LipBalmAddict

I've only been on one Viking Ship so far, the Helgi, and it was immaculate as well as being child-free. My husband and I were the two youngest passengers (49 - him and 43 - me).

I can't say enough great things about our entire experience with Viking, we loved every minute of it and we hope to sail with Viking again.

Hi Liz, I spent less than 50 roubles during the whole trip (for my 3 visits to the public restrooms). We didn't know how much we would need, so we brought 2000 roubles with us and we used what we didn't spend at the end of the trip to form part of the cash tips.

Based on tipping guidelines for the local guides and any other incidentals, I'd suggest taking approximately 2000 roubles (or withdrawing that amount once you are in Russia) for the duration.

Yes you can pay for tips on the ship's bill, but you would do it at the end when you settle up your onboard account. You'll receive an interim bill and then a final bill. When you receive the final bill, you will also receive two envelopes: one for the staff and one for the tour escorts. We chose to use the envelopes to pay tips in cash (we used a combination of roubles and Euros). We also paid the 2 restaurant staff who had faithfully served us for each meal (as we always sat in the same section of the restaurant) a separate cash tip and we left a separate cash tip for the stateroom attendant. Because we spent most of the time with one particular tour escort, we chose to write her name on the tour escort tip envelope, as we felt that she should receive all of it, but other people did not choose to do this, as the tour escorts do work together as a team and do take turns in delivering the onboard lectures, etc. My previous experience with cruising with Regent and Crystal was that tips were pre-paid as part of the all-inclusive experience, and I wasn't sure how it would be to do things the Viking way. However, we found the Viking folks to be so incredibly helpful that we genuinely wanted to tip them well, so it wasn't as awkward or cumbersome as we had initially thought it might be.

More about settling up your onboard account: there are two sets of times on the day before departure when you can do this, and it will get very busy, so just be prepared for a bit of wait. Part of this is down to the usual to-ing and fro-ing that generally happens during these times, but another aspect of it is that Viking is very accommodating in terms of allowing you to settle your bill using US dollars, Euros, roubles, card payments, as well as a combination of all 4 of these forms of payment. I saw a few people using a combination of these currencies, which takes longer to tote up the bill. But the staff were very helpful and friendly, and during this time period, I also saw the cruise director helping people to print their boarding passes using the free of charge computers and printers available on the boat. The glitches that people had to troubleshoot including the printer not recognising the print request, so a tip there is to remember that one workaround is to first "print" the document as a pdf file, then to print the pdf document.

The hotel manager needs to close the books before midnight on the night before the end of the cruise, so do try and settle your bill as early as possible.

You can also buy future cruise vouchers (which we did), but you also need to do this as soon as possible (preferably not at the same time as settling the final bill, as the hotel manager has to get the cruise director to sign them and the CD will likely be helping people print their boarding passes at the same time!)

I'm glad the timing worked out so well for it to be published before you depart for Russia. If you think of anything else, please feel free to ask. If not, then I'll say goodbye and have a wonderful time!

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Will take some bug spray just in case since it will be late June.

 

When you visited the Hermitage did the tour include a photo permit so you could take pictures? Or did you have to purchase one yourself. What about other museums and churches charging for taking photos?

 

You are certainly a great spokesman for Viking. This will be our 4th and we have also been happy with our experiences with them. China was great!!!

 

Are there any churches that you visited that required shoulder or head covering for women? Are shorts okay for men or women in the churches?

 

On past trips we only needed money for souvenirs and tips for local drivers and guides or if we wanted to eat or drink a local speciality. Was there anything else that you discovered that you might need cash for?

 

Was there a stop that was especially good for souvenirs?

Thanks for sharing.

Hi, sounds like your trip is just around the corner, how exciting! Yes the mosquitos are definitely supposed to be around until late Aug/early Sept, so take the bug spray.

The Viking China trip is high on our wish list as well - it seems to get rave reviews here on cruisecritic.

OK, answers to your questions:

Most of the museums had an extra (nominal) fee for taking pictures, and anyone who wanted to take them had to queue up to buy the permit, which typically consisted of a wrist band that was obvious when you held up your arm to take the photos that it was OK. However, I do not believe the Hermitage charged for taking pictures, I think it was the only major museum where the photo permit was included in the price. My husband takes all the pics for us, and he went on the extended tour on his own/I went on the standard tour. The extended tour left early in the morning and they were the first group to enter the Hermitage, and he said he did not pay - and the Hermitage website seems to indicate that there is no charge for a camera permit).

Most of the churches frowned upon wearing shorts, though I never saw anyone specifically being prevented from entering a church because they were wearing shorts. Most people were wearing the capri length/cargo pants type shorts though, not short shorts, so that might have made a difference.

Definitely take a scarf to put on your head as a sign of respect inside the churches. Again, this was not strictly enforced, but I think you'll feel better if you bring one/wear one. Most churches had loaner scarves available at the entrance for anyone needing to borrow one.

You'll need rubles for the pay toilets. Your guides will try to take you to the free ones as much as possible, but sometimes it's unavoidable. The fee is usually 10 to 20 rubles. Most other places would accept Euros and dollars. I didn't spend any cash in Russia other than a few rubles for the pay toilets (I think I had to pay 3 times in total). But that's also because my husband is the big spender in the family, not me (he bought an art book at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow).

The tour guides will usually point out the best towns for souvenirs. They will tell you to avoid buying anything in Moscow, because it is so expensive (even by London standards!), but Uglich, Mandrogi and St. Petersburg are the recommended places to buy souvenirs. Mandrogi is an artists' village and you can watch the artists at work and buy their handicrafts. Some people thought the prices were a bit high, but the artists need to earn a living and I think if you really like something there, it's well worth it.

Wow! Thanks loads for the quick and informative reply. I'll probably have other questions as time passes. You are so kind to take the time to share your memories with others. This will benefit lots of people I'm certain.

It's my pleasure!

Happy to address your questions in turn:

"Were you able to sit on your balcony a lot while cruising?"

We went for the cheapest category stateroom and didn't have a balcony. But other people whom we met said that they did.

"We hear how bad the traffic is. I am concerned about getting to the airport for an early morning flight day of departure? Do you know how that was handled?"

The traffic was taken into account. I was pleasantly surprised (after having been on ocean cruises previously, where things are handled differently) that disembarkation was customised for each flight and there were a number of transfers throughout the day in order to get people to the airport at the right time. The departure schedule took up a whole page of the Viking Daily and was listed by stateroom number and flight number, so you could identify your own departure time easily. There were people who had to depart as early as 3:00 am on the day of departure, due to early morning flights. We had a late afternoon departure and we were allowed to remain on the boat until the transfer took us to the airport. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time (but not too much time - just right). This included allowing us to have lunch on the boat, with the included wine :D And the bags were handled seamlessly - loaded onto the buses from our staterooms for us, and they also took them into the airport arrivals hall for us to collect (rather than having to lug them from the bus into the airport). We were really impressed with how smoothly the transfers were handled.

"Mosquitos a problem?"

Yes! Only on one of the days, but they were a big problem on that day, which was the day we visited the monastery. We experienced unseasonably warm weather for May (one of the guides said it was more like the weather in July), so the mosquitos came out earlier than expected. We knew this was a possibility and we brought mosquito repellent, but we neglected to apply it or take it with us on that day and we got bitten. So, best advice is not just to take mosquito repellent with you on the trip, but also in your day bag so that you have it on you in case you need it.

"Thanks if you can answer any of these!"

My pleasure. We had such an amazing time on this trip and we are now big fans of Viking, so are very happy to keep the memories alive by talking about it :)

We particularly enjoyed the Classical Folklore concert in Moscow and the school visit in Kirillov. All of the included visits of the river towns were great, as each one was special in its own way.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover that we were given a choice of either a bus tour or a walking tour of both Moscow and St Petersburg. Our tour escort strongly encouraged everyone to do the walking tours if they were able, as it enables you to see a lot more. We like to walk whenever we can, so we also appreciated getting a bit of exercise.

Bellemere - when is your trip?

We also participated in the optional Vodka Tasting event, hosted by the hotel manager (Frank). He was so funny, that one of the women at the event turned around and said to me that he should be a stand up comedian, at exactly the same time I had been thinking the same thing!

It was a nominal 15 Euros, which barely covered the cost of the vodka, not to mention the nibbles that they served (which is explained as being very important in not overindulging and getting a hangover - which we didn't have the next day).

Frank is ex-Silversea, which really showed in terms of his professionalism (his sense of humour was an added bonus).

My husband did the optional excursion to the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, and he loved it. I preferred to take the morning off and sleep (and he is more of an art lover than I am).

We both did the Moscow by Night excursion and we loved it - can't recommend it highly enough.

We also both went to the Cosmonaut Museum in Moscow and enjoyed it very much.

In St. Petersburg, I went to the included tour of the Hermitage and felt that was enough. My husband did the optional tour of the Hermitage that spent a bit longer at the Hermitage and included lunch and a trip to the storage facility, which was a 45 minute bus ride away. A lot of people who went on the optional/extended tour with him felt it wasn't really worth it, but they didn't regret doing it.

We both did the St. Petersburg from the water tour and enjoyed it, though it was not as amazing as the Moscow by Night (which included a river cruise) was.

We both enjoyed the Cossacks Folk and Dance show, which was in a tent pitched right outside of the pier where we were docked, so it was also very convenient.

Finally, we took the Peterhof Palace and Park tour, which was spectacular and something not to be missed.

Feel free to ask any more questions….

Review just published:

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=256124

My husband and I just returned from our 1st Viking river cruise, having sailed twice previously with Regent (as per signature).

We were very impressed with Viking, and we are sailing again with them to Myanmar later this year. We are also interested in their China cruise. But we travel for destinations, and we feel that those particular destinations are best visited via a river cruise (for us).

During our recent river cruise, I attended a presentation about the upcoming Viking Ocean cruises and I also flicked through the Ocean cruise catalog. None of the itineraries appealed to me, but if any of them did, I would consider Viking because I think they do a great job of exploring the destinations visited.

We are currently on the Viking Helgi on route to St. Petersburg (we started the cruise in Moscow on 20th May). Having sailed with two high end ocean cruise lines before, we weren't sure what to expect of Viking, but we have been completely blown away by how fantastic this trip has been so far.

I will write a detailed review when we are back, but I will leave it here by saying that two key things to remember when preparing for the cruise are (1) to bring a range of garments to cover extremes in temperature, and (2) the more of the Russian language you can pick up in advance, the better your experience will be (as you will be able to interact more with the locals), but if you are not very good at picking up foreign languages (as I am not) then you will still be fine, as Viking's amazing guides will take excellent care of you.

Hi there, if you choose to exchange money in London, I'd suggest going to the Bureaux de Change at Marks & Spencer or at a Post Office (definitely not at the airport).

And if you happen to have a Bank of America account, you can withdraw cash from a Barclays ATM with no fees and at a very competitive rate of exchange.

It's fairly common in the UK to use date of birth as a unique identifier, particularly when it comes to doctors surgeries, etc. I learnt this all too well when I married a man named John Smith after having spent my life with a unique name that never required me to distinguish myself from others with the same name. Now, whenever I encounter confusion with a booking regarding his name, I know immediately to offer his date of birth to help troubleshoot....

Looking for a bit of advice... my husband and I have cruised twice with an American cruise line and I didn't have any issues with the food or the music, but he really wished there was more British food and music.

Which UK cruise lines do this particularly well?

Thanks for posting this, I really enjoyed reading it. DH and I are relatively new to cruising and have only done two ocean cruises, but we took the plunge and booked two river cruises this year (Russia in May and Burma in November). We did a lot of research and felt that river cruising was the best way to experience what we wanted to see in these two parts of the world.

If you have an account with Bank of America, you can withdraw cash from Barclays without either bank charging you any fees, it's great!

RIP Bob Crow

DH and I have stayed at the Sofitel at Heathrow T5 prior to both of our (only) cruises. We highly recommend the hotel bar (which is far more elegant than anything in the airport itself) as well as their acclaimed French restaurant, La Belle Époque. If you plan to dine at the restaurant, I'd suggest booking a table in advance. Enjoy the luxurious experience and the convenience of being right there at the airport.

The Tower Bridge area is a great location, you will love it!

Have a lovely time!

Wow, so spectacular! DH and I have our eye on an Adriatic cruise on the Silhouette next year, so I'll be reading your thread with great interest! Glad that you had such a great time and thanks for sharing your experience with us!

Hi there, just a tip about travel insurance policies, be sure you read the fine print because a lot of them do not cover cancellation due to someone who already has a diagnosed condition or other good cause to believe they might be taken ill.

In other words, it would cover cancellation due to something unexpected, such as a bout of appendicitis, but not a recognised and pre-existing illness.

I've been to some of the ports on this cruise (though as part of a three week DIY land trip, not a cruise) and it was late October (2003). In fact, I'm considering taking this particular voyage next year as my now husband hasn't been to any of these places yet and it would be fun to rediscover them with him. Also, I didn't make it to Russia in 2003 and I only want to take a cruise that spends 3 days in St. Petersburg, rather than just two.

In 2003, I went to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen, Flam, Stavanger, Stockholm, Turku, Riga, Tallin and a few other smaller towns that I can't remember offhand.

Anyway, the weather was definitely chilly, but we had some amazingly beautiful days, particularly in Sweden and Latvia. The only disappointment was Tallin, which is not pleasant at all when it's rainy and grey.

I think late September will be a great time to visit this part of the world, and DH and I are keen to avoid the crowds in the ports as well as children on our cruise ship.

We're also interested in this particular voyage, so I'll be following this thread with interest :D

Why aren't ships allowed to hold weapons to defend themselves against pirates?

I sat there watching the film thinking that if the ship had the right to bear arms, the whole thing would never have happened if they had been able to shoot them as they were climbing the ladder from their pirate boats into the ship.