Viking Rurik Review

Moscow to St. Petersburg on the Viking Rurik

Review for Europe River Cruise on Viking Rurik
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Wander58
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jun 2014
Cabin: Deluxe Stateroom with Veranda

This was our 4th Viking cruise and it was as wonderful as all the others. We started our trip with a couple extra days in Moscow. Since we felt that the Viking price of $1200 for 2 nights seemed high and I wanted to stay closer to the Kremlin area, we made our own arrangements. We had two nights booked at the Marriott Royal Aurora which was just a couple blocks from the Bolshoi and fairly close to GUM, Red square, and the Kremlin. We had never been to Moscow before and wanted see some additional sites plus get over some of our 11 hours of jet lag.

I had done quite a bit of research on the logistics of getting from Domodedevo airport to the city center and then to the Marriott. Since we travel fairly light with only carry-on bags, we made our way through passport control and then customs. Everything we had read indicated that we should fill out a customs declaration for our electronics and other items of value over $1500. Since I figured we were at about $2800, we proceeded, form in hand, to the red line. The official took one look, handed it back to us and said only “green line”. I think all they are really looking for are commercial goods or large amounts of cash.

We changed enough dollars at the airport to get us into town. I knew there was an ATM in the airport somewhere but I never did see it…plus I really preferred to get cash from ATM at a major bank in town. The Aeroexpress train ticket machine has English instructions and takes cash. With tickets purchased, we then realized that we had less than 5 minutes to make it to the other side of the terminal or wait 30 minutes for the next train. We ran and quickly jumped on the train just seconds before the train doors closed. We arrived at Paveletsky RR Station 45 minutes later and transferred to the “Green Line” metro. I bought an 11 ride card for 320 Rubles, and we went 2 stops to the Teatralnaya station. We surfaced just in front of the Bolshoi. (Note: There is an excellent document on Tripadvisor that describes exactly how to use the metro.) After a short walk, we entered the Marriott. You are probably wondering, why go to all the trouble? We had heard about the Moscow traffic and then saw it from the train. Domodedevo is a LONG way from the city center and it would have cost us considerably more time & money than the $24 we spent on the train and metro. It took us just over 2 hours from the time we left the plane till we walked into the Marriott.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Stateroom with Veranda

Cabin BX

Middle deck is our preference and this was a good choice on the Viking Rurik. It is on the same level as the restaurant. Cabin 322 was an excellent choice as well because we only had one common wall, there was easy access up to the Panorama Lounge and down to Reception where we normally disembarked.

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