Russian River Cruise August 2015

[Buck1949]

I just did that too and e-mail address came up. It must be an Aol thing. It's funny because I haven't had an Aol account for almost 10 years!

 

....and I have never had an AOL account... strange for sure !!

[Hydrokitty]

That is strange!!!:eek:

[H2Otstr]

....and I have never had an AOL account... strange for sure !!

 

It is a problem on our end, not yours, Bill. I have Firefox, but AOL as my home page and an AOL Email account. Maybe it is Firefox???

[Buck1949]

It is a problem on our end, not yours, Bill. I have Firefox, but AOL as my home page and an AOL Email account. Maybe it is Firefox???

 

Hmmmm. Been tempted myself to go back to Firefox but have not taken the time to install it on my newer laptop. I did separate the email line from the Signature as some thought clicking on my scrolling 'name' was where they were supposed to bring up the email. I guess some systems also are not designed to go to their email server when they click on my link.

[Buck1949]

It is a problem on our end, not yours, Bill. I have Firefox, but AOL as my home page and an AOL Email account. Maybe it is Firefox???

 

How was your trip / time in Raleigh?

[H2Otstr]

How was your trip / time in Raleigh?

 

We had a nice time. It was our Christmas with the family. Thanks for asking 😊.

[Hydrokitty]

It is a problem on our end, not yours, Bill. I have Firefox, but AOL as my home page and an AOL Email account. Maybe it is Firefox???

 

Sorry kids I have firefox and IE and it happens on both of them. You're not the only ones I've had this problem with either. Could it be a Windows 8.1 problem?

[Buck1949]

Sorry kids I have firefox and IE and it happens on both of them. You're not the only ones I've had this problem with either. Could it be a Windows 8.1 problem?

 

Maybe that is the common problem - Windows 8. I use Windows 7 and I believe that it and previous Windows programs allows the email program to open up an email window.....also Apple appears to open an email window too. Oh well. I check the CC website everyday, so if someone wants to contact me via email I can always give them the address here.

[Buck1949]

Hey Judy,

Heard there was a bit of shaking going on up around the Massachusetts area yesterday. Did you guys feel anything up that way. I know you are a lot further away, and I heard it was a very light quake.

[Hydrokitty]

Hey Judy,

Heard there was a bit of shaking going on up around the Massachusetts area yesterday. Did you guys feel anything up that way. I know you are a lot further away, and I heard it was a very light quake.

 

News to me! We had one that was felt on LI a year or so ago and I was driving in my car and missed it.....but we did experience two of them in California and that was more than enough. One was during the World Series in San Francisco...that was scary and the other was in Santa Monica in a shopping arcade walking across a cantilever bridge on the third story when we felt the earth move and ran to the other side. apparently it was very small because people below us didn't even stop shopping.

[H2Otstr]

Judy (Hydrokitty), since you have been on so many Vantage cruises:

 

Do you have to book and pay for your optionals before the trip? We are going with them (1st time) on a yacht cruise and we had to book and pay for all of our optional trips ahead of time. No other cruise line has ever asked us to do this.

[Rodbarry]

That's Ok with us we always go away in an in side cabin as we are never in it! Always up on deck or onshore...save our money for better things!

[Rodbarry]

Hi Bill, our travel agent does all the visa..the Russian embassy officials collect our passports at home, take them away and return them, no hassle for us!.As to the cabin size..we knew it was not big, but we don't care as we are only there for sleeping! Will let you know how it goes

Regards Rod and Barry

Rod and Barry,

I would love to hear how your cruise goes, especially since you are traveling at the same time of year that we are planning. There were some interesting reviews about your ship on Trip Advisor.

 

We opted to go on a cruise that gave us the extra day in Moscow. I noted that AMA waterways also had an 11 day cruise, but my wife and I really wanted to see more of Moscow thus finding a cruise that gave the extra day was important. We did spend 2 days in St. Petersburg in 2009. What a fascinating city/country. That trip gave us the desire to go back and spend more time.

 

Have you made arrangements for your visa yet? Just curious if the requirements for Australian citizens are similar to the US. That part for us seems to be a pain. I am for sure going to locate a visa service agency to help out with the process.

 

Safe Travels,

[Buck1949]

Hi Bill, our travel agent does all the visa..the Russian embassy officials collect our passports at home, take them away and return them, no hassle for us!.As to the cabin size..we knew it was not big, but we don't care as we are only there for sleeping! Will let you know how it goes

Regards Rod and Barry

 

Sounds about the same process that we need to go through to get a Visa. I do feel a bit uneasy about handing off my passport to an 'outsider' but I assume that it is a pretty common practice.

 

Also, I think someone else commented about the room size to you.

 

I am anxious to hear what you think of your cruise - including all the places you visit. :)

[Hydrokitty]

Judy (Hydrokitty), since you have been on so many Vantage cruises:

 

Do you have to book and pay for your optionals before the trip? We are going with them (1st time) on a yacht cruise and we had to book and pay for all of our optional trips ahead of time. No other cruise line has ever asked us to do this.

 

Usually No I do not book and pay ahead of time. You can, of course, and Vantage would prefer that you did, but I don't like to book optionals until I'm on board and hear the tour descriptions from the TM. (This usually results in my booking more tours than if I had done it at home) the only time I book ahead is for a tour that I do not want to miss: in Egypt the balloon ride over the Nile; and in Russia, the ballet in St. Petersburg. Otherwise, I've never had a problem signing up for an optional tour on board. One thing you MUST watch carefully if you book optionals before traveling and that is the increase in your trip insurance, which is based on the total cost of your trip. Vantage will tell you that they don't do that, don't believe them, it's their software and unless they manually correct it, it automatically increases the insurance coverage! I have pointed this out to them several times but it's an ongoing problem. Just be aware and call them if it happens, they'll remove it right away without question and tell you it's not supposed to happen. That being said, I see you're cruising on the Harmony....I haven't been on her yet and it could be the ship's policy that all tours be booked and paid ahead. I know when we did Costa Rica with Vantage on the Star Flyer you could NOT reserve optional tours UNTIL you were on board. Since Vantage only booked about 20 cabins and the ship held over 100, several Vantage customers were disappointed not to be able to do things like the zip line or horseback ride on the beach because they had limited numbers of space and people stampeded when they opened the sign-up.

[id4elizabeth]

Buck 1949 - replied to you on another thread about Uniworld Russia (which we took in June 2012), so won't repeat that here. One difference in your 2009 2-day stay in St Pete is that the ocean liners dock in a different port than the river boats. The ocean liners are much closer to town. It should be the other way round I know, but there you go….many things in Russia are opposite of what you might think they are.

 

We spent 3 extra days in St Pete before our cruise and 3 extra days in Moscow. Glad we did both, although I would go back to St Pete, but think in the time we spent in Moscow, we basically "did" the town, so would not go back to Moscow. More to see in St Pete I think. We're going back to St Pete on an ocean cruise in 2015 for 2 days, so we'll try it your way while you're doing it ours!

[Buck1949]

Buck 1949 - replied to you on another thread about Uniworld Russia (which we took in June 2012), so won't repeat that here. One difference in your 2009 2-day stay in St Pete is that the ocean liners dock in a different port than the river boats. The ocean liners are much closer to town. It should be the other way round I know, but there you go….many things in Russia are opposite of what you might think they are.

 

We spent 3 extra days in St Pete before our cruise and 3 extra days in Moscow. Glad we did both, although I would go back to St Pete, but think in the time we spent in Moscow, we basically "did" the town, so would not go back to Moscow. More to see in St Pete I think. We're going back to St Pete on an ocean cruise in 2015 for 2 days, so we'll try it your way while you're doing it ours!

 

Thanks for the information and the reassurance in our choosing Uniworld. As you may have noted, we used Uniworld this summer and absolutely loved the ship, crew, and attention to detail they provided.

 

Of course as you (and others ) mentioned - the ride into the towns I'm sure can be a pain, but I guess we will just have to endure.

 

I thought I took a lot of photos - over 1500 for our 18 days this summer..... Not sure that I could manage 5000+. (I did read your other posting as you can tell). We probably will only do the 'normal' tour time in both St Petersburg and Moscow. We are not sure how much longer than the 13 days + travel we want to spend on the trip. We may possibly consider a stop in Kiev as has been suggested to us.

 

If you did not get a chance to experience the subway in St Petersburg on your last visit - I would make it a point to see it on your next trip if you can... It was one of the absolute highlights of our 2 days there.

 

Anyway thanks for posting and giving insight into Uniworld/Russia. It is much appreciated.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Buck1949
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[Hydrokitty]

Buck 1949 - replied to you on another thread about Uniworld Russia (which we took in June 2012), so won't repeat that here. One difference in your 2009 2-day stay in St Pete is that the ocean liners dock in a different port than the river boats. The ocean liners are much closer to town. It should be the other way round I know, but there you go….many things in Russia are opposite of what you might think they are.

 

We spent 3 extra days in St Pete before our cruise and 3 extra days in Moscow. Glad we did both, although I would go back to St Pete, but think in the time we spent in Moscow, we basically "did" the town, so would not go back to Moscow. More to see in St Pete I think. We're going back to St Pete on an ocean cruise in 2015 for 2 days, so we'll try it your way while you're doing it ours!

 

Hi Elizabeth...we did the same as you 3 days in St. Pete and 3 in Moscow.and while I loved Moscow, I think we pretty much did it and I can't wait to get back to St. Pete!! We're thinking of Baltic cruise on Celebrity which has an over-night in St Pete and I've already picked out two tours to places we saw but didn't get inside. Which ship are you looking at?

[id4elizabeth]

We're booked on the Viking Star maiden "Homelands" cruise in May 2015. It's their new "ocean" ship that's currently being built. Goes through the Baltic starting in Bergen Norway and ending in Stockholm. Sure hope they dock in the ocean "big ships" area in St Pete and not way out where the river ships dock. When we were there before, we went to Peterhoff but only saw the gardens - I would love to go inside this time.

[Hydrokitty]

We're booked on the Viking Star maiden "Homelands" cruise in May 2015. It's their new "ocean" ship that's currently being built. Goes through the Baltic starting in Bergen Norway and ending in Stockholm. Sure hope they dock in the ocean "big ships" area in St Pete and not way out where the river ships dock. When we were there before, we went to Peterhoff but only saw the gardens - I would love to go inside this time.

 

Inside is worth a tour but it's really the fountains and gardens you're going for!! It was a little rainy the day we were there, but it still took my breath away. We even enjoyed the "trick" fountains...couldn't get any wetter, so why not.:)

[id4elizabeth]

We must have been on the same trip! It was cold and pouring rain when we saw the gardens, but I agree, they were spectacular.

[Buck1949]

Anyone else interested in traveling along to Russia on August 8th (or possibly August 7 in 2015?? (yes, 2015) :D

 

My wife and I are traveling on the Uniworld's 'River Victoria' for a 13 day vacation that starts in St Petersburg and ends in Moscow and cruises along the Volga River. From other traveler's past reviews this should be a great trip. I've seen photos taken of the various areas by a couple of past travelers.....which just increased my desire to go.

 

Can't wait to see this country.

[Buck1949]

Hydrokitty:

Just noticed you took a Panama Canal cruise last year. How many days was the cruise......and what did you think of it overall? Been thinking this is also one trip I want to take sometime in the future.

[Hydrokitty]

We must have been on the same trip! It was cold and pouring rain when we saw the gardens, but I agree, they were spectacular.

 

We went in late Aug/Sept. Most of the time it was gorgeous but that one day in st. Petersburg it was rainy....I won't say pouring because rain stopped every now and then and when it rained it was more a heavy shower than pouring rain. It was a wonderful experience and one of my favorite trips.

[Hydrokitty]

Hydrokitty:

Just noticed you took a Panama Canal cruise last year. How many days was the cruise......and what did you think of it overall? Been thinking this is also one trip I want to take sometime in the future.

 

Hi Bill:

We took Celebrity Infinity from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale in April for our 50th and it was wonderful. Trip was two weeks but we did the full transit. You can do a partial transit for much less time. When looking at Panama Canal cruises if the ship leaves and returns to the same port it's a partial transit. If it leaves from one coast and returns to the other, it's a full transit. Dh is a civil engineer so he wouldn't consider anything less than full transit. It takes about 8 hours for the complete transit and cruise ships pay in advance so they rarely have to wait. Transit was done in full daylight and there was an expert on board who narrated the whole time . Our room had a balcony so we had the tv on in our stateroom to listen to him while we watched from the comfort of our balcony. In a phrase, we loved it. Weather in late April was spectacular. Warm and dry. We flew to San Diego a day ahead and stayed over-night in SD. We had been to SD before but if you haven't, then I would recommend a few days in SD it's a marvelous city with lots to see and do. Coming home we booked a mid-afternoon flight from FLL to NY since we got off the ship at 7 a.m.

I loved Celebrity and can't wait to cruise with them on Baltic Caps. It was the most relaxing vacation I ever had and I literally cried when we had to leave the ship!! I have pictures if you want to see them let me know. So to answer your anticipated question: if transit took 8 hours what did we do for rest of the two weeks! Ports were Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Nicargua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. Some were better than others and in one we never left the compound and heard gun shots from the balcony!! Just like home.:D