Despite the Iron Curtain, there were still niches in the Soviet Union that foreigners were not prohibited from entering. One of these niches was sea cruises on Soviet ships. The citizens of the USSR were also not deprived of the benefits of civilization: the chosen ones could go on a cruise to at least briefly live a “foreign life”.
In this issue you will find photos from booklets from the 70s and 80s advertising cruise holidays, a kind of subspecies of Western life on Soviet cruise ships.
During Soviet times, when traveling abroad was a rarity and a symbol of incredible prestige, cruises were very popular among Soviet citizens. Of course, this mainly concerned not sea cruises, but river cruises — primarily along the Volga and its tributaries.
Such cruises were very popular among citizens of the USSR, since vouchers were distributed through trade union organizations and were given to employees of large enterprises much cheaper than the real cost, for only 30%. Sometimes discounts reached 90-95%. The rest of the amount was paid by the trade unions and the state.
For a very large amount of money or (for special achievements in labor) through the trade union line, it was possible to purchase a ticket for a sea cruise — along the Black and Mediterranean Seas. It was on such a cruise that Yuri Nikulin’s character from everyone’s favorite movie “The Diamond Hand” was lucky enough to get. The lucky ones, caressed by fate, could even get on sea trips around Japan and along the coast of West Africa.
The choice of capitalist countries for travel was small: several groups went to Finland every year, especially selected ones went on a sea cruise “Around Europe” or “Along the Mediterranean Sea”, simpler tourists went on a cruise “Along the Danube”, one or two groups a year were sent to France or England, Austria, Canada, the USA. Sometimes there were exotic tours: for example, in 1961 — “Africa”, in 1962 — India, in 1969 — “Tunisia, Algeria, Cuba”, in 1972 — a cruise around Japan.
The cost of the vouchers was different. A cruise around Europe on one of the most comfortable liners at that time, the Shota Rustaveli, cost 500-800 rubles (depending on the cabin class). A cruise around West Africa on the ship Bashkiria cost from 600 to 827 rubles, plus a trip to Odessa and the purchase of currency for 24 rubles.
This is what a standard cabin on a Soviet cruise ship looked like.
The history of Soviet maritime tourism began in 1957, when Intourist leased two vessels, Pobeda and Georgia, on which sea voyages around Europe and Odessa to Leningrad were carried out. By the way, it was on the Pobeda that the filming of the famous comedy “The Diamond Hand” took place — in it the ship acted as “Mikhail Svetlov”.
In the 50s, the ship “Peter the Great” began to conduct Black Sea cruises for tourists from socialist countries. In the photo: German vacationers on the ship “Belarus”.
A serious cultural and sightseeing program has been prepared for foreign tourists during such cruises.
The monopolist in the Soviet tourist market, Intourist, was engaged in organizing not only group tours, but also individual sea and river cruises, trips of foreigners to the resorts of the USSR, and Soviet citizens to foreign resorts. Exclusive tours were also arranged, for example for hunting.
In order to advertise tourist trips to the Soviet Union, Intourist published tourist brochures, booklets, posters, promotional tourist films, carried out advertising on radio and television, as well as through the Soviet and foreign press.
From 1956 to 1985, more than 70 million foreigners from 162 countries visited the USSR, although not all came as tourists.
See also — The happiest pensioner on earth
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