Cruises are a truly unique type of travel. It is distinguished from other types of recreation by constant movement. The tourist will have a change of impressions, shores, cities, faces, but at the same time he does not need to change hotels, pack his bags, or fuss. Everything is ready: instead of a hotel - a cozy ship with restaurants and bars, entertainment and a unique atmosphere that can only be felt while relaxing on the water. Such a wonderful combination leaves few people indifferent.
Cruises suit everyone
In terms of duration, routes and themes, cruise trips are different: from short, for the weekend, to almost expeditionary - for 2 weeks. Many tourists choose cruises in Russia because of the opportunity to learn a lot during the excursion program. In addition, a modern cruise in our country 15 years ago and today is like heaven and earth. The difference is huge! And first of all, it is noticeable in the level of service and equipment of motor ships.
This is not only the experience inherent in cruises in general, but also a wide range of travel options by duration, destination, cities of departure, types of ships, services and prices. All this makes river cruises in Russia available to a wide range of travelers.
Every tourist can form a vacation on a cruise, focusing on his lifestyle. For example, for sports people on the Sozvezdiya motor ships, a fitness fleet operates every day, morning exercises are carried out, and a bicycle rental is available. Daily entertainment programs on board, including concerts, interesting master classes, trainings, discos, karaoke nights, performances - all this will not let the young generation get bored.
One-stop service is already a tradition
A single service has been created on all seven Sozvezdiya motor ships. This applies to the entire tourist service system.
For example, there is a single menu - three restaurant meals a day, included in the price. It is noteworthy that the menu is updated every year. Based on the navigation results, the cruise company looks at statistics, and those dishes that are in demand remain in the new season. Those that the tourists did not like are removed from the arsenal. It is important that the company's menu is designed for 21 days without repeating!
The cabins of motor ships have all the necessary amenities, furniture, satellite TV, air conditioning, telephone, mini-bar. And many public spaces will not allow you to get bored on a cruise: restaurants, bars, coffee shops, panoramic lounges, conference rooms, saunas, sports equipment and bicycle rentals, and even theaters.
Homestead Intelligent Cruise
We were fortunate enough to go on a cruise with a visit to old estates on the motor ship "Severnaya Skazka" of the cruise company "Sozvezdie".
Navigation-2019 can be called the second birth of the ship. He changed the name, appearance and design of some public spaces. The panoramic salon has turned into the Forest Lounge, and the bar has turned into the Tea Room, where, in addition to the traditional menu, you can taste and buy cones and northern berries jams, herbal teas and homemade alcoholic liqueurs.
The adventure began on board a motor ship in Moscow. For 8 days we visited Uglich, Cherepovets, Kostroma, Kineshma, Ples, Yaroslavl and Kalyazin. The main signature feature of this cruise is the manor houses.
According to current data, more than 1000 ancient estates have survived in Russia today, where famous people used to live - musicians, writers, artists, politicians, merchants and patrons of the arts. Each estate has kept many secrets and mysteries, the special energy of the former owners. Experience history by visiting several of the estates on this themed cruise.
So, not far from Vologda is the Bryanchaninovs' estate. It dates from the beginning of the 19th century. The manor house with elegantly decorated facades, the Intercession Church and the necropolis of the Brianchaninov family are surrounded by a magnificent park. If you look at the park from a bird's eye view, you can see an eight-pointed star, the sides of which are linden alleys. The main alley leads to a beautiful pond. In the recently restored Bryanchaninovs' estate, there is now a museum dedicated to the former owners of the estate and the history of the Pokrovskoye village, on the territory of which it is located.
Near Kineshma, where tourists are taken by buses from Yaroslavl, there is the Shelykovo estate, which belonged to the famous playwright Alexander Ostrovsky. The manor complex includes a wooden one-story house in which Ostrovsky lived, a Nikolaevsky temple dating from the 18th century, two museums, a cultural center and an extensive shady park. Ostrovsky's house can be seen from the inside - it displays the writer's personal belongings, furniture, pianos, books.
Another Russian estate, which can be seen during a cruise along the Volga, belonged to the Leontiev nobles. It is located in the village of Voronino, in the vicinity of Rostov the Great. Now it is owned by the descendants of the former owners who turned the house of their ancestors into a famous local landmark. The estate was built in the middle of a dense forest in the 17th century by Gavrila Leontyev, and since then, until the difficult 20th century, it has not changed its owners. Currently, the mansion of the master has been restored, in which several exhibitions have been opened, telling about the life of the Leontyevs and the commander Suvorov, a park with ponds, a necropolis, and a bell tower. On the territory of the estate there are guest houses where you can spend the night.
The Kekins' estate was under construction for more than a hundred years, from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th centuries. The main house of the estate keeps the memory of the glorious merchant family and the era of the second half of the 19th century. Today, the Museum of Rostov Merchants has been opened here, where the interior decoration of the house of that time has been recreated.
Mesmerizing beauty
The most beautiful landscapes awaited travelers in Ples, the nature of which the painter Isaac Levitan paid tribute to in his canvases, and in Kalyazin.
Since 1972, the Levitan House-Museum has been operating in Plyos, based in the mansion where Levitan and his friends stayed during their trips from Moscow to a town on the Volga. The museum displays a number of his works, as well as works written by artists A. Stepanov and S. Kuvshinnikova. Here you can see Levitan's personal belongings, for example, his paints and easel and some pieces of furniture that were previously in his workshop.
In Kalyazin, the cameras of all travelers are directed towards the high bell tower towering over the Uglich reservoir. This is a phantasmagoric sight: water, a small island and on it a single building - a five-tiered bell tower. It was erected in 1800 and was part of the Nikolsky temple complex. It was dismantled to save it from flooding when the Uglich reservoir appeared, and the belfry was left in place. It has become a reference point for all captains navigating their ships along the Volga.
In the second half of the last century, an island was poured around the bell tower, where pleasure boats could moor. Now the bell tower is used for its intended purpose, and at the same time it is the most photographed tourist attraction in the city of Kalyazin.
