Enjoyed river cruises in Russia

In reading the March ’04 issue, on page 32 I came across a reader’s comments concerning a cruise aboard the Novikov Priboy in Russia. Contrary to the general impression left by those comments, I found my two Russian river cruises — on a different ship — to compare favorably with any.

I took my first trip to Russia with GT Cruises (2610 E. 16th St., Brooklyn, NY 11235; phone 800/828-7970), embarking the M/S Russ in Moscow on Aug. 12, 1995, and disembarking in St. Petersburg on Aug. 26. This company, which for a while was known as GT Corp., is now called Peter the Great Cruises and they use an identical ship now called Peter the Great.

The 1995 trip was such a wonderful excursion that my friends and I took another two years later in September ’97, this time doing the Moscow-Volgograd-Moscow itinerary. Again, we had a simply wonderful trip.

On both of these trips, the cruise crew were essentially the same, so I knew many of them. The Cruise Director, Zina, was superb. All in all, I would highly recommend using this particular company.

It is true that in Russia the standard cabins are certainly smaller than those which Americans are used to, but I never felt that the cabins on M/S Russ were cramped. The mattresses on our ship were quite comfortable, and each cabin had a small refrigerator and air-conditioning.

Although the extendable sink tap doubling as the showerhead was somewhat of a cultural shock the first day, it turned out to be an extremely convenient device. It wasn’t but a day or two until all of us onboard were joking about how we were going to convert our half baths at home to full baths by installing extendible sink taps to double as the showerhead.

I also have been to the Bolshoi in Russia but had no problem at all with the seats. Although my level of “couth” does not abide 2- and 3-hour ballet performances well, I fear it was not the seats that may have led to any discomfort on my part.

Incidentally, I had an unfortunate experience prior to my trips with GT Corp./Peter the Great Cruises, when I attempted to book a cruise with another company. As it developed, the other company did not actually have a ship but was essentially a wholesaler. I made a deposit with them and ultimately had to cancel my trip and demand my money back, as I could never get them to confirm space available. I ultimately found out that they could not do this because they were simply getting the cabins that were left over from the company that actually controlled the ships.

I have been to Russia four times now, and the four of us who made the two river cruises all consider them to be the most relaxing, pleasant and informative trips we have taken anywhere. We are seriously considering doing it again!

I will be happy to pass along any additional information to anyone who might be interested.

DAVID WILLIAMS
Dallas, TX