Just Back. Uniworld's Imperial Waterways of Russia.

[BooBooTX]

My brother and I have just returned from Uniworld’s Imperial Waterways of Russia which began in Moscow on July 6 and ended in St. Petersburg on July 18, 2017. Here is a mini-review.

 

This is a 12 night cruise beginning with 3 days docked in Moscow, cruising and visiting villages for 6 days on the Volga-Baltic Canal (which is actually a series of rivers and canals), and 3 days docked in St. Petersburg. The cruise also operates in reverse, beginning in St. Petersburg and finishing in Moscow.

 

A visa is required for an American tourist to visit Russia. Uniworld provides a link to a visa service, which at first glance seemed to be priced competitively with other visa services. However, when we looked closer we found that there were a number of additional charges that would be incurred that made it too expensive. We opted for a local provider. In speaking with fellow travelers who used the Uniworld-referred service, it appears the total cost paid for visas varied considerably from one couple to the next. Also, one lady who used the Uniworld-referred service received a visa with her name misspelled, and was advised by the service to just use a pen to correct it(!) Of course she was uncomfortable with this and ultimately had to engage a supervisor to get the visa corrected.

 

We found the arrival at the Moscow airport to be efficient, and we were promptly greeted by a Uniworld representative. (Side note: the Ladies Room at Arrivals was not a pleasant experience.) In speaking with fellow passengers, it seemed that there was a wide range of experiences with transport to the ship. Some were transported almost immediately by sleek private car; others had an hour or more of milling about waiting for a coach-type bus, and several reported being crammed into a rickety van with luggage haphazardly strewn about their legs and a driver who couldn’t locate the ship.

 

In Moscow, the ship was docked at the Northern River Boat House which is not centrally located, but it is accessible by Metro. The daily bus ride into the city took about 20 minutes. Likewise, in St. Petersburg the ship is docked outside of the city but it is very close to the Metro, and about a 20 minute bus ride from the city center.

 

The ship can accommodate about 200 passengers. Our group of about 160 guests was geographically diverse, hailing from Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Dubai, America, the UK, etc.

 

The River Victoria is owned by the Russian government, and all members of the crew are Russian. The wait staff is primarily made up of university linguistics students who are fluent in English. Other crew members who interact with guests are all fluent in English. The only Uniworld employees were a couple of “Uniworld Representatives”, and our two Cruise Managers, Olga and Dasha, who were terrific. Sadly, tips to crew are not included in the cruise fare, so tipping is addressed at the conclusion of the cruise. This is a departure from Uniworld’s policy for European cruises and one I hope they will change. Tips must be in cash, but are accepted in rubles, dollars or Euros.

 

It is my experience that cabins on river cruises are usually a bit smaller than on ocean liners. I thought that my cabin (#305) on the River Victoria was comparable to the four other Uniworld cruises that I have sailed in Europe, but my balcony on the River Victoria was considerably larger. The amenities, furnishings and layout were also similar to my other Uniworld sailings. There is one US (110) electrical outlet and several European (220) outlets.

 

For the 3 docked days in Moscow and 3 docked days in St. Petersburg, my starboard-side cabin was unfortunately facing the dock in both cities, resulting in a total of 6 out of 12 days having a miserable view, no privacy and a not very useful balcony. My brother’s port-side cabin (#306) was riverside, giving him not only a lovely view of passing river traffic, but also much improved privacy. For this reason, assuming the docking arrangements stay the same, I would strongly recommend a cabin on the port side.

 

Breakfasts and lunches were served buffet style, with table service for dinners. Afternoon tea was offered several times. There are a couple of 24 hour coffee stations offering cookies, fruit and other snacks. A couple of days, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, shore excursion schedules did not allow for returning to the ship for lunch. On those occasions, lunch was “on your own” but compensatory credit was applied to everyone’s shipboard account. In one port on the rivers, a delightful picnic lunch was prepared by the crew.

 

We were very pleased with the quality of the food. In addition to American and Continental offerings similar to other cruises, local foods were usually on offer. Also the evening menu included vegetarian and “traveling light” options each day. The Restaurant Manager was always on hand and available in the dining room. Each evening with dinner, a red and a white wine was available at no charge, and several nights we were served Russian wine. Other wine offerings included French, South African, Australian and Spanish.

 

Shore excursions were included in the cruise fare, and guides used portable audio headset systems. All of our guides spoke English very well and were easy to understand. When possible, a special tour for “gentle walkers” was offered. There were optional “bespoke” tours offered in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which ranged in price from $59 to $89 per person. In addition, there were several offerings of “Do As Locals Do” walking tours offered as an alternative to bus tours. These tours on foot were free but limited to 20 participants, and were led by a cruise manager. We did two of these walking tours and were pleased we did. Also included in St. Petersburg was an evening ballet performance of Swan Lake at the Alexandrinsky Theater.

 

There is a good amount of free time to explore ports on your own. We found the cruise managers and the concierge to be very helpful in making suggestions to suit our personal interests, and in making bookings for us. We found St. Petersburg and Moscow to be very easy to get around, in large part due to the excellent Metro services.

 

For those with mobility issues, there are some locations in Russia, such as the Armory within the Kremlin in Moscow, that have many stairs and may not be suitable. Also we noted that many of the coaches used for excursions had rear stairwells that were extremely steep and could prove challenging even for relatively fit people. The front stairwells on these coaches were more manageable. The ship has just one elevator which is quite crowded at certain times. The elevator is not centrally located, so cabin selection is critical if access to the elevator is important.

 

The pace of activity could be rapid when docked in Moscow and in St. Petersburg, owing to the relatively short time to see so many sights. During the 6 days of cruising, the pace is considerably slower as port calls are usually only a few hours each day. While cruising, the ship offered a good assortment of entertainment options such as cooking demonstrations, Russian lessons, vodka tasting, a bridge tour, a class in painting nested dolls, etc. Also, for those looking for a bit of exercise, the concierge hosted morning stretching each day, and “active walks” in many ports. There were onboard musicians who offered nightly entertainment.

 

A Russian history professor was onboard to offer a series of enrichment lectures. Her topics ranged from Russian history to Russian culture to Russian politics, and we found her thoroughly enjoyable. Lectures took place every day when the ship was sailing, and one additional day in St. Petersburg.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed this cruise and the opportunity to experience both the cities and villages of Russia.

[SC Retired Cruiser]

Thank you for your thoughtful review. It was well written, and answered many questions I had on that itinerary. Still not sure we will book it, but it looks like Uniworld provided a great experience.

[FuelScience]

I'll add my thanks as well. Great review with lots of good information for those of us who haven't done this itinerary yet.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your detailed review. It gave me a perspective of river cruising in Russia. Been to St. Petersburg on a mainstream cruise line and your review gave me an interesting option to go back and see Moscow as well.

[Coral]

Thanks for your review.

[Lirio]

Thanks for the review, We are considering this cruise for next May, 2018. My Mon (77) is going with us and she walks with the support of a crane and cant be a lot of time stand on lines. Is there skip the line tickets for the main attractions? I read somewhere that the bus tours on Moscow and St Petersburg take all day long. Can you comment on that?

[BooBooTX]

Hi Lirio. There are no skip-the-line tickets, and there can be long waits in queues for admission. This was especially true at the Kremlin, for both the Armory and the Assumption Cathedral, and at Catherine Palace. Also there is a fair amount of standing during some tours such as the Kremlin Armory and the Hermitage. At the Hermitage, Uniworld does provide early admission tickets to try to avoid the biggest crowds. There are no day-long bus tours on this cruise. In Moscow there is a choice for a half day City Tour by bus. This includes leaving the bus to visit Red Square. In St. Petersburg there is again a choice for a half day City Tour by bus, which includes photo stops.

Russia is not particularly friendly to those with mobility issues. Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg is cobblestoned and very uneven. Lifts were not available in the Armory, which required many stairs. I'm not sure about the availability of lifts in the Hermitage or Catherine Palace. The big museums require a fair amount of standing because of the crowds. Even so, a few people on our cruise who had mobility challenges simply opted out of certain activities like the Armory and the visits to the Metro stations (many escalators and getting on and off trains); and took advantage of the separate tours for Gentle Walkers when offered.