Russian river cruises

[rbreid]

We would like some imput on the cruises, cruise lines and ships on the Russian river cruises. We would like to go next year, possibly in May.

 

Bob Reid

[AZ Stan (FKA Stan in Chicago)]

Bob,

 

last year, we went on the Viking Kirov to Russia, 11 days from Moscow to St Petersburg. The trip was great, but a lot different from the ocean cruises we have taken.

 

First, we booked a last minute special (about 45 days before sailing), because of a free air deal, and took a standard cabin. Warning! these cabins are only 90 sq ft, and let me tell you, that is tiny. We had two twin beds that do not convert. Each bed is the width of a crib. To turn around, you raised yourself up on the bed, and re-positioned yourself, and let yourself back down.

 

The brochure said that the boat was refurbished in 2002(?). Well, what that meant is that one deck of the ship was remodeled for deluxe cabins. The other cabins were not touched, from what I could tell.

 

The food was adequate, but not much in the way of choices. Definitely not the same as ocean cruising.

 

Now, don't let these gripes discourage you. I think Viking River is a deluxe outfit, but the Russian boats are the oldest in their fleet, so keep that in mind. From what we saw, there were not any better boats which catered to English speaking passengers.

 

The river cruises are destination oriented, and your reason for going is the ports, not the ship itself. Both Moscow and St Petersburg are fascinating, and the stops in between are interesting.

 

Go and have a great time. If you have any specific questions, ask away.

 

Stan

[kaleaje]

We would like some imput on the cruises, cruise lines and ships on the Russian river cruises. We would like to go next year, possibly in May.

 

Bob Reid

 

In response to your posting, we just returned from Viking Pakhomov's 11-day Russian river cruise, and I would like to share with you the letter I sent to the members of "our" group--those on Bus #1 for the daily Viking shore excursions:

 

"Thank you all for creating memories for a lifetime! What a wonderful group we had...and what wonderful times we enjoyed together! The experiences were awesome--even overwhelming at times. I think we enjoyed the best of the best...

 

What an itinerary! We started out thinking that nothing could

really be more spectacular than Red Square, the Armory, and

the subway in Moscow...but St. Petersburg proved us wrong--it was

even more spectacular!

Valera was a wonderful guide, as were Elena and Helen...

Who could possibly outdo Dieter and Biggy and Andrej and the

rest of the excellent Pakhomov crew?

Who can ever forget...

Alex and Katchya reacquainting themselves with their heritage...

Reuniting with old cruising buddies, and making new friends, too...

Russian language lessons, Russian history lessons, days filled with

sunshine, the White Nights phenomena, amazing sunsets, many

varieties of locks and lakes and marshland...

A stunning performance of Swan Lake, and an eye-opening totally

contemporary performance of Samson and Delila...

the Amber Room and gardens at the magnificent

Catherine's Palace, the fountains at Peterhof, the tale of

Rasputin at Yusupov Palace, the girls spinning yarn and stringing

beads at Kizhi, the carriages and jewels of the czars at the

Armory in Moscow, the phenomenal mosaics at the Church of the

Spilt Blood, the awesome golden domes and pillars of St.

Isaacs, the magnificent quartet at the Ipatievsky Monastery in

Kostroma...and the moving experience of dining in a private

home, thus getting first-hand look at how Russian families are

coping with the traumatic conversion from a paternalistic social

system to a capitalistic society is forever engraved in our

memory...

 

WOW!!! Just the thought of it all leaves me breathless! I'm delighted to have the video to document the amazing experiences. If any of you have kept journals that you'd be willing to share with me, I'd be most appreciative!

 

I want to thank you for being part of this very special Russian cruise group in 2004!

 

Bon voyage...

[unberwoob]

We are also planning a Russian river cruise next year. I have looked at all the companies(American) offering this and so far have liked the Uniworld trip the best. They offer a 16 day cruise which offers more time in Moscow and St Petersberg than other tours. So far they have not published their 2005 trips, but we are hoping they have the same itenerary next year. They also offer a nice Baltic extension tour we plan to take.

Dennis

[jancookz]

My husband and I are looking for a similar cruise for next year, too. I have looked into Uniworld, Viking, Vantage and Peter Deilman. But recently, I found that Brendan does the Moscow-St. Petersburg trip, too. We have travelled with Brendan before (they're the sister tour company of Globus)and were happy with their tours, for the most part. Has anyone taken the Brendan cruise on MS Peter the Great? I know these riverboats book full quickly, so any info would be appreciated. We know it's much different from the big cruise ships, but the riverboat sounds better than the land tours of Russia. We have travelled the world with all types of companies and on many different ships. Feedback is always helpful.