Viking Sineus - Ukraine

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, Frances Gorringe said:

Thank you very much for all that information - it really helps make sense of the River Cruise Roll Calls vs the Ocean Cruise Roll Calls. And the Viking Sineus thread has been very helpful.  There is a lot of information in them. We are not newbys to River Cruising, but as we are doing the Ukraine Cruise immediately followed by the Waterways of the Tsars in Russia we are very curious as to what to expect, never having travelled to those countries before - and I always like to be aware of possible pitfalls and potential for unusual or interesting places to visit. 

 

Frances, one thing to keep in mind is that Russia is one of Viking's oldest markets. Viking's first cruises as a company were in Russia. The company just celebrated its 20th anniversary--so 20 years doing and perfecting this itinerary. It is a very popular itinerary and Viking has multiple ships on the route.

 

On the other hand, Ukraine is a newer itinerary, has only one ship, doing just a handful of sailings each season and, as of 2018,  is coming off a 4 year hiatus. It is not going to be the same polished product that you get in Russia. Still, I loved our time there and am very glad that we had the chance to do this itinerary when we did.

[Horsedds]

Hi all Sineus cruisers!  I am on the ship now!!  Just wonderful so far!!  Odessa is amazing!!  A tip - for the Odessa day’s it very advantageous to be on the even number cabin side of the ship. The odd number cabins face the bleak, congested dock. We face out to the beautiful albeit somewhat noisy distant cranes and lighthouse across the sea. Much preferable!!  Might be just the opposite in Kiev or other ports. Don’t know yet. 

I have not run into Pontac, with whom I have met on this forum. If you read this, Pontac, come find me. I am in cabin 212. 

[jpalbny]

Enjoy your cruise! I will be curious to hear what you think of Kyiv, and to find out where they take you. I want to figure out what we missed so we can see it when we go back!

Edited July 7, 2019 by jpalbny

[racknlube]

Enjoy Ukraine. It is definitely a unique part of our world!

[Glorybe]

We have booked cabin 322 with a veranda on Viking's Sineus ship. This cabin is located on the middle deck (the dining area deck) towards the front of the ship very close to the suites located near the bow of the ship. Will this room be quiet from engine noise, anchor noise? It was one of the last rooms to be booked so I am just wondering if there was a problem with the room. We are sailing in 2020 - Sept 13 - Kiev to Bucharest. 

[Peregrina651]

5 hours ago, Glorybe said:

We have booked cabin 322 with a veranda on Viking's Sineus ship. This cabin is located on the middle deck (the dining area deck) towards the front of the ship very close to the suites located near the bow of the ship. Will this room be quiet from engine noise, anchor noise? It was one of the last rooms to be booked so I am just wondering if there was a problem with the room. We are sailing in 2020 - Sept 13 - Kiev to Bucharest. 

 

Or it could a cabin that was booked early on and just became available again.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 hours ago, Glorybe said:

We have booked cabin 322 with a veranda on Viking's Sineus ship. This cabin is located on the middle deck (the dining area deck) towards the front of the ship very close to the suites located near the bow of the ship. Will this room be quiet from engine noise, anchor noise? It was one of the last rooms to be booked so I am just wondering if there was a problem with the room. We are sailing in 2020 - Sept 13 - Kiev to Bucharest. 

 

Being towards the front of a river ship is not a problem, as rivers are smooth compared to ocean cruises so your ship won't be rising and falling through 10 meter waves.  The middle deck is ideal for quiet, because you have cabins above and below you.  Engine noise comes from the extreme aft – you are well away from that.  Anchor noise comes from the extreme front – and the suites are positioned to take that if the ship actually anchors anywhere [river ships generally tie up to a dock].  But you fail to mention that between cabins 322 and 323 and the suites is an open area with the forward staircase and some seating.  My guess is that is why 322 was available at a late date: early bookers looking at the deck plan would prefer to have cabins on both sides.  Is this a fatal flaw?–I don't think so; the area next to your cabin is not likely to be noisy, especially at night.  I would have no problem taking this cabin.

 

[pontac]

16 hours ago, Glorybe said:

We have booked cabin 322 with a veranda on Viking's Sineus ship. This cabin is located on the middle deck (the dining area deck) towards the front of the ship very close to the suites located near the bow of the ship. Will this room be quiet from engine noise, anchor noise?

 

I am in Sineus this very moment, and staying in a cabin at the very front. No engine noise, no anchor noise. They do not moor with anchors, but use ropes and hawsers to tie up at mooring points.

Your room is next to stairs, which are used to get to restaurants/coffee machine on floor below and sundeck above, but should be no louder than any other cabin from human noise.

 

There is odd noises when going through lock but only 2 locks (i think) passed at night.

 

AT Kiev boat moors on port side so your cabin on starboard will face river and we have not been rafted at all. There is only one other hotel boat on the river and that departs on different schedule. We were moored behind it in Odessa, it departed before us and we've not seen it since.

 

If the wave on the Black see are too rough the boat waits.

 

You'll have a great cruise. Come back here after the lovely Horsedds and I give a report on the rip.

[Horsedds]

I am currently on Sineus also, with Pontac, who has turned out to be every bit as elegant, erudite, and charming in person as he has been on this page!!  It has been a wonderful trip from beginning to end. I am traveling with my husband and from the first day we fell in love with elegant Odessa, with its majestic staircase, crumbling opulence, and quirky faded holiday town flavor (ponies dressed as unicorns, and horses made up as giraffes giving rides in the evenings). Once on the Dneiper, we stopped in towns and cities each with their own beauty and focus of interest. In Kherson we learned about Potemkin and in Zaporozhye about the Cossacks. Universally there was pride and love of the Ukraine in every presentation. I especially enjoyed the Cossack horse show, and the visit to the sad, neglected Soviet Space Program building with its host - a still proud and enthusiastic elderly space scientist.  Onboard we had a wonderful concert of Bandura music and singing, and, especially wonderful, the entertaining antics of Oliver, our Cruise Director!   Viking River Cruises are not famous in my mind for memorable Cruise Directors, but everyone will remember him!!

 

This was a particularly memorable and wonderful trip!!  You will love this comfortable and beautiful ship and it’s friendly and competent crew!!  

Edited July 15, 2019 by Horsedds

[Glorybe]

In Kiev - does the Viking boat moor close to Poshtova Square? 

OYO sights to visit in Kiev - What did you do in the afternoons in Kiev when you had free time?  I might be interested in seeing these two museums - Chernobyl Museum and the Museum of UK in WWII - if I can walk to them. 

[Horsedds]

We went on the Viking included tour to the architectural museum in the am. Very sweet. Open air museum of Ukrainian way of life in small towns a century ago. In the pm we went on the Viking tour of the Bessarabian market, but left early to walk to the Golden Gate. The Musoursky music was one of the reasons I went on 5his trip!!  We walked there from the market, took the tour of the museum inside for 100 grubinas, and walked home. Spectacular architecture and fun to find our way around with the map!!

[Horsedds]

Viking boat moors at the marine terminal, right opposite the funicular and metro station!

[Horsedds]

Viking had an optional tour to the Chernobyl Museum. Some people also booked a day trip to Chernobyl thru a private company. 

[Glorybe]

2 hours ago, Horsedds said:

 the tour of the museum inside for 100 grubinas, and walked home. 

Thanks for your posts. Grubinas?? - I thought UK money was called Ukrainian Hryvnia  for the bills and for coins - kopeks. Am I wrong about the name for the UK money?

 

[Glorybe]

2 hours ago, Horsedds said:

Viking had an optional tour to the Chernobyl Museum, Bessarabian Market, 

What would Viking be charging for optional tours? Just a price range would be good enough as the cost of the tours will, no doubt, vary.

 

Is the charge for the optional tours in US$? UK money? Euros?  I appreciate knowing ahead of time so I know how much money to budget for additional tours. 

[Peregrina651]

31 minutes ago, Glorybe said:

Thanks for your posts. Grubinas?? - I thought UK money was called Ukrainian Hryvnia  for the bills and for coins - kopeks. Am I wrong about the name for the UK money?

 

 

You are right about the UA money, it is called the hyrvnia officially but it is kind of like trying to read English, just because it is written that way does not mean it is pronounced that way.  Moreover, the Ukrainian language declines its nouns (meaning that depending on how they are used in the sentence is how they are pronounced) so you are going to hear multiple pronunciations in a conversation about prices. In other words, confusing. Read more in the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_hryvnia

 

55 minutes ago, Glorybe said:

Is the charge for the optional tours in US$? UK money? Euros?  I appreciate knowing ahead of time so I know how much money to budget for additional tours. 

 

Optional tours can usually be purchased in advance of departure on MyVikingJourney.com.  I think on MVJ that prices are given in your national currency -- US$ in the US, CA$ in Canada, £ in the UK -- but maybe someone outside the US can confirm this. In an case, just go to MVJ and all these questions will be answered.

 

If you wait to buy the optional tours on board the ship, they will be charged in whatever the on board currency is and charged to your on board account, which you pay at the end of the journey. I did the cruise in 2012 and I can't remember what the on board currency was. 

 

In any case, if you haven't done so already, the Viking FAQ is full of helpful information, including the ins and outs of foreign currency -- such as, you can't get it on the ship, you have to get it from an ATM (my preference) or bring it with you.

 

 

 

 

 

[jpalbny]

1 hour ago, Glorybe said:

I thought UK money was called Ukrainian Hryvnia  for the bills and for coins - kopeks. Am I wrong about the name

 

You are correct. Hryvnia is the more-recognized name of the currency of Ukraine. Chris is Ukrainian so she's beaten some of their spelling and grammar into me, so I'll share a bit with you. Probably more than you want to know...

 

If you spell Hryvnia in Cyrillic it looks like this: "гривні" which could roughly be transalliterated to Grubina, but Chris would never let me get away with that. The confusion lies in the first letter, г. It's a G in Russian, but an H in Ukrainian (Russian doesn't have an H). So IMO Grubina would be a Russian speaker's translation of Hryvnia. If the Ukrainians intended for the word to start with a G then the first letter would be ґ, not г (subtle difference, the Ukrainian G has an upturn). It is definitely pronounced (everywhere we went) with an H, not a G.

 

As far as the other letters, pretty straightforward. The р is an R, just like in Greek (Rho). The и is better translated to a Y, than a U. The Cyrllic в should translate to a V - it does not stay a B. And of course, the н is an N. The і stays the same, at least!

 

On second thought, it's much easier to just take Chris to Ukraine and let her do the talking! 😄

[jpalbny]

12 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

You are right about the UA money, it is called the hyrvnia officially but it is kind of like trying to read English, just because it is written that way does not mean it is pronounced that way.  Moreover, the Ukrainian language declines its nouns (meaning that depending on how they are used in the sentence is how they are pronounced) so you are going to hear multiple pronunciations in a conversation about prices. In other words, confusing.

 

In other words, insane! There are SEVEN noun cases that you have to remember, with different endings for each. It's worse than Icelandic.

[Peregrina651]

9 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

You are correct. Hryvnia is the more-recognized name of the currency of Ukraine. Chris is Ukrainian so she's beaten some of their spelling and grammar into me, so I'll share a bit with you. Probably more than you want to know...

 

If you spell Hryvnia in Cyrillic it looks like this: "гривні" which could roughly be transalliterated to Grubina, but Chris would never let me get away with that. The confusion lies in the first letter, г. It's a G in Russian, but an H in Ukrainian (Russian doesn't have an H). So IMO Grubina would be a Russian speaker's translation of Hryvnia. If the Ukrainians intended for the word to start with a G then the first letter would be ґ, not г (subtle difference, the Ukrainian G has an upturn). It is definitely pronounced (everywhere we went) with an H, not a G.

 

As far as the other letters, pretty straightforward. The р is an R, just like in Greek (Rho). The и is better translated to a Y, than a U. The Cyrllic в should translate to a V - it does not stay a B. And of course, the н is an N. The і stays the same, at least!

 

On second thought, it's much easier to just take Chris to Ukraine and let her do the talking! 😄

 

Thank you, Chris! I knew it had to do with cohabitating languages but don't know enough about either of them to explain why.

[TravelerThom]

2 hours ago, Glorybe said:

... I thought UK money was called Ukrainian Hryvnia  for the bills and for coins - kopeks. Am I wrong about the name for the UK money?

There are 100 kopeks to 1 UAH (Ukrainian Hryvina). Bills start at 1 UAH, but I suspect those small bills are being phased out as I think there are now 1 and 2 UAH coins. 1 UAH is approximately 4 US cents (0.04 USD). The standard international abbreviation for Ukraine (such as shown on vehicle licenses) is UA not UK (which would be usually recognized as United Kingdom [of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]). 

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

On second thought, it's much easier to just take Chris to Ukraine and let her do the talking! 😄

 

What does she charge?  I'm Ukrainian but was 'protected' from it growing up so I don't even know how to curse in it.  [Actually, we were told that we were Polish.  My theory is that when my grandparents came from Lviv, it was called Lemberg as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and my grandfather had gone AWOL from the Hapsburg Army – so no loyalty to the 'old country.'  They were Orthodox, which implies Ukrainian.  But when they moved to Manhasset there was no Orthodox Church so they went to St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church – and if you were Catholic, that meant you were Polish.  But I digress...]  Anyway, I would absolutely need a good translator on a trip to Ukraine.  

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

What does she charge?  I'm Ukrainian but was 'protected' from it growing up so I don't even know how to curse in it.  [Actually, we were told that we were Polish.  My theory is that when my grandparents came from Lviv, it was called Lemberg as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and my grandfather had gone AWOL from the Hapsburg Army – so no loyalty to the 'old country.'  They were Orthodox, which implies Ukrainian.  But when they moved to Manhasset there was no Orthodox Church so they went to St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church – and if you were Catholic, that meant you were Polish.  But I digress...]  Anyway, I would absolutely need a good translator on a trip to Ukraine.  

 

There are portions of far western Ukraine whose sovereignty has changed multiple times over the last two centuries --Austro-Hungarian Empire, Poland, Russia, etc. The people stayed on the land, in their villages (as best they could) while the political world changed around them.

[Nanna Fru]

On ‎7‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 12:07 AM, Horsedds said:

Hi all Sineus cruisers!  I am on the ship now!!  Just wonderful so far!!  Odessa is amazing!!  A tip - for the Odessa day’s it very advantageous to be on the even number cabin side of the ship. The odd number cabins face the bleak, congested dock. We face out to the beautiful albeit somewhat noisy distant cranes and lighthouse across the sea. Much preferable!!  Might be just the opposite in Kiev or other ports. Don’t know yet. 

I have not run into Pontac, with whom I have met on this forum. If you read this, Pontac, come find me. I am in cabin 212. 

Wow, "real time updates" thank you. (Even though I am late reading it)  We are in an even numbered cabin, so fingers crossed for Odessa days. 

[Nanna Fru]

1 minute ago, Nanna Fru said:

Wow, "real time updates" thank you. (Even though I am late reading it)  We are in an even numbered cabin, so fingers crossed for Odessa days. 

Have you done any of the "optional" tours on the cruise - wondering if they are good value for money and what they are like?

 

[Nanna Fru]

10 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

You are right about the UA money, it is called the hyrvnia officially but it is kind of like trying to read English, just because it is written that way does not mean it is pronounced that way.  Moreover, the Ukrainian language declines its nouns (meaning that depending on how they are used in the sentence is how they are pronounced) so you are going to hear multiple pronunciations in a conversation about prices. In other words, confusing. Read more in the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_hryvnia

 

 

Optional tours can usually be purchased in advance of departure on MyVikingJourney.com.  I think on MVJ that prices are given in your national currency -- US$ in the US, CA$ in Canada, £ in the UK -- but maybe someone outside the US can confirm this. In an case, just go to MVJ and all these questions will be answered.

 

If you wait to buy the optional tours on board the ship, they will be charged in whatever the on board currency is and charged to your on board account, which you pay at the end of the journey. I did the cruise in 2012 and I can't remember what the on board currency was. 

 

In any case, if you haven't done so already, the Viking FAQ is full of helpful information, including the ins and outs of foreign currency -- such as, you can't get it on the ship, you have to get it from an ATM (my preference) or bring it with you.

 

 

 

 

 

I am in Australia and the prices on the website are in Aussie Dollars.