseeings the guide gave us lots of information about the history, present and future of St. Petersburg. So additionally we also got a St. Petersburg sightseeing tour! The palaces in Tsarskoje Selo and Peterhof are usually very crowded. Lots of tourists were waiting at the entrance but thanks to you we were in there in a minute. The guide was also experienced in those places and gave us useful informations and hints. To sum it up, we really enjoyed St. Petersburg and the tours. My parents were very enthusiastic about St. Petersburg and promised to come back next year! Thank you, that our trip to St. Petersburg is still very vivid and pleasant in our mind. Best regards, Andrea FriedelAndrea Friedel, Robert Bosch Corporation Dear Paul, We so very much enjoyed our stay in St Petersburg. For me especially it has been a long held ambition to come to Russia, and now I will certainly return. I was impressed by the spaciousness and quality of your lovely accommodations, it was so central and yet so peaceful. I love the fact that the building was old and original and maintained this impression, balcony and big windows, while being so modern and comfortable inside. Everything we needed was provided. You and your staff were so helpful to us. I have traveled a lot including Prague and Venice, both noted for their beauty, but for me St Petersburg itself is by far the most unique and beautfull city. Ivarna Kalinkova and Edward Henry, South Shields, UK Hi Paul, Martin and Elena here from New Zealand. Sorry I didnґt get back to you sooner but I have been a little busy at work and also entertaining my wifes sister who has come over from Russia for my wifes graduation from university. We had a wonderful stay in one of your St Petersburg apartments during the Russian summer. The lodgings were imaculate, modern, clean and tidy and just around the corner from Nevsky Prospect. I have been to Russia on many occasions and the apartment "beat the hell" out of some hotels I have stayed at in Moscow. Needless to say, if I was coming back to St Petersbug again I would certainly stay in one of your apartments and I have no hesitation in recommending them to future visitors to your city. However. The biggest service your company did for us was to arrange the invitation which every private visitor to Russia has to have in order to get a visa. This service was invalueable and I have twice recommended you to fellow New Zealand travelers to Russia who used this service and one of them leaves for Russia in two days. For those unfamiliar with the invitation from OVIR, believe me when I say it is a nightmare of red tape and Russian bureaucratic nonsense and it usually takes my sister in law months to arrange after hours of standing in the famous Russian queue for documents. But, with your service, all I did was give you my details and 25 days later my invitation arrived. Once again. Thanks very much and my next invitation will certainly be arranged through your company. kind regards, Martin and Elena. PS. Many thanks to Ira who always kept us informed via email of what was happening prior to our arrival in St Petersburg. Martin and Elena Forman, New Zealand Dear All, I am very pleased with your service in Saint Petersburg. The apartment that you rented to me, located at Dumskaya 5, was an excellent place. There were all the necessary things to live with comfort and the whole apartment was new, operative and clean. The apartment is in a building located near the most important places in the city. Visa support is another good service of your company. I could get my visa without any trouble, easily and quickly. Later, your stamp in it was enough to leave Russia. Your staff, in Saint Petersburg, is efficient, kind and affable. I have to write specially about Anna. She was always ready to help us in everything, from the beginning to the end of our stay in Saint Petersburg. She solves everything and she never loses her smile. She is an authentic professional. In her, you have an excellent collaborator. Congratulations! I am sending now a photo of Anna, as we promised to her. If I’ll come back to Saint Petersburg (or Kiev), you can be sure that I’ll contact your company again. Thanks for your offer; I’ll take it in account. My best wishes for the New Year 2005 to: Paul, Anna, Ira, Katya, Elya, Maya and Igor Sincerely yours, Humberto Humberto Glaser, Chile

Besides taking a cruise to Moscow or a St. Petersburg cruise you will experience the fascinating cities in between as you travel down the Russian rivers