Cruise - Along The Volga: Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod - Volgograd - Rostov - 19 Days (CR-47)

Our driver will meet you in arrivals at the airport with a Go Russia sign board to transfer you to the ship which will be your base while we are docked in Moscow. Tonight you'll be welcomed aboard with a cocktail reception.

You might be reluctant to leave the comfort of the ship but enthralling Moscow awaits. The Russian capital is one of the most interesting cities of the world and we'll have a guided bus tour this morning during which you'll enjoy a panoramic view of the city from the observation platform up at Sparrow Hills and visit the World War Two memorial in the Poklonnaya Hills before returning to the centre of the city to see the famous Bolshoi theatre.

Today we delve into Moscow's fascinating past, heading inside the famous Kremlin. Once the residence of the Tsars and Russian Orthodox Patriarchs, we'll set foot inside one of its uniquely beautiful Orthodox cathedrals. You will also be able to view the Byzantine splendour of St. Basil's multi-coloured onion-domed cathedral, in nearby Red Square. We also offer an optional tour to the Pushkin Museum, as well as to the Kremlin Armoury Museum, where the Tsar's spectacular jewels, crowns, thrones and royal armour are on display.

There's so much more to see and explore in the Russian capital that we've added another day here for you to sightsee or relax as you please. There are a number of optional excursions on offer should you wish to partake.

The boat sails to Uglich, one of Russia's best-loved provincial towns. Don't miss the superb view as we approach along the Volga River. Founded in 1148, highlights include the Cathedral of the Resurrection and St. John's Church which dominate the horizon. At the end of the 16th century, the seventh wife of the Tsar Ivan the Terrible lived in honorary exile in the Kremlin at Uglich which is a stop on today's itinerary.

The ship docks in charming Yaroslavl today, an important port strung out along the banks of the River Volga. The city takes its name from Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Of special interest to history buffs is the magnificent 13th century Spassky Monastery complex, a group of several majestic 17th century cathedrals, an elegant rotunda and the remains of an ancient trading centre. Our city tour takes us to the Church of the Prophet Elijah and many other cultural highlights.

We reach the historic city of Kostroma which sits at the confluence of the Volga and the Kostroma Rivers within what's known as the Golden Ring. We'll enjoy a visit to Ipatievskiy Monastery. In 1958, an open-air museum of wooden architecture was set up at the walls of the Monastery. Churches, old houses, watermills, windmills and small bathhouses were brought here from villages across the Kostroma Region.

This serene town on the banks of the Volga, our stop today, is described by some as a Russian Switzerland. It offers picturesque hilltop views of the quayside and also is the location for the museum dedicated to the work if Isaac Levitan, a prominent landscape painter in the 19th century.

We arrive in Nizhny, as the locals call it, Russia's fifth largest city. Commanding magnificent views of both the Volga and Oka rivers, its ancient Kremlin and pleasant pedestrian promenade “Pokrovka” make it an appealing place for tourists as you'll see when we disembark.

Today, it's time to explore the capital of the Chuvash republic, Cheboksary. The city's history goes back to the mid-fifteenth century with the construction of its fortress, though it wasn't until the railway was built in 1939, that the city grew in importance. We'll take a city tour today which will visit such architectural gems as the seventeenth century Vvedensky cathedral and the older Saint-Trinity monastery.

In Kazan today, we're reminded that Russian history often looks to the east. Our destination today, nicknamed the Pearl of the Central Volga Region was founded by the Mongols back in the 13th century. An important centre of Tatar culture, once it was the capital of the powerful Khanate of Kazan, falling to the Russians under Ivan the Terrible's incursions in the 16th century. Presently, it is a city of around a million inhabitants (half Russian, half Tatar) and absolutely charming with a unique blend of Muslim and Christian culture. A focus of today's visit will be the World Heritage Site of Kazan Kremlin, the Qol-Şarif mosque rebuilt inside the citadel.

Formerly called Simbirsk, this town has been Ulyanovsk in honour of Lenin since 1924. Ironically, though Lenin was born there, it was during the Soviet era that much of the town's historical heritage was torn down including the old wooden fort and all its old churches. However, the houses where Lenin was born and grew up between 1870 and 1887 remain. There's also an interesting museum which we will have the opportunity to visit.

Samara, today's destination, was once a closed city due to its importance to the Soviet defence industry. It's history goes back much further to its founding in the 14th century. In 1935, Samara became Kuybyshev, renamed in honour of the Bolshevik leader. A few years later it was chosen to be Russia's standby capital, ready to take on the role should Moscow fall to the invading Germans.

Another important city on the banks of the Volga, Saratov was once home to the Volga Germans. Settling here in the 18th and 19th centuries, they were exiled to Siberia and Kazakhstan at the outbreak of World War Two and few returned. After the war, the city became a military aircraft manufacturing base as well as a focus for the Russian space programme. Thus until 1991, Saratov, like Samara, was a closed city.

The fact that this city is named after Russia's most important river is no accident. The city formerly called Tsaritsyn and later Stalingrad was bestowed the honour as a result of its residents' outstanding heroism during World War Two. Heavy German bombardment in a battle which lasted two hundred days pushed the city to the limit and left it in ruins. With losses on both sides amounting to between one and two million, this was one of the great tragedies of the war. We'll make a guided visit to Mamaev Kurgan to pay our respects at the statue of The Motherland Calls.

We sail along the Volga today, taking the opportunity to enjoy the scenery we pass at a leisurely pace.

Modern Rostov-on-Don was established in 1749 to regulate the trade with Turkey. Once the Volga-Don shipping canal was constructed in 1952, the city could handle trade from five seas: the Black Sea, Sea of Azoy, Caspian Sea, White Sea and finally the Baltic.

After yesterday's guided excursion, there'll be free time today to explore the city for yourself.

Our driver will be waiting for you as you disembark the ship ready to transfer you to the airport for your flight home.