Uniworld Russia River Cruise
Aug 28th, 2006, 08:52 PM
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Uniworld Russia River Cruise
Does anyone have first hand knowledge or info on their Russia cruise or ship - Litvinov? Any info on their only twice yearly sailing - Land of the Cossacks and Tartars itinerary?
Wondering about the itinerary itself. A bit about the ship. We have been on several river cruises, so I know what they are like - but the brochure mentions that many "stateroom amenities" are not the same as their other ships. What are they talking about? We have been to St. Petersburg before, so this itinerary looks appealing. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Wondering about the itinerary itself. A bit about the ship. We have been on several river cruises, so I know what they are like - but the brochure mentions that many "stateroom amenities" are not the same as their other ships. What are they talking about? We have been to St. Petersburg before, so this itinerary looks appealing. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Aug 28th, 2006, 09:17 PM
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When I used to book on Uniworld I would go straight to their offices on Ventura Blvd in Encino, CA. You can call them directly and speak to someone who can give you firsthand knowledge. They were very helpful and worked with me in choosing the exact cruise and ship I wanted. 800-360-9550.
Aug 28th, 2006, 10:09 PM
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Do a web search for "litvinov" and "Uniworld" "Forums". There are several.
When booking our river cruise in Russia, and after considerable research, and Rudy's trip report here on this forum, we opted to go with Viking, and could not have been more thrilled and pleased.
About the "Stateroom ammentities", my research indicates that the ships for Russia are a bit different. I've read/heard that the European ships have mostly deluxe cabins whereas the reverse is true with the Russian ships. And, no TV's, for example, on the Russian ships. Also, different bathrooms. Standard cabins on the Russian ships have bathrooms similar to RV's. The sink faucet doubles as your shower head...Some on our ship found this terribly inconvenient ("We're only taking sponge baths"
, but others thought them just fine.
And, though we booked a deluxe cabin (about three times the size of standard, and with two huge windows on an upper deck, along with a much larger shower area), the standard cabins we were invited into for a look-see would have been just fine for us, including the bathrooms.
When booking our river cruise in Russia, and after considerable research, and Rudy's trip report here on this forum, we opted to go with Viking, and could not have been more thrilled and pleased.
About the "Stateroom ammentities", my research indicates that the ships for Russia are a bit different. I've read/heard that the European ships have mostly deluxe cabins whereas the reverse is true with the Russian ships. And, no TV's, for example, on the Russian ships. Also, different bathrooms. Standard cabins on the Russian ships have bathrooms similar to RV's. The sink faucet doubles as your shower head...Some on our ship found this terribly inconvenient ("We're only taking sponge baths"
, but others thought them just fine.And, though we booked a deluxe cabin (about three times the size of standard, and with two huge windows on an upper deck, along with a much larger shower area), the standard cabins we were invited into for a look-see would have been just fine for us, including the bathrooms.
Aug 29th, 2006, 06:59 PM
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MS Litvinov is one of Orthodox Cruise Company ships. It is similar to many of the ships that cruise the rivers of Russia. It is used by foreign cruise companies. I have made the trip from Rostov on Don to Moscow and found it to be a more interesting cruise than the one from Moscow to St Petersburg. Orthodox also has a cruise from St Petersburg down the river systems and over to Romania. See Orthodox Cruise website at cruise.ru
Sep 4th, 2006, 01:22 PM
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We just returned home from our Russia River cruise with Intrav. This was our first tour and first cruise and we had a fabulous time! See my posting, "Great River Cruise St.Pete to Moscow with Intrav".
The trip was St. Pete to Moscow, spending 3 days touring around St. Pete, sleeping on the boat, then cruising down the rivers towards Moscow, stopping in the villages of Mandrogi (very touristy), Kizhi Island, Yaroslavl, Uglich, and then touring around Moscow for 3 days while sleeping on the boat.
The russian boats are practically all the same except for the Tiki Don with Grand Circle Travel and the Kazan with Intrav. The Tiki Don is more luxurious than the others, have larger cabins, with t.v.'s and real showers. The Kazan is also more luxurious than the Novokov Priboy, has a swimming pool, larger and nicer cabins. Our cabin on the Novokov was small (103sq.ft) including the bathroom, the sink faucet when hung on the wall becomes the shower, it works just fine.
It all depends what your priorities are! I walked into our cabin and said, "I can live here for 2 weeks, no problem".
Happy travels.
Shari
The trip was St. Pete to Moscow, spending 3 days touring around St. Pete, sleeping on the boat, then cruising down the rivers towards Moscow, stopping in the villages of Mandrogi (very touristy), Kizhi Island, Yaroslavl, Uglich, and then touring around Moscow for 3 days while sleeping on the boat.
The russian boats are practically all the same except for the Tiki Don with Grand Circle Travel and the Kazan with Intrav. The Tiki Don is more luxurious than the others, have larger cabins, with t.v.'s and real showers. The Kazan is also more luxurious than the Novokov Priboy, has a swimming pool, larger and nicer cabins. Our cabin on the Novokov was small (103sq.ft) including the bathroom, the sink faucet when hung on the wall becomes the shower, it works just fine.
It all depends what your priorities are! I walked into our cabin and said, "I can live here for 2 weeks, no problem".
Happy travels.
Shari
Sep 14th, 2006, 12:07 PM
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We have just returned from a river cruise of Uniworld from Moscow to St. Petersburg on the Litvinov. It was our first river cruise so that may have colored our views. The cruise was described as "deluxe" but I can't imagine why. The ship appeared to be similar to other ships on this itinerary, maybe a bit better than some of the older ones that we had peeks into as we passed through them in some ports. Our cabin was "3rd category" and less than 100 sq. feet -- the same size as the lowest category. We believe that being "3rd category" allowed us to dine in the better dining room although all food came from the same kitchen.
Although some people seemed satisfied with the food, we were most often disappointed. Nothing was memorable. Eggs served at breakfast were inedible except for the ubitquous hard-boiled and occasional "egg benedict." The shashlik picnic with Russian music at the phoney town of Mandrogi was our dining highlight.
The cruise director, and her helpers did a creditable job and spoke good English. The dining room attedants did not speak English.
Except for Kishi Island, the ports of call were forgetable. Unlike so many charming small towns in western Europe, the Russsian towns were shabby and 3rd worldish. Our excursion in Jaroslavl, the largest city visited on the cruise, was a souvenir shopping trip at the monastery. We visited on the weekday on which the historic buildings in the monastery are closed. We thought Uniworld should have made special arrangements to have them available for our large group. Kizhi Island was an enjoyable visit with its ancient wooden architecture.
The included excursions in Moscow and St. Petersburg were good and handled very well by English speaking local guides.
Our fellow cruisers were mostly very pleasant, well traveled and knowledgeable people who we enjoyed.
I would not recommend this trip. We wish we had stayed a week in a hotel in both Moscow and St. Petersburg, chosen our dining places and avoided the cruise part.
Although some people seemed satisfied with the food, we were most often disappointed. Nothing was memorable. Eggs served at breakfast were inedible except for the ubitquous hard-boiled and occasional "egg benedict." The shashlik picnic with Russian music at the phoney town of Mandrogi was our dining highlight.
The cruise director, and her helpers did a creditable job and spoke good English. The dining room attedants did not speak English.
Except for Kishi Island, the ports of call were forgetable. Unlike so many charming small towns in western Europe, the Russsian towns were shabby and 3rd worldish. Our excursion in Jaroslavl, the largest city visited on the cruise, was a souvenir shopping trip at the monastery. We visited on the weekday on which the historic buildings in the monastery are closed. We thought Uniworld should have made special arrangements to have them available for our large group. Kizhi Island was an enjoyable visit with its ancient wooden architecture.
The included excursions in Moscow and St. Petersburg were good and handled very well by English speaking local guides.
Our fellow cruisers were mostly very pleasant, well traveled and knowledgeable people who we enjoyed.
I would not recommend this trip. We wish we had stayed a week in a hotel in both Moscow and St. Petersburg, chosen our dining places and avoided the cruise part.
