Just returned: Uniworld's River Victoria in Russia

[yif]

I hate to sound really boring, but our last river cruise had a self-serve laundry which was fabulous. I believe the Victoria does not & laundry must be paid for by piece. Is this correct?

[Rxgrad98]

Hi yif,

 

You are correct. If I remember correctly, it's around 2 US$ per piece. I only glanced at the list, so not entirely sure.

 

Tim

[yif]

Thanks Tim.

We are going on the River Victoria departing 28 July and are very excited. Wondering if you could please answer some general questions? Were the crew all Russian or other nationalities? Can you get more water on the boat if you want to fill your 1.5l bottles? Are most guests American or what other nationalities? Do you need rubles & are the banks open on Sundays near the dock?

Are vegetarians catered for during meals? Are there toilets on the tours & buses & are they clean or should you carry paper & wipes?

Good to know in advance but excited whatever happens.

Thanks again.

Yif

[Rxgrad98]

Hi yif,

 

Your trip is coming up fast!! All of the crew were Russian. They were all very friendly, but some had a greater proficiency in English than others. Most of the passengers were Americans, but there were also Canadians, English, Australians, and South Africans, as well as a couple from Spain. They replaced our water as we needed it. We actually bought water off the boat at a store by the metro station nearest the ship. I'm sure you could ask reception for more if you needed it. They do advise not to drink the water onboard.

 

I don't recall seeing an ATM/bank near the docking area; there probably is since there is what looks like a mall around the metro stop near the dock in Moscow and businesses in St. Petersburg, but I'm not certain. I believe the banks are closed on Sundays. ATMs are scarce between Moscow & St. Petersburg, so make sure to withdraw before leaving the city. We took rubles with us and also withdrew some at an ATM in GUM. The "official line" is that rubles are the only currency accepted. I've read and heard that US$ and euros are accepted. We only used rubles.

 

There was always one vegetarian entree on offer at dinner. I think there was usually an appetizer as well that was a vegetarian offering. If you let them know, they will try to make you something; I know the chef on our cruise did make some things not on the menu for a lady who became ill. I'm sure they'll do their best to accommodate you.

 

Other than our transfer, we were never on the bus for too long. The guides always informed us of restroom locations. The toilet paper is rather rough, at least I thought it was. Restrooms we encountered were clean.

 

Hope that helps. Hope your trip is as great as ours was!! Have a safe trip!!!

 

Tim

[AttilaTheFun]

Tim, thank you so much for posting your review and pictures! I know it is an old review, but I just read it today and it was really interesting and helpful. A Baltics cruise is on my wishlist, but probably on an ocean cruise ship, where they do 1-2 overnights in St. Petersburg.

[Rxgrad98]

Hi Atilla,

 

Glad you enjoyed the review. A Baltic cruise is on my bucket list too - one of these days. I highly recommend choosing a cruise that maximizes port time in St. Petersburg. It's a beautiful city with so many cultural and historic sights. Hope you get to visit it one day soon!!

 

Tim

[yif]

You sound like an expert & thanks for all the information which is much appreciated. We leave Australia this Sunday and get to Moscow end July for the cruise so very excited!!

Hi yif,

 

Your trip is coming up fast!! All of the crew were Russian. They were all very friendly, but some had a greater proficiency in English than others. Most of the passengers were Americans, but there were also Canadians, English, Australians, and South Africans, as well as a couple from Spain. They replaced our water as we needed it. We actually bought water off the boat at a store by the metro station nearest the ship. I'm sure you could ask reception for more if you needed it. They do advise not to drink the water onboard.

 

I don't recall seeing an ATM/bank near the docking area; there probably is since there is what looks like a mall around the metro stop near the dock in Moscow and businesses in St. Petersburg, but I'm not certain. I believe the banks are closed on Sundays. ATMs are scarce between Moscow & St. Petersburg, so make sure to withdraw before leaving the city. We took rubles with us and also withdrew some at an ATM in GUM. The "official line" is that rubles are the only currency accepted. I've read and heard that US$ and euros are accepted. We only used rubles.

 

There was always one vegetarian entree on offer at dinner. I think there was usually an appetizer as well that was a vegetarian offering. If you let them know, they will try to make you something; I know the chef on our cruise did make some things not on the menu for a lady who became ill. I'm sure they'll do their best to accommodate you.

 

Other than our transfer, we were never on the bus for too long. The guides always informed us of restroom locations. The toilet paper is rather rough, at least I thought it was. Restrooms we encountered were clean.

 

Hope that helps. Hope your trip is as great as ours was!! Have a safe trip!!!

 

Tim

[Rxgrad98]

Yif,

 

Have a great time!!! I hope you have Lena as your cruise director. She was fantastic. Please post on your return and let us all know how it went.

 

Tim

[Talisker92]

We will be going mid-September, but on a Vantage cruise. We will be put up in hotels at both ends,so we will not have that long trip from the airport to the ship.

As far as the visa goes, we were supplied with an explanation of how to fill in the forms. That made it much easier.

[yif]

Thanks again & will do.

Yvonne (yif)

[sassycassie]

Leaving on Sept 13 for the River Victoria -- Tim, I keep re-reading your review and am getting more and more excited about the trip. Got my visa the other day -- another item off the list! This is my second trip with Uniworld -- the first was in 2008 on the Danube. It was an incredible trip so I'm really looking forward to this one. Never thought I would be going to Russia!!!

[Rxgrad98]

Leaving on Sept 13 for the River Victoria -- Tim, I keep re-reading your review and am getting more and more excited about the trip. Got my visa the other day -- another item off the list! This is my second trip with Uniworld -- the first was in 2008 on the Danube. It was an incredible trip so I'm really looking forward to this one. Never thought I would be going to Russia!!!

 

Hi sassycassie,

 

Hopefully the two months will go by fast!! Isn't it neat seeing your name written in Russian? I'd be interested to hear what the weather is like for your trip and if the leaves have started to turn. My parents are wanting to go to Russia now, so it looks like we may be doing a repeat of our river cruise in the future. I remember thinking as we were sailing that it would probably be nice to do the cruise when the leaves were turning. Please post when you return. Hope you have a safe and wonderful trip!!!

 

Tim

[sassycassie]

Hi sassycassie,

 

Hopefully the two months will go by fast!! Isn't it neat seeing your name written in Russian? I'd be interested to hear what the weather is like for your trip and if the leaves have started to turn. My parents are wanting to go to Russia now, so it looks like we may be doing a repeat of our river cruise in the future. I remember thinking as we were sailing that it would probably be nice to do the cruise when the leaves were turning. Please post when you return. Hope you have a safe and wonderful trip!!!

 

Tim

 

Will do a review when I return. From what I read on weather.com, it should be in the high 60s, low 70s ... which, for me, is perfect. Hope we don't get any rain.

 

I really have gained a wealth of information on these message boards - both for my Russian trip and on various ocean cruises we've taken.

[franski]

Hi sassycassie,

 

Hopefully the two months will go by fast!! Isn't it neat seeing your name written in Russian? I'd be interested to hear what the weather is like for your trip and if the leaves have started to turn. My parents are wanting to go to Russia now, so it looks like we may be doing a repeat of our river cruise in the future. I remember thinking as we were sailing that it would probably be nice to do the cruise when the leaves were turning. Please post when you return. Hope you have a safe and wonderful trip!!!

 

Tim

 

Tim -

 

That actually sounds really good.... Do you think you would travel the same direction - or opt to travel the opposite way?

 

Fran

[Rxgrad98]

Tim -

 

That actually sounds really good.... Do you think you would travel the same direction - or opt to travel the opposite way?

 

Fran

 

Hi Fran,

 

I think I would opt for the opposite direction, St. Petersburg to Moscow, if we do the river cruise again. My only rationale is that we might see something along the river that we didn't see on the Moscow to St. Petersburg direction. I know there is a fortress just out of St. Petersburg that we didn't see since we were sailing at night; I can't remember the name of it. It makes me wonder if you saw things that we didn't and vice versa.

 

Sassycassie, that sounds similar to the temperature range that we experienced in May, but it did get into the 80's a couple of days in Moscow. I actually got a fairly good sunburn during those two days - never thought about taking sunscreen to Russia!! We really lucked out with the weather - it only rained twice our entire trip, both at night, and drizzled a little the morning that we visited Mandrogi. Have you checked in the roll call section for the "Russia cruises - all lines" started by franski? She started both the 2012 and 2013 threads and both contain a wealth of knowledge. Quite a few people went on Uniworld in 2012 and posted.

 

Tim

[franski]

Hi Fran,

 

I think I would opt for the opposite direction, St. Petersburg to Moscow, if we do the river cruise again. My only rationale is that we might see something along the river that we didn't see on the Moscow to St. Petersburg direction. I know there is a fortress just out of St. Petersburg that we didn't see since we were sailing at night; I can't remember the name of it. It makes me wonder if you saw things that we didn't and vice versa. Tim

 

Hi Tim -

 

It will be interesting to note if you see "different" things the 2nd time around - whether from traveling the "other" way, or just noticing things that you missed the 1st time. There was so much to see along the way - I am sure that we only absorbed a fraction of what there was to look at and learn about.

 

Hopefully the church refurbishment will be complete on Kihzi - and you can actually get inside!!!

 

Fran

Edited July 12, 2013 by franski

[yif]

Hi Tim & Fran,

I love these posts. We are Australian & used to very hot summers so anything under 26C (78F) means I will need a light cardigan so we are hoping for warmer temperatures on our cruise 28 July-9 August. Is the boat very air-conditioned at night? If so I will need more jackets/jumpers.

Yvonne

[Rxgrad98]

Hi Yvonne,

 

I remember getting hot at night when the boat was parked in Moscow and St. Petersburg. I began to wonder if they were cutting the air off overnight while the boat was docked. I didn't notice it while we were cruising between the two cities. I thought it was me at first because I started having sinus issues in Moscow and ran a fever off and on for a couple of days, but I spoke to other passengers and they said they had noticed the same thing. Maybe Fran will respond if she experienced anything similar on her sailing. Just a little over two weeks to go for you!! Are you going anywhere else in Europe? Most Australians and New Zealanders we've met on holiday are usually gone for about 6 weeks. I'd LOVE to have that long of a vacation!! :)

 

Tim

[yif]

We were on Danube cruise last year & noticed that tips had to be paid in cash by others. (Australians have to pay their tips with their packages so ours had been pre-paid (I guess it's because we are not really used to tipping like Americans so they may expect nothing from us unless we pre-pay!!.)

We fly to Zurich first & catch up with friends there, then Israel for 10 nights & our daughter who has been living in Ethiopia comes there to stay with us for a week (close to home for her now), then we fly to Moscow for the cruise.

We are away just over 4 weeks & leave tomorrow morning. We do tend to stay away for a while as it takes 24h to get to Europe so not the sort of thing you would do for a 7-9 day trip.

[Rxgrad98]

We were on Danube cruise last year & noticed that tips had to be paid in cash by others. (Australians have to pay their tips with their packages so ours had been pre-paid (I guess it's because we are not really used to tipping like Americans so they may expect nothing from us unless we pre-pay!!.)

We fly to Zurich first & catch up with friends there, then Israel for 10 nights & our daughter who has been living in Ethiopia comes there to stay with us for a week (close to home for her now), then we fly to Moscow for the cruise.

We are away just over 4 weeks & leave tomorrow morning. We do tend to stay away for a while as it takes 24h to get to Europe so not the sort of thing you would do for a 7-9 day trip.

 

That sounds like a fantastic trip!! Hope to visit Israel one day. Have a great time!!!

 

Tim

[franski]

yif - sorry, forgot to post re: temperatures on the boat.

 

Our weather wasn't quite as nice as the weather when Tim cruised (just before us....). I tend to wear a light (cotton)jacket with a skirt for dinners - and was quite comfortable. The boat is air conditioned - but the dining room can be on the warm side when everyone is in there.

 

We traveled Aquarium class so only had a small window --> we found our room temperature very easy to control.

 

Fran

[id4elizabeth]

We were on the same trip as Franski (hi Fran!) but on the top cabin deck and our cabin was always cool. We had a very large balcony with double sliding doors. It rained a lot on our trip, but that can happen any time - just the luck of the draw. When the sun was shining, the weather was beautiful, but that wasn't very often. The overall trip was FANTASTIC though. Would love to do this trip again.

[yif]

Thanks very much! We are in Zurich now where the weather is gorgeous. Better than Melbourne which was pretty chilly when we left.

Russia still seems a long way off & more travel ahead but really excited!

Yvonne

[franski]

We were on the same trip as Franski (hi Fran!) but on the top cabin deck and our cabin was always cool. We had a very large balcony with double sliding doors. It rained a lot on our trip, but that can happen any time - just the luck of the draw. When the sun was shining, the weather was beautiful, but that wasn't very often. The overall trip was FANTASTIC though. Would love to do this trip again.

 

Hi back....

 

Was just talking about this very thing with my friend today... (the one that was with us on the trip!!!) It was a great trip - even with the weather being less than cooperative.

 

I see you are doing China later this year - who are you sailing with?

 

Fran

Edited July 16, 2013 by franski

[id4elizabeth]

Hi Fran! We're touring with China Spree with a 4 day Yangtze cruise. The whole trip is 22 days, so the river cruise part is a fairly short part.

 

FYI - I took 5,562 pictures while in Russia. I bore EVERYONE with my slide shows! And I have my husband addicted to Russian Orthodox male choir music CDs that we bought while we were there.

 

We're doing a cruise of the Baltic in 2015 that will stop in St Petersburg for 2 days. Thought perhaps I'd try doing Peterhof again if the sun is shining. It would be neat to see in when it's not pouring rain!