Viking 'Footsteps of the Cossacks' (Ukraine)

[Kohola]

I don't know the company which is operating the ship or when it will actually carry passengers, but at least the girls we know from our cruise have employment.

 

From the FB photo I could glean it was a Viking ship...the Viking website now shows a Black Sea cruise with Sept 2014 sailing dates going from Bucharest, Romania to Odessa, Ukraine then down the coast of Bulgaria to Istanbul. Still not sure while Alyona calls the ship the Parahod, while the Viking website refers to the ship as the Sineus. I couldn't make out the ship's name from the FB photo

[Peregrina651]

Bob, thanks for the update about the crew. Doesn't the owner of the Sineus also own another cruise ship? Could the Parahod be sister ship to the Sineus and therefore the dining rooms look alike?

 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/black-sea/2014-bucharest-istanbul/itinerary.html

 

I wonder if this itinerary, or some variation of it, will come to replace the old Footsteps itinerary (which is no longer even listed on the website, not even for 2015).

 

 

 

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[silkismom]

I think I remember that the Lomonosov was renamed the Sineus after the redo. Don't think I'd want to be in the open water that much, it was rough just going across to Odessa.

[Peregrina651]

I think I remember that the Lomonosov was renamed the Sineus after the redo. Don't think I'd want to be in the open water that much, it was rough just going across to Odessa.

 

I think that was more a question of the weather that day than the normal state of the waters. I don't remember the seas being particularly rough.

[id est]

I think I remember that the Lomonosov was renamed the Sineus after the redo. Don't think I'd want to be in the open water that much, it was rough just going across to Odessa.

I agree. That type of ship (called "river-sea") is suitable for short crossings and only allowed to sail close to the coastline. Black Sea has a maximum depth of 7257 ft and can be very rough.

I'd never sail on that ship from Odessa to Istanbul.

[DorisBetty]

It looks like te longest time on "open" water is Odessa to Constanta and Istanbul is reached from Burgas by motorcoach. i wonder how long that trip is.

Doris betty

[Kohola]

I think I remember that the Lomonosov was renamed the Sineus after the redo. Don't think I'd want to be in the open water that much, it was rough just going across to Odessa.

Yes, the Lomonsov is now the Sineus and it has a sister ship, the Rurik, which is pictured on the VRC website when you select the Sineus. Alyona told me the ship now only has one restaurant which is consistent with the VRC information of the ship.

 

The VRC website and the brochure I received yesterday disagree on what the itinerary actually is...website itinerary is Bucharest to Istanbul with a stop in Odessa, while the brochure itinerary is Belgrade, Serbia to Istanbul w/o ever stopping in Odessa.

[robert32asp]

Yes, I got an email from Viking today with the following information.

 

Explore the beautifully preserved architectural treasures of Bucharest and then take the mighty Danube River to the Black Sea. Sail through the Danube Delta, a nature lover's paradise and home to more than 300 bird species. Tour Odessa, built on the site of the ancient Greek colony Odessos, and Nessebar, featuring relics like the Greek acropolis and quaint 19th-century wooden houses. What's more, you'll frame your magnificent cruise with overnight stays in Bucharest, Romania's cosmopolitan capital, and Istanbul, where East meets West on the glorious shores of the Bosphorus Strait.

On the same email it has a tab "Aboard the Viking Sineus."

 

This is available for 2014 bookings. Hopefully, some of the employees and Odessa merchants will be able to salvage the summer tourist season.

[TravelerThom]

...The VRC website and the brochure I received yesterday disagree on what the itinerary actually is...website itinerary is Bucharest to Istanbul with a stop in Odessa, while the brochure itinerary is Belgrade, Serbia to Istanbul w/o ever stopping in Odessa.

Hi Bob

 

Nice to see "the girls" from our 2011 cruise; I'm sure employment issues are quite bad at the moment. We were out of town for a few days, and just got the Belgrade, Blue Danube & Istanbul brochure (printed 28 May) today, and were actually interested in that itinerary. Then went on line to find the Odessa cruise now listed at the identical period. We just got off the phone with Viking, and I'd say I know more about what is happening than they do (and I don't know much).

 

From http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/272582000/vessel:VIKING_SINEUS I can report that the Sineus arrived in Kherson at 9:11 this morning from Odessa (with previous ports of Sulina [mouth of the Danube] and Tulcea [up-stream beginning of the Danube Delta]). As of one minute ago, Sineus still reporting docked in Kherson. I don't have a clue if passengers are involved.

 

The only thing I can find on "Parahod" is that is the word in Bulgarian for "steam ship" - could something have been lost in translation?

 

I wish "the girls" (actually fine young ladies) all the best.

 

Thom

[Kohola]

Hi Bob

 

Nice to see "the girls" from our 2011 cruise; I'm sure employment issues are quite bad at the moment. We were out of town for a few days, and just got the Belgrade, Blue Danube & Istanbul brochure (printed 28 May) today, and were actually interested in that itinerary. Then went on line to find the Odessa cruise now listed at the identical period. We just got off the phone with Viking, and I'd say I know more about what is happening than they do (and I don't know much).

 

From http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/272582000/vessel:VIKING_SINEUS I can report that the Sineus arrived in Kherson at 9:11 this morning from Odessa (with previous ports of Sulina [mouth of the Danube] and Tulcea [up-stream beginning of the Danube Delta]). As of one minute ago, Sineus still reporting docked in Kherson. I don't have a clue if passengers are involved.

 

The only thing I can find on "Parahod" is that is the word in Bulgarian for "steam ship" - could something have been lost in translation?

 

I wish "the girls" (actually fine young ladies) all the best.

 

Thom

Hi Thom,

It looks like VRC has been "tweaking" the itinerary since they put it on their website; there were a couple of August sailings but now it only shows two in September. And I don't remember the first itinerary having a land portion from Bucharest to the Danube Delta either. We would love to travel with them again if this itinerary holds for 2015, but the website doesn't show any sailings for 2015.

Alyona posted she was in Tulcea on June 13 which would be consistent with your information. She was excited about the new dining room on the Sineus when she messaged. Nastya told me that finding work around Kherson was impossible.

You cleared up the "Parahod" confusion for me...it's steamship in Russian also. Alyona told me in her words that she was in Bulgaria and Romania doing a "test flight of the parahod"...which would imply a practice cruise of the ship. We cruise they navigate. Bob