Uniworld Russia Cruise Aboard Litvinov- Just returned

[DGF]

We recently returned from a cruise aboard the Uniworld Litvinov- Moscow to Saint Petersburg, departure Moscow, August 26, 07

 

Hope the following assists you in your planning. Any questions, please ask

 

Staff

 

Uniworld staffs the Reception/ Information Desk. Did a very good to excellent job. Informed, friendly under the command of Inna. English good to very good. I believe the rest of the ship is staffed by the ship owner

 

Ship facilities

 

- Sun Deck (weather was too cold to enjoy. Recommend that you book a couple of weeks earlier and when you research out the temperatures, remember that cruising on the rivers will be cooler (temp and breeze caused by movement of boat)

 

- Bars- i) Rakmanov Bar & Lecture Hall, ii) Kremlin Bar, and iii) Ladoga Lounge and Reading Room

 

- Dining Rooms- Volga (all of ship used for breakfast) and Neva (we were assigned to this DR for lunch & dinner). Single seating

 

- Doctors Office

- Beauty Salon- single chair

- Sauna

- Reception desk

- TV areas- in the hallway near stairwells

- Massage Room- male masseur

 

- Internet cabin with single computer- Very slow connected by mobile phone= only worked while in port. Sometimes took 10 minutes to make connection my e-mail account. No connection for laptop= only can use for e-mails. Arrangement- You have to arrange with staff to set up an account on computer, then you sign up for 30 minute sessions on door of room, and at end of cruise pay cash for clocked time)

 

- Post Office- Gift Shop sold postage stamps at exorbitant rates- Postage for post card to Canada was 20 rubles (for 4 post cards needed 8 stamps which they wanted 216 rubles). Explanation was extra charge for posting the cards but would not just sell the stamps

 

Meals-

 

- Availability- Regimented. If you did not dine when scheduled you missed the meal (no alternative dining as is the case on cruise ships)- i.e. could not sleep in since had to be in the dining room by 8:45 AM to get breakfast. Coffee, tea available for a fee during the day in the bars. No snack food available throughout the day.

 

- Breakfast- buffet. Cereal- corn flakes with muesli and walnuts, four hot dishes which varied day by day. Bacon when available was brittle/ over cooked. juices- orange, apple juice, milk- skim & 2%, fruit- wide selection- i.e. apricots, orange, apple, plumb, cold meats- wide selection of cold meats, bread- white, brown, and dark bread, tea, coffee= More than adequate

 

- Lunch & Dinner- served. We have a copy of the menus. Please advise and will provide. Note- limited selection. From time to time meals/ soups warm and not hot. From onboard food, I contacted a bad case of diarrhea which took five shots from Dr. and three days of medication to remove in two days. Several of the other guests reported stomach problems, source not known. Friendly staff

 

Bars

 

Three bars- Kremlin Bar, Ladoga Lounge, & Rakhmaninov. Have wine and bar list and can provide upon request. Had a daily happy hour at discount rates. Chairs lacked adequate padding to provide long seating comfort. Friendly staff

 

Lecture Room/ Lectures

 

Rakhmaninov- seating consisted of fixed circular half moon leather sofa seating at side of room and fold up chairs in middle of room. At one end of room small stage with piano and bar at other end of room. When boat encountered side winds, ship creaked with sufficient noise to be disruptive to lectures and music presentations

 

Lecture- Inna Gritsenko-Russian University professor gave lectures during the cruise (very interesting and informative) starting from the Czars to current

 

Entertainment

 

Moscow- Orchestra of Folk instruments and folk music/ song with dancers. Very good.

 

Throughout the cruise- Pianist (Galina) and Russian accordion (husband Sergey). Galina was very talented and enthusiastic. No entertainment from local towns

 

Cabin

 

Standard cabin (small, cramped)- we were in cabin 416. Our friends next door

 

Fridge- Large enough to hold bottle water and pop

 

Furniture- i) small stool and beds only. No vanity counter with mirror (only mirror at entrance into cabin where you also hang your jackets= restricted view. Only plug for hair dryer was in between closet and shelf bed, which was too far away from the mirror. Could convert one of the beds into a bench during the day. Otherwise no place to sit. No radio, no TV

 

Telephone

 

Beds- Two single which I described as shelf beds. Very narrow. No top sheet. Double sized duvet which created the following problems- would fall off several times during the night resulting in disruptive sleep; when cabins hot, duvet too hot.

 

Heating air conditioning- Heat- four settings- off, 1, 2, & 3. Did not respond well when wanted heat. Air Conditioning was at discretion of the boat’s engineer- could not control in the room= often too cold or too hot. Thank god, window opened and outside temp went down into the 40’s at night allowing for some regulation of cabin temp. Substantial airflow from duct which could regulate; but when on full very noisy and disruptive to sleeping

 

Ensuite Bathroom- Consisted of a toilet, sink, and shower all in one. To have a shower you pulled the curtain in front of the toilet and stood in front of the sink on a mat with a wand shower head which was connected to the tap sink with a shut off lever. Good flow of water, good hot water. System created the following challenges (which you did only once to learn)- i) If you forgot to turn off the lever you would get an unexpected shower when you turned on the sink tap; ii) If you walked into the toilet with socks on you got wet socks. In addition small glass shelf, which would hold tooth paste and two glass holders with two glasses

 

Noise- from outside- i) while docked- from time to time docking would consist of boats tied together (would go thru another boat to get to pier). Boat engines were left on at night which resulted in engine noise bouncing off the ship next door; ii) Saint Petersburg- dock is adjacent to a busy street with substantial car noise which you heard if left window open

 

Noise from inside- hallway, cabins- note in the onboard cabin info binder correctly states the problem= “The walls are thin. Please observe the quiet hours from 11:00 PM to 7:00 PM”. You can hear guests in adjacent cabins talking, telephone ringing (wake up call) and alarm clocks. Also hear guests in the hallway. Air circulation system- very noisy, resulting in a disturbed sleep when were forced to have it on to keep cabin temperature under control. While cruising- when boat crossed the large lakes encountered cross winds, which resulted in creaking noise and one night a banging noise between our cabin and one next door, which was sufficient to make sleeping impossible (we got up and walked the boat until subsided)

 

Tours

 

Kept extensive notes which will be putting together as a separate report as time permits

 

Conclusions

 

1. Meals- quality- fair to good

 

2. Service- good to excellent except in the gift shop

 

3. Cabin- less than satisfactory. Would not travel on this boat again unless in a Deluxe Cabin which has twin beds, more room and regular shower. Note: Suites are larger than Deluxe cabin but have the same type of bathroom as our cabin

 

4. If I knew then- at time of booking- what I know now, we would have searched out boat with better facilities and failing which would have taken land tour with four days in Moscow and four days in Saint Petersburg. The program and staff were not able to overcome the inadequacies of cabin and ship and we found the itinerary too short in Saint Petersburg (Hermitage- knowledgeable guide rushed thru exhibits losing/ leaving behind guest incl me. Would like to take full day with lunch break) and Peterhoff (3/4 day incl the palace). Moscow itinerary was not so rushed and we were blessed with an outstanding guide (Anastasia) .

 

Dean Feltham

[Coral]

I appreciate your comments. I was on the Tolstoy (Amadeus) this summer and can relate to several of your comments. Thankfully, we had a nicer bathroom arrangement. Though, we didn't have phones or refrigerators in our room nor did we have internet on the ship.

 

I agree, if I had known what I know now - I would have booked hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg and just do a land vacation instead of a cruise. We were rushed in both Moscow and St. Petersburg IMO.

 

I look forward to your other comments when you have time.

[DCCW06]

Dear Dean & Gayle

 

Thanks very much for the informative posting on the Litvinov Cruise. We are booked on it for the St. Petersburg to Moscow cruise Aug of 08. It is not likely we would change our plans now but your informtive posting will better prepare us for our trip. Any additional information on tours, choice of optional tours, and dinner menu's would be appreceated.

 

Don

[CincyAL]

Thanks for keeping us all informed. Your comments seem very reasonable to this traveler.

[DCCW06]

Dean & Gayle

 

Pleasegive me a little information on how much russian currency you took with you if any. Did you have any difficulties/problems getting to ATMs to get Russian money on bank cards or credit cards? How much local corrency did you find you needed for your trip?

 

Don

[singlis]

I am taking a group to Russia in June, Can I get details on the tours.

 

Thanks!

[HDS]

Enjoyed your post. Your experience with Uniworld in Russia is similar to ours with Viking Pakhomov on the reverse route last year, adding weight to my suspicion that the quality of the cruise was determined by the country rather than the company.

We booked the cheapest cabin and were prepared for its size and the yachting-style shower, so had no problems with these. We overcame the doona problem by removing the quilt from the cover, using the cover as a top-sheet with the quilt on top.

We were not prepared for the beds that wobbled when the adjoining cabin occupant turned over nor for the lack of acoustic insulation, particularly the sharing of the bathroom and toilet noises of our neighbours.

We are glad we had extra days in Moscow and St Petersburg before and after the cruise to expand the very superficial tours offered by Viking in both cities, but would regret missing the charming destinations along the river and the joy of "watching the world go by" as we cruised.

The hand sanitizer was not always turned on when we returned from excursions, very few passengers used it when it was turned on, and there was no sanitizer available in the dining room. I washed my hands on entering the ship and before meals, but I'm not sure if other passengers or crew did the same. Several passengers were laid low with respiratory infections.

Our cruise with Uniworld from Amsterdam to Bucharest, a month before the Russian cruise, had a much higher standard of comfort and service and far better acoustics.

[tobes]

Your review refreshed my memory of my week on the River Baroness, especially with regard to the food availability. I loved river cruising so am booked again this summer on the Duoro but I am planning on bringing lots of snack food with me on the ship! We were always starved by dinner time and the bar had little to offer besides peanuts.:eek: