ms russ

[shoshona2]

Hi pixiegirl,

 

Just loved your review of your recent Russian cruise/tour. You really covered the "Russian situation" really well. We loved the talks we had with the young people who worked on the ship. They were just wonderful and wanted to get an education. They told us how difficult it was since it would take years to pay back for that education. Their parents couldn't help at all since they had nothing.

 

So glad that you and your daughter had this wonderful chance to experience Russia and your time together. She will always have great memories of this trip with you.

 

Sheila

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

Sheila, it really was amazing- and on just about every level the trip exceeded our high expectations. Don't regret anything. The only thing I would change would be to wear a better pair of shoes! I spent most of the trip with open blisters on the balls of my feet, the backs of my ankles AND (due to a mishap with a Russian McDonalds employee) a deep gash on the top of my foot. My feet took a beating in Europe and Russia!

[4774Papa]

Pixiee girl,

You said:

 

Several of the staff expressed the desire to go back to communism. This was quite surprising. What I concluded- and it was echoed by some others- is that this young generation is confused. Their parents were raised under communism and then experienced the turbulent times of perestroika. This young generation was raised by parents who wanted them to enjoy all of the freedoms they never had- in some ways might have been spoiled by it. But culturally they don't yet know how to deal. Communism is far enough behind them that it has started to become a bit romanticized. Back then, everybody had jobs, back then, everybody was equal, back then, we didn't have to pay for university. There is a great divide between the rich and the poor, there is a lot of unemployment. People can't afford to go to school. It's the same problems we have in free countries. Back in the communist days, there was also a great divide between rich and poor. The only difference is that back then, the communist "greats" were the wealthy, and the common people were united in their poverty. Now it's the wealthy industrialists. The common people are still poor, they just don't have their unity anymore. They have to pay for school, but now they can choose their careers. Everybody wanted to become rich, so they all chose the same white collar careers. Now there are too many white collared workers and not enough jobs. They are living beyond their means- especially in Moscow. They want to show off their wealth. So they buy expensive cars to drive (even though traffic is appalling and subways are nice) and wear designer clothes and then live in tiny hovels with several others because the rent is so high. Why? It is cool to be able to say you live in Moscow and have the Mercedes and the Jimmy Choos. They've traded one set of problems for another and they don't know how to deal with the new problems- because they've not had to before. So the old ways seem more glamourous. They're familiar.

 

I am a student of Russian history and majored in Political Science in undergrad school. I made a point to get around to discussing how things were under the Communists and tried to probe their true feelings about Communism.

 

Also, we had a lengthy group meeting with four university students on the river cruise. The young people had absolutely no interest in going back to communism. The older the person, the more likely they might show something positive about communism.

 

We had lectures on Russian history from our Program Managers which pointed out what a police state the Soviet Union was and that many people had jobs that were almost jokes. The old saying "They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work" rings true.

 

We had guides that piped up after someone mentioned Stalin, commenting that he was responsible for murdering more people than the 27 million lost in WWII. It was pointed out that Stalin's slave labor that built the very canal that we cruised on cost over one million in human lives.

 

I can remember one guide in St. Pete that had something good to say about the communists, but I had the distinct impression that there is no serious interest in going back to communism in Russia.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

Interesting. I can only go by my own experience, what the kids I spoke to told me. I spoke to about 4 of them on the ship- all in their early twenties. When probed more deeply, they admitted they liked their freedoms, but wished they had the insurance of schooling and job availabilty that their parents did. It was shocking for me to hear that expressed so many times, all in the same way. It shocked a lot of us- which is why we then made points of asking others, to see just how wide-spead that view is. In our experience it was wide enough to be taken seriously. It made me sad because it leaves them vulnerable. What they're experiencing, their current problems are normal- just not to them. It's not part of their cultural experience.

 

When our guide spoke to us during his Q&A and said he wished communism was back, people were very verbally upset with him (the Americans were). Having gotten to know this guide more personally, I had him clarify. I said, sure, in the old ways you had a job, but wasn't your career often chosen for you? Do you embrace all of communism or just the security of a promised job? He admitted he enjoyed the thought of that security. A 30-40ish Ukranian woman on the cruise joined in and said they used to have hope back then.

 

I am not a student of history nor do I possess any special political knowledge. I only know what these kids told me. Years ago I had a pen-pal in Russia who struggled with lots of things during perestroika, and we had many meaningful discussions via letter before our censored mail quit being delivered (we were talking about Christianity). She was very hopeful of the future for her children under the new freedoms. That was my view of Russia going in. So it was a shock to hear these young people - the age my friend;s children would be- express a desire to go back to communism. They don't fully know what it is, only what they've been told by elders and books. It was echoed back by a few of our Russian families travelling as well. They all said the same thing, "back then, we at least had hope that things would get better. Now we have no hope."

 

Then on top of that to have our tour guides in Uglich and Yarolslavl speak with pride about their Lenin statues, was icing on the cake, so to speak. The one lady glowed with pride in pointing it out. The other one worded things more carefully. She said, "I know in Moscow they make a big thing of tearing down Lenin's statue. Here, we are not so sure that is right. Today, it is okay to tear it down. But tomorrow? Who knows what it is tomorrow? So we keep our statue. We like our statue."

[4774Papa]

Interesting. I can only go by my own experience, what the kids I spoke to told me. I spoke to about 4 of them on the ship- all in their early twenties. When probed more deeply, they admitted they liked their freedoms, but wished they had the insurance of schooling and job availabilty that their parents did. It was shocking for me to hear that expressed so many times, all in the same way. It shocked a lot of us- which is why we then made points of asking others, to see just how wide-spead that view is. In our experience it was wide enough to be taken seriously. It made me sad because it leaves them vulnerable. What they're experiencing, their current problems are normal- just not to them. It's not part of their cultural experience.

 

When our guide spoke to us during his Q&A and said he wished communism was back, people were very verbally upset with him (the Americans were). Having gotten to know this guide more personally, I had him clarify. I said, sure, in the old ways you had a job, but wasn't your career often chosen for you? Do you embrace all of communism or just the security of a promised job? He admitted he enjoyed the thought of that security. A 30-40ish Ukranian woman on the cruise joined in and said they used to have hope back then.

 

I am not a student of history nor do I possess any special political knowledge. I only know what these kids told me. Years ago I had a pen-pal in Russia who struggled with lots of things during perestroika, and we had many meaningful discussions via letter before our censored mail quit being delivered (we were talking about Christianity). She was very hopeful of the future for her children under the new freedoms. That was my view of Russia going in. So it was a shock to hear these young people - the age my friend;s children would be- express a desire to go back to communism. They don't fully know what it is, only what they've been told by elders and books. It was echoed back by a few of our Russian families travelling as well. They all said the same thing, "back then, we at least had hope that things would get better. Now we have no hope."

 

Then on top of that to have our tour guides in Uglich and Yarolslavl speak with pride about their Lenin statues, was icing on the cake, so to speak. The one lady glowed with pride in pointing it out. The other one worded things more carefully. She said, "I know in Moscow they make a big thing of tearing down Lenin's statue. Here, we are not so sure that is right. Today, it is okay to tear it down. But tomorrow? Who knows what it is tomorrow? So we keep our statue. We like our statue."

One thing that I remember was a general disillusion in Ukraine and Russia of their leaders and politics. People have no confidence in their politicians. We did find some that like Putin, but they didn't liked his as someone that brought strength and order to a certain chaos under Yeltsin's latter years.

 

I think communism is more popular in remoter areas where economic progress has lagged.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

Most of the folks I spoke to were from the smaller villages, so that might very well be true. It was all strange to me. They also talked about a financial incentive being offered to encourage couples to have more babies. What a change from 20 years ago when my Russian friend was ostrasized by family and friends when she became pregnant with her 3rd child. She was heavily pressured into having an abortion and told her children would hate her. We take so much for granted here in the states.

[denny girl]

Hi Pixie'

Can`t believe you`re back already. Bet you can`t either! Was a great little ship and an amazing trip! We didn`t have Russians on our trip so the announcements at the entertainment was only in 3 languages, English, French and Spanish. Sounds like your group was more mixed and younger than ours.

Sorry the French are still the same although we`d never found them like this on their home turf and thought it was just a generic stereotype til the cruise. Figured maybe we`d just got a bad lot. No wonder the staff is fed up after a couple of months of the rude behaviour. Really gets your back up doesn`t it!

You were lucky getting a quad room. Looks a bit larger than the others.Yes the showers are weird but really I`ve had worse and they certainly work great.

As far as the younger Russians finding communism appealing they really have no idea of what it would mean to them. They wouldn`t be earning money from tourists as we wouldn`t be visiting like we can now. I found it hard to picture the repression and fear of those days when people could just disappear and never been seen again. I`m sure they do also. It seems impossible.

They could forget their consumer society as you don`t have that under communism unless you`re up the top of the tree. No western fashions, music and travel although the internet has made the world a much more open place. No choice but bread and potatoes.

On the outskirts of St Petersburg we saw old women selling cabbages and flowers so I`m sure millions are doing it tough.They have the same feelings in East Germany. At least all have opportunities these days.

Denny

[rollingstone]

Hi Pixie girl,

We will be on the Russ in 3 weeks so I have been looking forward to hearing your reviews. How were people dressed? Did any of the men wear sport coats for the "Captain nights"? Did you visit any schools on a tour? Is there anything I should bring as "gifts"? (pencils etc)

Were all of the extra excursions worth doing? Was there a pirate night?

I laughed soooo hard when I read about your experience with the immigration card. Your response about being a visitor not an immigrant was a classic!

Thank you for the wonderful review. I'm glad that you had such a good time. Maybe I should learn a few phrases in French -"back off", "sorry I impaled you with my heel", "oops, that drink just slipped out of my hand"(onto you).

Nancy

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

Hi Denny!

 

That's why I think perhaps the communist ways have become almost romanticised, because when you probe more deeply, they like being able to travel and enjoy their freedoms. They're just frustrated with a new set of problems that the country hasn't had so widely known before. Under the iron curtain, there was truely a curtain of secrecy. There was no www or ways to learn how life was for other people. Knowing too much about your neighbor might be dangerous. All you knew was a common struggle with your friends and family. Now they know what's out there, what's possible. They've seen the steets paved with gold and they've been tempted by them. Now they're frustrated because they can see the streets, but they can't jump the hurdles to get to them. They don't understand that the rest of the free world has that same set of problems. There is no easy road for most people.

 

I can't believe we're back either. But after 4 countries in 3 weeks, it was time. We were tired. Now we can enjoy all of the pictures (I took about 3000) and tell the stories- and use a washing machine!

 

As for the French, it was very strange. It's got to be cultural/mob thing. When K and I went to France, it was the same way. We liked very little there- in Paris. We did, however, meet some nice people. But the subway seemed to bring out the worst in the people. It was filthy, smelled to high heaven, and was difficult to navigate. We also witnessed pickpockers in action- on the couple right ahead of us. They scared me because the two girls blocked the entrance to the car right ahead of my daughter. I was already on. The doors were beeping to close and I could just see stranding my daughter on a Paris subway. I screamed at the girls to let my daughter on, grabbed her and was trying to haul her past them. Then they swore and left. That's when a passenger found the emptied wallet of the couple ahead of us. They were lucky, they only lost a few Euro, but got their ID back. Our one day in Paris was lousy with a side of bad, covered in stink. :eek: That said, we did some a few lovely sites and met a few nice people. They just didn't make up for the all of the bad stuff.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

Nancy, lol, I wish I'd had you- and your lovely phrases- with me, lol!

 

People were dressed in every way imaginable. At the Captains dinners/talent show night, many of the men wore jackets. You also had people in jeans. Most people tried to look a step above the usual dress. Most ladies wore slacks and nice blouses, many wore dreses and skirts. Let me see if I can post some pictures. I tried yesterday, but didn't have any luck.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

It didn't work.

[denny girl]

It`s hard to keep track of stuff that really impacts on your trip as opposed to stuff that`s a bit handy. That`s a terrific report on how the shuttle thing works (or doesn`t work!) in St Petersburg. I`m a good walker but once we got there we could see that crossing the bridge on foot was just impossible.

Apparently there is a shuttle boat up the road from our dock. One of the local guides might have been able to help you with it if you`d known the shuttle wasn`t going to work.

 

Someone on our table bought a huge bottle of gassy water by mistake.

The still starts with HE. If you can`t see a word starting with HE on the label it`s the wrong water.

 

Funny about the Paris metro. Spent a month there looking for pickpockets and saw nothing but a friend got robbed twice!! You did well to drag your daughter on as girls blocking the door is one of the main ploys and you did exactly the right thing yelling at them.The gypsies cause as much trouble to the french as to tourists but we`re often carrying a bit more cash.

Don`t be put off Paris. A bit more time and it would grow on you. It`s a lovely city.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

We did enjoy a few good moments in Paris. The clerk in the gift shop gave me a free t-shirt (We bought a lot there). He was very nice.

 

I loved the park we stopped at. The Eiffel was amazing.

 

I was very glad for my pacsafe backpack. It's the Fort Knox of backpacks and nobody was getting into that thing without tearing it from my body. I'm an easy tourist to spot, but not easy to dupe!

 

And nobody is going to mess with my child while I'm there to defend her.

 

Nancy, do all the optional tours that you can. They were all wonderful. We did nearly all. You can look me up on Facebook if you want to see my pictures (Lisa Bice Rank). I'm in the process of loading them.

 

Someone asked about tipping. VODOHOD recommends around $7 per person per day. Travel All Russia recommended between $5-$10 per person per day depending on how you view the service provided. We gave around $350 for the both of us (ordered rubles ahead of time and put in a sealed envelope). Then we tipped our waiter and guide separately, 500 rubles to the waiter ($17ish) and double that to our guide. Several others were tipping our guide about 1000 rubles. We tipped our city tour guides about 300 rubles (for K and me together) and the driver around 100 rubles. Most were doing similarly, some more, some less. Many forgot to tip the bus drivers. You'll see that they earn it.

 

I had thought about taking little gifts along for special crew members or anybody else. I'd wanted to package some local goodies, such as candies and pencils and even a few Nebraska t-shirts (if you look hard you can find them for about $5. I ran out of both time and luggage space unfortunately. I wish I would have tried harder. We did not visit any schools or homes. Our contact was pretty limited to our shipmates, crew and guides. Almost all of the ships guides are language students at the University. Most of the wait staff have very limited English.

 

There aren't many ATM's between Moscow and St Pete's so I encourage you to take more money out then you plan. Most places take credit cards (Visa and Mastercard), but I was surprised how many places took cash only. I finally took a shipmates offer to lend me 1000 rubles to get me by until St Petes.

 

Someone asked about trip highlights. I really think that's an individual thing. My daughter loved Moscow. I loved the canal cruise we did in St Pete's and the hydrofoil trip to the Gulf of Finland and Peterhof. Watching the fountains turn on there was pretty neat. I took video. The little towns between the cities were nice, but I expected to like them more. Don't get me wrong, they were very enjoyable, but the best part for me was people watching and chatting with the crew. Our travel group was awesome- can't say enough about that- which made the whole trip that much more special.

 

The dressiest night was the night of the talent show. I encourage everybody to mine some kind of talent and let it shine. Or go to the singing classes and sing with your group. I thought about doing something, over and over I thought about it. Then I didn't. I should have. Watching was fun, but participating had to be more fun!

[rollingstone]

Hello again pixie girl,

Did any of the tours take you to the Amber Room?

Nancy

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

Oh yes! There was so much talk about the Amber room that I didn't expect to be impressed, sometimes things get so hyped that you're actually let down. But the Amber room really is amazing. It's too bad the tours are forced to rush you through. They're designed to give you a great overview of the palaces, but little time to dwell and absorb what you're seeing. And of course the picture police are ever vigilant, lol!

[1965]

pixiegirl-Thank you a bunch for all of your post trip reports. They are so helpful. I'm one of those who really likes being prepared. A few surprises are fun, but mostly I like knowing what's in store. Thanks again!:)

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

No problem. I was the same way. I wanted to know EVERYTHING! The more I knew the more prepared I felt. It also helped me to get more excited about things.

 

The best part is that you're going to have a wonderful time.

 

Pack 1/2 as much, take twice as much (money, lol) and have a great pair of broken in walking shoes. Don't forget sunscreen and rain jackets (I never opened my umbrella because I'm too busy with my camera).

 

Bring something piraty (Arrrrgh!) and something talent-ish.

[1965]

Pixie-Didn't I read way back that you got your rubles from your bank? I'd rather do that than depend on an ATM. I know this sounds crazy, but we've never used an ATM. Just never had the need. Our local bank doesn't exchange currency, but they tell me that Wells Fargo does exchange. I'm calling them today. There's one 15-20 mi. from here.

We'll only have as much as we can fit into our carryons. We made it very well our week in Alaska in May. This trip is only 5 days longer, so I feel pretty sure we'll be OK. I HOPE!!

I need to go back and reread your posts. If we want water rather than wine at dinner, it will cost, correct? Neither of us drinks alcohol, so water, iced tea, diet Coke are our usual drinks at dinner. We will break our no alcohol rule if we get an opportunity to sample Russian vodka. :D Thank you for answering so many of our questions.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

Yes, I ordered roubles from our bank. Depending on where you live and the size of your bank, give yourself plenty of time to order. It took our bank just over a week to get in roubles. If you don't want to deal with an ATM, then order plenty. You can always convert them back to USD at the airport or bank when you get home. I basically ordered enough to cover tips with about $200 worth of spending money. Or two other occasions I ended up taking out 3000 roubles ($180ish). The small villages along the river often don't accept credit cards- you'll need the cash.

 

Coffee is really the only free beverage offered at meals other than juices and tea at breakfast. Anything else you must purchase seperately. As I said, pop (for a mini sized bottle) and water (have the size of our typical water bottles) cost around $3 each. You can get them in the dining room (the bartender stops at every table before the meal to take your drink order. This is charged to your ship card- paid at cruise end with credit card). Between meals you can get pop and water in the bars as well. They also have non-alcoholic beverages. A mixed drink will cost you about $8. Depending on your travel agency, you may or may not get two bottles of complimentary water each morning with your room cleaning. Kaylie and I lugged a gallon (ish) jug of water and about 6 liter bottles of Diet Coke and Sprite to the ship. It was a pain in the tuckus, but we don't regret it. We drank them! On several occasions we were given a complimentary glass of Champagne and twice (I think) shots of vodka. We signed up for the vodka tasting. I think it was 600 roubles per person ($20).

 

Lisa

[4774Papa]

Be careful talking RRubles outside of Russia. You may have a problem selling them.

[Coral]

Pixie-Didn't I read way back that you got your rubles from your bank? I'd rather do that than depend on an ATM. I know this sounds crazy, but we've never used an ATM. Just never had the need. Our local bank doesn't exchange currency, but they tell me that Wells Fargo does exchange. I'm calling them today. There's one 15-20 mi. from here.

.

 

Wells Fargo is a great place to do exchange and they were able to get me my Russian currency in 3 days. They were better on the exchange rate then a lot of other places in the US.

[Coral]

The little towns between the cities were nice, but I expected to like them more. Don't get me wrong, they were very enjoyable, but the best part for me was people watching and chatting with the crew.

 

Hi PixieGirl - welcome back!

 

I have to agree with you 100% on this. On my first trip to Russia we went to Moscow and Leningrad (St. Petersburg back then). On the Russian River cruise, I really wanted to return to just these 2 places but did the river cruise as it seemed more affordable. I felt underwhelmed with the cities/towns in-between to the point where I really wished I had spent more time in Moscow and St. Petersburg. There were still a ton of things I wish I would have had more time to do or spent more time in but we had such little time in Moscow and St. Petersburg and then a ton of towns between with stops that were just a few hours sometimes.

 

I really encourage anyone who is looking into river cruises to also look into land trips here also. My time would have been much better spent adding a few more days to Moscow and St. Petersburg then visit the towns along the Volga.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

I don't regret the little towns between, as it was relaxing. We did have a joke that it's time to see a church where blood was spilled. You can take pictures for 50-100 rubles. Then you can look at their Lenin statue, then you can give them your money.

 

Extra days in Moscow and St Pete would be wonderful. It would be nice to see them again post cruise when you understand the cities a bit more and how to get to things- and know what you want to see more of- such as Peterhof and what you want to see less of (churches, lol).

[rollingstone]

Pixiegirl,

Question time! How was the weather? Was the temp comparable to average USA weather for the same time? Were evenings cooler while on the river?

Thanks again

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

We were lucky and the weather was beautiful. It was warm, in the 80's. It is much more humid there than in the mid-west. At nights it was cooler, especially on the water. Very much like home- except while we were gone, the midwest had about three weeks of 100+ degree weather. :eek: We never had problems with mosquitos, but know that they can be problematic at times.

 

We did see a lot of rain, several days worth. It kind of ruined our stop in Mandrogi, as it was raining so hard (and was so cold) that nobody wanted to walk around outdoors. I was very glad for a nice hooded raincoat (I dislike carrying umbrellas) and my duck shoes- as was my daughter. She's more prone to cold and wished she would have brought some warmer items to layer. I am well padded and was comfortable in capri pants and a short sleeved shirt most of the time- though I wore the raincoat when it got chilly and had a couple of zippered hoodies for layering as well.

 

If you're an avid photographer, you'll want some sort of cover for your camera on those rainy days. For my new Nikon I cut a hole in a gallon sized zip lock (for the camera lens) and secured it with a pony tail holder. I just put my hand in the baggie and worked it that way. It worked very well on several occasions.

 

We carried a backpack where ever we went to keep our coats and things in. Many people carried backpacks.

 

Most of the women wore scarves and then just pulled them over their heads when we entered churches and cathedrals. My daughter and I kept ours in our backpacks. Nobody ever said anything about headcover in the churches, most of us just did it automatically out of respect. Most of the locals wore headcover. Some never did cover.