Black Sea cruise
 

My husband and I - along with 7 other couples - are going on a cruise of the Black Sea in June. We start in Istanbul and stop in Nesebur, Bulgaria; Constanta, Romania; Odessa and Sevastopol in Ukraine; Sinop and Trabzon in Turkey; Sochi, Russia; and Yalta, Ukraine. We have visited Istanbul in the past, but half of these places, I have never heard of. There are several very expensive tours available through the cruise line. Can anyone help us decide what we should see - and which places we can just browse around on our own. I think we cannot be on our own in Russia without a visa.

Thanks for any help and insight.

Electra

Sevastopol (sye va stoh pohl) has Chersonesus, the ancient greek ruins right next to the sea which are interesting to wander around in. In town, there is the Crimean war diorama. Also, the old ships at the shipyard can be interesting for some (includes Hitler's or Himmler's yacht/cruiser).

Yalta has the Swallows Nest, the royal Livadia Palace, and Vorontsov's Palace which are all on the ferry run along the shoreline (but there is a lot of walking involved). There is also the summer home in Massandra which is now a winery, relatively near the Botanical Gardens which are a short bus ride from the Yalta Hotel (another stop on the ferry run).

I can't give any advice but it sounds like the same cruise my brother and SIL are going on :).

Odessa has the famous Potemkin Stairs and some lovely neoclassical architecture. On our visit we did a walking tour of the city. There is also a park where vendors sell nesting dolls, lacquered boxes, etc. All of the above-mentioned are within walking of the port.

In Constanta, we took a tour outside of the city to the ancient Greek/Roman ruins of Histria and also visited the Folk Art Museum in the city.

http://www.romaniatourism.com/constanta.html

In Odessa, take a funicular (it's free) up the Potyomkin staircase.
Then, if you turn left and walk along Primorski boulevard (Boulevard near the sea) you will see the ancient buildings of Odessa (there since the foundation), statue of lions and a Mother-in-law bridge, from which you will have a spectacular view of the harbour.
Across the bridge, there is a wish well, a very picturesque Turkish embassy and interesting buildings, with Atlases, holding the world on their backs.
Walk all the way back to the Duc de Richelieu and to the right from the staircase - you will come on a City Hall, canons from Crimean war, a statue of Pushkin. Facing the City Hall, turn right and walk up to see the Opera House, the most beautiful in Europe (check my photos).
Enjoy the view and the fountains, then turn left and walk along the central registrar office (a lot of limos in front), past the wax figures museum (you will see a big fax figure of Grandma Utya, drinking coffee and talking in a high screechy voice, take a photo).
Then you will see a paved street - this is Deribasovskaya, a
pedestrian street with a lot of shops. Just walk on, and you will encounter a City Garden (with live music on weekend), a statue of a famous singer Utyesov, sitting on a bronze bench, the twelfth chair.
At the end of the street, take an underground crossing and then to the left - there will be Sobornaya square with a cathedral and people, selling independent art and souvenirs.
Then walk back to Deribasovskaya and try local food in Puzata Hata which offers very low prices for nice home cooking, young men and women in national costumes doling it out, pick up a tray, select whatever you want (try vareniki), move to check out and have a place
near one of the huge windows overlooking the main street.
Contact me, and I will send you links to the photo albums and more.

Hi electrac,
Hope you will post back after your cruise and let me know how it was and what you saw. We are thinking of a similar cruise next year. Happy travels!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You might get additional good information on the cruise board, as well as on cruise critic.

We took the identical cruise (Oceania) last year. We felt that Nessebur was not worth a stop, but might have enjoyed it more if we had arranged a private tour into the interior.

Because we wanted to burn up a large shipboard credit (we were already drinking as fast as we could) we took the ship's tour into the Danube Delta. It was the best ship's tour we have ever taken, but, absent our extraordinary guide, the long bus ride might not have been as interesting.

By all means, tour away from the downtown in Sevastopol. It is dominated by the Russian naval base. The suggestions you have above are, IMHO, excellent.

We stayed on board in Sochi, as we did not have an interest in the ship's tour and did not want to go to the expense and trouble of getting Russian visas. Everyone to whom we spoke after they went ashore told us we were wise to stay on board and take advantage of the relative bargains in the spa.

We loved our walking tour of Odessa, and the DVD of our attempts to order at the Baskin-Robbins, with all flavor names in Cyrillic, is a regular laugh getter. After general hilarity, they admitted to speaking English; it would have been a shame if the staff did that earlier.

Trabzon has traces of the ancient kingdom of Trebizond. Try to find a knowledgeable guide.

Sinop was not on our schedule.

Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions. We have arranged private tours in Yalta, Sevastopol and Odessa with Crimea Consulting. And also in Nessebar and Ephesus (different companies. I think we will skip Sochi - for the same reasons as Jeff - too much trouble to get a Russian visa. I don't think we have the option of a trip into the Danube delta. I'll have to look that up. Can anyone recommend a tour guide for Trabzon?

Thanks, Electra

We have just returned from our trip aboard the Nautica in the Black Sea. We had a fantastic time. I can't say enough about the ship. The accommodations were very comfortable and the crew was outstanding.

We did arrange our own tours, since the prices that the ship charged were outrageous. We had a guide in Istanbul who showed us the sights of the old city. In Nessabur, we hired a guide from www.easytouristguides.com. She was excellent. We had three tours in the Crimea arranged through Crimea Consulting. Email: [email protected] . We were especially impressed by the guide in Yalta - a beautiful city. Odessa and Constanta showed signs of the Soviet era - and have not yet recovered economically. Sevastapol and Yalta are in better shape. IN Sevastapol we visited the Kahn's palace and a monastary - both interesting. I would also have been interested in the Soviet naval installations. Ephesus is amazing - certainly the highlight of the trip.
We were lucky with the weather - a couple of hot days, but no rainy days. All in all - a great trip.

Thanks for reporting back, electrac. Sounds like a wonderful trip.

thanks for the report - we are considering a similar cruise - glad you had such a good time

Electra-the cruise you were on is what I've been trying to find in 2012 but many cruise lines have cut back routes due to the economy. Could you advise on what site you used to book this cruise...was it Oceania.com (ship: Nautica)? Right now, it doesn't appear that they are offering it anymore. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

WiMouse,

There is a black sea cruise on Regatta starting 5 July for 12 days. Departure is from Athens and the trip ends in Istanbul. It repeats on 18 August.

Thye Aug 18th cruise on Regatta is fully booked--try the one in July. Pat

If somebody's trying to figure out how to find the way from Odessa's cruise terminal to the city center, here's a link to the video www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV5ZSiVU0rg

Well believe it or not, we last cruised 2 years ago on the Costa Allegro out of Singapore and now have saved up all our pennys and are booked on the Costa Mediterranea from Savona covering Greece/TurkeyConstanza/Odessa/Yalta and Civitavecchia.
We have no intention of cancelling because i'm not even sure if we have enough grounds according to our insurers.
So which excursions should we attempt to do independently to cut out the Costa over the top prices?

Hello, Barrie_Reuben

From what I know, Turkey/Constanza/Odessa/Yalta surely have private tours.