Viking 'Footsteps of the Cossacks' (Ukraine)

[Peregrina651]

More from Ocean:

 

Hi folks great day today, except for picking Crimean War tour. First one to palace was great. Here's a chandelier in one of the rooms. We sail off tonite for Yalta! Keep posted. We both are enjoying The Crimea, went out fir drinks and late nite walk last nite, vodka tasting was fun watching, dinner was Int'l cuisine. Austrian Schnitzel for me, with black forest ice cream with black cherries, & carrot cake.

 

Updates on trip: WC at Crimea war museum is 2 UAH and is Asian "hole" toilette. Also, don't go on that Balaklava tour unless you love war stuff. Write up sounds more romantic. Traipsing thru those black tunnels was not for me at all. Maybe this can help gcv & silkismom. I may have written thus already. Too much wine. Also, you can use euros & dollars in market in Yalta.

[silkismom]

Thanks for the warning--I don't "do" tunnels!!

[Peregrina651]

Thanks for the warning--I don't "do" tunnels!!

 

Me neither! In Sevastopol, we opted for the Greek ruins of Chersonesus. The ride out to Bakhchisarai takes you past the battle grounds of Balaklava.

 

 

 

 

 

[Peregrina651]

From Ocean:

 

Hiya

About 30% of our bus has bad coughing now and colds. Many on meds after doc visits. We have been using Halo on all bus trips. Think it works!!! Also taking some Airborne starting today since so many are coughing in tight space

Ocean999

[Peregrina651]

Grand Staircase in the Odessa Opera House.

 

 

[poolplayer]

Have been ready about oceans adventure but it stops when lots on the boat are sick. How did her trip go. We are taking this trip in mid June and have loved the thread. Hard to find out much about this trip this link has been a great source

[Peregrina651]

Have been ready about oceans adventure but it stops when lots on the boat are sick. How did her trip go. We are taking this trip in mid June and have loved the thread. Hard to find out much about this trip this link has been a great source

 

Thank you! I'm happy to hear that the information here has been helpful in planning your trip.

 

Agreed. There is not a lot to be found about this itinerary. Please help us to bring more information together by posting any helpful links that you find and by telling us about your trip when you get back in June.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Peregrina651

[ocean999]

Have been ready about oceans adventure but it stops when lots on the boat are sick. How did her trip go. We are taking this trip in mid June and have loved the thread. Hard to find out much about this trip this link has been a great source

Hi Poolplayer, Silkismom and Grand Cruise Virgin, and Peregrina, of course! I'm back and we had a great time! Sorry for taking awhile to reply, but after we got sick, it was hard to write and now that we're home, I'm working on getting better from my cold and working at the same time. I can answer a lot of questions NOW and will be happy to do so! PLease just ask.

 

Vienna overnight was wonderful! It was great to be checked into a lovely hotel for the night, and it is right at the airport, which was helpful. The Pharmacy at the airport was not open to our dismay. We ran around the entire airport looking for it, but it was closed. Anyway, the hotel is lovely, beds and room were very comfy, got a great nights sleep. We ate dinner in the buffet rest at the hotel and it was excellent! We had an included buffet brkfast in the morning, which was also terrific. Couldn't have been better. I'm off to make dinner for my hubby and I, but I'll be back to answer more questions now that my head has cleared a bit. OCEAN 999

[poolplayer]

Glad to hear you are back sorry to hear about the cold that really dampens a trip.

 

My mom and I are taking this trip the odessa to kiev and staying 2 days after in Kiev at the Radison blu thru Viking. I have been trying to figure out what to do in Kiev and with only English as our language wondering what our best attack of the city will be.

[Peregrina651]

Glad to hear you are back sorry to hear about the cold that really dampens a trip.

 

My mom and I are taking this trip the odessa to kiev and staying 2 days after in Kiev at the Radison blu thru Viking. I have been trying to figure out what to do in Kiev and with only English as our language wondering what our best attack of the city will be.

 

Poolplayer, we did the two night extension. LOVED IT!! I'm sorry it wasn't three nights because there was just so much more that we could have seen and done. So much is within walking distance of the hotel; we never used a cab or the subway--never wanted to. English is our only language and we had no trouble getting around on our own. You can read a detailed account of how we spent our time in the blog I posted online. I even tried to include maps of our walking routes.

 

The two night extension includes a guided walking tour of the downtown area. There are also free (but you are expected to tip the guide) walking tours that start out from Independence Square. We did not take them but other people on our cruise did and said that they were well done. Check them out on TripAdvisor.

 

I think your best attack of the city depends on how active your mother is--can she walk all day, will you want to use taxis to get from place to place, will you want to hire a car and driver to get you around? If you feel you need a car and river, don't wait until you get there but make arrangements before you leave so that at least you have a choice of pricing. What you see depends upon what your interests are and there are a number of websites for tourism in Kiev, starting with TripAdvisor and moving on to Ukrainian based websites.

 

 

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[silkismom]

Packing list: cold medicine--ck!

[ocean999]

Hi folks,

More info about our cruise. Silkismom, I thought I bought a whole pharmacy with me, but obviously not enough. At one point, I bought what I THOUGHT was cough syrup, but turned out to be bath oil! Luckily, I didn't drink it! haha! Anyway, I would bring Benedryl, cough syrup, advil with. That will help.

 

We totally loved the cruise on the whole. There were a few things that could have been better. The air conditioner system did not work too well and was very noisy. I imagine this is to be expected on an older boat. We couldn't keep it on too long because the noise was annoying.

 

The food was great. All of it, and a wide selection. There were great fish selections nightly and all was good. I tasted everything, and it was fun to try the Ukranian dishes. I lost 4 lbs on this trip too, and I'm sure that was due to all the steps. Remember people, there are no elevators on this cruise, but the steps are fine. We met some splendid people on this trip, which was a real plus.

 

The tours were great. I only went on one optional tour, and I didn't care for it. It was the Bakalava tour, and as I mentioned in an earlier note, it was full of dark tunnels and not for me. Others seem to like it,though. Best part of it was the view across the street,which was magnificent, and I got some great pix of it. The Crimean War art museum part was better, with the 360 deg views, and some beautiful Red Bud trees outside, which made for great photos.

The other tours that were included were great. St. Sophias was terrific and beautiful. We enjoyed seeing all the crafts people in each city. We spent very little time in actual stores and got to meet and talk with some crafts people, which was fun and interesting.

 

Tips??? I would bring an assorted layered wardrobe, with lots of short sleeve tops and some sweaters, etc, because the climate does change. I was really glad t hat I packed a varied wardrobe. My husband was upset that he didn't bring any short sleeve shirts (we went in April 2l sail) but that's only because he didn't listen to me.haha.

 

We did have fun in Yalta and Sevestapol at night, going out to a bar with a few others that we met and having a drink and walking around. It felt pretty safe at all the ports,which was great. Please feel free to ask me anything about our cruise. Oh, and although we skipped the Black Sea Fleet Band, I wish we would have gone. I heard they were great.

[poolplayer]

Thanks for the review. A couple questions about money. Did you bring any ukraine money with you or did you get it there? How much were the tips and how did they like to be paid for them?

[Peregrina651]

The air conditioner system did not work too well and was very noisy. I imagine this is to be expected on an older boat. We couldn't keep it on too long because the noise was annoying.

 

 

LOL!! File this under 'to each to his own.' For me an a/c system is a white noise machine, blocking out all the noises from the hallways and the surrounding cabins. As long as the noise is regular and constant, I'm a happy camper.

 

Since there is a lot of free time on this cruise, if you didn't do the optional tours on the cruise, what did you do in each of the cities? And how did you get around?

[ocean999]

Poolplayer, I didn't bring any $$ with me, but did get some in Kiev the first day of the tour. The tour operators were great and made sure we got to ATMS and banks as one of our stops. As far as tips were concerned, it's really up to you. No worries. they make it clear to you and we gave tips in Ukrainian $$, but you don't have to.

 

We did do a few excursions, other than the Bakalava. We did the Farmers Market one,which was excellent and lots of fun. I think that was in either Yalta or Odesa. Peregrina will know.

 

Peregrina, I'm sure you're right about the white noise. We were not into it, but if you can handle, it will work out great for you.

 

We also did the Vodka tasting, which was a lot of fun. I just went along and watched, and my hubby was showed up at this event by two older women who could really "throw that Vodka back". It was fun watching them and he enjoyed it. As for free time, we walked around the cities, which is what I really like to do, went into a few shops in Odesa, and just walked the streets, visited the Opera House twice, and we were glad to do that, just to get a feel for the cities. I didn't think there was too much free time, but at the end of the tour, there seemed to be more free time,which was great.

[ocean999]

Hiya again, I just wanted to say we really enjoyed walking around every city day and some nights with friends or alone and felt safe. There was a lot to see and not that much free time to see it all. I also had many souvenirs to buy and it was very helpful to have the extra time to check out prices and good at various crafters. All of my friends wanted nesting dolls and I did bring back quite a few beautiful hand-painted wooden eggs as well for gifts. Many of the crafters were at the churches that we visited as well, especially I remember one in Kherson. Hope this helps. Im writing details as I remember them, but if you have ANY questions, please feel free to email me at oceanlady@comcast.net or write to me here.

Madi (a/k/a/Ocean999)

[Peregrina651]

Hiya again, I just wanted to say we really enjoyed walking around every city day and some nights with friends or alone and felt safe. There was a lot to see and not that much free time to see it all. I also had many souvenirs to buy and it was very helpful to have the extra time to check out prices and good at various crafters. All of my friends wanted nesting dolls and I did bring back quite a few beautiful hand-painted wooden eggs as well for gifts. Many of the crafters were at the churches that we visited as well, especially I remember one in Kherson. Hope this helps. Im writing details as I remember them, but if you have ANY questions, please feel free to email me at oceanlady@comcast.net or write to me here.

Madi (a/k/a/Ocean999)

 

Madi --

 

Tell us more about the shopping. I remember the craft fair that was set up outside the church in Kherson and some vendors who set up as we were leaving the monument stop in Kherson but I didn't pay much attention to what was there because we really didn't do much shopping on this trip. What more can you tell us about what was here?

 

 

?

[ocean999]

Okay, in Kiev, in town, there was a little street going up a hill and the tour guide can point that out. They had some good deals on soaps, and also on black lacquer boxes. Prices and quality were good. There were also a lot of paintings to be bought in this craft area. I'll be back with more info on other places.

[silkismom]

Thank you once again for all the great info. Almost time to start from the beginning of this thread and do a lot of "copy/paste".

[doobieb]

I love the shopping advice- thank you very much. We tend to not shop at all when we travel, but this info will perhaps help us think seriously about a few unique items.

 

A few questions for anyone who has taken this cruise before:

1. What price range is a good target for the nesting dolls? I bought a couple years ago in Russia and have no idea what they cost. I just remember looking to make sure they did not say "made in China"!

 

2. Has anyone taken the local tours in Odessa? We found a site that interests us very much and we are considering a pub tour and a lunch tour independent of our Viking ship while we have free time in Odessa in June.

 

3. And lastly, we are very interested in the art museum in Odessa but have read that it is hard to navigate. Anyone with tips here?

Thanks so much for taking the time to share all the wonderful information on this site. It adds to the planning thrill.

 

Debbie

[Peregrina651]

 

3. And lastly, we are very interested in the art museum in Odessa but have read that it is hard to navigate. Anyone with tips here?

Thanks so much for taking the time to share all the wonderful information on this site. It adds to the planning thrill.

 

Debbie

 

There are a couple of art museums in Odessa. Viking takes you to one of them as one of the optional tours. We tried to go to another one (Museum of Eastern and Western Art) and it was a disastrous visit. The cashier--a Soviet hold-over-- did not speak English. The sign she had in English did not make any sense. I wrote all about it in my journal and you can read the details of our adventure here. It really seems a shame to have to hire a guide just to get you into a museum that won't take more than an hour to visit.

 

Painted eggs are a great gift and the wooden ones are fairly cheap but the real treasure among the eggs are real eggs that are painted using wax and dye. They can be found when the bus stops at the art market in the center of Zaporozhye before heading out to the Cossack Museum, etc. The downside is that they are fragile. I'm sorry that we didn't get a chance to buy any but we were too busy trying to find a cash machine.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Grandcruisevirgin]

I'm wondering if it would be helpful to bring an empty styrofoam egg container from home to carry the real eggs back...

How much are the 'real' eggs vs. wooden ones?

[ocean999]

I'm wondering if it would be helpful to bring an empty styrofoam egg container from home to carry the real eggs back...

How much are the 'real' eggs vs. wooden ones?

 

GCV, I did not price the real eggs. I didn't see many. You may have to go to a special place for them. I'm sure they're lovely. The wooden ones are beautiful,though, and come in many colors, patterns and are all hand-painted. I did a lot of sh opping bec I had 48 friends/family to buy for, and myself and I have a nesting doll collection from Ukraine, Russia, and Czech Republic. As far as the price is concerned, and I am a BIG shopper and look for best price, etc and best quality. The size of the doll and specifically the NUMBER of dolls makes the price. Be sure to turn it over to be sure it doesn't say Made in China, although I didn't see that. But, some of the dolls that didn't have Ukranian writing on them, I was leery of getting. Some almost looked Chinese.They were dolls with Asian-type eyebrows, etc, so be careful. The 4 and 5 inch dolls that I bought the most of were hand-signed, and had 3 dolls total. Their cost was about 60-80 Huaranas, or about $6 to $10. There were a lot of beauties, and all were different everywhere I went. I bought about l2 dolls, for me and presents. Natasha, our guide said that th e most "Ukranian" ones were the red or blue ones. The really nice ones (and they did have lots of these on the ship)Ship's dolls were all good quality, BTW, but a little high. I paid 292 HUA for one doll I got, but she was special, and was about l0 inches high, and was a whole family. Each nesting doll was different, and that's how you tell if they are truly Ukranian. There may just be a little distinction, or it may be very different. This one was a woman, and inside it had a man, daughter, cat, and chick, totalling 5 dolls. I bought for me a beautiful tiny l.5 inch doll that cost 80 HUA, so about $10. It is gorgeous.

I did find in Odessa, in the park, there was a huge craft area, and I got a few small red & green painted dolls that also were very different in each nesting doll. My collection is now about l8 (I've recently given a few to my daughter), but I have studied up on this craft. Plz feel free to ask additional info on this or other shopping.

[ocean999]

EGGS were all over, at all the craft areas. They had plenty of them in Odessa and I liked the park/craft area there very much. There were just a few craft areas in Yalta that I remember, but probably if you walk around, you will see more there. In Odessa also, there were craft areas right outside the Opera House as well. Eggs were plentiful and all different colors, etc. I bought most of mine for about 20 HUA (I hope t hats the symbol for the "Greivnas", so they were really very reasonable and I got those for Catholic friends who celebrate Easter and/or other Ukranians. I also bought about 5 black boxes and they are pretty pricey on the ship. I got some good priced ones for about 60 HUA on the craft street up the hill in Kiev. Hey, I wish someone had told me this before I went! Anyway, it's a good place. I was busy trying to get Wifi half the time because the Wifi was out on the ship for at least 5 days. Anyway, I heard that on that same street, all the way up the road were some lovely scarves to buy and I did see a few that I think one of my friends bought for $7. The boxes were lovely and handpainted, and again, I looked for signatures on the bottom if possibly, but I didn't see anything that looked Chinese, thank God. It was bad enough checking for Chinese nesting dolls. I think some of the eggs at one craft place even went for 10 HUA, but can't remember where that one right now, but I think it may have been in the park in Odessa.

 

As far as going on a tour in Odessa, there are tons of great looking restaurants in Odessa, and some of our new friends tried them and found them delightful. We were busy hanging out at the Opera house or shopping. I'm a master shopper and there were some neat typical Ukranian crafts here, so you can feel free to ask me about them. I did not buy any clothing, except for 3 t-shirts, purchased 2 in Yalta at a marketplace very close to the ship and l in the park in Odessa craft area. Hope this helps!!!

[Peregrina651]

I'm wondering if it would be helpful to bring an empty styrofoam egg container from home to carry the real eggs back...

How much are the 'real' eggs vs. wooden ones?

 

GCV, I did not buy the wax painted eggs. I only saw one that someone on our bus had purchased one at the craft market on the square in Zaporozhye. The egg was wrapped in cotton wool and then placed into a gift box.

 

I'm not sure that an empty egg container would work; I'm not sure that they are large enough or sturdy enough.