I had spoken to friends who had gone on this cruise and that got me interested. As a Baby Boomer who grew up during the Cold War I wanted to see Russia and form my own opinions. The cruise excelled in every way (except they could have done a better job with the weather). Our stateroom was ample and we loved our verandah - it's worth springing for one if possible. The staff and crew, with a special shout out to Karoline, the hotel manager were exemplary. The guides - Sasha, Alexy and Vladim- were exceedingly knowledgeable, humorous and able to impart an impressive amount of information. The local guides were also very well chosen and good. There are a lot of shore excursions and if you try to do them all (including the optional ones) you could possibly exhaust yourself (I did). Be realistic in your planning and pay attention to the degree of difficulty for each outing as Russia is not a handicapped-friendly country.

As always the food was top notch and I loved the always available option of the tenderloin on a night when I wasn't in the mood for the featured selections. l will always get that option at least once now because it was really good and cooked exactly to my taste. I wasn't all that keen on the Russian white wine which is included so I bought a bottle of a wine I preferred and they served me from it for a couple nights. For me - a one glass at dinner person - that made more sense than buying the Premium Spirits package. The only challenge with this cruise is the weather so take lots of layers, a warm jacket with a hood and a small umbrella. Most of all read the cruise documents before you leave - they have a lot of useful information in them. If you have concerns about feeling safe in Russia you can put them aside - I felt 100% safe at all times.