Odessa on our own

[gunnercade]

Hi there. We will be traveling on the Black Sea on the Pacific Princess this summer. We decided to visit Odessa on our own, considering that most attractions seem to be close to the port, and that we could just pace ourselves and take it easy. But I have a few questions that I hope you experienced travelers can answer.

1. We will have euros and dollars. Can you pay for purchases with those or credit card, or should we get local currency?

2. Between the 3 of us, we speak fluent English, Italian and almost-fluent German. No Russian or Urkainian (or, for what it's worth, Bulgarian, Romanian, Turkish...). Is it possible to ask for directions and order a sandwich with some English and gesticulating, or should we bite the bullet and buy a phrase book? I know that Americans get blasted for their unwillingness to learn languages, but honestly learning 6 languages for a cruise is a bit tough (not to mention that 2 of us are not American, and we are all bilingual)...

4. I presume that the promenade will be full of tourist traps, but we'd appreciate suggestions for restaurants and stores.

Thanks a lot.

[Travel Girl TX]

We did Odessa on our own too when we did a Black Sea cruise. Below are answers to most of your questions.

 

1. We paid for some souvenirs with dollars at a nice area in the park, near the intersection of the streets I mention below, where some vendors had set up shop. They probably would have taken euros too We did need local currency to buy items in a local grocery store, at an ice cream shop, and to use the public toilets in the park where we bought souvenirs. We found an ATM at a bank to get about $40 in local currency which was more than enough for the incidentals mentioned above for our 3 stops in the Ukraine.

 

2. Most vendors spoke English. At the grocery store, no one spoke English, but that wasn't a problem as I could see the total due on the cash register.

 

We found the bank, ice cream shop and many restaurants, the grocery store, and some shops on Deribassovskaya Street. At the end by Preobrazhebskaya Street ther was a nice building with a glass covered promenade that had some shops. The vendors with tables who took dollars where in the park, along with the public restrooms, near the intersection of those streets.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed walking around Odessa. We ended the day sitting along the promenade near the Potemkin steps. There were vendors there and I bought a cute blue and white striped nautical looking shirt for the equivalent of $8.

 

Enjoy your day in Odessa!

[ISABELLA]

We did Odessa on our own too when we did a Black Sea cruise. Below are answers to most of your questions.

 

1. We paid for some souvenirs with dollars at a nice area in the park, near the intersection of the streets I mention below, where some vendors had set up shop. They probably would have taken euros too We did need local currency to buy items in a local grocery store, at an ice cream shop, and to use the public toilets in the park where we bought souvenirs. We found an ATM at a bank to get about $40 in local currency which was more than enough for the incidentals mentioned above for our 3 stops in the Ukraine.

 

2. Most vendors spoke English. At the grocery store, no one spoke English, but that wasn't a problem as I could see the total due on the cash register.

 

We found the bank, ice cream shop and many restaurants, the grocery store, and some shops on Deribassovskaya Street. At the end by Preobrazhebskaya Street ther was a nice building with a glass covered promenade that had some shops. The vendors with tables who took dollars where in the park, along with the public restrooms, near the intersection of those streets.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed walking around Odessa. We ended the day sitting along the promenade near the Potemkin steps. There were vendors there and I bought a cute blue and white striped nautical looking shirt for the equivalent of $8.

 

Enjoy your day in Odessa!

 

Do you need VISA for visiting Ukraine?

Thank you

[Travel Girl TX]

Do you need VISA for visiting Ukraine?

Thank you

 

No, but you will if you visit Russia.

[ISABELLA]

Great! makes it so much easier.......

Thanks