Introducing an Exclusive Russian Waterways cruise program, aboard the luxurious MS Rostropovich, a classic route between Moscow & St. Petersburg. in either direction  

About your Floating Hotel:  

The 212-passenger MS Rostropovich was built in Czechoslovakia in 1980 and was drastically refurbished in 2009-2011.

The ship was named after the legendary Russian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, one of the greatest cellists of the century.

So the official Russian name of the boat is MS Rostropovich. In North America it was also known as AMA Katarina.  

The ship itself is as remarkable as the name that it carries. 

This 4-deck boat is one of the most modern, elegant and luxurious ships available for legendary waterways of Russia. She is 440 feet long, 52 feet wide, and can carry 212 guests in 106 staterooms. 

The splendid MS Rostropovich brings a new level of on board enjoyment to river cruising in Russia.  

The ship features ten stateroom and Suite categories ranging up to 332 square ft, most with balconies. 

Staterooms provide a bathroom with a separate shower, safe, hairdryer and refrigerator. 

Enticing public areas include a cozy forward-facing Panorama Lounge, Conference hall for on-board lectures & entertainment, well-equipped Fitness center, a comfortable Solarium providing magnificent views of Russian countryside, hair salon, sauna, a medical room, and an elevator reaching all the four decks. 

On board facilities also include two elegant restaurants serving the finest dishes of Russian and international cuisine.

A bar and night club are available for an evening drink and fun

Dates & Prices, 2021: 
Moscow → St. Petersburg:
                      

Dates & Prices, 2021:  
St. Petersburg → Moscow

 The above cruise prices are in Canadian dollars, per person

Included Features: 

♦ guaranteed English language on board the ship (French, Spanish and Italian languages are guaranteed on most sailings)

♦ Sightseeing as shown in day-by-day program 

♦ Daily international entertainment on board: welcome bread-&-salt ceremony, concerts, lessons, Master classes, movies, Captain's cocktail and dinner 

♦ luggage handling on board 

♦ three meals daily (meal plan starts with dinner on embarkation day and ends with breakfast on disembarkation day), breakfast & lunch are buffet style; dinner dishes are ordered from a 3-course menu (main course: meat, fish or vegetarian choices offered); water is included for all meals at a restaurant Plus 1 bottle of 0.33 ml per person, in a cabin; a glass of house wine per person for dinner      

♦ Special menu meals: Welcome cocktail, Welcome & Farewell dinner, Russian & Ukrainian cuisine dinners, Pirate theme dinner

Not Included: 
♦ international airfare ♦ transfer upon departure ♦ insurance ♦ optional tours ♦ gratuities ♦ port taxes (approx. €25) ♦ personal expenses

Day-By-Day Program,              10 Days:  

Sightseeing on Day 2 in Moscow and on Day 9, in St. Petersburg, (see Day-By-Day Program below) is privately guided and is shown here as a sample. 

The suggested program can be customized to specific needs of cruise passengers  

Day 1          FRI     Arrive Moscow

Arrive in Moscow. Get transferred to your central Hotel ****, check-in for an overnight. Balance of the day at leisure 

Day 2          SAT     Welcome to Russia's Capital 

Meet your private English-speaking guide at hotel lobby for a tour of downtown area exploring its less frequented corners around Red Square and the Kremlin, tour of the Moscow Metro stations with a train ride. After sightseeing, you will be transferred to the river pier to embark on your luxurious river boat. Dinner on board (B,D)
  

Day 3           SUN     Moscow, Sightseeing

After breakfast you have a guided City tour of Moscow. Explore Red Square, GUM Department store, drive along the fashionable Tverskaya Avenue, see its fine streets and squares with over 870 years of history. After lunch you go inside the majestic Kremlin, visit one of its historic cathedrals. After the tour return to the ship and start cruising (B,L,D)           

Day 4            MON     Uglich on the Golden Ring, where time stands still 

Cruise through the morning. After lunch disembark and have a walking tour of this quaint provincial town on the Golden Ring. The town preserves the memories of Russia's historical events. See the former Kremlin of Uglich and visit the Church of St. Dmitry on the Blood, built on the site where Ivan the Terrible's son Dmitry mysteriously died (B,L,D)   

Day 5          TUE          Goritsy and Kirillo-Belozesky Monastery

Today enjoy a guided walking tour of Goritsy and visit the historic Monastery of St. Cyril from 1397

Day 6           WED      Kizhi & Onega Lake, Northern Russia  

Cruise through the morning admiring pristine waters of Onega Lake, the 2nd largest lake in Europe. In the afternoon reach the Kizhi Island with its world famous UNESCO-listed structures: walk through the island and see its famous Pogost with the massive Transfiguration Church built without a single nail, superb windmills and ancient Russian wooden houses (B,L,D)  

Day 7            THU     Mandrogy Village  

Spend a relaxing day cruising Russia's waterways, along the scenic Svir River on route from Lake Onega towards St. Petersburg.  

Stop in Mandrogy. Some free time to explore this museum village. Visit wooden houses, traditional Russian bakeries, or shop for authentic souvenirs. Lunch is served as a traditional Russian picnic with a barbeque (shashlik) cooked on the grill. Farewell Captain's dinner followed by Gala Concert (B,L,D)

Day 8            FRI     Arrive St. Petersburg     

In the morning sail on the Neva river into Saint-Petersburg. Your sightseeing starts with a panoramic City tour. You will be introduced to the beautiful views of city's key landmarks including the historical Palace Square, Isaac's Cathedral, the Church on the Spilled Blood, fashionable Nevsky Prospect, Peter-and-Paul fortress, the Admiralty, Statue of the Bronze Horseman & more.

After lunch an overview tour of the world famous Hermitage Museum. Highlights of the tour include the State Rooms of the Winter Palace and the Old Masters of the Western European art collection. After sightseeing return to the ship

Day 9           SAT     St. Petersburg        Playground of the Czars

After breakfast travel outside of St. Petersburg to Pushkin to visit the exquisite Catherine's Palace with its famous Amber room, take a stroll around the lavish parks surrounding the palace grounds. After sightseeing, return to St. Petesburg, check-in at centrally located hotel ****, for an overnight

Optional: drive from St. Petersburg to Russian Versailles, at Peterhof, to visit the Summer Palace of Peter the Great, on the Gulf of Finland. 

 Petrodvorets is a brilliant Summer Royal estate and the artistic gem of Peter the Great, where a highlight is the delightful sequence of 37 gilded bronze sculptures, 64 fountains and 142 water jets known as the Grand Cascade. After sightseeing return to hotel

Day 10        SUN     Depart St. Petersburg          See You Again 

After breakfast your tour ends