Amakatarina Now

[shoshona2]

To Fonthill,

 

Thanks for posting the map for the Moscow dock and the metro station.

 

Sheila

[rogerdawhip]

I agree that this thread has gotten quite nasty. People have different opinions but facts are facts. Unless someone know absolutely for sure what they are saying is true, they should disclose their comments as hearsay and not get upset if some ponts out their error. The balcony comments are a good example. My last Russian River cruise from Moscow to St Petersburg was aboard MS Peter the Great which had cabins with balconies on the top deck.

[shoshona2]

Hi rogerdawhip,

 

Thank you for your observations and advice. I will certainly preface my next thousand comments on this board to read, "I hearby disclose that the statement I am making is hearsay and I will not get upset if someone points out my error."

 

Happy sailing.

 

Sheila

[Ozjohnno]

A computer glitch I had recently meant I no longer have your email address so I'll use this forum to wish you "Bon Voyage" on your trip to Paris with your Grand-daughter. All the best and leave a bit of Paris for us in the first week of September.

 

Rod

[shoshona2]

Hi Rod,

 

Thank you so much for your good wishes. Paris is such a wonderful place to visit and we will now see it through our granddaughter's eyes. I will be on our AMA Russia river boat when you are on the Danube. Please post after your cruise and let me know how you liked it.

 

Sheila (Shoshona2)

[seabee22]

Boat is great. Don't believe the Canadian guy. Food is pedestrian, but not the fault of AMA, the fault of Russian government regulations. Will give you more details later. WiFi isn't great and we are all full of vodka from a vodka and blini tasting.

 

Scenery is great. AMA has done a spectacular job of seminars and informational talks. We learned to cook blinis today.

 

Crew and personnel are wonderful. Soups are really special. Salads are great. Cabin has more than ample storage space. We can brush our teeth with the water but not drink it. The water is not yellow. Canadian guy is wrong.

 

I will post more when we get home as WiFi is spotty and we have just come from vodka tasting and I'm not concentrating all that well ;)

Kelli ;

Hope you are and / or had a wonderful trip to Russia.... Seabee / Ron /Plano:)

[shoshona2]

Hi Ron,

 

Hopefully, Kellie will report again on this thread, but I'm not sure she wants to open herself to those people who seem to come out of the woodwork to attack. She is home now and had a great time. Those of us going in September are happy that she really enjoyed it and look forward to our cruise being even better as AMA is now aware of the unhappiness of the first posters. They apparently were compensated for the ship not being ready. Similar to what happened on your cruise. Hopefully, AMA will read the first review of the Katarina on the member's review page. It was bad!!!!

 

Hope your wife is doing well.

 

Sheila

 

 

 

Sheila

[Kellie Poodle]

I think Katarina IS the old Tolstoy, re-born.

 

KelliePoodle...glad it was wonderful for you.....look forward to everyone's

postings so keep 'em coming.

 

Dee

 

The Tolstoy is still running. We walked through her in St. Petersburg. Compared to the Amakatarina, just about all of them were old and ugly. I did not get to see Uniworld's new re-make. There are basically two or three companies running river boats in Russia. If I had to define what I learned about how it operates, I'd say its closest to a charter system.

 

The boats are owned and operated by Russian companies. The cruise lines book the passengers. On the AMA boat there were two employees of AMA: the chef consultant, Anthony and the cruise director, Marina.

 

I have been encouraged via so many really nice people via personal email to post again so I am.

 

I am still pretty jet lagged but I'm working on a review for the review board.

 

The cruise was wonderful. The staff was delightful and bent over backwards to make the voyage comfortable. The cabin was really lovely for a river ship. The scenery was awesome. The art was mind-blowing. The excursions were handled well and may even be better by the time some of y'all go as we all commented about more use of the hydrofoils in St. Petersburg.

 

More later.

[4774Papa]

Janet, Glad you had a great time. Looking forward to your review.

[Kellie Poodle]

Sine my sleep patterns are all messed up, I wrote the review and submitted it to CC. It will take a few days for them to edit it and post it. I think it will have answered many questions and concerns. I tried to include everything.

[shoshona2]

Hi Kellie,

 

So glad to see you back on CC especially after just returning from Russia and the jet lag!!

 

Sheila

[msfancy]

GOOD MORNING "AMA WATERWAYS KATARINA SHIPMATES"!!!

 

Glad to see Janet (kelliepoodle) "posting" here again & WELCOME Back!!! I just send you a personal email & I look forward to your reply!!! :);)

 

WE are off to see our Travel Agent tonight with all our filled-in "Russian Visa" documents... they have to be sent away... & this whole process is costly!?... but we need to have one for this journey!?... & we have already spent a fortune on this upcoming Adventure.... we really hope it's going to be that "Trip of a Lifetime"!?

 

Hope everyone is having a great day!!! Please keep "posting"... the information is so valueable... especially when one is not certain; having not travelled to Russia before... let alone on a "Russian River Boat Cruise"!? ;)

 

Take Care Y'All... til later... Gladys Marie (msfancy) & Gail

[seabee22]

Hi Kellie,

 

So glad to see you back on CC especially after just returning from Russia and the jet lag!!

 

Sheila

 

Kellie / Shelia ;

Hope all is well .... and all the bad karma that was on this board has died down. I have been lurking on this thread to see how Kellie's trip was ......

 

Just checking back with you two about any possibility of either of you getting me the Russian Red Military Style Hat from Russia ??

 

Seabee / Ron / Plano, Texas ......seabeepope@yahoo.com:)

[id4elizabeth]

Kellie Poodle - where does your review get posted? I'm sort of new to these boards and am not too familiar with which tabs to go to in order to find things. I don't see AMA listed in any of the dropdown lists for cruise lines or the specific boats for river cruising, except the Viking boats. Can you point me where to look? Although I'm booked for the Uniworld version of this trip, it does seem like many of the stops and sights are the same and am looking forward to reading your review. Thanks for all the info you've posted!

[shoshona2]

Dear Seabee,

 

If Kellie didn't get it, just email me at scorpiosheila at yahoo dot com with a photo and I'll try to find it in September.

 

Sheila

[NANACruiser123]

hello and thanks for the information about the amakatarina. look forward to reading more.

[Kellie Poodle]

I did not get the hat. So sorry. I could not find a red one and when I did, I didn't have the time to buy it. Sheila, the ball is in your court.

 

BTW, the hat is truly ugly!

 

The best place to find one is at the hydrofoil landing across the street fro the Hermitage. That's the only place I saw a red one.

 

It comes in several colors including Pepto Bismol pink. The red is very hard to find.

[shoshona2]

To Kellie,

 

That's okay. We will alert everyone to look for the red hat. Ron, send me a photo of the hat. I listed my email address above.

 

Sheila

[shoshona2]

Hi everyone,

 

Kellie's review is now on the Member Cruise Review's section.

 

Sheila

[sdianem]

Thanks for putting the time in to write this detailed review. Have been reading the boards on AMA's Russian trip with interest. We went in May 2006 with Viking (only them and Uniworld were the options) and enjoyed it but so much of Russia has not changed - like the traffic. Although we did not have gourmet food on board, it was acceptable. At that time almost all of the cabins were 90 square feet with an RV type shower. We were fortunate to obtain a 235 square foot cabin as someone cancelled their cruise - booking long in advance was necessary then. And Viking advertised the boat as the newest refurbished boat sailing in Russia. This has brought back lots of memories. Thanks again.

[Kellie Poodle]

Just in case, here's the link Cruise Critic sent me.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=85407.

 

 

Aside: To the jerk who continues to harass me via email. I delete them and will not respond, so please stop wasting your time and my bandwidth.

[4774Papa]

Just in case, here's the link Cruise Critic sent me.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=85407.

 

 

Aside: To the jerk who continues to harass me via email. I delete them and will not respond, so please stop wasting your time and my bandwidth.

Janet, great review, thanks.

You indicated that the weather was hotter than normal. Were you able to wear shorts? I am wondering if I should take any.

[Kellie Poodle]

Janet, great review, thanks.

You indicated that the weather was hotter than normal. Were you able to wear shorts? I am wondering if I should take any.

 

I never wear shorts. I have ugly thighs. I would have brought capris. DH wore shorts. I am glad that I threw a couple of tee shirts in the baggage at the last minute. They came in handy.

 

The Russians admit that the weather is unpredictable so my best advice is to plan for anything and everything. If I had it to do over again, I'd forgo having several fashionable jackets, take one jacket and more flexible tops.

[Rxgrad98]

Hi Janet, glad to hear that you had a great trip and that things have improved on the Katarina. Quick question: I've read that some of the cathedrals & palaces require you to pay a "fee" to take pictures inside the buildings. Did you encounter this? Thanks!!!

 

Tim

[4774Papa]

Janet, did you use the laundry service? Was it expensive?