Amakatarina Photos

I put some photos of the ship on Photobucket. These are to show those of you who asked for me to show you what the cabin and public rooms were like.

I think you'll get an idea of storage from them. The cabin was quite roomy and we had plenty of room in the bathroom. The shower drain IS NOT in the middle of the bathroom floor. It's in the shower, which wall mounted with a hand-held option, just like I have in my own shower at home. One of us could use the sink while the other showered.

http://s185.photobucket.com/albums/x231/GrandmaJanetspride/AMAKATARINA/

Janet,

Thankyou for the really good and informative photos. Which category cabin did you have?

The fact that you had some water transportation into St. P. and Moscow sounds good. Do you think it's better to stay on the boat or in a hotel in Moscow and St. P.?

June

Janet,

Thankyou for the really good and informative photos. Which category cabin did you have?

 

The fact that you had some water transportation into St. P. and Moscow sounds good. Do you think it's better to stay on the boat or in a hotel in Moscow and St. P.?

 

June

We had a category "C" cabin on deck 3. No problems at all. Great for WiFi signal and far enough from public rooms to be quiet. No public rooms above or below us. Mid ship. Cabin was #229. Right next door to a small suite. Suite was a foot or so wider otherwise the same. We found the cabin to be quite comfortable when we were in it, which wasn't often. We slept, showered, used my computer and changed clothes. The public rooms on the boat were lovely as was the sun deck when sailing.

I do not much care for hotels on such a trip. I dislike having to pack and unpack. I dislike having to go out and hunt up my own food, especially in a country where I can't read and understand the language.

I do admit the traffic was bad, especially in Moscow, but the guides got on with us at the boat and they kept up a constant patter giving us information about what we were seeing, going to see and other interesting things about the local culture.

For instance, on the bus going back from a tour our guide pointed out the " Kruschev" housing and we got the whole story of how some of the housing was built out of modules and how awful it was to have several families packed into one small apartment. There was much more to the story and it gave us a great insight into the local culture and history which we might not have gotten meeting a guide at a hotel door. There were other instances where things were pointed out to us and told to us to pass the time that we felt were very valuable to our experience of Russia.

The tours are very intensive with a lot of walking. I think the bus ride gave me some time to recoup, too. I know that my husband and other people with age-related or health-related mobility issues welcomed the bus ride as a time to wind down.

This is my personal preference, but I did want to relate how the long bus ride actually worked in our favor. I would have missed so many interesting things in a hotel.

Hi Janet,

You gave me lots of information and I really do appreciate it. AMAKaterina seems to be the top ship. I really do not like the unpacking/packing or looking for restaurants either.

Thankyou,

June

Janet - Thanks for posting the photos. Is the only place that "Amakatarina" is shown on the outside of the boat that little purple banner on the stern? The real name of the boat in the brass letters on the side certainly looks nice, though.

You have added an interesting perspective to the bus rides to & from the ship, really a positive aspect to what has seemed to be a major irritation.

We're still trying to decide amongst Viking, Uniworld, and AMA for our Russia cruise; but AMA remains our first choice because of the quality of the ship. (Vantage is out of contention as long as they're using AMA's hand-me-down, the old Tolstoy.)

Please keep posting any info about the ship and your trip that you think anyone might want to know. It's terrifically useful.

Cheers, Fred

Thanks for the very nice pics. It does look like a very nice ship.

Thank you for sharing the pictures. The ship looks lovely and now I'm getting really excited about going.:D

I'd be happy to answer any other questions that I can by email

kelliepoodle at yahoo dot com

Hi Kellie,

Thanks for posting the photos.

Sheila

Janet,

If you are interested in human stories of how people lived (or died) in the Soviet Union, I recommend the book "The Whisperers."

When the Communists first took over they had a huge housing shortage since many people moved to the cities from the country. This accelerated with forced collectivization of the farms in the mid-20s. About 9 million people died of starvation during the forced collectivization, especially in the Ukraine.

Families not sent to labor camps (Kulaks and Political Prisoners) were generally forced to live with others, sometimes families sharing a room.

Also, the early Communists wanted to break down the family and homes were requiring communal living. People had no privacy, scores sharing a single bath or toilet.

It is just amazing what the Russian people have endured. They lost 26 million during WWII.