Viking River Cruises - Russia - Any Experiences?

[SabreSailor]

We've taken 7 cruises on Holland America all over the world, and been very pleased. Had anyone taken a Viking River Cruise in Russia? What about the quality of the food? Cleanliness of the ship? Service level? Safety? Any pluses or minuses?

 

Thanks!

[cliffdweller]

My friend, Pam in MA, and I did this trip last Fall - it was fabulous. It was my first river cruise and it was so great we've gathered a couple of other people and have booked one through China this Fall. Here's a link that was very helpful in our planning. Have a great time. Beware, the bathrooms are extremely small and will provide a lot of laughs as you remember the trip. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=399674

 

Pat

[Tennessee Traveler]

Hi Sabre Sailor,

I've traveled on two previous Viking cruises - in France & China & loved both of them. I hear from others who have sailed on Viking Russian ships that they are not as luxurious, but every one I spoke with had a great time. If you know what to expect, you probably won't be surprised. I'm on the Surkov, July 15th sailing and am really excited about this cruise!

[CincyAL]

Looking forward to reading our future posts. I have found that my shipmates always make the trip and not the size of bathroom or even the weather.

[Tennessee Traveler]

Hi Cincy Al,

I couldn't agree more. The shipmates you travel with and your experiences along the way make the trips great vacations. I loved my trip last summer on the Viking Century Sun to China so much! What a great time we had together!

[Tennessee Traveler]

Looking for future shipmates on the July 15th sailing of the Viking Surkov. Anyone else going? If so, sign in to the Roll Call for that ship/sailing. I hope I'm not going to be the only passenger aboard! Tennessee Traveler

[Pam in CA]

The Viking Surkov is a very "basic" riverboat as are pretty much all of the Russian riverboats. It was built in the 80s during the Krushev era for the proletariat who weren't used to anything luxurious. If it worked, it was good. :) There is nothing fancy about the boat but it's clean, the food was good (not outstanding but good) and our fellow passengers great. To me, other than visiting Russia, the best part was the people we met.

[Tennessee Traveler]

Hi Pam in MA,

I appreciate your comments about the ship and upcoming Viking Surkov cruise. I'm glad to know the ship is a basic Russian ship, because I'm basically looking forward to a wonderful experience.

Any idea what type of adaptor I would need to recharge batteries? Thanks!

[Donna SNH]

We traveled Moscow to St. Petersburg with Viking and it was excellent in every way. There was an incredible Chef on our cruise.

 

Most battery chargers are dual voltage. Look at the raised print or sticker. If you see something like "100-240V", it's dual voltage. The outlets on the ship are standard European (like France, etc.), so all you'd need is a plug adapter. If your charger is not dual voltage, recommend finding one that is.

[Tennessee Traveler]

Dear Donna SNH,

My battery charger is a dual one, and I have tha adapter I've used on Viking ships in France & China. So, it sounds like that's ready to go. Thanks so much.

[Elaine42]

We are sailing on the Viking Kirov from St. Petersburg to Moscow on May 30, 2007 and wonder if anyone else on this board will be on the ship? We did the Viking cruise in the south of France and just loved it, so am very excited about this one. We have done many ocean cruises, but enjoyed the river experience even more. Both my husband and I have Russian ancestry [don't speak the language unfortunately] and have wanted to go there for a very long time. For those who have asked about this cruise, we will be happy to report back when we get home.

 

Elaine

[Elaine42]

We are sailing on the Viking Kirov from St. Petersburg to Moscow on May 30, 2007 and wonder if anyone else on this board will be on the ship? We did the Viking cruise in the south of France and just loved it, so am very excited about this one. We have done many ocean cruises, but enjoyed the river experience even more. Both my husband and I have Russian ancestry [don't speak the language unfortunately] and have wanted to go there for a very long time. For those who have asked about this cruise, we will be happy to report back when we get home.

 

Elaine

[land lover]

Elaine...please do, as I am leaving with another river cruise company GCT for Russia at the end of June and would love to hear what your impressions of Russia were, what worked best for you money wise and any helpful hints.

 

Thanks

[Coral]

We are sailing on the Viking Kirov from St. Petersburg to Moscow on May 30, 2007 and wonder if anyone else on this board will be on the ship?

 

Elaine - I am on Amadeus Tolstoy on May 31st. It is possible our ships will be tied up next to each other for a day or two or that our ships may follow each other.

 

Here is to good weather!

[Beckaj]

Elaine,

I would like to hear about your Viking cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow when you return. I will be taking this cruise with Viking in Sept. We did the Rhine River with Viking last year & loved it. Looking forward to hearing all about you experiences.

Beckaj

We are sailing on the Viking Kirov from St. Petersburg to Moscow on May 30, 2007 and wonder if anyone else on this board will be on the ship? We did the Viking cruise in the south of France and just loved it, so am very excited about this one. We have done many ocean cruises, but enjoyed the river experience even more. Both my husband and I have Russian ancestry [don't speak the language unfortunately] and have wanted to go there for a very long time. For those who have asked about this cruise, we will be happy to report back when we get home.

 

Elaine

[txtravelgal]

My husband and I cruised Viking from St. Petersburg to Moscow and really enjoyed it. The Viking Kirov has small cabins (90 SF), but we weren't in the cabin much. We had a fantastic tour guide (Victoria), and is you ever have a chance, make sure you get her. She really made the trip wonderful. Our only disappointment was the food. We toured St. Petersburg for four days before the river cruise started with a private guide who was wonderful. He picked us up at the airport and delivered us to the hotel. He picked us up everyday and took us to several places that most people never get to see, and his price was reasonable. At the end, he delivered us to the ship. If any of you are interested in using him, send me your email address.

[Tennessee Traveler]

Hi Txtravelgal,

I'm sailing on the Viking Surkov in July and would like to hear any suggestions you might have to prepare us for our trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow. I assume it will be quite similar to your trip on the Kirov. Any advice about the ship or the places we'll visit will be most appreciated. Thanks, Tennessee Traveler

[cujbw]

We are on the Viking Kirov on Oct. 3 and have a couple extra days in St. P. and Moscow. Would love to have info on the guide you used Please send to jackiewmson@hotmail.com

 

Thanks!

[cujbw]

My husband and I cruised Viking from St. Petersburg to Moscow and really enjoyed it. The Viking Kirov has small cabins (90 SF), but we weren't in the cabin much. We had a fantastic tour guide (Victoria), and is you ever have a chance, make sure you get her. She really made the trip wonderful. Our only disappointment was the food. We toured St. Petersburg for four days before the river cruise started with a private guide who was wonderful. He picked us up at the airport and delivered us to the hotel. He picked us up everyday and took us to several places that most people never get to see, and his price was reasonable. At the end, he delivered us to the ship. If any of you are interested in using him, send me your email address.

 

txtravelgal, we are cruising on Viking Kirov on 10/3 from St. P. to Moscow and would love to know who you hired as a guide. Also, any info on hotels in St. P. and Moscow would be appreciated. We are taking advantage of a 2 for 1, and just booked last week, so we're hustling to put together all the details. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please respond here or send email to jackiewmson@hotmail.com

 

Thanks!

[Suite 16]

A tour company in St. Petersburg, with the unlikely name of Red October has a web site you can type in to learn about them. Several friends and family have used Red October, and all have reported with rave reviews. Unfortunately, they were not in business a several years ago and we used the cruise company bus tour. Big bus, not much to rave about. Good luck.

[rleikin]

My husband and I cruised Viking from St. Petersburg to Moscow and really enjoyed it. The Viking Kirov has small cabins (90 SF), but we weren't in the cabin much. We had a fantastic tour guide (Victoria), and is you ever have a chance, make sure you get her. She really made the trip wonderful. Our only disappointment was the food. We toured St. Petersburg for four days before the river cruise started with a private guide who was wonderful. He picked us up at the airport and delivered us to the hotel. He picked us up everyday and took us to several places that most people never get to see, and his price was reasonable. At the end, he delivered us to the ship. If any of you are interested in using him, send me your email address.

Hi TXTRAVELGAL,

We are going on the 5/19/08 Moscow to St. Peter Viking Kirov and would like the information about your guide in SP, how much he charged, where he took you, how much were the airport transfers?

Also, did you use a guide in Moscow? Do you need one?

[txtravelgal]

If you will send me your email address, I will give you information about the guide. I don't think we are supposed to do that on these boards. He picked us up at the airport and took us to our hotel. He picked us up at the hotel every morning, and we spent four days together. He is fully lisenced, so we didn't have to wait in any lines. ( He is not associated with Red October or any other group). We saw the family church of Tsar Nicholas, a private tour of Smolny Institute which is now the city government building, and Alexander Nevsky Monastery with a cemetary where Tchaikovsky and Dostoevsky are buried---as well as all of the other "must sees" like Peterhof, Hermitage, and St. Isaac's. We also went to a grocery store-(always interesting for me). He transported us from the hotel to the Viking Kirov, so we didn't have to pay for transfers. We loved our time in St. Petersburg, but it would not have been nearly so wonderful without our guide.

[rleikin]

dear txtravelgal. My email is rleikin@yahoo.com and would appreciate any info you have to offer about your Russia cruise - private tour guide in SP. Did you have one in Moscow? What did you think about the optional canal cruise?

Thanks. rleikin

[Travljunky]

I would very much like the info. on the tour guide in st. peterburg also. Please contact me at Travljunky@aol.com

 

Thank you,

Annette

[MSEm]

The Viking Surkov is undergoing a major refurbishment during the 2007-8 winter. The number of cabins will be reduced and the cabin size will be increase with larger baths. The cabins will have hotel style beds.

 

MSEm