We would love to hear about your Russian Waterways experience. If you have a moment and would like to send us your review, please send us an email at value@valueworldcruises.com.
I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. I had the room 122 that is on the you tube.
The trip was blessed with good weather, only rained 1 day while we were crossing Lake & our home visit.
The food was good, similar to many things we eat just cooked differently. We were on boat with a group from Vietnam & they had special food items that we all were able to share in. We had a good time with them.
Our cruise leader Galia was so informative and shared her own story with us.
I loved St. Petersburg and the other small town & villages stops along the way.
I do think 1 day & half is far too short for Moscow. I saw on the paperwork an excursion for the convent & cemetery–but no time to do it–we went all around it by bus. I know that 1 more day would be a great addition.
The Metro tour was well worth the $$. A couple other agents & a couple decided to do it on their own & were successful, but they missed out on the explanation of all of the different stations & then wished they had taken the tour.
I was looking forward to shopping on Tarbat st. The shops are beautiful But way too pricey on their goods.
The Best shopping is in Yaroslavl at the “aisle of temptation” lol! Like a flea market but still beautiful things.
We visited the shop that sells the exquisite painted boxes way too much $$.
Last of all–having the photographer with us was great. I did buy a USB stick & he was able to get pictures of Katherine’s palace & Amber room much better than mine. Some people thought it a little too much $$ but I think it was worth it.
Sorry too long but I could go on & on. Thank you! KatherineKatherine
Tour Date: September 28-October 9, 2018
Received: November 1, 2018
To Whom It may concern:
My husband and I Just returned from a fabulous 2 week vacation to Russia. We went on the River Cruise, provided by Value World Tours (Brittany was our agent). We had a fabulous experience on and off the ship. The cabins on the ship (new suites on sun deck-only 6 available were brand new and so well appointed.) The pricing was great compared to other companies and Value World Tours has been in business for 20+ years.
The name of the ship was MS Sergei Yesenin. Our tour cruise director, Galia Saifulina was outstanding-
-speaking excellent English and there to guide us for the 11 day cruise. We had local guides at each port also and they were most knowledgeable and spoke English. The staff on the ship was great and we were most impressed with the cleanliness. The food (3 meals a day) were provided.We sailed from Moscow, Uglich, Yaroslavl, Goritzy, Kizhi,, Mandrogi, and St Petersburg. All ports were UNESCO World Sites. The Fifa World Cup was taking place at the same time as our cruise, so everywhere there was in a peaceful and happy international soccer spirit.
We passed through 18 LOCKS. It was fascinating to watch. From big dties to small towns Russia was a wonderful country to visit.
We highly recommend Value World Tours!”Dr. and Mn. Jack Morgan
Los Angeles, CA
Received: July 12, 2018
Hello Brittany, et al.
Just returned from the Russian River Cruise, left June 25-July 7, 2018…………………….YOU did it again, perfectly executed trip by Value River Cruises. I believe it was our 4th time with you and our 4th time totally happy. Feel so appreciative for the upgraded room, you are the best!
Fans from the over 55’s Laguna Woods, we are good will ambassadors for you- singing your praises, mean it- share the love,
(Russia is beyond awesome)”Cidne Rossi and Anthony Aguilera
Tour Date: June 25-July 7, 2018
My dear friends at Value!
Having led a group of 30 “Walkers” on a wonderful river cruise in Russia (July 10, 2014) I just wanted to report that we had a marvelous time!Russia is such a fascinating country – and it’s one of my favorite places to visit! I’ve travelled to Russia twice, and I learned even more about Russia culture and history the second time around. The activities onboard M/S Vasilyi Surikov offered a variety of ways to enjoy Russian culture – from blini, caviar and vodka tasting, to Russian language classes and handicrafts. The staff and crew onboard were friendly and helpful. And our guides both on and off the boat were excellent – Galia and Svetlana were especially wonderful. I was “saddened”, however, to learn that neither Galia nor Svetlana drink vodka, and that during the blini tasting, it was actually water they were drinking…all 4 shots of it!
In spite of the negative news about Russia, our group of 30 experienced nothing but goodwill and hospitality everywhere we traveled. We plan to bring another group back to Russia again sometime soon, and I’m hoping I can join them! To read a blog on our Russian journey, click here: www.travelpod.com/travel-blog.”
Dani
Adventure Consultant
Walking Adventures International
We took a Russian River Cruise through you last September. It was a fabulous trip – perfect in every way. Of course there were some Americans who complained about food etc – many should not have taken the trip due to their own physical problems. About half were from Britain and they were great travelers along with a few Canadians that we enjoyed very much.Sorry it has taken me so long to let you know about this trip. I would recommend it to anyone and of course we got a very good deal as we signed up late. Can you keep us on your contact list for any other great deals – or is there someplace else we would need to go to sign up for email alerts? Thank you again for your help.”
Robin and Tad Trotsky
Dear Jim,
We’d like to thank you for all of your help with our Russian River vacation. Everything worked our well and Galia was fantastic!!!! She went above and beyond, not only for us but for all of the others on our tour. The transfers were on time and efficient. The hotels we chose were perfectly located. We appreciate your help in making that all possible. Your attention and consideration to all our inquiries was exceptional.
Once again, Value World has proved to be a great company that we hope to continue dealing with in the future.
Thanks again”
Suzanne and Tom Dennis
Tour Date: July, 28, 2013
To Whom It May Concern,
I would like to send you a note to let you know how pleased we, as the Ingleton/Ramirez Group, were with the services rendered by Katia during our River Cruise in Russia. From the moment we met her at the airport, to the moment she turned us over to the new tour guide, Katia displayed genuine care and concern for all of us, in her charge.
Her Spanish was fluent and she made every attempt to help us understand all the instructions, know the special customs, and allow our passengers enough time to shop for souvenirs. She was especially careful during our outing to the Metro and made sure none of us were lost or left behind. JULY 10, 2013.
We unfortunately, had an elderly lady, who needed to use the restroom emergently and Katia asked the driver to stop at a convenient place and was seen personally escorting the elderly lady across the street to the restroom. At another time, one of our passengers developed an inflamed bunion and Katia worked diligently with the ship’s doctor in translating all instructions and ensuring the passenger’s safety and wellbeing; ensuring his meals were delivered to his room, due to him being on complete bedrest. She also assisted one of the tour leaders with translation with the ship’s doctor related to an inflamed mandible.
These are only some of the examples of Katia’s exemplary service. She continuously displayed kindness and concern for all of us and all with the utmost professionalism. We are so pleased with Katia and highly recommend her services.
Sincerely,”
Alberto Ingleton
Tour Date: July, 10, 2013
Corinna,
I hope you received and have had time to read my journal of our excellent trip to Russia. I must also include you and Value World Tours in my thanks! You were so easy to work with during the booking process.I have never had better service when searching for content and value for a trip. My group of eight travelershave only good things to say about the cruise and are already telling me that they want to do another!So I will be in contact with you to plan an exciting adventure for us again.
Thanks again and I include you in my evaluation of the staff being the strength of this trip! Our guide, Galia, was incredible also.”
Yvonne Foster
Received: September 9, 2012
Gentlemen:
My wife and I recently returned from our August 28 – September 8, 2010 Russia Waterways river cruise. I am writing this letter because I felt the need to acknowledge the superior efforts of our tour director, Svetlana.We have taken other river cruises, so we have a basis for comparing Svetlana’s performance on our cruise with our other cruise tour directors. She was, far and away, the best! Svetlana’s command of the English language and her verbal communication and presentation skills are excellent. Her knowledge of the history and culture of Russia, which she shared with us on a daily basis, was tremendous. Her attention to our wants and needs, and those of the other passengers under her care, was marvelous, Her overall focus on making our river cruise a memorable experience was wonderful and truly appreciated.
Over my business career, I’ve held multiple senior executive positions in both large and small companies. I would love to have had an employee like Svetlana. She is the type of individual who will always do things to the best of her ability. She not only worried about the bit hings, but also roller-up her sleeves and addressed the “little things” that tend to really make the cruise special for her passengers. She exhibited the ability to listen, treat the passengers and ship’s crew with respect, patiently explain Russian culture to Americans who can sometimes look at other cultures as “odd”, and resolve problems without a lot of fanfare.
Thanks for providing Svetlana as our tour director.
Respectfully,”
Bob Fries
Received: August 28, 2010
Les and I are glad to be back home after a wonderful Russian river cruise. Our friends, Mary and ‘Woody’, had already planned the trip and date when we learned about it, sent our passports to D.C. for our Visas, and joined them.
Lufthansa is non stop from here to Frankfurt so after changing planes there we arrived at the ship (the M/S Konstantin Korotkov) in St. Petersburg. The ship was our home for the next 10 days and nights. The passengers were divided into 4 language groups for the dining room and tours: Russian, Finland, Norway and English speaking. In our group were Canadian, Australian, USA and Israel residents.
St. Petersburg is a beautiful city. Our 2 guides gave a lot of history in touring the Hermitage, Catherine the Greats’ Palace, and Peterhof (Peter the Greats’ Russian Versailles.) Their priceless treasures were removed before the bombings in WW 2. After 2 days there we sailed on the Neva River. Each day we stopped to tour a village, or a very old church, or city. We were told that there are 33 letters in the Russian alphabet and I was not able to pronounce or spell the places we saw (Mandrogl, Vytegra, Goritsy, Yaroslavl, Uglich, were a few.) The ship went through several locks and got on the Volga River into Moscow. The weather was beautiful every day. Breakfast was buffet, lunch was sometimes a box lunch to take on the tour but each evening was a four course dinner served by lovely young Russian girls in native costumes. Each night on different decks they had a Cossack Show, folk music, live band music, and our favorite was the fourth deck Piano bar. Les, and Woody & Mary are musicians and they thought the pianist was the best they had heard. The last city before Moscow (Uglich) was begun in 1010 and they are restoring and painting cathedrals for their 1,000 year celebration next year.
We had 2 busy days in Moscow before flying home. The things I remember most were their beautiful Metro, Red Square, the Kremlin, and McDonald’s . It is huge, there are maybe 20 or more cash registers. When I got a coke there were at least 8 or more customers lined up at each one. They said there are 8 million passengers that use the metro daily. Stations are deep underground and each of the different lines is a different art gallery.
I would go again if we could have the same guides, the same beautiful weather and good health.”
G. Gray
Received: September 7, 2009
Dear Diana
Suzanne and I want to thank you for all your help in making our Russia River Cruise trip and flights so flawless. Everything went as planned, we met some wonderful people aboard the boat and saw so many fantastic sights from St. Petersburg to Moscow and all the stops in between.
Thank you again!”
Sarah Agnew
Received: September 7, 2009
The onboard party for my group was nicely done- beer, wine, vodka and cheese and sausage bites- very nice. Tour managers Olga and Galia- I thought Olga was exceptionally good- Galia good. They took care of all our needs.”
Evi Thompson
Tour Leader
Received: August 28, 2009
I just spoke with our clients, Valentina Zimbalkin and Helen Taddeo, who just returned from their cruise on the Kronstadt and wanted to let you know how pleased they were with all the arrangements.”
Brenda Schneider
Owner BHS Travel
Received: May 30, 2008
