It was a wonderful way to travel — the crew and staff on the ship were extremely helpful, nothing seemed to be too much trouble and everything was supplied with a beaming smile.
Maybe it was just the contagious attitude of the crew but we really couldn’t have asked for a more generous and friendly group of people to travel with.
We were provided with a running commentary along the way which included history and gave us an insight into the Russian reasoning and culture.
Forget the Red Army — it seems everything we saw was about the Orange Army (high vis-dressed workers and machinery), a truly energetic people doing their best to overcome the effects of the communist regime.
This cruise was a real adventure, a good lesson in Russian history and the sociology of Modern Russia. During construction of the waterways, 202 million cubic metres of spoil were moved, whereas there were only 75 million cubic metres shifted during the construction of the Suez Canal.
It was built in the 20th century with forced labour, using what were called political dissidents. The level of dissention was in most cases totally insignificant and the conditions they worked in were at the very best horrific. Deaths during the project were in the thousands, the waterway system that was created is a tribute to the sacrifices made.
Idyllic days, great food and an interesting journeyThe regions we travelled through were made interesting by the information provided by the cruise staff, our days idyllic, the food vast in quantity, great in quality and selection.
Day and night we passed through lock after lock predominantly lowering the boat but one set lifted us over a rise in the river.
We traversed a mixture of actual rivers, canals, natural lakes and manmade lakes.
The last leg was a very long one, across Lake Ladoga, along the Neva River and into St Petersburg a distance of some 220 kilometres.
The night before we arrived in St Petersburg there was a concert/talent quest so we were able to entertain the crew and passengers with some of our music. Where the talent quest description came from no one knows. But everyone, passengers and crew were winners — what a great show.
The company had our passports and birth dates so they helped passengers who had birthdays to celebrate with a lot of noise and a cake.
We were in St Petersburg for Sue’s birthday, the last night of the cruise. We had opted for a night at the theatre, to see a traditional Cossack Folk music show.
As we didn’t return to the ship for dinner until 11pm, Sue was sure she had escaped their attention, but oh no — even at that hour they were waiting to ambush her, complete with cake.
What a wonderful surprise, Sue’s radiant face denying her claims that it was all too much fuss.
We disembarked from our ship in St Petersburg with a minimum of fuss, due in no small way to Misha, our helpful cruise guide.
He had phoned ahead to our apartment and arranged for an early check-in. He then gave us strict instructions on how to catch the free shuttle, which deposited us within 400 metres of the apartment entrance.
How easy life becomes when there is someone who knows the local language and is prepared to make sure that all the t’s are crossed and the i’s are dotted.
