AMA Waterways will lease a newly renovated river cruise ship, the Amakatarina, in 2011 from Russian company Vodohod.
The Amakatarina will set sail on May 10, 2011, and will replace the company’s existing leased vessel in Russia, the Tolstoy, which will sail through the remaining 2010 season.
AMA did not reveal the financial arrangements of the lease, but said it would be lending Vodohod some capital to refurbish the ship, which was built in the 1980s. AMA signed a five-year lease agreement with Vodohod with the option to renew.
"From the time that we first launched our Russian waterways program, it has proven to be one of our most popular and successful itineraries," AMA Waterways President Rudi Schreiner said in a statement. "We are overseeing every detail of the ship’s renovation."
Schreiner said the ship will be stripped entirely and converted from a 400-passenger vessel to a 212-passenger ship. Of the 106 cabins, 76 will feature balconies.
The ship will have 24,025 square feet of interior space. There will be 10 cabin categories, including four suite categories, with each suite ranging from 280 to 432 square feet.
The public areas will include a restaurant, panorama lounge, conference hall, sauna, bar and nightclub, and solarium.
The Amakatarina will have 14 departures for the 2011 season. Eleven-night cruises along the Volga-Baltic Waterway will include three nights in St. Petersburg and two nights in Moscow.
The cruises also include visits to Uglich and Yaroslavl, and a transit across the Onega and Ladoga lakes.
