Viking 'Footsteps of the Cossacks' (Ukraine)

[Peregrina651]

$50 US is a lot to pay to go somewhere to shop.

 

CVG, poolplayer has a keyboard that thinks for itself. Pirogova is actually an open air museum on the outskirts of Kiev. You can get there on your own or take the tour offered by Viking. Here's the wikipedia article for it. Check it out on Trip Advisor as well.

 

And here are a few pictures found on the internet:

 

 

[Peregrina651]

HUMMM, lets's see-- cold medicine, bug spray and now TP!! What else??

Okay, two things you don't want to waste your time trying to find while you are traveling: drugs and electronics.

 

Make sure you bring pain pills, tummy meds, cortisone cream, cold meds, etc. Anything that you find you use a regular basis you should have with you. Adhesive tape for blisters. I don't like bandaids for blisters because the little pad thing rubs just as much as the shoe--and a good adhesive tape doesn't come off until I take it off. I like the cloth kind the best--and the paper kind us useless.

 

As for your electronics, make sure to have whatever charging cords, spare batteries, adapters, spare memory cards in case you have a problem. Our guide spent more time taking people to the camera store because people left things home than she spent finding ATM machines--and they could not get spare parts for their electronics (usually cameras); they had to buy new or go without. This goes for any of those breathing machines that are in vogue these days, as well

 

After you get your meds and your electronics packed, it there is any space left in your bags, you can pack your clothing and a bottle of Fabreze. :D

[poolplayer]

I am on an ipad and usually type with a regular computer without this stupid it fills in the words is right. The shopping bus was free. The day yesterday was an old ukrainian village. Our biggest issue is the humidity. It is .5 ile walk in and out plus walking around. The heat make it hardeer to take. Atms are everywhere.

[id est]

Black sea concsrt was 485 uah mom went it is a concert just for the cruise ship she liked it the danci g and singing it was exactly 1 hour. The next morni g the si gers were at the prior singing to another ship that was docked singing in english anda couple polkas . Odessa opera ballett was 485 uah. If you are in kiev the kiev opera house is 200 uah and perform in afternoon and 7 pm

Wine tour is 410. Chersonese was 295 bakaklava sub tour was 370 open are market in kiev was 50 americsn. I had the tour brochure but lost it sorry but they were close to the prices others have quoted. The kiev jewish tour was excellent from what people have said but they were disappointed with the odessa tour

Thanks for this valuable info. I crossed out “Black Sea Band concert” from my list: seems to be overpriced for 1 hour performance only. Just curious if anyone tried “Akkerman fortress” tour in Odessa?

[Peregrina651]

At the Black Sea Fleet Band performance:

 

[id est]

I am still puzzled how to spend Viking’s $200 onboard credit? Btw, do they calculate it in hryvnias?

[Grandcruisevirgin]

I am still puzzled how to spend Viking’s $200 onboard credit? Btw, do they calculate it in hryvnias?

I would guess that you could use the credit to cover tips, optional excursions, at the bar, etc.

I was wondering about the trip to Chekov's summer home - is that still offered, and if so, has anyone done it? What about the ballet in Odessa, I'd much rather see that than an opera?

I was thinking of organizing a cabin crawl/poker game on the Sept. 22 trip, if there's enough interest. If there are any 'lurkers' here scheduled for that cruise, bring a deck of cards and $5.00 US to put into the pot. There's a free afternoon after leaving Yalta. We can start in my cabin, I'll lay out a deck of cards on my berth, everyone drops their $5 into the pot and picks a card. Then we move on to the next cabin - let's try to get a range of cabin classes, and everyone looks at that and picks another card. At the end of the crawl, the person with the best poker hand wins the jackpot. This is a good way to see all of the different cabin types.

I just got my 'final' itinerary this week - I'm still in the 'hotel requested' stage regarding the Vienna hotel on the trip back, and 'window seat request.' So, how can that be final? :confused:

[poolplayer]

you cannot use the on board credit for tips. you can put the tips on our credit card, American money, euro or Ukraine. There is a tip box at the reception desk for 100% if the crew minus the bus driver. The dining room had a box too that was just for them. The 200 usa dollars for your own board credit is changed to Ukraine so your bell looks use. We did more extra excursions to use up the credit which in the end I enjoyed. Many bought gifts from the gift shop even though they were more expensive than the off the ship but it is better use it than lose it.

 

The summer time the opera house is usually ballet. In Kiev many went to their on our extension. One day is opera one day is ballet in the summer. They said the tickets went from 60 to 200 Ukraine dollars. You can purchase that day there were many open seats

 

They did not have on board the auction that people have talked about I think that is no longer being done. They did have a shopping hour on board with music and dancing near the gift shop which is very crowded but fun for some.

 

Of course I am back home now and have my computer back (yeahhh can type again) We had a 2:30p.m. flight and they transferred us at 9:30. 14 of us and not enough room on the van. The wanted to send our luggage in a car after us but we insisted on going with our luggage and she got four of us a van. The ones who went in the van said there was still not enough room to have accommodated us. The escort from Viking when questioned why not enough room when they knew how many said we had more baggage than they thought but everyone had one suitcase and one carryone. There was no one with two suitcases.

 

The poker run idea sounds like a good idea you can ask the program director to help you with things they are willing to help. We did our Canadian night with their help. They sent out the "roll out the rim" invitations to the Canadians they had registered on board. Some how one room was missed and the other Canadians had not realized they were Canadian to invite them to the party but you will always miss someone.

 

The fortress tour I did not take since they scared me with the 2 hour ride to and 2 hour ride out how bad it was but many people felt it was the only time you really got to see the land not around the ship and the ride was not bad. Others said it was the longest trip of their life so you have to judge accordingly with yourself. ALL SAID the mosquitoes at the fort were unbearable.

 

If I think of something else I will post. When we arrived at the hotel a couple asked us for secrets to help them here is a couple I remember to tell them in two minutes

 

1. at lunch the buffet goes from both sides of the ship...before do not realize this until half way go to the other side. Breakfast only one side

 

2. champagne is served at breakfast but it is near the bar with the figs. It is self serve

 

3. they have ice tea at meals and coke and spite for free not just beer and wine and water

 

4. the ships bathroom on the 4th floor near the lounge are great especially when your roommate is in the bathroom in your room or you are on the skydeck. They are huge.

 

5. We did not want the perogies for dinner but wanted to try them so we ordered a plate for the table to share. Worked perfect everyone got one

 

6. she was worried about always tipping the bus driver and had taken lots of ones.. Usually at the end of the cruise is when most people tipped the driver. We never had any other drivers but the 5 Viking had. Sometimes at other excursions you had that it was not your bus driver but they all took turns at the other excursions

 

7. Vic wanted to tell her the pork tenderloin the last day was terrible and not pork tenderloin but butt and many agreed.

 

8. if you do not like the meat, fish or vegetable dish suggested they do have alternatives steak (which is good), salmon (good as well) and chicken (which I did not have but told good as well)

 

9. In the 2nd floor one bed is longer than the other in the small rooms.

 

10. If the airconditioning is not working in one bus (which there was one that was bad) change buses they don't like it but if everyone did that maybe they would finally fix that bus.

 

hope this all helps people going next

 

The ship next year is the same ship just redone as said by the captain. So expect it to be nicer but still same ship not the new ones on the other rivers

[silkismom]

Grand--we are still "request" for the Vienna hotel also. For your air, I assume it has been ticketed by now--I paid extra for early ticketing. Go to United or whomever and if you don't already have a frequent flyer number, get one, sign in and enter your locator (found on your booking info from Viking) you can choose your own seat that way. Same way with Lufthansa--don't need frequent flyer number with them, just find with "name and locator" it will be under the Austrian air on 3 Oct. Can't get seats for the short flts. I've changed ours around several times.

[Grandcruisevirgin]

Grand--we are still "request" for the Vienna hotel also. For your air, I assume it has been ticketed by now--I paid extra for early ticketing. Go to United or whomever and if you don't already have a frequent flyer number, get one, sign in and enter your locator (found on your booking info from Viking) you can choose your own seat that way. Same way with Lufthansa--don't need frequent flyer number with them, just find with "name and locator" it will be under the Austrian air on 3 Oct. Can't get seats for the short flts. I've changed ours around several times.

 

Aghhhhh.

I am a Miles & More member.

I went to Austrian Air, put in my last name, Miles & More number and whatever that 6 character alpha-numeric reservation number thingie is. My reservation comes up. My seat on Luthansa from IAD to Frankfurt is confirmed. Austrian Air will not let me pick a seat on the Vienna - IAD leg of the trip.

I'm done worrying about this for the day. Viking has my request for a window seat, perhaps when we get closer, they'll tell me what this is.

[Grandcruisevirgin]

Figured it out - you have to go to the Luthansa site, not Austrian Air. I got my window seat, all is good! :cool:

[Peregrina651]

poolplayer, thank you for all the tips and observations!! Very helpful information!

 

Someone asked about the on board currency. It is hyrnias (UAH). Everything is priced in UAH and your on board bill will be charged to your credit card in UAH. By law, they are not permitted to convert it to any other currency. This is to your advantage since each time you convert money, you lose on the conversion. Also, remember that means that you will incur a foreign transaction of some percentage as charged by your bank. Viking cannot control this or prevent it from happening. If the transaction fee drives you nuts, bring a cc card that does not charge them.

 

Even without an on board credit to burn through, we bought a number of items in the gift shop. We shopped there for a number of reasons: 1. I can't be bothered spending my vacation comparison shopping. We saw it; we liked it; the price was reasonable, so we bought it. 2. The shop carries good quality merchandise, at least for the things we were looking at and since I'm not always a good judge of quality on items I am not familiar with, I was willing to pay a premium to insure that I was buying good stuff. We ended up buying lacquer ware candlesticks, painted eggs and some small, inexpensive black boxes painted in the Ukrainian style with flowers.

 

Opera/ballet in Odessa and Kiev: What you see depends on what is on-stage that night since they are both performed in the same theater. You do not have to go with Viking; you can go to the box office and buy your own tickets. Even with the Potemkin Steps to be navigated, it is an easy walk to the Opera House in Odessa and in Kiev, it is three blocks from the hotel. In Odessa, you can even arrange a cab to take you.

[ocean999]

Grand--we are still "request" for the Vienna hotel also. For your air, I assume it has been ticketed by now--I paid extra for early ticketing. Go to United or whomever and if you don't already have a frequent flyer number, get one, sign in and enter your locator (found on your booking info from Viking) you can choose your own seat that way. Same way with Lufthansa--don't need frequent flyer number with them, just find with "name and locator" it will be under the Austrian air on 3 Oct. Can't get seats for the short flts. I've changed ours around several times.

Hi Silkismom and GCV and everyone else going soon. Just a note from reading Poolplayers note (which was great) but just one little change and that is water. I'm a huge water drinker and at lunch and dinner, you can get for no cost bottles of still or bubbly water. It's great. You will have to pay for it at brkfast, so just bring some from the room. They do give you large bottles (1 liter) of filtered water daily, and its great. Use it for everything, including brushing your teeth,of course. I'm getting excited for you folks! GLad you figured out your flight info. If you want, you sometimes can change your seat (or they might change it for you) on the shorter flights, but all was fine on all flights.

Ocean

[silkismom]

Now that was something I didn't think about--I just assumed that the water from the tap was safe to drink, brush teeth etc----or NOT???

[Peregrina651]

Now that was something I didn't think about--I just assumed that the water from the tap was safe to drink, brush teeth etc----or NOT???

 

Yes, the tap water on the ship is safe to drink and brush teeth in. I'm living proof. ;) However, you are still traveling in a foreign country and dipping your toe in a different germ pool than your body is accustomed to and some people are more sensitive to changes in water than others. Some can go from country to country and drink the water and have no problems at all, while others find that even the smallest change sends them running for the Pepto. You know your tummy best; choose accordingly.

[Grandcruisevirgin]

Is this the right one?

 

http://www.amazon.com/OREI-Grounded-Universal-Adapter-Germany/dp/B004SY5O5K/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1372885203&sr=1-1&keywords=adapter+for+europe

 

Because this is the one I bought.

[Peregrina651]

Is this the right one?

 

http://www.amazon.com/OREI-Grounded-Universal-Adapter-Germany/dp/B004SY5O5K/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1372885203&sr=1-1&keywords=adapter+for+europe

 

Because this is the one I bought.

 

Yes, that will work.

[Peregrina651]

As we sailed up the Dnieper, we saw this restaurant being towed down river. At least that is what we think is being towed. Maybe it was in storage for the winter. Maybe it had just been sold to a new owner.

 

 

Edited July 11, 2013 by Peregrina651

[Grandcruisevirgin]

I have not been too active here lately.

I have my adaptor and my flat sink stopper in my suitcase already. :) In two months and one week, I leave.

 

I recently connected with someone who may be a 4th or 5th cousin on my father's side. I told her I had my grandparents' passport that they used to immigrate to the US in 1914. Today I scanned it into a jpeg file, and am attaching the German/French pages of it. Alas, I do not speak/read either language.

 

But, tell me if I'm imagining things or if it really says that it was issued in Kherson on May 14, 1914?

:confused:

Well, I tried to insert it above, but it seems I have to put it online somewhere and link to it.

 

It says in French: Kherson and in German: Cherson.

 

Very excited about this!

[Peregrina651]

I have not been too active here lately.

I have my adaptor and my flat sink stopper in my suitcase already. :) In two months and one week, I leave.

 

I recently connected with someone who may be a 4th or 5th cousin on my father's side. I told her I had my grandparents' passport that they used to immigrate to the US in 1914. Today I scanned it into a jpeg file, and am attaching the German/French pages of it. Alas, I do not speak/read either language.

 

But, tell me if I'm imagining things or if it really says that it was issued in Kherson on May 14, 1914?

:confused:

Well, I tried to insert it above, but it seems I have to put it online somewhere and link to it.

 

It says in French: Kherson and in German: Cherson.

 

Very excited about this!

 

WOW!!!!!, GCV--

 

Having such documents is always exciting! When my grandmother died in 1999, we discovered a trove of heretofore never been seen (at least by my generation) photos and documents. Just recently, I discovered a letter that my grandfather had written in 1975 telling how his parents had come to the US and about the death of his father. Because of the lack of record keeping in Canada, I still can't find their arrival in Montreal. Grandpa mentioned the name of the village they came from but even a friend (and possible family member) in Moscow can't figure out which town it is from what my grandfather wrote. From these bits and scraps, we weave our family history!

[Grandcruisevirgin]

Now that I have it scanned into a jpeg file, I'm going to print it and bring the printed pages with me. I'm sure someone on the ship will be able to translate the other pages.

My grandparents were supposed to have been from Beresovka, but maybe they had to go to Kherson for the passport, maybe Kherson was the province capital. Knowing this makes that part of the trip more exciting.

 

Just checked my little map again - Kherson seems to be the name of the province and also the city. Well, that seems to be the area my father's people are from. Beresovka seems to be about the same distance from the city of Kherson as it is to Odessa.

[Peregrina651]

A samovar just like this one sat atop my mother's desk in our living room for years. It was my great grandmother's; she brought it with her when she left Kanev. Unfortunately, no one in the family knows how to make it work. I would love to learn how and wish that along with teaching us how to make vareneki, Viking would do a samovar demonstration--a step by step how to make it work. The other question I have about the family samovar is if it is made with lead and therefore a safety issue to use it?

 

[poolplayer]

I never knew before about the tea with Russian. We are total tea grannies and would love to have one of these. They had one on the ship but I don't think they used it

[Peregrina651]

I never knew before about the tea with Russian. We are total tea grannies and would love to have one of these. They had one on the ship but I don't think they used it

 

That's why I think they should do a samovar demonstration on the ship. :D

 

Here's a link to the wikipedia article on samovars.

[Peregrina651]

If you are extending your stay in Kiev, you might want to include the House of the Chimeras on your agenda.