Moscow By Cruise Ship

If you have any grasp of geography, you know that Moscow isn't a destination that ocean-going cruise ships can reach (river cruisers can, however). And yet on a Baltic cruise, 12 of us sailing on Silversea Cruises' Silver Whisper, spent a full day exploring Red Square, the Kremlin and other Moscow attractions. The shore excursion from St. Petersburg, where Whisper was docked, went for $999 per person, including the one-hour-plus flights to and from Moscow on a Boeing 737 (to) and Airbus 319 (from). Tour participants I spoke with said they felt the excursion was a good value. "When will I ever be an hour from Moscow again?" asked one. But he and other passengers disembarking Grand Princess said they were impressed by the city in the south of Sweden. "I'm very impressed," said Jim Hough, from Banks, Oregon. "I'm a city manager, so when I come, I look to see how well-kept the town is, and Helsingborg is very well kept. Everyone is obviously very proud of what they have here. I'm so glad it was put on our itinerary, because now I believe I've seen the real Sweden as opposed to the metropolitan Sweden." "We've been to the major cities, which is great," added another passenger, "but this is a small city and we feel closer to the local population and not swamped by long queues of tourists." A couple from Detroit remarked on the cleanliness of Helsingborg. "It's very fresh and interesting," they added.