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Review 1/19/2011
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I booked a trip through Travel All Russia and they fell short on several matters during this trip. I have detailed all of it over and over again with them, but they are dragging their feet, arguing about what are facts, not opinion and generally being horrible to deal with.
1. Overall communication about this trip from the agency was terrible and it turned out that my time in Moscow was limited to only 4 hours – this was a change from the original itinerary that was not communicated to me. Had I known of the change, I would have booked a night in Moscow. I paid for a full day tour and was rushed by the tour guide - 4 hours is NOT enough for Moscow.
2. I paid for first class tickets for every leg of the train journey, but did not get it on legs 2 and 3. The 4 day trip to Irkutsk was second class, but with 4 tickets so I had the compartment to myself. That was acceptable, but I want to know the price difference between that and first class because even though I was alone, second class service is not the same as first class. From Irkutsk to Ulan Bator I was forced into 2nd class even though I had a 1st class ticket. This means sharing a compartment with 3 other people. I purposefully paid extra to avoid this situation and I did not receive what I paid for. They charged me for 1st class tickets, but did not communicate any change. They took the money, but did not provide the service.
3. Irkutsk – I was supposed to stay 2 nights, this was changed to 1 and not communicated. This change should have been communicated to me and I would have searched out alternatives. Another option for the off season would have been much better, such as staying in Irkutsk and making Lake Baikal a day trip. Even the changes that the agency knew about were not followed through on. There were several activities listed on the itinerary for this day and I did not get to do them; they were never even mentioned by the driver. The whole point of using a travel agency is to get assistance with exactly this type of situation. Travel All Russia failed miserably.
4. The guide provided to me in Listvyanka (Andrei) spoke very little English and the tour of the Wooden Architecture village was a complete waste of time since I could not ask him any questions. I paid for English speaking guides and did not get them for this day.
The service before the trip took place was equally bad. I had to call and email multiple times to get any communication. What little I did get had to be extracted like teeth. They are operating in this country, but the language barrier is HUGE and have taken no steps to understand what the Amercian traveler is expecting in terms of service. The public needs to be warned about the immature and incompetent manner in which this company operates.
I have been getting some arrogant and rude emails from the marketing person (Slava) who is implying that he needs to investigate what he is calling my "story". It is not a story, it is a factual series of events and I am extremely offended by this accusation. It is a matter of hotel records, partner travel agency records and this company's own trip package. I believe this is another way this company is trying to stall and deny their responsibility.
I have traveled all over the world and the whole reason for using a travel agency is to make situations easier and have a more enjoyable trip; I usually book trips on my own. All but one of the guides/drivers provided were great, but this agency failed to communicate the changes and provide the services I paid for. I am requesting a reimbursement of $1200 back to my credit card as well as make public how reprehensible they are behaving.
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