Doing research on booking a Russia River Cruise

[juliesaddiction]

Got lots of questions :)

When is the best time to cruise this area? Weather not too hot, things in bloom or changing colors?

Does it make difference which direction you go?

What is your experience with any particular cruise line? We have only done one river cruise with Viking, the others are all ocean cruises.

Is it best to have all nights on the ship or some in hotels as well?

How are the excursions? Any optional excursions? Was there anything you didnt see that you wanted to?

Food?

Stateroom? We require one that has twin beds and must have a balcony.

 

Thanks in advance for any info you can share :)

[Hydrokitty]

Got lots of questions :)

When is the best time to cruise this area? Weather not too hot, things in bloom or changing colors?

Does it make difference which direction you go?

What is your experience with any particular cruise line? We have only done one river cruise with Viking, the others are all ocean cruises.

Is it best to have all nights on the ship or some in hotels as well?

How are the excursions? Any optional excursions? Was there anything you didnt see that you wanted to?

Food?

Stateroom? We require one that has twin beds and must have a balcony.

 

Thanks in advance for any info you can share :)

 

Hi Julie: I did Russia with vantage and have never traveled with Viking, so all my info is obviously based on Vantage. I will try to answer your questions in order but if I miss something feel free to contact me.

 

We went from mid-August to early Sept., 2012 and the weather was wonderful. One day of rain and that was really just a torrential cloud-burst. We wore jeans every day and elbow to long sleeve tops. I was very comfortable in a fleece vest and also had a flannel lined hooded rain jacket.

 

Trip is the same both directions.

 

I've just booked my 7th trip with Vantage, so obviously I'm satisfied with them. I would recommend them for Russia because they are one of the very few (if not only) company that puts you in a hotel in both Moscow and St. Petersburg rather than on board the ship. Reason for this is traffic, which is brutal in both cities. For eg: our hotel in Moscow was about 10 miles from the ship but it took over an hour to get there! In both cities our hotels were centrally located (and beautiful 5* hotels) which made it so much easier for escorted tours, but also allowed us freedom to explore on our own.

 

Another thing we like about Vantage is that most shore excursions are included. The ones we paid extra for are, IMHO not to be missed and they are in Moscow: Lavra of St. Sergius, which is comparable to the Vatican in the Russian Orthodox Church and Moscow by night which was really beautiful and even though you're tired, worth the time and money. There was also an optional to Tretyakov Art Gallery but we did not take it. In St. Petersburg:

We did the palace of Pavel I, which was interesting because it's on the same day as your included tour of Catherine Palace and is very different; Peterhof Palace which is NOT TO BE MISSED!!! It would be like going to Paris and skipping the Eiffel Tower!! We also took the river and canal boat ride which was nice but nothing special and we didn't see anything we hadn't seen on our bus tour of St. Pete (it was also raining and cold that day and I had a head cold, so take that into consideration). The other optional we took in St. Pete was the ballet. I LOVE ballet so that was a must for me and I didn't care what it cost...I LOVE ballet and have seen it in NYC but to see the ballet in Russia to me was very special. (We saw Swan Lake and I think everybody does). All of our excursions were with our TM or a local guide and everyone of them spoke perfect English. the only thing I would have liked to do was go inside St. Basil's Cathedral and see Lenin's Tomb but alas, due to the Military Tattoo taking place the first week in Sept. neither was available to us.

 

The food: They have these little pierogies only in Russia they come stuffed with cherries or strawberries for dessert or with meat or cheese for meal and they are to die for!! Restaurant meals were all wonderful. There was a little place next to hotel in St. Pete called "Soviet Cafe" where we ate every night because the food was so good and reasonably priced.

 

The ship: Vantage charters the Leo Tolstoy so your tour will be the only one on board. Twin beds will not be a problem, but forget the balcony!! I don't think any of the ships doing Russia have balconies because of the weather and the locks. I have claustrophobia and always get a balcony on big ships or a french balcony on river cruises and I was fine with the windows in our cabin. (In interest of total honesty, I have to tell you we were upgraded by Vantage to a full suite so I will not address room size or amenities because ours was wonderful:D). The ship was very clean and comfortable, although some complained that the cabins were small. The food on board was simple and tasty and we did have wine with dinner included. There was a nice selection and I don't recall having any meal that wasn't good. None of them were great.

 

things you didn't ask: If at all possible take the pre-trip to Kiev. It was absolutely marvelous. The Tolstoy has an indoor pool, but no one used it.

There is limited wifi, so don't count on it except in the hotels of Moscow and St. Pete. You will need a VISA and it cost us $200 per person. that's just what it costs and unless you can present yourself to a Russian Embassy, it's easier to have Vantage or Viking handle it for you. The fees go to the embassy and the expediter, not Vantage.

 

Russia and Kiev were wonderful and a highlight of our traveling experiences. If you go with an open mind and tend to "roll with it" you'll have a marvelous experience. One other thing and it's kind of delicate but it's important info: Outside of the main stream hotels and restaurants, rest room facilities can be quite primitive....get used to standing!!:eek:

[deec]

Primitive Bathrooms can be difficult for 'short' legged gals or those who don't squat well anymore...Voila...a GO GIRL was the answer while we were on safari last fall...you dind them in the Magellan catalogue or Amazon.com

[juliesaddiction]

Thank you lukesgrandma for all the great information!!! My mom and I travel together and we just got back from a Viking River cruise in China....we are well aware of the bathroom facilities that are limited lol!!

 

We are looking at Sept/Oct as well for the timing.

 

I had read about the hotel stays/cruising vs cruising only and can see where that would be a good thing.

 

Got lots to think about, and thanks for your input :)

[Hydrokitty]

Primitive Bathrooms can be difficult for 'short' legged gals or those who don't squat well anymore...Voila...a GO GIRL was the answer while we were on safari last fall...you dind them in the Magellan catalogue or Amazon.com

 

Just checked out GOGIRL at Magellans. I haven't used them in a while. This looks interesting but it's plastic so how do you carry it in a small purse? I've seen the urinelles but quite frankly they'e paper and if I have to stand up to go I'd just as soon have my hands free to keep my clothes dry!:)

 

@ Julie..... we're going to China in 2015. How was it? We're doing the Vantage cruise with land excursion. How much time did you spend on the bus each day? Did the buses have bathrooms? Were they usable? (In russia they weren't) How hard was it to actually go up on the Wall. I really want to do that but I have difficulty doing stairs because of an achilles' tendon injury.

[juliesaddiction]

Just checked out GOGIRL at Magellans. I haven't used them in a while. This looks interesting but it's plastic so how do you carry it in a small purse? I've seen the urinelles but quite frankly they'e paper and if I have to stand up to go I'd just as soon have my hands free to keep my clothes dry!:)

 

@ Julie..... we're going to China in 2015. How was it? We're doing the Vantage cruise with land excursion. How much time did you spend on the bus each day? Did the buses have bathrooms? Were they usable? (In russia they weren't) How hard was it to actually go up on the Wall. I really want to do that but I have difficulty doing stairs because of an achilles' tendon injury.

 

China was awesome!!! We were with Viking and did the Shanghai to Beijing route. The bussing schedule was very well thought out with under an hour to/from each stop, and if there was more than one stop then they were combined so that they fit well together. We had 3 flights within China, one to Wuhan to get on the ship, one to Xian and the other to Beijing. All flights were under an hour. No bathrooms on the bus. Bathrooms were never a problem, the guide knew exactly where to take you for those (the 4 star bathrooms and yes they do rate them that way, 5 stars would have to be private lol). There were always Western toilets available. Bring toilet paper, sometimes there was some sometimes not, and sometimes you had to get it before you went into the stall. As far as the wall goes we went at Badaling (sp?) and there were maybe two levels of stairs to get on the wall itself, easy stairs and then the wall itself is just very steep ramp like going up or down. We didnt go very far ourselves...got our pictures and then went shopping :)

[Hydrokitty]

China was awesome!!! We were with Viking and did the Shanghai to Beijing route. The bussing schedule was very well thought out with under an hour to/from each stop, and if there was more than one stop then they were combined so that they fit well together. We had 3 flights within China, one to Wuhan to get on the ship, one to Xian and the other to Beijing. All flights were under an hour. No bathrooms on the bus. Bathrooms were never a problem, the guide knew exactly where to take you for those (the 4 star bathrooms and yes they do rate them that way, 5 stars would have to be private lol). There were always Western toilets available. Bring toilet paper, sometimes there was some sometimes not, and sometimes you had to get it before you went into the stall. As far as the wall goes we went at Badaling (sp?) and there were maybe two levels of stairs to get on the wall itself, easy stairs and then the wall itself is just very steep ramp like going up or down. We didnt go very far ourselves...got our pictures and then went shopping :)

 

A girl after my own heart!! I got used to bringing tp when we went to Egypt..I always had a wad in my back pocket because sometimes the attendant wasn't there and if you didn't pay you could use the pit, but you got no paper!!! Good to know there are western toilets available in most places. I had heard of one part of the wall that was accessible by gondola lift for handicapped tourists. Have you heard anything about that? We have 3 flights in China as well. Beijing to Xian, Yulang for boat Chungling? and then by train to Shanghai, I think. We end up in Hong Kong.