Yalta is Ukraine's answer to Bermuda. It's a hilly summer seashore resort on the Crimean peninsula with 90,000 residents, lots of greenery, mild winters, immaculate pebbled beaches, hotels and health spas.
The ship had recently undergone a multimillion-dollar refurbishing and offered the usual goodies: fancy dining, nightly shows and dancing, gaming, fitness facilities, swimming, and half- and full-day tours at prices ranging from $40 to $150.
Our twin-bedded cabin had a small TV set, two chairs, a desk, and a sliding window wall leading to a balcony with two chairs and small table. The window wall afforded great views of sea traffic and the landscape as we entered and exited each port.
Yalta is in Crimea, the peninsula between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, now an autonomous republic of Ukraine but, in the Soviet Union's heyday, where Communist Party bigwigs vacationed, and before them, the czars. Today the dachas (summer cottages) and health spas, most of which have seen better days, cater to anyone who can afford upward of $100 a day and more for a room with meals. Add a few more dollars for hydromassages and mud baths.
For true luxury, and if ghosts are no problem, you could grab a reservation at the palatial, cliffside hotel in Koreiz, once a Yusupov palace, the summer home of a wealthy czarist family. This is where Stalin stayed during the Yalta Conference. His four-room suite with its 20-foot ceilings, antique furniture, and balconies overlooking the sea can accommodate two couples. Cost: about $400 a night, meals included.
The estate is not far from the dacha in Foros, where Mikhail Gorbachev and his family were vacationing in 1991 when he was placed under house arrest during an unsuccessful coup. Our young female guide carefully avoided pointing out or talking about the site, which was not included in our tour and had been off limits for years.
Statues of Lenin conspicuously recall the era when Ukraine and its 52 million people were an important cog in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. One has a commanding view of the sea from a hilltop; another appropriately faces left in the heart of the port shopping hub.
