Horsedds

As to currency- we changed about $30 (all I had with me) the first day. Even with buying a beer and souvenirs at the car museum, some tea at “the Jewish place”, admission at the great gate, and a few snacks and pay toilets, we did not run out of local $ til the last day, when we had only one subway fare’s worth of local money. We just walked....

My experience with the Sineus was that it was completely quiet and comfortable!  And we were in the lowest floor with no balcony, just a big window. Loved the ship!!

We Began in Odessa.  We did the Vienna pre-extension, partly to break up the air travel for my non-flying-loving husband!

I always prepay the tips if possible, as part of what I am paying for the trip. That way no exchange rate. The bus drivers were not included in this prepaid group gratuity as they do not work for Viking. I tipped (overtipped) them is US $. I say overtipped because I tipped $1 per bus ride, in US cash to whatever driver we rode with that day, and that seemed to be a lot compared with their monthly earnings. But it was easy for me and they seemed happy with it. 

One other thing about flying to and from the Ukraine- they stamped my passport on out of order blank pages, taking up a lot of space on my already almost used up passport!!!!

Are you doing both cruises with Viking?  I have done that trip also and I just loved it!!  Do not miss the Moscow subways!!  We skipped the Kremlin treasury and other activities and went to Gorky Park. Then we just rode the subways all afternoon!!  So many gorgeous and interesting stations!!  I wanted to find a particular non-central area station mentioned in a novel and my friend and I, armed only with a Cyrillic subway map actually found it!!  The big don’t miss its in the Ukraine for me we’re the steps in Odessa (we walked up and down them several times) and the Golden Gate in Kiev. 

Gee, I would do both those trips all over again in a minute!!

Seven1113, you will love this trip!!  Wish I were going back again!!

12 minutes ago, racknlube said:

Sure wish I had had all these great posts before our Odessa to Kiev cruise last July! Lots of helpful info here about excursions, money, food, etc. We enjoyed our Ukrainian cruise and Viking. We even had our own Shabbat service aboard the Sineus!

We venture out early alone on the first morning armed with a map!!  We found both synagogues and morning minyan was just beginning at the Chabad. My husband was welcomed there and was able to say Kaddish for his mother, whose family was originally from Odessa. It was a big high spot in the trip for us!!

2 hours ago, Glorybe said:

In Odesa  shuttle buses. Do you remember the drop off/pick up address in the center of the Odesa,  or the proximity to a building or attraction? I would find that helpful in order to see what the attractions are around the drop off/pick up point. 

Pickup Drop off point was by outdoor flea/art market around the Orthodox Church. But you could have walked from there also. We changed our $35 and had some coffee in “the Jewish cafe” right by there.

22 minutes ago, Glorybe said:

I am glad you posted your review on this forum as I saw it immediately. Thanks for taking the time to give such a detailed review.

 

I am wondering how you spent your free time in Kiev and Odessa. I would welcome suggestions too if you heard passengers talk about an interesting sight in those two cities.  For example, did anyone try to go to the Museum of the Ukraine in WWII?

 

Free time in Kiev was spent finding and visiting the Golden Gate, which was a main focus for us, as we love that piece of music. And just walking around with a map, marveling at the fantastically beautiful city. In Odessa, we went out and up the gorgeous steps early every morning, then just explored!  In the evening we took a horsecarriage ride outside of the Opera. If you go, say hi to Albert (the horse!) for me!!

14 minutes ago, Glorybe said:

Just wondering in what city a visit was made to the Space Museum/Agency, the cost, and length of time at the sight. That attraction sounds interesting.

 

We visited a Space Museum in Moscow on our Scenic River Cruise and we really enjoyed that visit. We looked at a lot of capsules, space equipment, experiments, raves about their "firsts" achievements in space, and could eat food astronauts ate in the museum restaurant. Scenic had also made arrangements for us to meet a retired astronaut who spoke to our group. He also administered the museum.  It was a memorable visit. Does your visit to the Space Agency sound anything like our visit to the Space Museum in Moscow? 

Space Museum was in Dnipro!  Yes, sounds very similar!

Wow Pontac!!  What a great review!!  For me, one of the best things about the trip was meeting you!!

There is almost nothing I can add, but of course I’ll try:

Bandura concert on board with four lovely lady players, plus bass and drums. Just excellent!!

Optional excursion to the neglected Soviet Space Agency a real eye opener. They seem to have won the space race with primitive equipment and incredible dedication. 

Ponies dressed as unicorns and horses made up as giraffes were giving rides on the pedestrian street in Odessa. The city’s air of faded opulence was so seductive it was my favorite city, even above much more exciting and interesting Kiev!

Home hosted visit in Kremenchug was a window into Ukrainian history. The family we visited had been “collectived” and Decollectivized.

Three kinds of yogurt and ship made kefir served daily at breakfast and fresh fruit at every meal!

loved this trip!!

Hi Nanna Fru - you’ll be happy to hear that in Kiev also the even numbered cabins faced the water, with beautiful views of the island and the lighted bridges. The colors of the closest bridge change constantly and put on quite a show!!

To all who have been discussing money issues - one more thing about $$. I had some euros and a 5 pound note left over from previous travel. I added enough US$ to make about $35 worth and exchanged it all for grubinas. Can you believe that was all the cash we spent on the whole trip, including souvenirs, beer, and 2 admissions to the Golden Gate, which we did on our own. On the day we left I had 15 grubinas left, which I left for the room steward.  

On subject of tipping - I did prepay our tips, so the only tipping I did was an additional $20 and the 15 grubinas to the stewards, who silently cleaned and straightened our room every time we left it, and a single US $ to the bus driver every time we had a bus ride as we were told the were not included in shipwide tipping.  

Viking had an optional tour to the Chernobyl Museum. Some people also booked a day trip to Chernobyl thru a private company. 

Viking boat moors at the marine terminal, right opposite the funicular and metro station!

We went on the Viking included tour to the architectural museum in the am. Very sweet. Open air museum of Ukrainian way of life in small towns a century ago. In the pm we went on the Viking tour of the Bessarabian market, but left early to walk to the Golden Gate. The Musoursky music was one of the reasons I went on 5his trip!!  We walked there from the market, took the tour of the museum inside for 100 grubinas, and walked home. Spectacular architecture and fun to find our way around with the map!!

I am currently on Sineus also, with Pontac, who has turned out to be every bit as elegant, erudite, and charming in person as he has been on this page!!  It has been a wonderful trip from beginning to end. I am traveling with my husband and from the first day we fell in love with elegant Odessa, with its majestic staircase, crumbling opulence, and quirky faded holiday town flavor (ponies dressed as unicorns, and horses made up as giraffes giving rides in the evenings). Once on the Dneiper, we stopped in towns and cities each with their own beauty and focus of interest. In Kherson we learned about Potemkin and in Zaporozhye about the Cossacks. Universally there was pride and love of the Ukraine in every presentation. I especially enjoyed the Cossack horse show, and the visit to the sad, neglected Soviet Space Program building with its host - a still proud and enthusiastic elderly space scientist.  Onboard we had a wonderful concert of Bandura music and singing, and, especially wonderful, the entertaining antics of Oliver, our Cruise Director!   Viking River Cruises are not famous in my mind for memorable Cruise Directors, but everyone will remember him!!

This was a particularly memorable and wonderful trip!!  You will love this comfortable and beautiful ship and it’s friendly and competent crew!!  

Hi all Sineus cruisers!  I am on the ship now!!  Just wonderful so far!!  Odessa is amazing!!  A tip - for the Odessa day’s it very advantageous to be on the even number cabin side of the ship. The odd number cabins face the bleak, congested dock. We face out to the beautiful albeit somewhat noisy distant cranes and lighthouse across the sea. Much preferable!!  Might be just the opposite in Kiev or other ports. Don’t know yet. 

I have not run into Pontac, with whom I have met on this forum. If you read this, Pontac, come find me. I am in cabin 212. 

Thanks to all defending my honor/ ignorance!!  Actually I view Cruise Critic on an iPad and London is right there, just never noticed it!

Yes, my friends’ father/uncle died on Utah Beach two days into the DDay invasion. The cemetery and surrounding landscape were tremendously awe-inspiring and impressive!!  The shallowness of the Channel, narrowness of the beach, and total vertical steepness of the cliff they scaled makes it almost impossible to believe that they could have done it at all!!!  I prepared for going by reading some accounts of the preparations made by both sides, but the actual accounts of the fighting, and the suggested video documentations and movie depictions were too painful to watch. It was the first time I ever really thought about the reality of the actual fighting of that war.  I was born in 1944 and my father, being crippled with polio, did not go to fight.  By the time I was old enough to understand discussions, it was no longer being discussed. 

Certainly gives one perspective about entering into some somewhat casually discussed modern wars....

Are you in Great Britain?  I was there a few weeks ago for the first time and had a lovely trip!!  I visited a friend (met several years ago on a Viking trip!) in Wiltshire. What a beautiful area!!  We went together with her husband and cousin on the ferry to Cherbourg and on to the Normandy Beach area where we visited the grave of her father. That was my first time in France also!!

Pontac, hope your flights are fine!!  One reason we are doing the Vienna extension is that my husband does not enjoy flying and does enjoy being in Vienna, so I thought it would break the trip up a bit for him!!

ok I will look for a bow tie and trousers!!!

Hi Pontac and anyone else on this board who will be on the July 6 sailing!!  Please come find me and say hello!!  I am Ival McDermott and my husband is Joel Storm. We are heading to Vienna on Wednesday for the brief extension, then on to Odessa!  I am not new to Viking, but my husband is. His only other cruise was with me on CroisiEurope on the Danube. Hopefully this one will be as good!!  Ok see you in Odessa!!

Hello Shipmates (if any!?). My husband and I are on the July 6, 2019 sailing!  Getting excited to do this!!  I am thinking of going to the market in Kiev on our own instead of withViking ($$). Also, I found out the prepaid gratuities are $250 pp. wow!  More if paid on board due to foreign transaction fees, maybe??

ok hope to meet you soon!!

Just read back thru this post!  

I also got “bumped” from this cruise back when Sineus was first refurbished due to political upheaval. My husband, who likes travel less than I do, had a good time on the Danube two summers ago with CroisiEurope.  He saw this in a Viking catalog I had left among the motorcycle magazines and surprised me by suggesting it!  I wish Yalta were still in the itinerary, but overall I am thrilled to be going.  I am so ready to see the famous steps and gate!!!

It will be my husband’s first Viking trip but I have been on several, both river and ocean. I loved the Waterways of the Tzars trip especially the Moscow subways.  I am hoping for the Russian appetizer “Herring in its overcoat” as served on that trip to be on the menu!!

We will be taking the Vienna pretrip and I am hoping to get to hear a singer there we loved on the Danube trip, and to do some of the things we enjoyed so much there. It’s a good horse city which I especially enjoy!!

for the Sineus trip I have booked the Opera House excursion and also the Jewish trips, although I know they will be so sad. My husband’s roots are in Rumania, and although I know that is another trip, there are family stories that include Odessa. 

Peregrina651, thanks for the info about the group roll call!  Maybe that is why I could never find the right roll call for my river cruises!!

Pontac, 

are you and I the only ones posting who are on the July 6 sailing??  So happy to find someone to talk to about this exciting trip!!

Hi Pontiac I guess I DID get the link!!  Thanks!!  Seems like not everyone is on our July sailing, but some very interesting information in the comments!!  Thanks again!!