Docs arrived today!!!

[Buckland]

Our tickets for our flights and the cruise came today and was I ever surprized! The bags the tickets came in are beautiful!! I can hardly wait to board now! Is anyone else going to be on the Amadeus Waterways - Tolstoy sailing from St Petersburg to Moscow Sept 3??

 

Buck

[skertso]

Not traveling with you but congrats on receiving your docs. It's always so exciting to receive them. I envy you! Have a fantastic cruise.

 

:) Cherie

[Coral]

They are nice bags!

[Buckland]

I see you went on the Tolstoy in May last year. Is there anything you think we should know before heading out??

 

Buck

[Coral]

I see you went on the Tolstoy in May last year. Is there anything you think we should know before heading out??

 

Buck

 

Sure - - here are some random thoughts....

 

There is an ATM right next to where the ship docks in St. Petersburg. This helped a lot of people. Also, make sure you have small bills (rubles) with you at all times to pay to take pictures in churches, etc... Most places did require this for taking pictures inside.

 

Consider not going back to the ship for lunch in St. Petersburg. It wastes so much time. Find out where the ship will be at after lunch and meet them there. Spend the time just walking around downtown. Or maybe consider staying in town in the evening (not going back for dinner) that you do the ballet. It is easy to find the Hermitage and you can meet the group there and go to the ballet with them. There is so little free time in St. Petersburg - it is worth it to stay in town when you can. This is my biggest regret.

 

In Moscow - we only had a 1.5 days. We arrived after lunch the first day and the second day, we ate on a boat that went around Moscow so this wasn't an issue for us (wasting time going back to the ship). It was also a holiday weekend for us so there wasn't traffic issues for us here but I hear it can be very bad - so if the itinerary plans on going back to the ship for lunch - see if you can meet the group at the next stop.

 

When going to Peterhof - try to get in the group that will see the palace first and the grounds second (if going in the morning). The fountains don't turn on until about 11 am. If you go to Montplaisir instead of the large palace (we went to Montplaisir) - I would maybe consider skipping the palace. There isn't anything extra-ordinary about Montplaisir palace (IMO compared to other things you will see) and the gardens are fabulous.

 

Bring a small umbrella with you all the time! We had several "very short downpours" and each time, my umbrella was in the bus. They get rain that comes out of nowhere and can go away as quickly.

 

The Armory in Moscow is VERY HOT! Dress accordingly. We were sweating in there.

 

Have your wife bring a scarf of some sort to cover her head. I did not do this and there is at least one port where the women need to cover their head when in the churches. They alert you about this the day before. I ended up wearing my rain jacket as that was the only cover I had for my head.

 

There is very little space in the room - you will have a small closet and shelfs. They will take your suitcases and store them for you. Amazingly - the showers were a nice size.

 

The night of the ballet in St. Petersburg - they indicated the attire was "smart-casual". People dressed up more then I would consider smart-casual. It was more like semi-formal. There are a lot of stairs here so wear comfortable shoes. The only 2 times people dressed up was for the Captain's dinner and for the Hermitage ballet.

 

I would suggest tipping the local tour guide and driver daily (just a few dollars is more then welcome) - some of the tour guides and drivers we had for the entire time in St. Petersburg or Moscow but other times some were there just for that day and were not there the following day - I missed tipping some good guides who deserved tips because I thought I would see them again. There were 4 busses so 2 of the busses had the same guide and driver for the entire time in St. Petersburg verses the other 2 buses had different drivers and tour guides for the days we were there.

 

When they tell you to pay your bill - do it at the earliest possible time as the line gets very long! We paid our bill the morning of the day we arrived in Moscow.

 

Make sure you have enough money for tips at the end. We had several people who had to find ATM machines in Moscow on the last day because they ran out of currency. You can pay in Euros, Rubles or Dollars (or a combination). We could not put this on our credit card. Not sure if this has changed this year.

 

Mariena (sp?) the CD has her act together. It is amazing at how much she juggles and does it well.

 

Hopefully this helps. Russia is amazing and I can't wait to go back for my 3rd time! Not sure when but I am not going to let 18 years pass between my 2nd and 3rd visit like I did between my 1st and 2nd visit.

 

Theresa

[Buckland]

Hi "Coral"

Thanks so much for the input, it's going to help a lot. We'll be traveling with two other couples so it would be nice to spend more time in the city.

One more thing, does the Tolstoy have internet facility on board?

 

 

Thanks

Buck

[Coral]

Hi "Coral"

Thanks so much for the input, it's going to help a lot. We'll be traveling with two other couples so it would be nice to spend more time in the city.

One more thing, does the Tolstoy have internet facility on board?

 

 

Thanks

Buck

 

It did not last year.

 

Some people used the internet at the Hermitage - I did not. We were only given a minimal amount of time after our tour and before we had to get on the bus. The people who used it were staying in town for dinner. I went outside and took pictures. Others did some shopping at the museum shop.

 

In Mandrogi - if you go to the post office building - they had 2 computers there and internet was pretty cheap there. I had heard this and went right away and had no problems getting in. It did have a waitlist for later that day. We had plenty of time here so there was no problem here. The phone cards were pretty expensive so I wouldn't bother.

 

Next, in Yaroslavl - we were given about 20 minutes of free time after our tour. Our bus parked right next to an internet center. They made it a point to tell us about this on the bus. Some people had problems checking their email there - I did not. It was very inexpensive here also. I missed some shopping at a Farmer's Market but that is ok.

 

Those were the only places where I managed to use the internet. I had some issues back home and was looking for places to use the internet.

 

BTW - it was half way through the trip that I realized the ship had 2 tvs. Unfortunately - when I turned it on, the only news I was able to get was about Paris Hilton in jail and her crisis. No real news. I think it carried CNN International and British News. I later heard that there were radios in our room - I was not aware of that.

 

Theresa

[Buckland]

Hi 2travelers

We are doing the Nile in 2010, and maybe visiting the winter Olympics in Vancouver. let me know how the Nile trip goes!!