ACTUALLY IT’S THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, not the USSR. But the old Beatles song has a better ring to it, don’t you think? We flew in yesterday from Kiev, not totally trusting Aeroflot enough to arrive the same day our cruise begins. It’s hard to believe it has been nearly three years since we visited St. Petersburg from Helsinki on a visa-free, 72 hour excursion.
St. Pete
The weather is much nicer now, cooler than Kiev but sunny. We are deliberately avoiding sightseeing today since the first two days of our Russian cruise will be in and around St. Petersburg and we don’t want to spoil it. But we did stroll down Nevsky Prospekt, the main drag, trying to orient ourselves, and could hardly not look at the spectacular domes of the Cathedral of Our Savior.
Nevesky Prospekt
Our cabin on the MS Chernyshevsky isn’t in steerage but neither is it luxurious. It is better than our berth on the Vavilov in Antarctica and we doubt if the boat will rock much on a river cruise. We can’t complain — the price includes all meals, guides, etc. and we got 50% off on the second ticket. Even better, all we have to do is just show up, just like regular tourists.
The ship's WiFi is working here in port in one bar area but we aren’t sure what to expect once we get under way, so be patient if our entries are spotty.
