Amakatarina Now

[Kellie Poodle]

Janet and Sheila,

If the food on board is unseasoned, is that because Russian food is generally not seasoned?

 

that's what chef Anthony says. He said he had a hard time getting them to use black pepper.

 

The weather haw been perfect. The crew wonderful. I am not starving.

 

Having a wonderful time.

[shoshona2]

Hi Janet,

 

I really appreciate all your comments and posts from the ship. Keep them coming.

 

I'll be interested in your thoughts about St. Petersburg! It is beautiful -- I even felt that way in the 80's when the streets were full of potholes and the buildings needed fresh paint. I was so fortunate to go back after their big anniversary celebration to a "new" St. Petersburg!!

 

Best regards,

Sheila

[Coral]

Hi 4774Papa,

 

The last time I was in St. Petersburg was 2003 and the food was seasoned. We even ate at a very nice family's apartment for lunch one day. My DH couldn't eat the borst because they put red peppers in it and he's allergic to all peppers. When I told him about the borst on the ship, he was most happy. He'll ask them not to add peppers. His grandmother and mother never used them in borst. Our meals in restaurants were fine. Don't know what this ship's problem is. Kellie will let us know when she returns.

 

Sheila

 

When I was in Russia in 1988 - I had no problems with the food and it was seasoned fine. We ate every meal at a different place for an entire week (in both Moscow and Leningrad/St. Petersburg). When I ate the food OFF of the ship (AMA Tolstoy) a few years ago the food was fine. It was on the ship that I thought was of poor quality. It was more than seasoning. For example - we had a hamburger which I thought would be safe and it tasted like meatloaf (like it had filler in it). Ham tasted like spam with the same glaze around it. I think the ship gets poor quality food. I was glad I brought packaged snacks with me from the states. The food we ate at the host family house was also very good. Russian food is not bad. Most people on our ship just thought food was bad in Russia when it really is not.

 

It is weird - a friend and I both work at the same place and both eat their cafeteria food which neither of us are fond of. I thought AMA Tolstoy's food was far below what we eat at work. My friend thought that her food on Viking was several steps above the food we eat at work. Of course both are subjective as neither of us had the same river boat cruise but she travels in much higher circles than I do and she thought Vikings food was fine.

 

I am not a picky eater. My expectations were not of Nobu on Crystal (which I have experienced).

[nordski]

It's my understanding also that if it's not suitable for drinking - you don't put it in your mouth. AMA's brochure says the water is potable: that means safe to drink. When we got there they said don't drink it, but it's OK to brush your teeth! The original post on this thread mentioned that I said the water is yellow. I didn't and it isn't. If you fill a basin with it for shaving, you'll notice a distinct rust colour. This does not necessarily mean a health hazard, but I don't know what kind of filtration plant they have on board, so we stuck to bottled water for drinking and teeth brushing.

Thanks for the reply. Like you, I would use bottled water at all times unless convinced that behaviour was excessive.

[Kellie Poodle]

I don't think the food would be any different on any other ship doing the same itinerary in Russia as they are all owned by Vodahod and I would hardly think Vodahod would order differently for each ship.

 

I truly believe it is a matter of personal taste. I also believe that those who complain most about the food on board the Vodahod boats are probably making their first river cruise and are comparing the food to ocean liners or land tours with restaurants.

 

Restaurant food would be better as there is more room to cook, a larger menu and in the cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, there is much more available to the restaurants than to the ships.

 

The ships probably purchase their food stuffs from the Russian version of Sysco Foods.

 

A little common sense about the food would make everyone's expectations more realistic.

 

Stop comparing apples and oranges and enjoy the beautiful scenery, the spectacular churches and museums and the gorgeous handicrafts.

 

AMA's cruise director's staff is first rate. If I had a choice between mediocre tours and great food, I'd forgo the food and take the line with the great tours. I can eat at home. Unlike Ms. Palin, I can't see Russia from my back porch in way-the-heck-south Texas.

[4774Papa]

I agree. Between good tours and food, I'll take the tours.

From cc posts it appears that the salads are good. I eat a lot of salads.

[Coral]

I don't think the food would be any different on any other ship doing the same itinerary in Russia as they are all owned by Vodahod and I would hardly think Vodahod would order differently for each ship.

 

If I had a choice between mediocre tours and great food, I'd forgo the food and take the line with the great tours. I can eat at home.

 

The ships probably purchase their food stuffs from the Russian version of Sysco Foods.

 

 

.

 

I don't think they are all owned by Vodohod. I could be wrong but several ships have the Vodohod symbol and other ships do not. The Viking Ships did not have the Voodhod symbol when I was there. Nor did the Uniworld boat or the Vantage boat that I saw.

 

What I am trying to inform people is that having done a land trip in Russia and a River boat ship in Russia - the land trip in Russia was far better! Even those who stayed in hotels (in Moscow and St. Petersburg) on their river boat trip much preferred that part as opposed to the long commutes back and fourth on the River boat which could waste as much as 5 hours a day in cities where time is very limited..

 

On my trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg on land with the same amount of time in St. Petersburg - we saw twice as much as it was better organized. We didn't have the same amount of time in Moscow (I thought we would but we only had 1.5 days in Moscow which was incredibly misleading and I would not have booked AMA if I had know that as other companies spend more time there on the St. Petersburg to Moscow direction). Believe me I had called before I booked and was told we would have 3 days. That is very misleading!

 

I have had the experience (that you have not) of having toured Russia before and seeing how well it can be done which I did not think AMA did. We went to places with AMA that barely saw the site which previously, we saw so much more of it. You will probably never know how much you missed.

 

While this was my first river boat - I did not complain about the accomodations or the boat, except how cramped the dining room was and the dining room food. We had several on our boat who were very experienced river boat cruisers and they were also very disappointed. Not by the size or luxuries of the boat. I did say the employees worked hard, were kind and the ship was very clean.

 

Even Sysco has several grades/levels of qualities of food. Those returning from Viking have not complained about the food as they have from AMA. Those on Uniworld and Vantage have not complained about the food. My friend on Viking indicated her food was fine, another friend on Viking didn't see any difference between her Viking trip in Russia compared to her Viking trip in Europe which surprised the heck out of me.

 

I am glad you are enjoying your trip but I can tell you the tours we had were not as good as the tours we had previously (even to the same places). We saw far more on my previous trip - you just don't know what part you are missing as you have not been there previously.

 

Just because you are liking your experience, doesn't mean the rest of us thought our experience for the money was worth it. The previous people who sailed this year had similar comments that I had. I am glad you are liking it. That doesn't mean our experiences are wrong.

[187harland]

Great to be reading your running commentary Kellie, thanks for that, as well as the comments of all us lucky future cruisers. If anyone is travelling on the July 14/15 AmaKatarina with us, and if you would like to make contact, email us at oneputt at sympatico dot ca to say hello!

RiSSa and AlFie

[Coral]

I just did a quick search of Vodohod and they do not run all the ships in Russia:

 

http://www.vodohod.spb.ru/en/company/company.html

 

In 2006 they ran 31 ships in Russia. I was there in 2007 and in Moscow I probably saw 100 ships there. While some were Vodohod, most did not have their symbol. While the website is not up to date - I don't believe all the ships are run by Vodohod - especially after speaking with people on Vantage and Viking who had never heard the word Vodhod. It was difficult to escape the Tolstoy with out knowing that word.

 

I don't think Viking uses Vodohod, nor am I aware of other major Russian river boat companies targeted towards Americans use (such as Uniworld, Vantage, Grand Circle, etc..).

[Island Cruiser]

Kellie & Coral: I am learning a lot from both of you. Thanks for all you have posted and keep the commentary going. I am curious, Kellie, why you would guess that the food on all the ships is about the same? You don't think different ships might sail with different food budgets? I can assure you the food expenditures per person differ dramatically between, say, Carnival ships and Seabourn ships even though both lines are owned by the same company.

[laverendrye]

It is not correct to say that Vodohod owns and operates all the river cruise ships in Russia--they do own many of them, some of which they operate and others which they lease to foreign companies such as Uniworld and AMA. Uniworld`s new River Victoria is on a five-year lease from Vodohod.

 

The AMA Katarina is an interesting case. It is certainly owned by Vodohod and leased to AMA for five years. However Vodohod also appears to have a strong hand in operating the Katarina which it calls the Mtsislav Rostropovich. Vodohod`s parent company, Volga Shipping, announced the first cruise this year with no mention at all of AMA. Here is the press release:

 

http://www.volgaflot.com/index.phtml?s=3&l=eng&id=552

 

 

Volga Shipping apparently did not accept the renaming of this ship to Katarina (it had previously been the Mikhail Kalinin before the extensive renovations this past year). So is AMA simply the marketing company for a ship owned and operated by Vodohod? Apparently AMA was so embarrassed by the maiden cruise that passengers were offered considerable compensation as a result. I'm sure that things can only improve.

 

Viking`s five Russian river cruise boats are not owned by Vodohod as Kellie Poodle avers. Four of them were bought by Viking from Volga Shipping in 1997 and the fifth a couple of years later. Four have been extensively renovated, and having travelled on the Kirov last year, I can attest to their high quality.

 

I suspect that Viking was able to buy their ships as it was a time when the Russian economy was in desperate shape and Russian companies were selling off assets for hard currency. This is no longer the case, which is why foreign cruise companies now coming to Russia enter into lease arrangements with Volga Shipping rather than buying the ships outright.

[Casey12]

I have traveled to Russia several times through out the years. River boat is not my preferred way of traveling to Russia but have done it twice. Once on MS Tolstoy with AMA and once on GCT MS Rossia. I wasn't planning on going back to Russia via river boat but a friend wanted to so I agreed. GCT did a much better job compared to Amadeus or as they are now known AMA. GCT also used hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg which allowed us more time to see the sites and less wasted time commuting. There were still long bus rides to Catherine's Palace but otherwise, we gained what felt like 50% more time by staying in hotels. Of the sites we saw, we spent more time at them with GCT compared with AMA in the larger cities. I also thought GCT had better tours. We paid for more tours with GCT but we also had more time and saw more.

 

The food with GCT was pretty good on the ship. We did have to buy more meals on GCT when staying in the hotels but that was not an inconvenience but more of an opportunity to experience Russian Restaurant food. We were also disappointed with food on MS Tolstoy with AMA. I just did a quick search on Vantage for next year and they are using MS Tolstoy next year along with hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg. I couldn't figure out what ship they used previous years. I am more curious but not enough to spend $3,000 pp to see if the food next year on MS Tolstoy is better with Vantage then it was with AMA.

 

I agree with the comments that there are several levels/grades/amount of money companies can spend on food through various companies if that be Sysco, Vodohod or Carnival Corporation.

 

The important part about going to Russia is to see the sites. I agree 100% with that. Having been to Russia several times, we did see less with AMA for several reasons that could take awhile to explain which I am willing to do if people want. For those who are looking at booking a river cruise in Russia be very careful and question the company a lot about what you will see. For example several of the questions we asked AMA's corporate office including the itinerary were inaccurate and were also misleading. This is a bad sign when the Corporate office is not familiar at all with what they are selling. I have not read this complaint from other companies and GCT tour information that we received from them was very accurate and very detailed. Get the tour and itinerary information ahead of time. AMA's southbound itinerary spends less time in Moscow compared to the northbound itinerary. Something they don't post on their website and did not provide when calling. AMA posted several tours on their website but only a fraction were available for us to book. Take charge of the trip before you book and ask questions from those who have gone with the company beforehand in the area that you are going. For example the only complaint I have read about Viking River Cruises in Russia was one person who had food poisoning. Others have raved about their service, food and tours. And if you can, book a land trip there instead of river cruising. I have done 2 river cruises and 2 land trips to Russia. While I am a cruiser at heart, I can honestly say that the land trips I have been on in Europe including Russia have provided far more culture, food and site seeing experiences compared to the river boat trips I have done in Europe, not just Russia. Yes it is a tad more inconvenient to pack and unpack but looking back in my memories, I honestly can not remember that part so it must not have been that inconvenient.

 

It is also important to read several peoples reviews. For example 2 people this year reported less then positive experiences and 1 person reported a positive experience with AMA in Russia. All 3 points are valid but all 3 people don't have the same past experiences to compare the trip to. This does not mean 1 person is right and the others are wrong or vice versa. It is important to read all of them. There are also those who will defend the ship they choose regardless of how good or bad the trip is. They may do this as they have nothing else to compare the trip to or to justify a decision that they made months ago was good.

 

Research, research, research. If I was to offer any advice it would be to investigate land trips in Russia in addition to river boat trips. The small ports in-between Moscow and St. Petersburg are OK but if you are cutting your time spent in Moscow and St. Petersburg to see these places or more likely to save money as the river boat cruises often do, it is not worth it. There is more then enough sites to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg for a week each and that would be my preferred trip to Russia to a river boat. For example, can you really see the Hermitage in 3 hours? How many of people on river boats see Lenin's Tomb (inside, not just the building outside). How many people on river boats go into St. Basil's Cathedral or Church on Spilled Blood? How many times did you do a 5 minute photo stop and wondered what was inside the building you just took a picture of? How many churches in the Kremlin did you see? Most see 1 church and not a church of their choice. Who on a river boat can say they saw much of Victory Park. We spent an entire day there on a land trip and still didn't see that much of it. On the Tolstoy with AMA, we saw just the fountains and missed the major historical sites and meaning of Victory Park in Moscow. Victory Park has a ton of historical references to WWII and Russia's involvement and loss in it. If you really want to see Russia, by river boat is not the best way in my opinion having done 2 land trips and 2 river boat trips there.

[rogerdawhip]

GCT also owns the two ships on their Russia river cruises. From everything I have read all the crew are also employed by GCT. The PD's are independent contractors similar to Europe.

 

I have been on 2 Russia river cruises (1999 and 2006) with the now defunct GT Cruises. They used to operate the MS Russ and the MS Peter the Great. One each cruise the food was the low light but not bad enough to stop me from traveling on either ship again. (If GT Cruise were still in business.)

[shoshona2]

To Coral, Laverendrye and Casey 12,

 

Thank you for all the info you have posted on this thread. Those of us who are booked and have paid our money to AMA are very interested in what Kellie has to say since we cannot cancel our trip to do another one which you believe would be better. I will probably never travel with AMA again since I now don't trust them, but I paid my money and am committed to do this trip. Sure, we won't see as much on the river boat trip as on land tour, but we are aware of this. We really are on this thread to find out her experiences and if you want to warn other people about AMA or that they shouldn't do a river boat trip, why don't you start another thread.

 

Thank you.

 

Sheila

[CaribbeanIsland]

To Coral, Laverendrye and Casey 12,

 

Thank you for all the info you have posted on this thread. Those of us who are booked and have paid our money to AMA are very interested in what Kellie has to say since we cannot cancel our trip to do another one which you believe would be better. I will probably never travel with AMA again since I now don't trust them, but I paid my money and am committed to do this trip. Sure, we won't see as much on the river boat trip as on land tour, but we are aware of this. We really are on this thread to find out her experiences and if you want to warn other people about AMA or that they shouldn't do a river boat trip, why don't you start another thread.

 

Thank you.

 

Sheila

 

It may not be important to you but it is important to a lot of us. For example a lot of information Kellie has posted has been inaccurate and I find her information hard to trust. I am not sure if she making the information up or repeating lies she has been told. She has stated all the ships are run by Vodohod which is not accurate. She indicated that other ships do not own their ships which has also been proven wrong. She indicated that all the ships in Russia have the same food which is also not accurate. She mis-quoted another board person who had been on the ship that he said the water was yellow when he never said that. Some of the posts have raised some valid questions on why you are told not to drink the water but it is ok to brush your teeth makes absolutely no sense. Her opinions and her wrong information is being posted on this thread. Her opinions are hers but a lot of her opinions are based on inaccurate facts that she is using to bash other posters on this board. That is important to many.

[Island Cruiser]

This thread is getting more and more helpful. Thank you all and particularly Casey 12. We're booked on riverboats this year and next but plan to do this trip in the future.

[msfancy]

GOOD MORNING "AMA WATERWAYS - KATARINA SHIPMATES"!!!

 

Want to wish everyone a "HAPPY CANADA DAY" (144th Birthday Canada on July 1st, 2011) and "HAPPY 4TH OF JULY" to our USA Neighbours!!! :)

 

Safe Travels and enjoy the Celebrations!!! ;):)

 

til later... Gladys Marie (msfancy) & Gail

[nordski]

I have traveled to Russia several times through out the years. River boat is not my preferred way of traveling to Russia but have done it twice. Once on MS Tolstoy with AMA and once on GCT MS Rossia. I wasn't planning on going back to Russia via river boat but a friend wanted to so I agreed. GCT did a much better job compared to Amadeus or as they are now known AMA. GCT also used hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg which allowed us more time to see the sites and less wasted time commuting. There were still long bus rides to Catherine's Palace but otherwise, we gained what felt like 50% more time by staying in hotels. Of the sites we saw, we spent more time at them with GCT compared with AMA in the larger cities. I also thought GCT had better tours. We paid for more tours with GCT but we also had more time and saw more.

 

The food with GCT was pretty good on the ship. We did have to buy more meals on GCT when staying in the hotels but that was not an inconvenience but more of an opportunity to experience Russian Restaurant food. We were also disappointed with food on MS Tolstoy with AMA. I just did a quick search on Vantage for next year and they are using MS Tolstoy next year along with hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg. I couldn't figure out what ship they used previous years. I am more curious but not enough to spend $3,000 pp to see if the food next year on MS Tolstoy is better with Vantage then it was with AMA.

 

I agree with the comments that there are several levels/grades/amount of money companies can spend on food through various companies if that be Sysco, Vodohod or Carnival Corporation.

 

The important part about going to Russia is to see the sites. I agree 100% with that. Having been to Russia several times, we did see less with AMA for several reasons that could take awhile to explain which I am willing to do if people want. For those who are looking at booking a river cruise in Russia be very careful and question the company a lot about what you will see. For example several of the questions we asked AMA's corporate office including the itinerary were inaccurate and were also misleading. This is a bad sign when the Corporate office is not familiar at all with what they are selling. I have not read this complaint from other companies and GCT tour information that we received from them was very accurate and very detailed. Get the tour and itinerary information ahead of time. AMA's southbound itinerary spends less time in Moscow compared to the northbound itinerary. Something they don't post on their website and did not provide when calling. AMA posted several tours on their website but only a fraction were available for us to book. Take charge of the trip before you book and ask questions from those who have gone with the company beforehand in the area that you are going. For example the only complaint I have read about Viking River Cruises in Russia was one person who had food poisoning. Others have raved about their service, food and tours. And if you can, book a land trip there instead of river cruising. I have done 2 river cruises and 2 land trips to Russia. While I am a cruiser at heart, I can honestly say that the land trips I have been on in Europe including Russia have provided far more culture, food and site seeing experiences compared to the river boat trips I have done in Europe, not just Russia. Yes it is a tad more inconvenient to pack and unpack but looking back in my memories, I honestly can not remember that part so it must not have been that inconvenient.

 

It is also important to read several peoples reviews. For example 2 people this year reported less then positive experiences and 1 person reported a positive experience with AMA in Russia. All 3 points are valid but all 3 people don't have the same past experiences to compare the trip to. This does not mean 1 person is right and the others are wrong or vice versa. It is important to read all of them. There are also those who will defend the ship they choose regardless of how good or bad the trip is. They may do this as they have nothing else to compare the trip to or to justify a decision that they made months ago was good.

 

Research, research, research. If I was to offer any advice it would be to investigate land trips in Russia in addition to river boat trips. The small ports in-between Moscow and St. Petersburg are OK but if you are cutting your time spent in Moscow and St. Petersburg to see these places or more likely to save money as the river boat cruises often do, it is not worth it. There is more then enough sites to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg for a week each and that would be my preferred trip to Russia to a river boat. For example, can you really see the Hermitage in 3 hours? How many of people on river boats see Lenin's Tomb (inside, not just the building outside). How many people on river boats go into St. Basil's Cathedral or Church on Spilled Blood? How many times did you do a 5 minute photo stop and wondered what was inside the building you just took a picture of? How many churches in the Kremlin did you see? Most see 1 church and not a church of their choice. Who on a river boat can say they saw much of Victory Park. We spent an entire day there on a land trip and still didn't see that much of it. On the Tolstoy with AMA, we saw just the fountains and missed the major historical sites and meaning of Victory Park in Moscow. Victory Park has a ton of historical references to WWII and Russia's involvement and loss in it. If you really want to see Russia, by river boat is not the best way in my opinion having done 2 land trips and 2 river boat trips there.

Thanks very much for your comments/comparisons. They are really helpful.

 

Unfortunately some of the posts on this board have become rather personal. For example, I think that referring to another poster as "that Canadian guy" was rather dismissive since I always thought we Canadians were fair, judicious and appreciated by all :). Other comments questioning people's preparation and lack of "common sense" probably don't help.

 

I understand also, that those who have committed to this cruise, such as shoshona2, don't really want to read any more negatives about it. Perhaps it's best now to a/focus on the good and respectfully agree to disagree about other issues and b/follow the suggestion that a separate thread be created for the education of those, like us, who are assessing the nature of river cruising in Russia.

 

I particularly value the expertise and knowledge brought to bear by Coral and Casey12. I would love to hear more from both of you and others who have travelled both by land and river

[franski]

Nordski - Well said.

 

There are a number of us who have already booked a river cruise in Russia - and while I am more than willing to read the good and the "not-so-good" about this type of travel, posting that I should have spent my money on a land tour isn't of any help.

 

I do appreciate the comment that the food may not be to the level that we have experienced on previous river cruises. And, information that we may not get into buildings is helpful (ie: drive by, or walk around is included- not admission) - as we may choose to hire a private guide or tour on our own.

 

I also believe that there is value in posting things that the company *can* improve on (ie: if the CD was not helpful, or having bottled water available would be appreciated) as they do read these posts, and I believe they want to have a quality product --> they want to continue to do business. There is competition now in the Russian River Cruise market - and this will push all to a higher level of responsiveness.

 

We discussed big ship vs river boat. Big ship would get us to SP but not to Moscow. I am aware that it is a very different animal - and am prepared for "high end camping" --> but I think it is more than that... I can see some of the country without having to live out of a suitcase, and I will have my own bathroom (or at least, only have to share with DH....:D). Great scenery, good companionship - and the opportunity to see something of a country half-way around the world - is what I am going for. As long as the food is edible, I am sure that I won't starve.

 

Coral and Casey12 do have great information - but it would be (IMHO) of greater use in a separate thread. Let those of us confirmed on a river boat have an opportunity to learn from those who are willing to share what they have learned - be it good or bad.

[Island Cruiser]

You can see more on a land trip? Absolutely. But this board is about what you can see on a riverboat. We will be touring Vietnam/Cambodia for 23 days this November. All but 7 of these days will be on land so we can see many many things we can't see on a riverboat. Our 7 days on the Mekong River will be on AMA. We are looking forward immensely to both land and river. The wonderful thing about riverboat travel, which you can't duplicate on a land trip, is you only have to unpack once. There are always tradeoffs. I think most of us who are interested in this thread understand this.

[shoshona2]

to Island Cruiser,

 

You are absolutely right. There are tradeoffs. We are tired of land tours after forty years of doing them. So we don't get to see everything on a riverboat or cruise, but it sure beats one or two night stands in hotels. We have another river boat trip in mind for next year after we do a land tour to India.

 

Have a great time on your Vietnam/Cambodia tour! We've been to Vietnam three times and Cambodia once. We've been fortunate enough to have seen Saigon when there were hardly any tourists there and then to return again several years ago.

 

Sheila

[4774Papa]

There is a great Luxury Rail trip in India that interests me. The train is like being on a cruise ship. Meals are like on the Orient Express.

[shoshona2]

Hi 4774Papa,

 

I've heard of it, but Tauck does a great job in India. All my friends have gone and I've been fighting it for years. My DH only has the Taj to go to fulfill his "Eight Modern Wonders of the World". Now, if only he can find someone to go with him to Antartica -- then he will have been on all the Continents of the World!!! I've seen enough penquins in S.A. to keep me going until I leave this World!

 

Sheila

[Starfish55]

I am new here. I am hoping to go to Russia next summer.

 

I appreciate everyone's input. Especially since a lot of what KelliePoodle posted doesn't seem to be right. Having others correct her helps us all understand what is right and what is not right.

 

I am now considering a land trip verses a river trip with hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg instead of staying on the ship the entire time. There are some ports that being on a ship doesn't make sense and I am starting to think this trip may be better as a land trip. For those who expressed that information I am grateful before I spent $10,000 on this trip.

 

I have definitely ruled out AMAWaterways as it sounds like they don't have their act together in Russia compared to some other lines. If it wasn't for this thread - I would not have known that.

[Kellie Poodle]

I just did a quick search of Vodohod and they do not run all the ships in Russia:

 

http://www.vodohod.spb.ru/en/company/company.html

 

In 2006 they ran 31 ships in Russia. I was there in 2007 and in Moscow I probably saw 100 ships there. While some were Vodohod, most did not have their symbol. While the website is not up to date - I don't believe all the ships are run by Vodohod - especially after speaking with people on Vantage and Viking who had never heard the word Vodhod. It was difficult to escape the Tolstoy with out knowing that word.

 

I don't think Viking uses Vodohod, nor am I aware of other major Russian river boat companies targeted towards Americans use (such as Uniworld, Vantage, Grand Circle, etc..).

 

There are two companies that run boats in Russia. Vodahod runs the Moscow to St. Petersburg intnerary. Another ines runs ore souther Russia tours.

 

That's it. Non of the companies that own their own boats in Europe, Asia, tetc. Own the boats on the Volga Baltic canal run.