Ship MS Shevchenko: Istanbul - Odessa - Yalta - Kiev, River Cruise 05 Aug 2010 - 19 Aug 2010

Route description:

Itinerary

Day 1	Istanbul Your driver will pick you up at the airport. He will be standing with your name sign at the exit gate. He will take you to hotel. We planned this day for you to rest after the flight. Your journey along the coast of the Black Sea starts tomorrow.
Day 2	Istanbul Also known as Byzantium and Constantinople, Istanbul is the only city to span two continents, connecting Europe and Asia at the Galata Bridge. Explore the incredible treasures of Topkapi Palace, the magnificent Blue Mosque and Hadia Sofia and test your negotiating skills in the huge, covered Grand Bazaar. You will have introductory city tour by bus including lunch at the local restaurants. Breakfast and Dinner are provided in the hotel.
Day 3	Istanbul / Nessebar After breakfast you will have a time till afternoon to explore a city on your own. At afternoon you will take a bus to Nessebar, there you will board on your cruise ship. Captain's cocktail party will be waiting for you upon arrival.
Day 4	Nessebar Nessebar is one of the prominent seaports and tourist destinations on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. The ancient part of the town is situated on a peninsula (previously an island) connected to the mainland by a narrow man-made isthmus, and it bears evidence of occupation by a variety of different civilizations over the course of its existence. Its abundance of historic buildings prompted UNESCO to include Nesebar in its list of World Heritage Sites in 1983.
Day 5	Constanta The second largest city in Romania, Constanta is a major Black Sea port and resort that has been a crossroads between eastern and western Europe for close to 3,000 years. The city's ancient Greek ruins, its many museums and its world-class aquarium and planetarium offer spellbinding glimpses of history, art and archeology and nature. Today you will have a city tour of Constanta including a visit to Histria Fortress.
Day 6	Odessa Odessa was one of the most important cities of the Russian Empire, third-largest, in fact. Odessa was built by the order of Catherine the Great to defend the southern flanks of the empire from the Turks. Today, Odessa is an important economic and cultural center of the modern-day Ukraine. The city is most known for its distinct dialect and for massive migration to Brighton beach in late 80s - early 90s.
Day 7	Odessa We plan this day for your own observation of Odessa. Back in Soviet times this was one of the most popular tourist destinations. People from all territory of USSR were trying to spend their vacations in Odessa, famous for it's resorts and rich night life.
Day 8	Yalta Yalta is world famous town in Crimea for its political history. It is the place that gave birth to the term Yalta conference where Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met for hard negotiations to divide Europe near the end of World War II. However, Yalta is even more attractive by its historical and picturesque sights that you won't find anywhere else. It is a great resort with beautiful sea sights and considered to be one of the best resorts among Russian and Ukrainian people.
Day 9	Yalta You will have another day in Yalta to explore the town and sea shore on your own. Optional: Alka Palace and wine tasting
Day 10	Sevastopol Sevastopol is the capital of the Crimea. The Crimea Peninsula was granted by Nikita Khrushev as a present to the Soviet Republic of the Ukraine (of course Nikita Khrushev was from the Ukraine himself). The future status of the Crimea has become a point of contention between Russia and the Ukraine in the recent years. The political arguments do not diminish the natural beauty of this place. Sevastopol has a magnificent natural harbor - the whole of the Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Closed for a long time for the foreign visitors, because of the Black Sea Fleet, the city and its history are more accessible for visitors these days. You will see the remnants of the Greek colony Khersones and a Panorama of Defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean war of 1853-1856. We will also visit the World War II Memorials Malakhov Barrow, Sapun Mountain and the cemetery of the German soldiers.
Day 11	Kherson Today, our ship will enter the Dnieper Delta and approach the town of Kherson that has been standing on the hill for three thousand years. It was originally build by Greeks as their trading outpost in the region and today, these beautiful lands boast wide steps and vineyards. After exploring Kherson we will stop by at a traditional Ukrainian fishing village.
Day 12	Zaporozhia Zaporozhia - the lands of Cossacks - is a territory in southern part of the Ukraine. In the 16th century Cossacks built a fortress on the Khortitsa Island and lived there according to their laws. Cossacks were semi-independent tribes who defended Russian lands from Turkish Empire. In return, Russian tsars allowed them to have their own rules and order. For this day, we have planned a visit to Cossack Glory Museum - cossacks have always been some of the best hourse riders in the world and for centuries, they constituted the core of the Russian cavalry.
Day 13	Sailing This is sailing day you will be offered an interesting entertaining program on the ship.
Day 14	Kiev Kiev is one of the oldest cities of the ancient Russ and, as many historians say, the cradle of whole Russian civilization. The city was incredible wealthy, had powerful military and an amazing rate of literacy for its time. The golden age of Kiev came to an end when the Mongol hordes burnt it to the ground. There are many important historical sights in Kiev, the most important are St. Sophia Cathedral and Pecherskaya Lavra. St. Sophia's Cathedral echoes the past glory of Byzantium, while the Pecherskaya Lavra (Cave Monastery) recalls the deep asceticism of early Christianity.
Day 15	Kiev This is your last day of the tour. You will have breakfast at the hotel and will be offered a transfer to the airport. We hope that you enjoyed this exotic journey across the Black Sea and Dnieper river and will want to come back here again.