Just got back from "Footsteps of the Cossacks"

To give some background to our trip - I was born in Odessa Ukraine, and have been contemplating for some time to introduce my wife to the city and the country of which she heard so much. The Odessa-Kiev cruise on Viking Lomonosov provided a possibility to do so with an added bonus of "highlighting" Crimea as well.

We decided to fly to Odessa roughly a week earlier than the cruise, spent some time there and then board the ship. Because of this I also booked my own air and was responsible for all applicable transfers....

 

The time in Odessa was very good! The exchange rate definitely works for us as it was hovering about 7.90 UAH (give or take few kopecks) for $1.00 so stuff is just… dirt cheap

I got one of the hackers to take us to hotel from the airport for only 50 UAH (and believe it or not – they started from 200 UAH so haggling and standing one’s ground does pay off)

The hotel Black Sea (Chornoye Morye) was good (we had one of the cheapest rooms with 2 single beds and a shower (not bathtub) but the room was on 11th floor with balcony, had a small refrigerator\bar (don’t drink anything out of that – you can get stuff from any grocery store much cheaper and just store it in the refrigerator if so desired) and was clean and everything in working order – I was leaving 10 UAH every morning for the maid…). We got it for 500 UAH\night which was about $63.00 and paid for breakfast separately (70.00 UAH\pp) when we ate it in hotel (buffet style and plenty of food)

One more thing I want to mention about the room – the shower is small and is located on a rather high platform so it’s a bit of an “adventure” but manageable. However if you don’t think you guys can manage it – the same room w\tub is about $90.00\night and a semi-suite w\queen bed is $100 – the choice is yours.

The hotel also provides a small map of downtown area in English so you should be fine with that

We ate dinners at following restaurants: The 4 Bulgarians (Chetyre Bolgarina), Robin Bobbin (seems to be a chain), The Cousin (Kumanetz), Fry & Steam (Zharyu-Paryu) café & The Steakhouse (actual name of the place) – all is nothing short of delicious and the most we spent for meal was about $80.00 with booze & 20% tips included (keep in mind everything in Odessa is ala-carte so this was with an appetizer(s), sometimes a soup, main course, a side dish and coffee\tea; sometimes dessert – btw the coffee is to die for since they pretty much serve espresso)

Some light fares at various street cafes and their milk shakes (they call them “Freshis” (I guess from English Fresh)) are very tasty and inexpensive.

We also ate in a Georgian Café called Suliko (some absolutely AWESOME Georgian Cuisine!)when I met some of my classmates but I’d be pressed to send anyone there simply because it is not downtown and you’d have a bit of time finding it

There are 2 entrances to the hotel – the main one is on Malaya Arnautskaya and the side one – on Richel’yevskaya. If you come out the main entrance and turn right – crossing Richel’yevskaya and Yekaterinskaya (next block) – Robin Bobbin Restaurant that I spoke about will be on the middle of next block and across the street there is a small grocery store with the same name in case you want to stock up on water and what-have-you (they also sell booze) In Russian - Робин Бобин

The 4 Bulgarians (in Russian 4 Болгарина) – go the same way but turn Right on Yekaterinskaya and at some point cross to the other side. It is perhaps 4 blocks or so away

Going out on Richel’yevskaya and turning right – the $$$ exchange place is literally next building (although they are liberally sprinckled all over the town). Continuing that way will get you downtown right to the Opera Theater – perhaps a 20 min walk at most. Any of the parallel streets (Yekaterinskaya, Pushkinskaya, Preobrazhenskaya) will do the same (i.e. get you downtown)

Kumanetz (Russian Куманец) is off Langeronovskaya (a tiny little street right before you get to Opera theater – turn left) and Gavannaya – right on the corner

The Steakhouse (Russian Стэйкхаус) is on Deribasovskaya before you reach Gavannaya corner (cant miss it – its got a cow in front of it J)

Just to reiterate that there is an abundance of various restaurants on Deribasovskaya and even other streets. There are some Irish Pubs, sushi places, a Kobe Steakhouse (right across from Opera – but expensive – 435.00 UAH for a steak) and a chain called Top Sandwich (Russian: Топ Сэндвич) as well as abundance of pizza places. Pretty much every café has something to eat as well

In any case – I don’t think anyone has to worry about food J

I contacted The Empire VIP Club (lena@empire-tour.net) and arranged a private tour of catacombs for us for $100.00. They picked us up from the hotel on the day we checked out (nice A\C’d cab, plenty of room for luggage and comfy sittings), provided an interpreter who accompanied us to Nerubaiskoye Village (and told some of the Odessa history while getting there) where we went through the tour and adjacent museum with a local guide (our interpreter was translating what he was saying) and then took us straight to the ship. It was very well worth it (about 3 hours total time).

The tickets for the tour were additional 30 UAH and I tipped the guide 10 UAH, the driver 20 UAH and the interpreter – 50 UAH (so perhaps another $14.00 or so)

Outside that – we did a lot of stuff on our own but that’s where my language knowledge does come in handy in many ways. We saw an Opera (Madama Butterfly) in Opera\Ballet theater (130 UAH\pp for the BEST seats in the house (wound up being Tzar’s Box!)), took a side trip to Belgorod-Dnestrovsk to see the Ackerman Fortress and stuck our faces into Local Lore and (Russian) Art Museums (there is a Museum of Western Art but those galleries were closed for renovation and we were not interested in those that remained open – mainly Oriental exhibitions)

So now - the ship…

The ship is very simple – library, 2 bars (one forward and one aft), 2 restaurants (while we were assigned to Kiev restaurant the seating is open for all meals which gives you a chance to mingle with fellow passengers) and a sun deck – otherwise just a hallways with cabins on both sides (4 decks total). Our cabin (229) was 90 sq.ft – the TINIEST we’ve ever seen J but we were able to get everything out of suitcases and store them away with no problem so it was quite cozy and comfy (besides its not like we spent TOO much time in it)

Actually it turned out to be a good location since all the cabins have a large window but all are overlooking a given deck so one has to be mindful of the situation least some fellow cruisers will catch you de-flagrante J The Main deck is “Crew” deck – so we hardly had anyone moving past our window and we were literally steps away from the Front Desk and the disembarking doors (proves a good thing when the crowds begin to gather to go ashore)

BY FAR – it is the most passive cruise EVER! There is no “activities” on board for those mornings\afternoons that you are cruising – I reckon the idea is for you to sit on the deck and soak up the scenery…but then you kinda ease in into this “lazy” lifestyle…and if need be – there are books and games in library, they were showing movies on TV (mostly tapes not live but that’s OK) and there were appropriate lectures on Ukraine History in general and ports-of-call when appropriate.

Food was AWESOME (surprisingly I did not gain an ounce case you KNOW I was eating like a pig (or make it 2 pigs) J). They are also liberal with that wine that comes as a part of the package – once its starts flowing you can ask for refills and they will give it to you no questions asked. The drinks at the bar are good (the best LIIT I’ve ever tasted) and they use top shelf brands (drink of the day was about 55 UAH). Draft beer (Slavutitch – Ukrainian Beer) is very good and actually is cheaper than Coke (28 UAH vs 30 UAH for the same size glass)

Speaking of Coke – all soft drinks are charged even during the meals. At the same - water and iced tea are available with meals, 4 juices are there for breakfast and there is a coffee machine on Middle Deck that works 24/7 (and like I said – wine is flowing during the dinner) so we were not hurting for soda. They also give you a 1 liter bottle of water in the cabin (if need be – replenished every day). And there is no limit on stuff you can buy while in port and bring back into cabin (there is a small fridge). You KNOW some folks were dragging booze in on daily basis J If you want to serve it at the dinner though – its 80 UAH cork fee charge.

The stuff is very friendly and helpful but their English is limited – if you “overstep the boundaries” by asking some unfamiliar question – they will give you a blank look and say Yes (with the same friendly smile…. But that’s about it)

The weather while in Odessa and Crimea was just perfect! Couple of showers but kinda “passing by” or we hit everything at the right time (rained while we were in transit or inside the building) so that was not an issue aside carting the jackets with us some days and the temps were in upper 70s to upper 80s

The 1st days into the river it did change to cooler (upper 50s – mid 60s) but bearable. Unfortunately 1 day was a complete wash out - we were lucky that we just finished watching the Cossack Horse Show when the skies literally opened up and we were shooed-in back onto buses thus cutting short the rest of the visit (kinda was a bummer since this was on Khortitsa Island where Ukrainian (Zaporozhye) Cossacks started from as I was looking forward to view some of the fortifications and such) and the next 2 were kinda gloomy as well (it would periodically drizzle on and off – just enough to be a slight nuisance here-and-there). But by the time we got to Kiev it was all nice and sunny again

The “included” tours…well… they just cemented my reason of trying to stay away from organized tours (but then it is exactly the reason why I DO stay away from them). You are assigned the bus in the beginning of the cruise so the same driver and guide will be with you for duration. There were 28 people on our bus (it does not seem like the cruise was sold-out) and most of the folks are in their 70s so… time to get on get off… and pretty much running through museums and other exhibits – not much you can do just go with the flow. (Be prepared to hear & see a lot of WWII (or as they call it The Great Patriotic War) stuff esp. since they are celebrating 65 years of VE Day this year)

That said I was only too happy that I hired a private guide for all 4 days in Crimea. He was a great guy, had his own A\Cd little car (which did come handy in some places that the bus would not even DREAM to go through), very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and … just everything you want to ask for in a guide!

To make a long story short – we hit EVERY place that Viking advertized as “optional” tours (even when one had to choose between “tour 1” or “tour 2”) and THEN SOME! He got us into places that are closed to tourist crowds and pretty much I got everything I wished for (the only thing that was on my list that I didn’t get to do was to take a cable car to the top of Ai-Petri (St Peter’s) Mountain but that’s only because Viking told me that the ship would be leaving Yalta at 2:00 pm and it actually did at 1:00 pm – which lost us that hour and is not in any way Sergey’s (the guide’s) fault). All in all I paid him $510.00 $50.00 of which was a tip and was also paying whatever the entry fees to places were. So maybe the whole experience ran me $600-650 (tops) but again it was well worth it for me because of what we saw & did vs what the rest of the crowd did (or, obviously – didn’t). If you are interested – contact him at sergo22yalta at gmail.com (again his name is Sergey). You most certainly can tell him that I recommended J

To highlight one examle of what I just told you – I have photos of me sitting in Stalin’s cabinet behind his desk and Sergey and I in Molotov’s quarters - both are taken at Yusupov’s Palace which was where Russian Delegation was HQ’d during Yalta Conference (US Delegation was at Livadia (White) Palace (included in Itinerary) and Brits were at Vorontzov’s (Alupka) Palace – optional tour). The place originally belonged to Prince Felix Yusupov’s parents and the big claim to fame here is that Price Felix is the one who murdered Rasputin

In any case – nothing that any other fellow cruiser even dreamt of remotely seeing….

There is not much to see & do in Dnepropetrovsk and Kremenchug – they are just “1/2-dead monuments” to Soviet industry and I honestly have no idea as to why they are on the itinerary (I’d much more to skip one or both of them and spent that time in Kiev) but I'm not the one who makes the itinerary.

No matter what – the time in Kiev is simply NOT ENOUGH so make the best of what you’ll see on organized tours! The ship arrives in Kiev shortly after lunch and you practically immediately carted off onto the tours of St. Sophia Cathedral and the Kiev_Pecherskaya Monastery of the Caves (once more - NOT ENOUGH TIME AT ALL!!!!) Upon the reurn - you have a choice – either free time (shopping etc) or take a Jewish Kiev tour (to Babi Yar and the Main Synagogue). The tour is not advertized in Viking brochures and is 330 UAH pp; lasts approximately 2 hours and is a somber experience if you are familiar with the Babi Yar (done with a very knowledgeable English speaking local guide)

I spent about $300.00 in tips all around (ship personnel and local guides) and ran up perhaps a $150.00 bill on board which included the above tour and some souvenirs. – again PITTANCE since it was all in Hrivnas

I also have to mention that they take away your passports for the duration of the cruise (no reason to make any scenes or protests as that wont help any) they give you some tail of a whale about customs but it’s a lie – probably a left-over appendix from "good old" Soviet times. In any case – they give you a card (one per person) with your name, cabin # and bus # instead and it serves as your ID and also a “whereabouts” tool inasmuch as that you have to give them your cabin key for these cards every time you go ashore and thus exchange back upon return – so they can see if anyone is “still out”. They are not computerized at all in that sense – all on board stuff is still done via signing individual purchase receipts. Once your bill is settled (last “cruising” morning on the way to Kiev) – you get the passports back.

 

At the last day I simply decided not to go through the hustle of haggling with either cab drivers or hackers about the fare to Borispol Airport and just let the Front Desk order me one of their "affiliate" cabs. The taxi was there 10 mins before the scheduled time - nice, clean & comfortable car. The trip took about 40 mins and the fare was 300.00 UAH (+ 30 UAH tip). Thus - as far as my "transfers" go I think I beat the Viking price hands down....

So in conclusion – there are some setbacks but on the overall – a very worthy experience.

I will try to post some pictures in the Photo Gallery Section

Edited May 27, 2010 by Old Pete

Allan - thanks so much for the review. It was very interesting and informative.

Allan,

 

Great review, wish we'd known about your private guide before we did this Viking cruise in two years ago. We had buses of 50, rushed tours of the venues, impossible to hear the guides, constant pressure to hurry up, hurry up, no time for questions or reflection and no re-entry. Always followed by an hour of free time at the souvenir shop. Once or twice we were lucky to have a garden to wander in while the others shopped.

It must have been amazing to return to your birthplace with your wife after so many changes. I hope it was a happy experience for you both.

I'll watch for your posts because it looks like you like to travel independently in the same style as we do. Enjoy!

Deb.

Thank you so much for your interesting review - and well detailed. Have only been to Russia and would love to see more of that part of the world. Will search for your photos.

Vera

yes, nice, only Kumantez is not a "cousin", it's a Ukrainian word for a little pottery pot for drinks, water, sour cream and such.

Well - just shows how rusty my Ukrainian has become :D

No matter - the Restaurant is great be it a cousin or a liquid vessel :p

 

Deb - I know EXACTLY what you mean!!! Like I said - there is a REASON why I usually stay away from "organized" tours... somewhere along the line it does winds up bing hurry up-and-wait experience and there are just too many of situations that can arise because of other folks.

 

A good example of one of such cases happened to us in Kremenchug (I think) where, as we were walking to a Vorontzov's Palace (the guy, it seems, had palaces ALL OVER UKraine! :rolleyes:) one of the ladies decided to use an ATM, did something wrong and the stupid thing wouldnt release her card. Needless to say she satarted screeching, the group stopped, the guide went over to help her.... they did manage to get the card free 20 mins later.... and we got a WHOOPING 2 mins to look at the palace :mad:

I have NO IDEA WHY it was important to this lady to use the ATM in the middle of a tour but she did and in process messed everyone else up....

 

Individual tours is the way to go whenever it is possible. I dont need to see 100 sites, especially if they are flying by your bus window on that "city tour". I'd rather see 10 but at my own pace and with full comprehention of what it is that I am looking at....

Altiva - looking at your photos, I wonder if you guys "caught up" to us in Yalta on May 16th?

 

I have photos of Costa Marina docked right across us (actually watched it come in early that morning about 7 am or so)

OK... one just does not know how much of work it is to upload all the photos, etc.... :eek:

 

So... here are mine as uploaded into Kodak Gallery

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=4wggos7g.6v8mbmk8&x=0&h=1&y=-48n89k&localeid=en_US

 

I have to "forewarn" anyone that there are 804 pics in there - I tend to get "trigger happy" and the results are lots of pics to begin with and then there are close ups of building details and chandeliers... :rolleyes:

 

Anyways - if any brave souls out there willing to sit through it all - you'll see quite a lot of what I wrote above

Anyone on board that possibly did the St. Petersburg to Moscow cruise or was planning on this second cruise? Seems like a good way to save on airfare??

Actually yes - there were some folks that were going to "Waterways of the Tzars" cruise once this one was done (I dont recall anyone being on this cruise that just returned from Russia but thats not to say it can't be done)

 

I guess if one has time - it is no problem to tackle another cruise on no matter which one (I mean one can fly back to Europe for one of those cruises just as well)

I am doing a systematic review of most of the CC posts about Viking Cruises, with special attention to the "FOTC" as we are considering it for 2012.

I hope you will see this post and perhaps answer a few questions.

 

I got through the first 200 pictures--will finish another time. About the room--was this the least expensive room? My husband is 6'2" and I'm wondering if he will fit in the beds. I did a barge cruise with a friend a few years ago and if he'd gone, he'd never have fit in the cabins. I am also interested in the shower--on the barge, you pulled a curtain around the toilet/sink area and the water ran through a wooden grate. I think I remember it that way and it seems to me that is how I've envisioned the shower activity on the Viking.

 

Your pictures are great and I'll do the other 600 another time or two times. Ciao. hmh:)

or so...did any of these cities have HOHO buses,,???hate tours,,but those are good option if available...we took Viking to Russia...but boat was also old,,,may want to look to see if another cruiseline offering similar....want to see Black Sea,,but may do ocean cruise for that....and I m not even FROM thoses places,,,,but fascinating to me....thanks for review,,very helpful....;)

I posted above the other day--even tho this thread is a year old, the information in it is great and would be really helpful to anyone thinking of this trip. I noticed that "Old Pete" has posted most recently in March this year but don't know on which thread, so he may still be reading this board occasionally. There was a post in late May by someone who had taken the trip and his pictures were great.

 

I am hoping that others, who have taken this trip will chime in on how they liked their trip on the Lomovoso. I was told by a Viking agent that it will undergo renovation in 2012--don't know if that is before or after the cruise season, however. :) Ciao!!hmh

...About the room--was this the least expensive room? My husband is 6'2" and I'm wondering if he will fit in the beds. I did a barge cruise with a friend a few years ago and if he'd gone, he'd never have fit in the cabins. I am also interested in the shower--on the barge, you pulled a curtain around the toilet/sink area and the water ran through a wooden grate. I think I remember it that way and it seems to me that is how I've envisioned the shower activity on the Viking...

Looks like no one answered this. I am 6'3' was on the Lomonosovo Apr/May 2011, and was the least expensive cabin category. There are two fixed [lower] bunks that are about 6'3" long. One dead ends into the bathroom wall, the other is open on the bottom allowing toes to hang over the end of the bed [my normal sleeping mode]. I found the bed fully acceptable. The shower curtain runs between the sink area and the toilet, so the toilet and towels stay dry, but anything in the sink area is in the "shower" and will get wet. The shower is wall mounted but detachable [ie then hand held]; the wall mounting adjusted up and down for people of differing heights. This worked fine as long as you remembered that the valve determining whether the water went to the sink or to the shower was not automatic, and if you left it turned to "shower" you will get sprayed when you turn the water faucet on [wonder how I know this:rolleyes:]. Not Western Deluxe, but worked perfectly well. Plenty of hot water.

or so...did any of these cities have HOHO buses,,???hate tours,,but those are good option if available...we took Viking to Russia...but boat was also old,,,may want to look to see if another cruiseline offering similar....want to see Black Sea,,but may do ocean cruise for that....;)

I don't think that any of these cities had HOHO, but a decent city tour is included at no additional cost at each stop There are also optional fee tours to outlying areas, but these are at times other than when the city tour is given. The older, most interesting areas of the cities were generally within walking distance of where the ship docks, and we spent time walking on our own in every city. There are currently only five river boats operating on the Dneipr River [not all of them marketing in the US], and I think the Lomonosovo may be the fanciest of the lot. Of our six stops [Kiev, Zaporozhy, Kherson, Sevastopol, Yalta, and Odessa] the last three are standard stops on Black Sea ocean going cruise ships.

 

hope this helps

Thom

Thanks, Traveler Thom, for your information. It was exactly what I wanted to know. It must have been your review that I read earlier this Spring. the shower sounds similar to one we had on a Barge Cruise in Eastern Burgundy. We are not yet ready to commit to the Footsteps trip. We have friends doing the Budapest to Buchrest voyage in late August and will see what their reactions are. Everyone has a different perspective. :) Ciao! hmh

Thanks, Traveler Thom, for your information. It was exactly what I wanted to know. It must have been your review that I read earlier this Spring. the shower sounds similar to one we had on a Barge Cruise in Eastern Burgundy. We are not yet ready to commit to the Footsteps trip. We have friends doing the Budapest to Buchrest voyage in late August and will see what their reactions are. Everyone has a different perspective. :) Ciao! hmh

I was on the cruise with the review you are referring to, and would like to claim credit for that very good review, but it was done by others [we met them on the cruise and shared a dining table with them a number of times (open seating)].

 

We have done a Burgundy barge cruise and the barge was significantly smaller than the Lomonosov [not only the vessel was smaller, but the beds, bath, etc were also smaller - on that crewed 20 passenger barge our room ceiling was about 6', the shower ceiling about 5'9" etc, and the barge still had only a couple of centimeters clearance going through the locks]. We had a wonderful trip on the barge, but the Lomonosov was gigantic luxury compared to that [but the rooms are not gigantic when compared to anything else].

 

We have also done Budapest to the Black Sea. The vessels used on the Danube are the same ones used on the Rhine, etc and are "Western European". The Ukraine uses "Russian" vessels - the ones built in the former East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s. Lomonosov has been refurbished by Viking, making some of the cabins 50% larger [by turning 3 cabins into 2], and others 100% larger. I'm pretty sure that these upgraded cabins have hotel style beds and baths, but the entry priced cabins [where we were (and have been on a St.Petersburg-Moscow and a Yangtze cruise)] have fixed bunks [all lower (no uppers) as far as I know] and yacht style baths. I knew what the accommodations were before I went, and was totally satisfied. I didn't go to the Ukraine planning on luxuriating in my cabin as I would rather spend my time on the sun deck or lounges or walking around town.

 

Our room was always well cleaned, the water was hot, the food was good and the staff delightful [even if still learning the ropes on our first cruise of the season - first time away from home for some of them]. Don't go expecting the Ritz, but a great way to see the Ukraine.

 

Thom

to suite,,had western beds,etc..no balcony,,just windows that open to deck area,,,but was fine...may do that option,,,am taking AMA from Prague to Budapest next June,,then may sign up for Black sea ocean cruise,,but the Budapest to Black Sea river boat is another on the "bucket list",,

Other than cabin,,had a great time on Viking in Russia,,,good food,fun entertainment and lectures,,would go again in heartbeat,,maybe they ll upgrade Cossack ship too....??

To bad about HOHO bus,must be a western concept,,never saw one in Moscow,,etc..either,,can stick with ship exc...and on own...will now look up your reviews...;)

If anyone is still following or subscribed to this thread, may we invite you to join the conversation at Viking Footsteps of the Cossacks (Ukraine)? We are looking for past cruisers to talk about their experiences and to help those of us who planning this cruise to learn more about it.

 

TIA!

 

Andrea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HMH - Sorry that it took me so long but, as you have noticed, if the idea is to look forwrd to 2012 - then perhaps it is not too late.

What TravelerThom said is correct. Category "E" is the cheapest one however the size of the cabin is the same for the whole deck (i.e. Cat "D" as well) so upgrading on the same deck wont get you any more room space.

The beds are located exactly as Thom described - one ends at the bathroom wall (thats the one I slept at) and the other one is open (my wife slept there)

Although we are not as tall as your husband - there were no problems

 

The shower info is also correct - it is what Viking calls "yacht style". The curtain blocks off the toilet seat and the towel rack (so make SURE to move all your cosmetics, dental stuff, etc to that area). There is a lever on the shower that controls whether the water will flow into the shower or the sink faucet - doesn't take too long to figure it all out. Plenty of hot water, good water pressure... all-in-all a good showering experience.

In re: other Cruise Companies that do the like itinerary -

I just came across Vantage Travel.

Their itinerary is close to Viking but not quite the same (and because of the difference - more expensive).

Check it out in order to compare: http://www.vantagetravel.com/Trip/Trips.aspx?TripID=1460

 

Hope that helps

 

To my best knowledge - this is it. Other companies may include Odessa and\or Crimea Ports as part of their Mediterranean Cruises but nothing that will take you onto Dnieper

Hello, I have just reserved this trip from Kiev to Odessa in the Fall of 2013, can't remember whether it's September or October, but it's definitely going south. I booked the flights from Viking, it seemed the easy thing to do.

 

My father was born in Ukraine, my grandparents left in 1914, I'm really looking forward to this. I have the passport they used when they left - in Russian, with a French translation. A few years ago, I had it translated and it said that the family had permission to leave 'Russia' (as Russia was in control back then) once and come back once. They never went back, and I'll be the first person in the family to go there in 100 years.

 

My grandparents' wedding picture has the address of a photography shop in Odessa, where it was taken, which includes directions to find the shop - around the corner from the _____ Church. I hope to find that church, I hope it's still standing.

 

Well, I'm going to look at your pictures, thanks for writing your review. I'm only doing the cruise - flying into Kiev and leaving from Odessa. If there had been an extension in Odessa, I may have signed up for that.

Hello, I have just reserved this trip from Kiev to Odessa in the Fall of 2013, can't remember whether it's September or October, but it's definitely going south. I booked the flights from Viking, it seemed the easy thing to do.

 

My father was born in Ukraine, my grandparents left in 1914, I'm really looking forward to this. I have the passport they used when they left - in Russian, with a French translation. A few years ago, I had it translated and it said that the family had permission to leave 'Russia' (as Russia was in control back then) once and come back once. They never went back, and I'll be the first person in the family to go there in 100 years.

 

My grandparents' wedding picture has the address of a photography shop in Odessa, where it was taken, which includes directions to find the shop - around the corner from the _____ Church. I hope to find that church, I hope it's still standing.

 

Well, I'm going to look at your pictures, thanks for writing your review. I'm only doing the cruise - flying into Kiev and leaving from Odessa. If there had been an extension in Odessa, I may have signed up for that.

We did the Vantage Russian River Cruise that included a four day per-extension to Kiev. We loved Kiev and the Ukrainian people. We especially enjoyed a home hosted dinner with a Ukrainian lady and her Granddaugher. We learned a lot about life in the Soviet Union, with the ever present KGB, Chernobyl and the aftermath of the collapse of the SU.

 

Also, the country is undergoing some political turmoil by the government's prosecution of Ylia Timochenko.

 

All the Ukrainians told us that they don't want to go back to being a part of Russia.

So far I've looked through the first 400 of the pictures, and they were just wonderful, I'm wondering what type of camera you used? You are a very talented photographer.

I don't know how I'm going to wait for this, but perhaps I can use the time to do some reading on Ukraine. I think there are some books posted on the Viking web site? Or somewhere, I've done so much reading in the past few days that I don't remember what I saw and where.

Just wondering how I subscribe to this thread, I managed to subscribe to a few other threads, but things are hit or miss here.

 

Also - I'm wondering if I can add the Kiev extension to my cruise, either before or after the river cruise?

 

Since flights from Odessa seem to be limited, wouldn't a flight from Odessa go back to Kiev anyway, before I flew to the US.

 

Also - I didn't get the Viking insurance, was thinking of geting it from American Express - what has anyone else done? Would you recommend the Viking insurance? It seemed kind of pricey.

If your tour starts or ends in Kiev you can add an extension. Check with your travel agent or Viking. The subscribe option is at the top of section.

We are going Kiev/Odessa in June.

My flight does not return via Kiev.

For insurance go to "Insure my Trip" and there are lots of options. Cruise insurance thru the travel company is cost effective for older passengers as the private companies base on age.

Edited February 3, 2012 by sitraveler
re read posting.