Russian Cruise Company/Express to Russia - Experiences?

[willow028]

I did a forum search, but those terms don't narrow down results much! I'm looking at a river cruise from Moscow to Saint Petersburg using Russian Cruise Company and am interested in any first hand reviews as I can't find much online.

 

I'm a solo traveler on a budget who prefers to stay at AirBnB flats over four star hotels, so I'm not looking for luxury - just a solid cruise experience with fantastic new places to explore. (I've been reading threads before posting so thought I'd throw that out there - I know this won't be luxury and I don't want or need that!)

 

Thanks for any input or guidance as I know these companies often lease space - the specific ship is the M/S Fedin for July of this year.

[Coral]

I had done a land trip to Russia (Soviet Union back then) and then a Russian River cruise a few years ago.

 

I saw far more on my land trip and much preferred it compared to my Russian River cruise. I couldn't believe how much we missed on the Russian River cruise (and my fellow cruisers had no idea how much we missed). After doing the river cruise, I wish I had just spent money for hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg (and do the train to get from one to the other) and skipped most of the ports in-between. Even though I had been to these ports before, I wanted more time in these ports. Also, we wasted so much time by staying on the ship in St. Petersburg and Moscow as opposed to hotels in downtown as the commute is so long. We went back most days for lunch and it was easily 45 minutes to an hour back to the ship, eat lunch and then back to town (and the same for dinner). I later learned to just leave the group and explore on my own.

 

If you have not booked the river cruise yet, I encourage you to look at an organized land trip with a group. I would not recommend a Russian River cruise. Many of the ports in-between, you only visit for a few hours.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Coral

[Floridiana]

Willow,

Do you speak Russian?

I am asking because one of our travel companions on the Yangtze had done a Volga cruise on a Russian ship marketed to Eastern Europeans and Russians. He speaks Russian. He also saw a ship that was marketed exclusively to Russians and it looked really bad. I am mentioning this because you might have trouble findig a cheap cruise if you don't have the language skills necessary to assess what you are getting into.

Some accommodations are simply not sold to westerners. We saw some passengers ships on the Yangtze that fell into that category.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Floridiana

[Floridiana]

Sorry, I didn't see the name of the ship in your last sentence. Have you tried a forum where more adventurous travellers exchange information?

[steamboats]

willow028,

 

All river cruise ships in Russia are owned and operated by Russian companies but then chartered out to other river cruise companies (mainly US and German). The MS Fedin is crusing for the German river cruise company Nicko Cruises in 2016. So the onboard language will be German. All crew will be from Russia or Ukraina. The Konstantin Fedin was built in 1980 in former Eastern Germany. Last refurbishment I know of was in 2002. It´s owned by the Russian company Vodohod (or Wodochod).

 

steamboats

[Coral]

willow028,

 

All river cruise ships in Russia are owned and operated by Russian companies but then chartered out to other river cruise companies (mainly US and German). The MS Fedin is crusing for the German river cruise company Nicko Cruises in 2016. So the onboard language will be German. All crew will be from Russia or Ukraina. The Konstantin Fedin was built in 1980 in former Eastern Germany. Last refurbishment I know of was in 2002. It´s owned by the Russian company Vodohod (or Wodochod).

 

steamboats

 

I believe Viking owns their ships. They may be the only exception - not sure.

 

We did a ship owned by Vodohod. There were only 2 AMA employees, everyone else was Vodohod. I was not impressed with Vodohod at all. I could not recommend my sailing was for a variety of reasons. I thought it was a waste of money compared to what I had experienced previously. I got so much more out of my previous trip.

 

Language was not an issue on our trip. It was marketed to US, Canadians, Brits and Australians. I ventured on my own several times as the commute back to the ship was awful (6 hours per day in commute for lunch and dinner if not longer in St. Petersburg) but I learned some Russian in college. While very rusty, I could read some. Could not understand anything verbally in Russian but enough people in the city speak English.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Coral

[steamboats]

Coral,

 

Yes, Viking does own one of their ships but not all. That ship was officially renamed. All other ships do have "marketing" names like AMAKaterina (which is not the official name of the ship).

 

I don´t know how Viking did it as it´s a legal thing that the ships have to be owned by a Russian company.

 

steamboats

[Coral]

Coral,

 

Yes, Viking does own one of their ships but not all. That ship was officially renamed. All other ships do have "marketing" names like AMAKaterina (which is not the official name of the ship).

 

I don´t know how Viking did it as it´s a legal thing that the ships have to be owned by a Russian company.

 

steamboats

 

I have no clue how true this is - but according to wikipedia, they purchased 4 Russian ships. Now, I am not sure if they still own them but my TA has heard from her Viking Rep that they own all of their ships.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_Cruises

 

You are the most knowledgeable person I know about river boats so you may have more up to date information.

 

If I was to do this again, I would probably do Viking or one that does hotels (but this is not consistent and changes every year it seems). But honestly, I have no desire to go to the ports along the Volga and much preferred my time in Moscow and St. Petersburg and would do a land trip there.

 

From my conversations with those who did Viking - they did a better job than AMA did --I mean Vodohod did as it really did seem like a Vodohod cruise, and I say this not in a good way. I am probably one of the few here that can compare the land trip with the river cruise.

[steamboats]

Interesting, by 2012 the Viking Rurik was the only ship owned and renamed by Viking. Now it´s not even on the Viking website anymore.

 

On a German Wikipedia site there are 5 ships listed:

 

Viking Akun

Viking Helgi

Viking Ingvar

Viking Rurik

Viking Truvor

 

The Viking website doesn´t mention Rurik and Helgi anymore.

 

Rurik is the oldest, Vladimir-Ilych class (project 301, 1975 - 1983). The others are a bit more advanced and from the Dmitriy-Furmanov class (project 302, 1983 - 1991). All were built by a former Eastern Germany shipyard in Boizenburg. The shipyard was closed down in 1997 after filing for bankruptcy.

 

Seems like Viking does own all their ships now and officially renamed all of them. I just wonder where those two ones are now which aren´t mentioned anymore on the website.

 

steamboats

[Coral]

Interesting, by 2012 the Viking Rurik was the only ship owned and renamed by Viking. Now it´s not even on the Viking website anymore.

 

On a German Wikipedia site there are 5 ships listed:

 

Viking Akun

Viking Helgi

Viking Ingvar

Viking Rurik

Viking Truvor

 

The Viking website doesn´t mention Rurik and Helgi anymore.

 

Rurik is the oldest, Vladimir-Ilych class (project 301, 1975 - 1983). The others are a bit more advanced and from the Dmitriy-Furmanov class (project 302, 1983 - 1991). All were built by a former Eastern Germany shipyard in Boizenburg. The shipyard was closed down in 1997 after filing for bankruptcy.

 

Seems like Viking does own all their ships now and officially renamed all of them. I just wonder where those two ones are now which aren´t mentioned anymore on the website.

 

steamboats

 

According to Wiki - they bought the ships in 1997 so I wonder if that had to do with the shipyard filing for bankruptcy.

 

There was a Viking Peterhof at one point as we docked next to it. It was for German passengers back then. Don't know if it has been renamed or what.

 

The other 2 ships - I wonder if they are not in service right now due to low demand, thus are not on the website? Purely guessing.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Coral

[steamboats]

No, by the time of the bankrupcty the ships weren´t owned be the shipyard anymore but by the Russian cruise lines they were built for. And I don´t think they still own those vessels they´ve bought in 1997.

 

But you may be right that the non mentioned vessels are currently laid up due to the lack of demand. The German river cruise companies used to operate two or three vessels in Russia but are down to one or two right now.

 

steamboats

[OnTheJourney]

This is a bit off-topic, but thought I'd throw it in anyway. I recently did a Baltic cruise and toured SPB with Alla Tours for the 3 days that we were in port. They are an excellent company to work with. Our guide spoke fluent English and our group only had 11 people. So I just thought I'd add this in the event that, no matter what ship you wind up taking to Russia, perhaps knowing about good and reputable tour companies - if you would have need of any - would be worthwhile. Good luck with everything. SPB is a pretty amazing place.

[OCTravelerGene]

This past July, we booked a St. Petersburg to Moscow cruise with Gate 1 - embarking the MS Zosima Shashkov in St Pete on September 3rd, 2016 and disembarking in Moscow on September 13, 2016.

 

We are now thinking of booking a Moscow to Astrakhan Volga River cruise with Express to Russia on the MS K. Korotkov - embarking the ship on September 16, 2016 and disembarking in Astrakhan on September 28, 2016.

 

After reading the previous postings on this board, I'm wondering if this is such a good idea.. Any comments will be welcome.

 

Gene

[4774Papa]

I had done a land trip to Russia (Soviet Union back then) and then a Russian River cruise a few years ago.

 

I saw far more on my land trip and much preferred it compared to my Russian River cruise. I couldn't believe how much we missed on the Russian River cruise (and my fellow cruisers had no idea how much we missed). After doing the river cruise, I wish I had just spent money for hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg (and do the train to get from one to the other) and skipped most of the ports in-between. Even though I had been to these ports before, I wanted more time in these ports. Also, we wasted so much time by staying on the ship in St. Petersburg and Moscow as opposed to hotels in downtown as the commute is so long. We went back most days for lunch and it was easily 45 minutes to an hour back to the ship, eat lunch and then back to town (and the same for dinner). I later learned to just leave the group and explore on my own.

 

If you have not booked the river cruise yet, I encourage you to look at an organized land trip with a group. I would not recommend a Russian River cruise. Many of the ports in-between, you only visit for a few hours.

Agree about staying in hotels in STP and Moscow instead of the boat.

 

We did the Russian River with Vantage, which offered the five star hotels in STP and Moscow. It was great, we were able to explore on our own and we missed the heavy traffic coming into the city from the cruise port.

 

Unfortunately, Vantage doesn't offer this cruise anymore. Check out some other lines, perhaps a firm does offer this.

 

The River Cruise is great fun. One historical fact, Stalin built the canal in the 30s with political prisoners, 1.2 million lives lost building the canal. Kitzi Island on the cruise is great.

[Hydrokitty]

Agree about staying in hotels in STP and Moscow instead of the boat.

 

We did the Russian River with Vantage, which offered the five star hotels in STP and Moscow. It was great, we were able to explore on our own and we missed the heavy traffic coming into the city from the cruise port.

 

Unfortunately, Vantage doesn't offer this cruise anymore. Check out some other lines, perhaps a firm does offer this.

 

The River Cruise is great fun. One historical fact, Stalin built the canal in the 30s with political prisoners, 1.2 million lives lost building the canal. Kitzi Island on the cruise is great.

 

I agree with Papa! Kizhi was one of my favorite stops and IMHO not to be missed. I liked Mandrogi too....mostly for the shops....all crafts made by people selling them. Got some beautiful things for reasonable prices. I think the only "main" river company doing Russia now is Viking and if I remember correctly they own their own boats. I would definitely want to stay in hotels in both Moscow and St. Pete because of the traffic and length of time it takes to get from the dock to St. Pete. Not to mention the additional free time staying in downtown hotel would give you for eating locally (Soviet Cafe in S.P.) and there's just so much to see in and around both cities. I don't know if I would want to do a land tour though. The ports where Papa and I (same cruise, different times) stopped in were all interesting and you knew where you were putting your head every night. I would be concerned with hotels in rural areas....they could be wonderfully authentic or horrible and you wouldn't know until you got there. If you're used to airbnb, have you looked at places in these two cities?

[OCTravelerGene]

After much discussion, we have decided to cancel our booking with Gate 1 for a Volga River cruise from St. Pete to Moscow. I have been to St. Pete twice before and my wife has been once.

 

As we haven't been to Moscow before, we will be substituting a land-only Gate 1 tour to Moscow, probably in late September. We will also, on our own, make side trips to Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad & Minsk (Belarus).

 

Thank you for your input. Gene

[Coral]

I just looked at hotels in Moscow the first of August. Intercontinental (5 Star) which was going for $500 plus when I went to Russia is now going for $158. Other hotels (Holiday Inn/Crown Plaza) are $45-$60. Ritz Carlton $230 and Marriott $106.

 

Looked at cost of Uniworld cruise - $6000 - $8000.

 

Definitely the time to do a land trip and take the train between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Plenty of day trips can happen from these locations.

[4774Papa]

I just looked at hotels in Moscow the first of August. Intercontinental (5 Star) which was going for $500 plus when I went to Russia is now going for $158. Other hotels (Holiday Inn/Crown Plaza) are $45-$60. Ritz Carlton $230 and Marriott $106.

 

Looked at cost of Uniworld cruise - $6000 - $8000.

 

Definitely the time to do a land trip and take the train between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Plenty of day trips can happen from these locations.

 

I am surprised at those low prices for hotels, but the ruble has dropped like a rock since the Ukrainian sanctions and drop in oil prices.

 

Those Uniworld prices are way more than we paid for our trip.

[Coral]

I am surprised at those low prices for hotels, but the ruble has dropped like a rock since the Ukrainian sanctions and drop in oil prices.

 

 

Yes - me too! Makes me want to do a land trip there! The year I went, I think Moscow was the most expensive city in the world to travel to. Heck, we could go and stay at the Ritz!

 

The Uniworld cruise was more than my AMA cruise but competition is less and Uniworld is a higher line than AMA or Vantage. Ironically - I could only find a few dates for Uniworld, I don't think they are running an entire season.

Edited January 18, 2016 by Coral

[napoxoguk]

Hi,

This is the only thread I could find on Cruisecritic discussing Furmanov-class ships, so I thought I'd throw it in here - I recently did a weekend cruise on Dmitry Furmanov, the inaugural ship of its class, - and it was actually a lot of fun.

I'll post an overview of the ship and the itinerary a little later.

[4774Papa]

I had done a land trip to Russia (Soviet Union back then) and then a Russian River cruise a few years ago.

 

I saw far more on my land trip and much preferred it compared to my Russian River cruise. I couldn't believe how much we missed on the Russian River cruise (and my fellow cruisers had no idea how much we missed). After doing the river cruise, I wish I had just spent money for hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg (and do the train to get from one to the other) and skipped most of the ports in-between. Even though I had been to these ports before, I wanted more time in these ports. Also, we wasted so much time by staying on the ship in St. Petersburg and Moscow as opposed to hotels in downtown as the commute is so long. We went back most days for lunch and it was easily 45 minutes to an hour back to the ship, eat lunch and then back to town (and the same for dinner). I later learned to just leave the group and explore on my own.

 

If you have not booked the river cruise yet, I encourage you to look at an organized land trip with a group. I would not recommend a Russian River cruise. Many of the ports in-between, you only visit for a few hours.

We picked Vantage for our Russian River cruise specifically because of price and that we stayed in five star downtown hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg rather than staying on the riverboat.

 

It was a great trip. Also, we very much enjoyed the pre and post extensions to Kiev and the Baltic Countries.

 

Note, however, the Vantage doesn't offer the Russian River cruise anymore.

 

If you can, look for one that offers hotel.