2010 and Final
Mennonite
Heritage
Cruise
FAQ -
Frequently Asked Questions.
This cruise is
fully booked
Will this really be the last
cruise?
Response:
Yes, this will be the final cruise.
We never thought it would run so long. It's been a great project for us
and for the more than twenty-five hundred
pilgrims who have rediscovered their heritage.
About cruise costs,
airlines
and
decks: How much will it cost in 2010
Response:
2010 Cruise only prices:
Double cabin per person sharing:
Single Supplement:
$800CAD/$725USD added to each deck
Main
Deck $4000.00 CAD/$3635.00 USD
Upper Deck $4175.00 CAD/$3800.00
USD
Boat
Deck $4375.00 CAD/$3975.00
USD
Note about currency:
The above rates were set in November 2009 and reflect international
currency rates at that time. We contract ship and travel services in
Ukraine in USD.
Revision of July 8, 2010
The final cruise payments in USD will now be made in late August. We
cannot now predict the currency exchange rate at that date with any
confidence.
We hope the late August currency market will cause a decrease in the
Canadian price of the cruise. We will therefore rebate Canadian
passengers appropriately in early September, that is, we will send them
an appropriate adjustment cheque, if this is indicated.
In the meantime, Canadian passengers will be asked in July to pay the
cruise prices quoted above.
Cruise
Only
Price
includes:
cruise,
all meals on board the ship, group
excursions listed in itinerary, entry fees, ship taxes, tips, several
concerts.
Not included: air, airline taxes, insurance, private excursions,
laundry & alcoholic beverages on the ship.
Insurance is essential on this cruise.
From past experience we know that it is important for you to have
appropriate insurance for this tour.
We offer through airfares to Ukraine from
various Canadian and
American
cities on request..
Payment Schedule:
Payment of $1500.00CAD/$1400USD per person reserves space on this
cruise.
Final tour payment is due July 23, 2010.
Air:
We
also
have
neogiated
special
through
fares
from
many
cities
in
North
America
to
Ukraine
for
passengers
booking
on
the
cruise.
Austrian Airlines
for Americans with domestic partner United Airlines
Austrian Airlines or
Lufthansa for Canadians with domestic partner Air Canada
Please discuss your air requirements
directly with Marina Unger
1-800-387-1488 ext 2827
To
inquire
about
the
cruise
please
phone
or
email:
Marina Unger, Vision 2000 Travel, Toronto
1-800-475-9494 ext 2827
marinau@vision2000.ca
Download
site for passengers booking on the 2010 cruise
Question: Who is in charge of the cruise?
Response: An extremely talented, seasoned and professional team from
four countries on two continents.
The 2010 integrated international cruise team includes (in alphabetical
order):
Larissa
Goryacheva, Mennonite Bus and
Private Trips Organizer, Zaporizhia, Ukraine
Rudy Friesen, Architectural Historian,
Winnipeg, Canada
Lyudmilla Karyaka, Senior Guide, Zaporizhia, Ukraine
John Martens, Agronomist, cruise administrative assistant
Alan Peters, Genealogist, Litanist and Cruise Resource Leader, Fresno,
USA
Irina Pyshnenko, Translator and Assistant Cruise Director, Minsk,
Belarus
Olga Shmakina, Senior Guide, Fresno, USA and Zaporizhia, Ukraine
Paul Toews, Senior Historian,
Fresno, USA
and Zaporizhia, Ukraine
Marina
and Walter Unger, Cruise Organizers and Cruise Founders, who
accompany each cruise, Toronto, Canada
Galyna Zadorowska, founding Cruise Director, Lviv, Ukraine
Plus the Crew of the Dnieper Princess ("Jewel of the Dnieper
River/Black
Sea Fleet")
- The ships officers and sailors
- The restaurant and hotel staff of the Princess
and the Chervona Ruta, Kyiv, cruise planning and situational logistics
experts
- Lesya Boguslavska and Irina Solonetskaya
In 2008 we introduced the state of the art AudioConexus ieXplore
Tour
Guide
System using wireless Radio Frequency (RF) technology and
built
especially for the cruise.
Guides and Resource Leaders speak calmly into headset microphone
transmitters in the noisiest of environments and the passenger have
lightweight receivers & earphones.
You can bring along and plug in your own iPod earpieces if you so
choose.
The Mennonite Heritage Cruise offers:
- three star comfort and accommodation. The Dnieper Princess is not a
luxury cruise ship. It is clean and very well run
- four star service
- five star content
What is different about this cruise from other Mennonite travel
programs to Ukraine?
Response:
There are a number of key differences:
1. We take passengers from the airport directly to the ship,
their home for the entire journey and then back from the ship to the
airport. There are no hotel changes, etc.
2. The use of a cruise ship is very efficient in use of time and
reduces passenger stress. Instead of taking long bus trips between key
stops, the ship travels there overnight. The ship provides our
restaurants for
well-planned meals, our assembly hall for lectures, hosting of
ship-board events,
excursion planning, late night entertainment, etc.
3. Unlike other tours, the Mennonite cruise offers a state-of-the-art
tour guiding system where guides and resource leaders guide individual
groups calmly on site.
4. We invite significant opportunity for passengers to visit their own
ancestral villages, estates, etc. This is not possible on most single
bus tours.
5. Instead of having two bus leaders, the cruise offers a large team of
experienced resource leaders and guides in various categories.
6. The cruise offers significant additional resources in terms of
historical films, etc.
7. The large floating Mennonite community creates a special ambience as
passengers interact, sharing fascinating stories and histories.
8. The program includes visits to a range of evolving
Mennonite development projects led by experts involved in the projects.
These include the Mennonite Centre in Ukraine and the evolving
MEDA/CIDA project.
How many people do you take
on the cruise?
Response:
While the ship can take well over 300 passengers, we limit the number to about 180
for logistical reasons and quality of experience. Some 2500
passenger/pilgrims have enjoyed the cruise.
The cruise usually sells out early each year.
We have some special food requirements. How do you deal with these?
Response:
We deal with a wide variety of special food requirements
regularly & efficiently. The ship's restaurants are very helpful
and flexible. Just let us know your specific food needs well in
advance. The chef has designed low salt, low cholesterol, nutritious
menus for the Mennonite cruise and we have asked her to include many
Ukrainian dishes which were familiar to our joint ancestors. The soups
and salads are especially healthy and tasty. The fruit and fibre rich
buffet breakfasts are very popular.
Visa Requirements:
Visas to visit Ukraine for periods up to three months are no
longer required by Canadian, American and European Union citizens. You
will however need a passport valid for six months beyond your exit from
Ukraine. The ship is required to register your passport details and
therefore we need a photocopy of your key passport page (with photo).
Airline limitations:
Passengers should be aware that our group contracts and also airline
policies do not allow certain combinations. For instance we cannot
combine Lufthansa flights from Canada with Austrian Airlines flights
from Odessa to Vienna.
Most passengers will be taken from
the Odessa airport arrivals hall on to the buses with luggage
help and then delivered directly to the ship on the Black Sea at
the start of the cruise. The Lufthansa routing has passengers
take a bus down from Kiev to Odessa at the start of the cruise. This is
not
as
difficult as it may seem. The fast new four lane freeway from Kiev to
Odessa has been completed. We will be
using modern Volvo and Mercedes buses.
Baggage Allowance For Passengers to
Europe:
New
baggage
allowances
are
being
put
into
effect
on
domestic
and
international
flights.
Please
look
up
the
airlines
on
the
Internet.
We will update this section
shortly
About Deck Levels:
It is traditional on cruises for prices to increase slightly
with decks - higher decks costing more.
The Main Deck cabins on the Dnieper Princess are slightly smaller
than those on the next two decks.
The two higher decks are on the same levels as the ship's two
restaurants, making for less climbing of stairs at mealtimes.
All cabins have picture windows facing the outside, that is facing the
river or the sea.
All double cabins have two single beds.
All cabins have a private combination WC/shower.
Boat deck offers the best visibility of river and shoreline and has
least hall traffic.
See some general photos of the ship.
2.
Question:
stopover
in
Europe
Response: The European hub for Lufthansa
is Frankfurt, Germany and the European hub for Austrian Airlines is
Vienna. Mid October is a good time to visit western Europe. The
large
tourist crowds are gone, the weather is still pleasant and the concert
and opera seasons have begun. Last year we had about 60 people staying
on in Vienna after the
cruise. Marina has a long standing association with a family owned
hotel in the heart of old Vienna, the Schweizerhof. By now many
hundreds of our passengers have enjoyed their stay here. It offers one
of
the best buffet breakfasts in Europe. The rates are reasonable.
3. Question: We are thinking of
combining the cruise with a trip to Russia - likely Moscow and St.
Petersburg. Can you arrange this for us?
Response: Yes we do this quite often and have good travel partners in
Russia Marina is able to use Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines very
cost effectively for this. We can also help you with the Russian Visa.
Please be aware that while Moscow is a wonderful destination with
magnificent musems, it has beome extremely
expensive.
We have also helped passengers to other post-cruise destinations
including Turkey and Israel.
4. Question: How do you arrange trips
to the Mennonite villages?
Response: We develop a complex schedule of bus and private trips based
on your requests. Please have a look at how we arrange this.
We will be docked in Zaporozhye for four days. On the third day this
year, a Sunday, we will all have the same generic bus routes, in
rotation, to
historic Khortitsa/Rosenthal, the founding villages of 1789 and the
Cossack equestrian show on Insel Khortitsa. On the three other
days you can elect to have either a cruise bus tour (at no extra
cost) or a private trip, the costs of which are shared with the
participants. The bus tours are generally quite long, so you cannot
expect to have a bus trip AND a private trip on the same day. All
destinations other
than villages in Molochna, Khortitsa or Yazykovo Settlements, such as
Sagradowka or Ignatievo, are served only by private trips.
5. Question: We have heard from
previous passengers that you organize humanitarian aid for Ukraine. How
does this work?
Response: Please have a look at the page of Notes.
6. Question: Is it safe to travel in
Ukraine? We understand the political situation may be uncertain?
Response: Well over 2500 Mennonite pilgrims have been with us to
Ukraine and they all felt safe and enjoyed themselves. We work closely
with responsible and trusted Ukrainian partners. We know what we are
doing. Yes, the political scene is something of a roller coaster but
will not affect us. We need to understand that the combination of
independance and democracy are still new for Ukraine. France and
Germany for instance didn't get it right on their first tries. We have
visited Ukraine during both pro-Russian and pro-Western governments in
power in the past. Ukrainians themselves are generous, warm and
hospitable.
7. Question: Can I book for only part of the
cruise?
Response: We do not sell only part of the cruise. It would be
impossible for us to find someone to book the portion you are not
taking. Our policy is the cruise is paid in full but you are welcome to
come and go on whatever dates suit you. We do not offer reductions for
missed days. Also it is not easy to get back to Odessa or Kiev once the
cruise has started. It usually involves an overnight train trip
to get back to Kiev.
8. We are not Mennonites: Can we book
on the cruise?
Reponse: Yes, by all means. We regularly have non-Mennonites on
board, who would like to visit Ukraine on a well-organized
cruise. You should however be aware that there is a definite
Mennonite focus in the cruise program. The program is full and rich but
passengers are welcome to opt out of any lectures and excursions.
Incidentally and unlike many other cruises, all bus excursions and city
tours are included at no extra cost.
9. What other tours are you planning?
Response: Good question.
Our cruise administrative assistant, Jane Clemens, is herself a
professional musician and organizes music tours to Austria and
Germany. She
has an excellent repeat Mozart
week
tour coming up in late January 2011 and a very special Mahler tour
in late Spring 2011.
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Cruise home
page