Terrific experience/ the Volga Dream. My wife and I and four friends wanted to do a boat trip between Moscow and St Petersburg and didn’t want one of the fleets of ships with 200 passengers. And in addition to size we found a number of negative TripAdvisor reviews on many of those larger ships. We found the Volga Dream which takes only 100 passengers and which is privately owned by a Russian family. It could not have been better. The crew was exceptional in their friendliness and professionalism, and the boat itself was in wonderful shape and exceptionally well maintained. Despite having 100 passengers, we never found anyplace too crowded to do exactly as we wanted. The shore excursions were very well planned and executed. And the food was excellent. We would warmly recommend the Volga Dream to anyone wanting to do either Moscow to St Petersburg or the opposite direction. We made arrangements through Travel All Russia which included also some days in both Moscow and St Petersburg, and in every aspect those arrangements were superb. Rather than staying on the boat for those periods, we enjoyed wonderful center-city hotels and restaurants and superlative guides. That we would also warmly recommend.

Wonderful first time experience of Russia's culture, history and scenery We chose Platinum Class for our first experience of a river cruise, and it was well worth the extra.. We really felt treated like special people. Small group (6 of us!) for cultural visits in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with excellent very knowledgeable guides who steered us through the museums. Sadly in the Kremlin we had very little time to look at the beautiful historic churches and rather too long looking at royal wedding dresses and diamonds. The on-board experience was wonderful, with tasty and varied food , lots of things to do, so no time to get bored, even in the rain! Prof.Ludmila Selezneva's talks on modern Russia and history of art were wonderful and so enthusiastic. We really learnt a lot. The crew were super-efficient and friendly too, Just one point of criticism of what was otherwise a marvellous trip. The diningroom on "Volga Dream" with its low ceiling and small portholes felt a bit claustrophobic and the acoustics were so bad that everybody had to shout. Not so good for conversation with your neighbour at table. Perhaps that part of the vessel could be refurbished (?)

one word - Excellent I enjoyed every part of this tour - Saint Petersburg was lovely and our guide Daria delightful knowledgeable and helpful, the driver Sergei also; there was some queuing for Catherine's Palace but everything we visited was stunning - I particularly loved the Faberge Museum. Daria was maybe a little too keen on "comfort stops" we didn't really need and implied "shopping". The Kempinsky was excellent too, staff, food, location ... The Volga Dream was great - I actually loved my tiny little cabin (326) as I could lie in bed and let the river flow by as I watched the forests and villages we passed - the locks were fascinating! The food was first rate every day and the service - both Restaurant and cabin staff excellent. The little sorties onto land were good too - though Mandrogi artificial and over-priced - I especially liked Yaroslavl and Uglich. Entertainments on board were great too - I enjoyed Olga's Russian language introduction and Ludmilla's lectures a Highlight of your tour - she opened our eyes to so much of what is Russia past and present both Political and Cultural - brilliant! One small thing - you could have chosen better films for the evening - Doctor Zhivago / From Russia with Love / Leviathan?! War & Peace? Anna Karenina? you will have a better knowledge of great Russian filmmakers than I do ... Moscow I loved - even better than Saint Petersburg - the guide (Milla) was ,,, interesting! and quite funny but she got us through the crowds and round the sights expertly. The Marriott was fine - great location though a bit soulless - I ended up round the corner at Petr 1 which was very good. I will definitely be back to Moscow ... I haven't said how wonderful the Olgas were! superb - classy, competent, charming ... Thank you for everything!

Alex in Moscow is an excellent guide in this trip. He is knowledgeable and good response to every question. I and my husband enjoyed this trip very much. I and my husband had visited some cities of Russia before this trip. We still knew little about Russia. But after this trip, we knew more about Russian and its history through their good guides. Especially Alex in Moscow. He is knowledgeable and good response to all of our questions. Sure, we will recommend our friends to join your wonderful Volga Dream program.

The way to see Russia! We had three days in Moscow, five days on the Volga River, and three days in St. Petersburg. I thought I'd be living on beets and vodka but the food on the boat was excellent (continental) and the service was first-rate. I loved all of our local guides (made me fall in love with the Russian people) and our on-boat lecturers. Both Ludmilla and Olga were extra special. Would unreservedly recommend this trip!