Viking 'Footsteps of the Cossacks' (Ukraine)

Thanks everyone for your trip reports,photos ,advice and answering all our questions.

34 hours to go and we are on our way .

Thanks everyone for your trip reports,photos ,advice and answering all our questions.

34 hours to go and we are on our way .

:) Bon Voyage! Have a wonderful time and come home with plenty of observations and advice to share--and your fair share of souvenirs and post cards. :)

Although I live in The United States of America, and am just back from The Netherlands, I was incorrect in using an adjective in referring to Ukraine. No disrespect was intended toward a beautiful country [with a very difficult history] which I very much enjoyed visiting.

 

I have met many Ukrainians [with Ukraine itself, resident in the US, and also working in other parts of the world], and up until now, they had all been intelligent, educated, hard working, pleasant people. I was under the impression they were of the same race as I am.

 

There are 3,960,000 sq. km. of territory within the Russian Federation that are west of the Urals. By standard US definition this territory is in Europe. I am well aware that other than the Russian Federation, the other fourteen former members of the USSR [including Ukraine] are not in the Russian Federation. I would not classify any of them as Russia in any way at least since the break-up of the Russian Empire at the end of WWI. I consider it a sign of respect to study the history and geography of the places I visit.

 

Peace

Thom

hi Thom,

actually I was going to apologize for snapping, but then more posts

appeared that confirmed me that the initial remark, about Ukraine not

being Europe, was, indeed, racially motivated.

1. "Ukraine is not Europe, why it's not even Russia". Ukraine is the

largest country in Europe, and the capital, Kyiv, is the one of the

oldest cities in Europe, older than Dublin and Glasgow! Ukrainian

princess Anne was a queen of France, brought to that "gloomy" country

the name of Philip and women's education rights (she could read and

speak several languages, Greek and Latin included, and her French

husband was illiterate). She craved to go back home to Kyiv where

existed back in 11 century:

- city piping

- city lights

- schools for girls and boys equally

- beautiful churches

- libraries

- cool shops

Whereas Paris was dark, unlighted at night and stinky (they emptied

the contents of their chamber pots out of their windows, when in Kyiv

they had modern-like piping for sanitation).

Plenty of Ukrainian princes and princesses married monarchs from

Scandinavia, Germany, Hungary. Present UK monarchs have Ukrainian

blood in them, trough Euphrosyne of Kyiv. So, of course, no, Ukraine,

it's not Europe at all. Russia, it's a different story.

It's amazing why any arguments are necessary at all. Ukraine is not only

Europe, it's been an important and integral part of it since very

beginning.

2. "Ukraine, it was Russia before, and now it's Ukraine".

Right too. Ukraine is one of the oldest countries in Europe, and

exist in the present boarders since 4 century A.D. Russians, who

called themselves Moscovites, did not even appear as a tribe till 14

century, so how come Ukraine was "Russia before"? And Boston,

Massachusetts, it was England before, and now it's the US, right? Ah,

no, it's different.

So what did these Ukrainian do, before Moscovites came to this

planet? Twisted their fingers, waiting to become "Russians"?

Especially wonderful it's when someone points at a church, built in 9

century, and announces "Look, what a fine example of RUSSIAN

architecture", when Russians did not even exist back then!

3. "Ukraine is different from Russia. There are bad and good things

in Ukraine". And in Russia, what, everything is fine and shiny? And

it's some wonderful example for Ukrainians, stop being so different

and become as Russia, a country without a flaw or a fault. And why

must Ukraine be compared to Russia at all? Why not to Austria? After

all, at some time, Austria occupied some parts of Ukraine, so why no

one says "Ukraine, it's so different from Austria, in so many ways,

good or bad"?

4. "And find someone who speaks Russian, they will help you to get

services cheaper". Indeed, God forbid you find

someone who speaks Ukrainian in Ukraine. And evil Ukrainians, they

will manage it so, that you pay MORE, and not less for tickets and

taxis and so on. If you meet someone, run a background check on them,

what if they are Ukrainians? Then run, not walk, away, until you

stumble on someone who SPEAKS RUSSIAN.

And Ukrainians can't even say anything about this petty racial

slurs. If they are silent, the slurs continues. If not, it goes so

suspiciously like under Russian occupation: "Come on, guys, big deal,

people think that you are Russian and that you speak Russian and must

be more like Russians. It does not matter. We are all brothers, and

we are your big Russian brothers, and our country is a great mother

Russia, with great Russian language. What, your troublesome people?

You don't want to be called Russians, don't want to speak Russian and

don't want to pretend that your country is Russia? Shoot them all, or

better attach heavy anchors to their legs and drown them alive in the

harbour, so much better now. So, anyone else who does not want to

speak Russian here?"

And I always find it interesting, the behaviour of Russian

supporters. On the one hand, they say what a wonderful country great

mother Russia is. On the other hand, they belittle Ukraine to show

the greatness of mother Russia. If mother Russia is so great, why do

you need to belittle Ukraine to prove that greatness? Surely, just

seeing how GREAT Russia is, all Ukrainians will open their mouths in AWE, and

will try to become like Russians? Why such need to belittle, pretend

that people do not exist, the need to kill them, to deny them their

own language, the name of their own country and their own history?

Maybe not that great after all, mother Russia.

I showed the posts to some Ukrainian people, and got the same

reaction, and several of them said: "We are sick of hearing about

Russia. Why every time someone mentions Ukraine, they quickly mention

Russia afterwards?" I think I know why. Just petty jealousy on the

part of mother Russia and its supporters. They can't stand it that

the rich prize - Ukraine - got away, and can't stand it when people

talk about Ukraine, they push themselves in, to remind them about

Russian "greatness".

And we are yet to hear from Russian supporters how Ukraine is not

Europe.

Someone had asked about knitted and crocheted items. The shop in the port building in Yalta carried wool scarves. They were of a very fine mohair-like wool and done in a very open lace-like pattern. This same shop also has embroidered shirts and table runners.

Thanks everyone for your trip reports,photos ,advice and answering all our questions.

34 hours to go and we are on our way .

Let me add our wishes for safe travels and a wonderful voyage.

I also want to comment on Peregrina's recommendation of the shop in the port building in Yalta. We bought quite a number of really unusual items there. The selection was excellent, the prices fair and they even accepted US$ which was a welcome surprise as this was near the end of our voyage. However, they don't open until 9 a.m. :( We purposely left the ship early (before our scheduled tour) so I could shop, but they weren't open yet.

BTW ATM machines are everywhere.

We loved this trip!!!

Let me add our wishes for safe travels and a wonderful voyage.

 

I also want to comment on Peregrina's recommendation of the shop in the port building in Yalta. We bought quite a number of really unusual items there. The selection was excellent, the prices fair and they even accepted US$ which was a welcome surprise as this was near the end of our voyage. However, they don't open until 9 a.m. :( We purposely left the ship early (before our scheduled tour) so I could shop, but they weren't open yet.

 

BTW ATM machines are everywhere.

 

We loved this trip!!!

AGREED. A wonderful trip.

The little shop in Yalta also carried Faberge egg pendants in two different qualities and they carried amber jewelry. Also, don't overlook the on board gift shop. it is small but the prices seemed reasonable.

From the Ukrainian buffet luncheon served on the sundeck. Delicious!

From the Ukrainian buffet luncheon served on the sundeck. Delicious!

 

I am not looking at that photo yet as I want to be surprised when it happens.

Finally online.Seems they have problems or it could be some of our laptops.Only 1 working in library.

Enjoyed the tour in Kiev and the beautiful architecture .

Today we are going to see the Cossack horse show.The food and staff have been very good .We were pleasantly surprised the great state of the ship considering its age.

All flights were on time and we were upgraded to business class on all flights.Wow was it nice .Austrian air has a chef onboard serving a 5 course dinner with his cute little chef's hat on.Nice reclining beds with sheets ,pillows and blankets

We will try to email more later.

Travelling fools: Home two weeks and now we'll relive it all again through your posts. Who is your tour guide? We had Alla on bus 1. We loved the horse show! DH was a "volunteer" -- you'll know what I mean after you've seen it. Isn't the sail-away music wonderful? In Kherson - get ready for the brides! Also a small but wonderful craft market with local handicrafts and small oil paintings. Quite a few people (ourselves included) bought paintings. Prices amazingly inexpensive for framed art. Enjoy. Marsha

PS: Our notebook only worked in the sitting areas, not in our stateroom.

 

PS: Our notebook only worked in the sitting areas, not in our stateroom.

How strange about not getting wi-fi in your cabin. I had trouble every now and then (like late at night) but for the most part had no trouble in our cabin. Anyone else have troubles?

Best signal was closest to reception desk. Either on floor 3 or 2 couches.

Sitting area by coffee machine was good too. But in our room, right outside Kiev dining room, no signal at all. Tried outside, but daylight was too strong for my notebook screen. But don't spend any extra time posting, the cruise is too short anyway.

] the cruise is too short anyway.[/size]

You can say that again. Definitely not enough time in Kyiv!!

We have Olga as our tour guide.Very nice and easy to understand.

We have found the best little waitresses are Basha and Liza.Two of the cutest and funniest-always smiling and really good at their job.Their section seems to get filled up really quick.

Today was the outdoor Ukraine lunch.It was so good !Tonight pirate night.Not sure how many will dress up for it.

As for tours we plan to do the Black Sea Band and hubby would like to do the old Sevastopol submarine tunnels.

The 1st day or so cloudy and showers on and off but the last 2 sunny and very warm

Not sure if I mentioned in other post but there was quite a few that luggage did not make it.Some did catch up a day or 2 later but some are still hoping.It is now day 5 without it.

Time to get ready for Canada Day little celebration for us Canucks.Our american friends will have theirs on July 4th[hubby's birthday].

just a note: We loved the Fleet Band -- it was very energetic and totally entertaining. Viking reserved the whole theater for the performance so good seating was not a problem. The Panorama Museum and Submarine Tunnel excursion was very interesting (take a sweater) and we were pleasantly surprised by Chersonesus (thanks Andrea). It was much larger and more to see than we were expecting and the Cathedral of Vladimir was just breathtaking. Great stuff yet to come!!!

Not sure if I mentioned in other post but there was quite a few that luggage did not make it.Some did catch up a day or 2 later but some are still hoping.It is now day 5 without it.

.

That is one of the reasons that we no longer check our luggage, no matter where we fly.

If you are going to check luggage, don't pack his and hers but pack some of each in each suitcase. It also helps to pack a complete change in your carry-on (along with all drugs, electronics and other valuable/irreplaceable items/paperwork.)

BTW, Lufthansa is very strict about it weight limits for carry on luggage. They made us check our carry-ons in Kyiv but, not trusting, we had them checked only as far as our next stop. (Go to the Lufthansa website for weight and size limits.)

and we were pleasantly surprised by Chersonesus (thanks Andrea). It was much larger and more to see than we were expecting and the Cathedral of Vladimir was just breathtaking.

You're welcome! Ladies, bring a scarf/hat/hoodie to cover your head. Much nicer than using one of the head-covers provided by the church and better looking than using your jacket/sweater as a hat. Men, remove your hat before entering.

I hope your voyage was good. Please let us know. I'm assuming the news reports of flooding in that other country did not effect you.

I hope your voyage was good. Please let us know. I'm assuming the news reports of flooding in that other country did not effect you.

We got home Monday night and no the flooding did not effect us at all.We had a few showers on way home on bus from tour one day and it rained for a short while we were having supper in Yalta one night but other than that we had very nice weather.Odessa was hot .

The flights were great.With all the mix-up with air esp the part when our tickets arrived with only 10 days to go we got upgraded to business on all our flights.We were getting anxious as not much time to get correct seats if anything left .

We were very impressed with service!

ON Austrian they have a chef in his white chef hat come around and give you menus for a 5 course meal which you choose and served in the same way.They had cart filled with 6 different appetizers for which you could have .The food on Austrian was execllent and even got another full course meal on 2 hour flight.Air Canada business class was good also but no comparison with Austrian food and servie.Sorry Air Canada.

Last day Viking somehow sent our luggage to local hotel where some were staying and if we hadn't gone down to our get something near our room we would not have noticed until time to leave.We knew people in rooms beside us were going to stay there with their tour so we suggested to try there first .They sent us over by taxi to look for it with someone.Got back just in time to go to airport.

OH By the way one guy from Texas got his luggage with 4 days left in trip and the other couple-well they are still looking for theirs.Airlines fault on those

We enjoyed the included tours in Ukraine but the only extra ones we took was Black Fleet Band[excellent show] and submarine tunnels .We like to walk around by ourselves and explore when possible.

Our only thing we wish Viking would do is ask people their walking ability and put them on buses accordingly.We had some on our bus who could not keep up and we were forever waiting and late back.I am quite sure it was as fustrating for them as it was for us others.

The ship was spotless as you know and all of staff except one we found was always helpful and friendly.We sat at the same table most nights with Dasha and Liza-two delightful funny girls with great service.All others were good as well but they stood out.However Maitre de

natalia never smiled and scolded her staff in front of everyone which we did not think was appropiate.We felt she sould take them aside if she has issues with them not for everyone to see.

Not too impressed with entertainment >I know you do not get entertainment like big cruises but on other river cruises they brought on local talent[singers,dancers etc]3-4 times during the cruise from local towns to perform.The ship's crew show we enjoyed though.

It was a very interesting trip and enjoyed it .Now where to next?

Oh thanks for the tip about taking sink stopper!

I hope your voyage was good. Please let us know. I'm assuming the news reports of flooding in that other country did not effect you.

We got home Monday night and no the flooding did not effect us at all.We had a few showers on way home on bus from tour one day and it rained for a short while we were having supper in Yalta one night but other than that we had very nice weather.Odessa was hot .

The flights were great.With all the mix-up with air esp the part when our tickets arrived with only 10 days to go we got upgraded to business on all our flights.We were getting anxious as not much time to correct seats if anything left .

We were very impressed with service!

ON Austrian they have a chef in his white chef hat come around and give you menus for a 5 course meal which you choose and served in the same way.They had cart filled with 6 different appetizers for which you could have .The food on Austrian was execllent and even got another full course meal on 2 hour flight.Air Canada business class was good also but no comparison with Austrian food and servie.Sorry Air Canada.

Last day Viking somehow sent our luggage to local hotel where some were staying and if we hadn't gone down to our get something near our room we would not have noticed until time to leave.We knew people in rooms beside us were going to stay there with their tour so we suggested to try there first .They sent us over by taxi to look for it with someone.Got back just in time to go to airport.

OH By the way one guy from Texas got his luggage with 4 days left in trip and the other couple-well they are still looking for theirs.Airlines fault on those

We enjoyed the included tours in Ukraine but the only extra ones we took was Black Fleet Band[excellent show] and submarine tunnels .We like to walk around by ourselves and explore when possible.

Our only thing we wish Viking would do is ask people their walking ability and put them on buses accordingly.We had some on our bus who could not keep up and we were forever waiting and late back.I am quite sure it was as fustrating for them as it was for us others.

The ship was spotless as you know and all of staff except one we found was always helpful and friendly.We sat at the same table most nights with Dasha and Liza-two delightful funny girls with great service.All others were good as well but they stood out.However Maitre de

natalia never smiled and scolded her staff in front of everyone which we did not think was appropiate.We felt she sould take them aside if she has issues with them not for everyone to see.

Not too impressed with entertainment >I know you do not get entertainment like big cruises but on other river cruises they brought on local talent[singers,dancers etc]3-4 times during the cruise from local towns to perform.The ship's crew show we enjoyed though.

It was a very interesting trip and enjoyed it .Now where to next?

Oh thanks for the tip about taking sink stopper!

We got home Monday night and no the flooding did not effect us at all.We had a few showers on way home on bus from tour one day and it rained for a short while we were having supper in Yalta one night but other than that we had very nice weather.Odessa was hot .

 

The flights were great.With all the mix-up with air esp the part when our tickets arrived with only 10 days to go we got upgraded to business on all our flights.We were getting anxious as not much time to get correct seats if anything left .

We were very impressed with service!

ON Austrian they have a chef in his white chef hat come around and give you menus for a 5 course meal which you choose and served in the same way.They had cart filled with 6 different appetizers for which you could have .The food on Austrian was execllent and even got another full course meal on 2 hour flight.Air Canada business class was good also but no comparison with Austrian food and servie.Sorry Air Canada.

Last day Viking somehow sent our luggage to local hotel where some were staying and if we hadn't gone down to our get something near our room we would not have noticed until time to leave.We knew people in rooms beside us were going to stay there with their tour so we suggested to try there first .They sent us over by taxi to look for it with someone.Got back just in time to go to airport.

OH By the way one guy from Texas got his luggage with 4 days left in trip and the other couple-well they are still looking for theirs.Airlines fault on those

We enjoyed the included tours in Ukraine but the only extra ones we took was Black Fleet Band[excellent show] and submarine tunnels .We like to walk around by ourselves and explore when possible.

Our only thing we wish Viking would do is ask people their walking ability and put them on buses accordingly.We had some on our bus who could not keep up and we were forever waiting and late back.I am quite sure it was as fustrating for them as it was for us others.

 

The ship was spotless as you know and all of staff except one we found was always helpful and friendly.We sat at the same table most nights with Dasha and Liza-two delightful funny girls with great service.All others were good as well but they stood out.However Maitre de

natalia never smiled and scolded her staff in front of everyone which we did not think was appropiate.We felt she sould take them aside if she has issues with them not for everyone to see.

Not too impressed with entertainment >I know you do not get entertainment like big cruises but on other river cruises they brought on local talent[singers,dancers etc]3-4 times during the cruise from local towns to perform.The ship's crew show we enjoyed though.

It was a very interesting trip and enjoyed it .Now where to next?

Oh thanks for the tip about taking sink stopper!

Dear travelling fools,

Welcome back home! We are happy to hear that you had a good trip — and pleased that we were able to help you out with your flights so that it could get started on the right foot. That you enjoyed the tours, took advantage of free time, loved the outdoor Ukrainian lunch, and found the ship to be up to standards, well, all of that is just wonderful! We’d love to hear even more of your feedback: like what stops you most enjoyed, tips for others who like to explore on their own, etc.

We appreciate your comment on providing tour options based on level of activity. In fact, we do exactly that in our other destinations. Footsteps of the Cossacks has been the final itinerary for our implementation of this program and while we are slowly rolling it out (to see what works, what doesn’t, and adjust accordingly) we expect it to be a regular feature on every departure by 2013. Our Vice President of Product Marketing recently sailed on Viking Lomonosov and shares your opinion wholeheartedly. He is one of the team members who is working on this project. We realize that one size doesn’t always fit all and that increasing the options for assisted independent exploration is yet another way guests will be able to further personalize their trips. All that said, we recognize that these changes were not yet made and therefore couldn’t benefit you, and we do apologize for the frustration.

You also mention the staff, and while we’re happy to hear that you found them overall to be helpful and friendly — and that you particularly enjoyed the service of Olga, Dasha, and Liza — we are concerned with the mention of the maître d'. We’ve asked our Customer Relations team to call you next week so that we may get a few more details on this matter. In the meantime, you can always contact us again at TellUs@vikingrivercruises.com. We’ll always be happy to hear from you!

Thank you again for joining us in Ukraine. We hope to see you aboard another ship in another destination sometime very soon.

Kindest regards,

Viking River Cruises

Dear travelling fools,

 

Welcome back home! We are happy to hear that you had a good trip — and pleased that we were able to help you out with your flights so that it could get started on the right foot. That you enjoyed the tours, took advantage of free time, loved the outdoor Ukrainian lunch, and found the ship to be up to standards, well, all of that is just wonderful! We’d love to hear even more of your feedback: like what stops you most enjoyed, tips for others who like to explore on their own, etc.

 

We appreciate your comment on providing tour options based on level of activity. In fact, we do exactly that in our other destinations. Footsteps of the Cossacks has been the final itinerary for our implementation of this program and while we are slowly rolling it out (to see what works, what doesn’t, and adjust accordingly) we expect it to be a regular feature on every departure by 2013. Our Vice President of Product Marketing recently sailed on Viking Lomonosov and shares your opinion wholeheartedly. He is one of the team members who is working on this project. We realize that one size doesn’t always fit all and that increasing the options for assisted independent exploration is yet another way guests will be able to further personalize their trips. All that said, we recognize that these changes were not yet made and therefore couldn’t benefit you, and we do apologize for the frustration.

 

You also mention the staff, and while we’re happy to hear that you found them overall to be helpful and friendly — and that you particularly enjoyed the service of Olga, Dasha, and Liza — we are concerned with the mention of the maître d'. We’ve asked our Customer Relations team to call you next week so that we may get a few more details on this matter. In the meantime, you can always contact us again at TellUs@vikingrivercruises.com. We’ll always be happy to hear from you!

 

Thank you again for joining us in Ukraine. We hope to see you aboard another ship in another destination sometime very soon.

 

Kindest regards,

Viking River Cruises

Thank you for the opportunity to talk to your rep about our experience with our river cruise.

It is nice to know a company listens and looks into problems and concerns customers have.

Looking forward to our next river cruise.

We loved our Ukraine River Cruise with Viking. The tours (included and optional) were wonderful, the food was exceptional, the ship spotless, bright and airy,the staff knowledgeable and attentive.

If anyone from Viking is reading this, I would like to suggest that the enrichment lectures be broadcast on the stateroom TV and rerun for 24 hours. It is not always possible to attend a talk in person and this would provide an opportunity to everyone to listen/watch at his/her leisure. I made this suggestion on my comment card but I'm sure it takes a while for them to be processed.

Thank you Viking for a fabulous cruise. I wish it had been a longer trip (3 days more) as we were so busy with tours in most of the port cities that we did not have enough time to explore on our own.

China next.

We loved our Ukraine River Cruise with Viking. The tours (included and optional) were wonderful, the food was exceptional, the ship spotless, bright and airy,the staff knowledgeable and attentive.

 

If anyone from Viking is reading this, I would like to suggest that the enrichment lectures be broadcast on the stateroom TV and rerun for 24 hours. It is not always possible to attend a talk in person and this would provide an opportunity to everyone to listen/watch at his/her leisure. I made this suggestion on my comment card but I'm sure it takes a while for them to be processed.

 

Thank you Viking for a fabulous cruise. I wish it had been a longer trip (3 days more) as we were so busy with tours in most of the port cities that we did not have enough time to explore on our own.

 

China next.

While they don't have the equipment on board to do a live recording for each lecture, maybe they could record something in advance (in a studio) to show.

As for China, if you are complaining about lack of free time to explore on this itinerary, you will have even less time on the China cruise. Check out the Viking China (Part 2) thread. The most current information is in Part 2. Except to see how the itinerary has evolved over the years, there is very little reason to slog through the couple of thousand posts in Part 1. I also have links to my blog and to photos and also check out what Kohola has links to. IMHO Viking's China experience is the gold standard; I will forever measure everything against it.

We loved our Ukraine River Cruise with Viking. The tours (included and optional) were wonderful, the food was exceptional, the ship spotless, bright and airy,the staff knowledgeable and attentive.

 

If anyone from Viking is reading this, I would like to suggest that the enrichment lectures be broadcast on the stateroom TV and rerun for 24 hours. It is not always possible to attend a talk in person and this would provide an opportunity to everyone to listen/watch at his/her leisure. I made this suggestion on my comment card but I'm sure it takes a while for them to be processed.

 

Thank you Viking for a fabulous cruise. I wish it had been a longer trip (3 days more) as we were so busy with tours in most of the port cities that we did not have enough time to explore on our own.

 

China next.

Dear loum140,

Welcome back! We’re thrilled to hear that you loved our Footsteps of the Cossacks cruise. The Viking staff is dedicated to providing our guests with the best possible experience, and we appreciate that you’ve acknowledged their hard work. Additionally, we’re glad that you found the food to be “exceptional”!

Currently we are working on technology that will allow us to implement your excellent suggestions on board. So keep an eye out for them on the Viking Longships in the near future.

Thank you for choosing to sail with Viking River Cruises. We look forward to welcoming you on board again soon!

Sincerely,

Viking River Cruises

We just booked this cruise for 22 Sept. 2013, I've put this thread in favorites so I can find it again closer to the cruise. Thank you everyone, I'm starting to get excited already.