Much has changed in the river-cruise industry, and there are many choices for someone who doesn’t want to see Russia from the window of a car

There’s nothing like the sound of the whistle blowing and the sight of a sparkling white cruise ship slowly pulling away from the dock. The passengers stand on deck waving, while their thoughts are already on their way to distant places. Whether for just a few days or for a couple of weeks, a river cruise is a guaranteed way to have an unforgettable travel experience.

Cruising Russia’s lakes and rivers is a great way to relax and to see a wealth of fascinating sights. From Moscow’s river ports, cruise ships head north and south to a variety of destinations. The main routes follow the Volga and its tributaries.

On weekends, ships leave Moscow’s northern river port for Tver, Uglich and Myshkin and from the southern river port depart for Ryazan and Konstantinov. There are five-day trips to Yaroslavl and Kostroma, a six-day cruise to Plyos and a 10 day cruise to Nizhny Novgorod. Longer trips include the 18 day cruise to Volgograd, 16 days to Perm along the Volga and Kama rivers, 16 days to Ufa along the Volga, Kama and Belaya rivers and an 18-20 day trip to Astrakhan.

Demand for the longer trips is not so high and last year there were only two cruises to Astrakhan, one in August and one in September. Almost all of these cruises can be organized through Stolichnaya Sudokhodnaya Kompaniya.

Cruises are traditionally seen as an elite form of travel, but a two-week round-trip cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg can cost just $500-$600 – the same sum that many Russians now spend on a holiday in Cyprus, Turkey or Egypt.

After losing popularity for a while, demand for cruises is increasing again, said Yekaterina Fyodorova, reservations director at Volga Flot Tour, one of Stolichnaya Sudokhodnaya Kompaniya’s offices.

"We have foreign and Russian clients, corporate as well as private," Fyodorova said. "Russians make up 70 percent of the total. Of the foreign tourists, the biggest demand comes from Turks, Germans, Americans and the French. They tend to book part of a 12-14 day cruise, taking, say, six to nine days, and they prefer the Moscow-St. Petersburg route."

Stolichnaya Sudokhodnaya Kompaniya offers retail service only to Russian tourists. Sometimes it rents its ships to travel agencies that work with foreign tourists.

Gostinitsy Alrosa, a subdivision of Alrosa Travel, offers cruises along Siberian rivers, most often along the Lena River on board the Mikhail Svetlov.

According to Gostinitsy Alrosa Tourism Manager Yelena Suchilina, a year ago the company only worked with corporate clients and Alrosa’s partner companies. This is the first year that the company is offering open sale of its tours.

"At first we were only expecting foreigners; Americans, Swiss, Germans, Turks and Dutch," she said. "But we got a lot of interest from Russians. Now the proportion of Russian and foreign tourists is about half and half, or perhaps 40 percent to 60 percent."

Of course, the kind of ship you travel on and how comfortable it is are important factors when choosing a cruise. In total, there are some 40 ships sailing the Volga basin. Comfortable cruise ships plying Russia’s rivers include four-deck vessels such as the Felix Dzerzhinsky, A. Griboyedov and Valerian Kuybyshev. The three-deck Austrian-built vessels such as the S. Yesenin, I. Repin and L. Tolstoy are also comfortable.

The less comfortable ships were built in the 1950s-1960s, and only the first-class cabins on these vessels have showers. The other cabins have sinks, but the showers are in the hallway. Ships of this type include the G.V. Plekhanov, Professor Zvonkov and Richard Sorge.

In recent years, travel agencies that own ships and organize cruises have begun actively reconstructing their vessels. Among ships to have been completely refurbished are the V. Surikov, A. Shemagin, Borodino, Pallada and, partially, the Kosmonavt Gagarin and Bashkortostan. These ships now have fully equipped conference halls, several restaurants and fitness centers.

The three main factors deciding the price of a cruise are the degree of comfort on the ship, the length of the trip and the season. Tickets in July and August will always be a bit more expensive than in June or September. The cabin’s location is also important. Cabins on the lower deck are a lot cheaper than cabins on the prestigious middle deck. It is possible to buy a cruise without food and guided tours included, but though this will make the trip cheaper, it might also turn out to be less interesting.

To give an idea of prices, a bed in a cabin on the middle deck on the Ilyich, sailing in June round trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg with stops at Valaam and Kizhi costs 17,740 rubles, while a bunk in a cabin on the lower deck costs 13,570 rubles.

Volga Flot Tour’s Fyodorova said that the biggest demand is for first- and second-class cabins. On average, the price comes out at 1,500 rubles per person per day on a comfortable ship. Food costs 300 rubles per day for three full meals. Costs on less comfortable ships are 500 rubles cheaper per day.

"Prices went up after the 20-percent tax was introduced," Fyodorova said. "But people are still buying tickets. Occupancy rates on the ships can vary from 30 percent to 70-80 percent. A lot depends on the weather and the length of the trip. During the weekdays, it is harder to fill the ships, but three-day trips over the weekend are always booked up. There is a lot of demand from people going on a cruise for a particular occasion, more so than in the past. People book ships for seminars and for anniversaries."

Above all, the appeal of a cruise lies in its uniqueness. Everything seems exotic: The sounds, smells, the constantly changing landscapes going by. A cruise is also a good way to make new friends and enjoy all sorts of new impressions. A good indication of just how popular river cruises have become is that to be sure of getting a place, you should book two to three months in advance.

Most popular cruises for the Volga cruise fleet Route Length (hours) Cost of a first-class
cabin for two people Cost of a two-person
cabin on the main deck Ship Moscow-St. Petersburg-Moscow 11 47,820 14,590 Ilya Muromets Moscow-St. Petersburg 7 66,710 17,680 Konstantin Korotkov Moscow-Tver-Moscow 3 14,180 4,330 Ilyich Moscow-Uglich-Moscow 3 14,180 4,330 Ilyich Moscow-Yaroslavl-Moscow 5 21,740 6,630 Ilya Muromets Moscow-Plyos-Moscow 7 30,430 9,290 Ilyich Moscow-Perm-Moscow 16 75,600 23,060 Ilyich Moscow-Astrakhan-Moscow 18-20 85,050 25,950 Ilyich Cost includes cabin, three meals a day, guided tours and an activities program on board the ship.