Advice on Russian River Cruises please
 

My friend and I have decided to take a Russian River Cruise - Moscow to St. Petersburg or reverse route.

We have a bit different travel styles. She wants as cheap as possible and I prefer to pay a bit more if it is nicer and has more inclusions.

She would like to go toward the Vodohod family of boats (MS Russ, MS Nikolay Chernyshevsky, MS Alexander Pushkin) as they are dirt cheap. It took me a long time to find pictures of these boats and to me they look....well....icky. The upside - the are dirt cheap. I would like to know if anyone has any reviews positive or negative on this line. The concerns I have are: lack of safes in the rooms; tiny "wet" bathroom"; overall ambiance of the rooms" lower food quality; lack of inclusions (water, wine, internet etc...) that add up over 12 days and the itineraries short time in St. Petersburg and skipping of St. Catherine's palace. While she has agreed to consider a suite, it still does not really address the above items. Also, I cannot find anything about port charges.

I am also looking for reviews of the AmaKatrina which is the boat I am proposing. It is about $1000 more (for a smaller cabin than a suite) but seems to be better maintained, offer more options and inclusions and has a better itinerary. Rooms are still small but overall (from what I have found) it seems to be a better option.

I have done both lower end boat cruises (in the Galapagos) and a mid/higher end on the Nile and have seen that you get what you pay for. My philosophy is this is a once in a lifetime trip and I would prefer to pay more. As she generally travels more as she lives internationally and prefers to scrimp more we may not be able to make this work.

In any event, if I anyone has positive or negative reviews on the above it would be appreciated. Thanks all!

I dont know these boats -but take a look at he "Gate 1" thread on this forum to hear about lesser priced boats.

You should ask yourself: "Who owns these boats?"

I took the Viking River Cruise - but it's now pretty expensive. We got an incredible deal last October for $1999/pp. Very comfortable room, nice bathroom and food was very good.

Only you know what you will put up with vs. price of the vacation.

Thanks! I had read some of the Gate 1 forums as well but did not see any detail on my specific questions. I may have missed some though.

Viking was my first choice but they are almost all sold out for May and June 2013 (I know why they are so popular!!!).

kaley1kt - Don't worry about Viking being sold out. They ALWAYS have openings. Just wait. It's really early right now. Or call them and tell them you're interested in a certain time and to call you when they get a room free.

I did the same thing - and told them if a "deal" came up for Sept or Oct to call me. They called me 5 days later with the great deal I got.

When we went on a Viking river cruise in Russia we moored next to some cheaper Russian boats including ones with open communal showers on the top deck. I wouldn't risk it.

We did Viking a couple years ago, taking their smallest room. We were perfectly comfortable, the food was fine, the staff and guides were fantastic and we saw so much. We booked at the last minute - something had opened up - so give them a try. I'm not one for cruises but cruising, in my opinion, was the best way to see Moscow and St. Petersburg. It was very civilized.

We're taking a St. Petersburg to Moscow riverboat cruise in May through Gate 1 on the MS Zosima Shashkov. I go to cruisecritic.com almost every day to the riverboat roll call site. There are many, many postings there that will answer your questions and concerns. I have easily pulled up photos of our riverboat and cabin. Grand Circle does Russian riverboat cruises. They are more expensive than our cruise, and may be a good compromise for you and your travelmate. We have taken one cruise with them, Vienna to Amsterdam, and were completely satisfied. They do an excellent job. Good luck, and happy travels.

We booked our Russian River Viking cruise a month out. We got an email offer from them that we couldn't refuse.

Cruise critic has lots of info on Russia choices. Definitely go Moscow to St Petersburg if possible.

Best souvineers (cheapest) are in Uglich - first port after you leave Moscow. We did Viking in July and it was worth every penny.

Consider that the Russian ships may allow smoking where as most ships that carry Americans do not.

Does Viking help you with the Visa ?

to Percy - Yes,they did with us.

1965 = My Father and Brother in Laws took the Russian river cruise through Gate 1 last year. Food was bad. Room teeny tiny. Guides very good.