The Black Sea is a beautiful sight, but it’s never more beautiful than right smack dab in the middle of the water. There might have been easier ways to get to Turkey, but I opted for the two-night UKR Ferry cruise from Odessa that sails across the gorgeous sea.
I bought my ticket at UKR’s Kiev office a few weeks before my trip paying about $180 for a four-berth cabin, which I ultimately shared with just two other guys. Typically a 36-hour trip that starts Monday night and arrives Wednesday morning, but we had been moved to a larger, faster ship that got there Tuesday night. I gladly changed my hostel reservation, though the week before, UKR changed us back to the smaller vessel and I had to change my reservation once again. Just a warning, such changes are apparently common with these Black Sea ships.
Nevertheless, I traveled to Istanbul on Caledonia, which was still a large ship. It featured a grand dinner room (all meals included), a bar and even a disco club that was relatively unused. The rooms were cramped, but like most cruise rides, you only use your room to sleep. The showers and toilets weren’t perfect either, but they did the trick. Most of the meals offered the same food, but it’s hard to go wrong with chicken cutlets, unless of course you’re a vegetarian. The best part of the trip, however were the absolutely spectacular sunsets.
Istanbul was my destination, but there’s also an option for a round-trip cruise that headed back the following evening. While they unfortunately stopped a Yalta-Odessa line, but they a cruise that leaves near Odessa for a 42-hour trip to the Georgian beach town of Batumi. These boats even have room to take your vehicle, though I imagine at a much higher ticket price.
There were easier and cheaper ways to get me to Istanbul, but this was definitely the most beautiful way. There’s nothing quite like seeing a famous body of water from the center of its sea.