Now is the time to be concerned...

[luv2travel100]

Just got off the phone with an Oceania customer service rep (I'm on a later Aug Baltics cruise) and she said no decision has been made at this time on St Pete; if it's not safe to travel there or if there is a travel ban, they will offer other ports; and in the past, they have cancelled a port well in advance of some sailings and in some of those cases, they offered full refunds.

 

She was non-committal as to whether Oceania would offer a full refund if St Pete were cancelled.

 

I guess we'll have to see how the various cruise lines handle the situation with their upcoming Baltic sailings as that will be our first clue.

[buggins0402]

I guess some of us are just a bit sensitive about the fact that so many people are implying that a cruise would be ruined somehow without St.Petersburg. Many of us here on the board live in other countries and ports on the Baltic and North Seas and have spent a significant amount of time offering advice and assistance to cruisers visiting our home cities. It stings a bit to hear that so many people don't really care about these ports and really only think of them as some kind of side tour on a trip to SPB.

 

Please don't take offense - many of us view a Baltic cruise as just that - not a cruise to St. Petersburg.

 

We're not hitting Oslo on our cruise, but we're looking forward to doing Norway in a dedicated cruise when we retire. However, we might have to fly to Oslo after the cruise to complete our country tour. Norway is a country that is perfect for cruising and deserves it's own cruise!

 

To be truthful - my biggest concern has gone back to dealing with being in Scandinavia during the Midsummer holiday. :)

 

We should be thankful that so many Scandinavians are on Cruise Critic to help us plan our stops on these itineraries!

Edited March 11, 2014 by buggins0402

[jamessemaj]

I guess some of us are just a bit sensitive about the fact that so many people are implying that a cruise would be ruined somehow without St.Petersburg. Many of us here on the board live in other countries and ports on the Baltic and North Seas and have spent a significant amount of time offering advice and assistance to cruisers visiting our home cities. It stings a bit to hear that so many people don't really care about these ports and really only think of them as some kind of side tour on a trip to SPB.

 

No slight is intended. It's just that the other Baltic ports, including Oslo, are easily accessed and all ports other than St. Petersburg have cruises originating from them. But for people who book a Baltic cruise including St. Petersburg, that port is the highlight. That is what the tread is about, what to do if it may be cancelled. Thanks for your help, it is appreciated.

[frantic36]

I guess some of us are just a bit sensitive about the fact that so many people are implying that a cruise would be ruined somehow without St.Petersburg. Many of us here on the board live in other countries and ports on the Baltic and North Seas and have spent a significant amount of time offering advice and assistance to cruisers visiting our home cities. It stings a bit to hear that so many people don't really care about these ports and really only think of them as some kind of side tour on a trip to SPB.

 

I am looking forward to all my ports of call in the Baltics this August. Coming from such a young and hot city, I love getting to experience the contrast of history and cooler climates in my travels:). St Petersburg is not the only place I am interested in seeing so I won't be cancelling if it is removed.

[galliegirlie]

I'm going to be honest, I have not read through this entire thread. I just wanted to see if there is any speculation of what ports might be substituted for a 2-day SP stop IF the cruise lines decide to cancel? We will be on the NCL Star in the middle of June.

[MavisMarie]

I authorized final payment to be made tomorrow on our 5/26 "Scandinavia and Russia" cruise. I am a little bit nervous about the possibility of not docking in SPB, of course. If we know in advance that the ship will not dock in SPB, we will cancel the cruise and suffer the penalties. This does NOT mean we do not care about the Scandinavian countries. It just means we care MORE about visiting SPB. (I have been on this itinerary before and all of the ports were memorable and worthwhile.)

 

I hope there are no glitches and everyone who is booked on a Baltic cruise this summer will enjoy themselves.

[Travelanni]

I'm going to be honest, I have not read through this entire thread. I just wanted to see if there is any speculation of what ports might be substituted for a 2-day SP stop IF the cruise lines decide to cancel? We will be on the NCL Star in the middle of June.

 

With around 250 berths booked in St Petersburg for 2014 the cruise ship companies would be flat out finding alternative berths in an area where berths are booked months, or even years, in advance and demand is rapidly outstripping supply. Many of those booked into SPB are the larger ships whose alternatives are limited because of their size and most of them already already have the ports which can handle the bigger ships in their schedule.

It would seem to be very short-sighted of Russia to stop the cruise ships coming to a city on which they have spent millions precisely to attract that part of the tourist market. 250 x an average of 2000 passengers is a lot of money to take out of the economy to say nothing of the livelihoods of the tour operators who are there solely because of their government's visa policy.

I do not intend to cancel, if there is no SPB then so be it. It will be an important part of my cruise simply because a cruise is the most convenient way to visit Russia, but certainly not the be-all and end-all.

Happy cruising :)

Anni

Edited March 12, 2014 by Travelanni
Missing words

[beachgal]

Galliegirlie, we are doing the NCL Star May 19 cruise - getting excited!!

[DipBrat]

From euronews.com four hours ago.

 

 

 

Maybe none of this is viewed by folks here as "real" or "on the table". Just wondering if you have $6K in final payment that you have to make in about five weeks. Many of us face this and also read these things above and can't help but feel a little nervous. I'd say the chance are much better than not that St Petersburg will be open for US citizens this summer. I'm just not willing to bet the house on it.

 

Visa bans means banning Russian officials from travelling to the United States and the EU and potentially freezing their assets. It does not mean banning tourists. For example Iranians are still able to travel to the US as tourists and vice versa despite a level of sanctions (Iran is essentially shut out of the International Financial System) that as of yet are not even being discussed with Russia.

[kaznaid]

 

With around 250 berths booked in St Petersburg for 2014 the cruise ship companies would be flat out finding alternative berths in an area where berths are booked months, or even years, in advance and demand is rapidly outstripping supply. Many of those booked into SPB are the larger ships whose alternatives are limited because of their size and most of them already already have the ports which can handle the bigger ships in their schedule.

It would seem to be very short-sighted of Russia to stop the cruise ships coming to a city on which they have spent millions precisely to attract that part of the tourist market. 250 x an average of 2000 passengers is a lot of money to take out of the economy to say nothing of the livelihoods of the tour operators who are there solely because of their government's visa policy.

I do not intend to cancel, if there is no SPB then so be it. It will be an important part of my cruise simply because a cruise is the most convenient way to visit Russia, but certainly not the be-all and end-all.

Happy cruising :)

Anni

 

 

I agree with you entirely! We paid for our June cruise ex Southampton some weeks ago before this situation escalated and, if we cancelled, we would lose everything! I appreciate that, as we live just 25 mins from Southampton, we wouldn't lose flight money but it's still a large chunk.

 

We are looking forward to seeing all the other ports of call and SPb is just a highlight (albeit a very big draw!). We are just going with the flow, carrying on as normal and hoping the conflict will have a peaceful conclusion!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Annie Morehead]

Traveling always means you never know what is around the corner! Once we took a cruise to Canada out of New York City and an adjacent ship ( from the same cruise line) took our luggage on a cruise to Bermuda.

 

We decided not to let it ruin our trip and it turned out fine. We were reunited with our luggage 10 days later in New York after our cruise was over.

 

We hope St Petersburg is not dropped ..... But we will have a good trip anyway!!

 

Happy travels to all! :-)

[tiggerrr]

I guess some of us are just a bit sensitive about the fact that so many people are implying that a cruise would be ruined somehow without St.Petersburg. Many of us here on the board live in other countries and ports on the Baltic and North Seas and have spent a significant amount of time offering advice and assistance to cruisers visiting our home cities. It stings a bit to hear that so many people don't really care about these ports and really only think of them as some kind of side tour on a trip to SPB.

 

As one of those who expressed concern earlier in this thread about missing St. Petersburg, allow me to explain a bit more. I certainly did not want to give the impression that I only cared about St. Petersburg and that the other cities didn't matter.

 

It is more that the inclusion of St. Petersburg is what made us choose a cruise as our method of travel. Choosing a cruise has certain limitations, including fully committing 90 days out and the fact that you only get a day in most other ports. We were willing to accept those limitations because we wanted to see St. Petersburg, and we weren't willing to deal with visa and potential language issues that come from a land trip. If St. Petersburg is not included, our reasons for choosing the cruise as our travel method are gone.

 

We would still want to see all the other ports, but without St. Petersburg, we would have flown into one of the cities and toured around on the train. And that's where some of our tension comes from - knowing we would make different decision on HOW to travel, not WHERE we would stop. Definitely not a disappointment that we have to visit Scandinavian/Baltic/German ports. As it is, we are managing our plans to spend extra days in Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Stockholm.

 

As the days have passed, we've taken a calmer view. In life, you make the best decision you can with the information you have at the time and then adapt as you need to. And I certainly appreciate all the help others have given for their home cities as it will help get the most we can out of those visits.

Edited March 14, 2014 by tiggerrr

[beachgal]

Annie Morehead, I agree, you never know what's going to happen while traveling - my friends and I say it's all part of the adventure!

 

On the way to Mediterranean cruise, my checked bag got lost. I had some clothes in my carry-on and bought a few tops in the ship's shop. There was a laundromat on the ship so I washed clothes, had some hanging in the bathroom to dry, made do and had a great time - didn't let it affect my trip! I filed a claim with British Airways, they cut me a check, and FOUR MONTHS LATER, imagine my surprise when my intact suitcase was delivered to my front door! The tag was still on the outside & same information inside with all my itinerary, etc. Glad someone finally saw my suitcase sitting somewhere and decided to check on it! I always laugh when I look at those photos because I have the same clothes on several days!!

[Grumpy100]

What about the cruises that go to the Black Sea which I believe is part of Russia and going to Kiev. With all the unrest there right now would a Black Sea cruise be affected.:confused::confused::confused:

[iluvbkk]

We had already paid in full for our May cruise so our options were nil. I think I'm glad that it's a done deal so I don't have to overthink it. It seems things are heating up there according to the news today but we will see what Sunday brings. Other than go with the flow, there's not much else to do

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[seaofwonder]

We had already paid in full for our May cruise so our options were nil. I think I'm glad that it's a done deal so I don't have to overthink it. It seems things are heating up there according to the news today but we will see what Sunday brings. Other than go with the flow, there's not much else to do

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

In the us it has fallen off the front page.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[The_Big_M]

What about the cruises that go to the Black Sea which I believe is part of Russia and going to Kiev. With all the unrest there right now would a Black Sea cruise be affected.:confused::confused::confused:

 

They haven't announced anything as yet. But if there were impacts, it would most likely on these cruises rather than Baltic ones.

[happytalk44]

In the us it has fallen off the front page.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

It certainly has not mellowed out so one has to wonder why the US media is not covering it on the front page anymore.

[prish]

Annie Morehead, I agree, you never know what's going to happen while traveling - my friends and I say it's all part of the adventure!

 

On the way to Mediterranean cruise, my checked bag got lost. I had some clothes in my carry-on and bought a few tops in the ship's shop. There was a laundromat on the ship so I washed clothes, had some hanging in the bathroom to dry, made do and had a great time - didn't let it affect my trip! I filed a claim with British Airways, they cut me a check, and FOUR MONTHS LATER, imagine my surprise when my intact suitcase was delivered to my front door! The tag was still on the outside & same information inside with all my itinerary, etc. Glad someone finally saw my suitcase sitting somewhere and decided to check on it! I always laugh when I look at those photos because I have the same clothes on several days!!

 

Annie Morehead and beachgal, we did an Iceland and Norway cruise on the Eclipse out of Southampton in 2012 and DH's bag was put on to a Princess ship going to the Baltics for the exact same 15 days, we were reunited with our bag when we disembarked! I always say better DH than I, he could at least find some shirts, etc onboard and Celebrity loaned him a tux for the formal nights . As you say, travel is always an adventure, better go with the flow and laugh:)

[seaofwonder]

Annie Morehead and beachgal, we did an Iceland and Norway cruise on the Eclipse out of Southampton in 2012 and DH's bag was put on to a Princess ship going to the Baltics for the exact same 15 days, we were reunited with our bag when we disembarked! I always say better DH than I, he could at least find some shirts, etc onboard and Celebrity loaned him a tux for the formal nights . As you say, travel is always an adventure, better go with the flow and laugh:)

 

 

Wow...that would stink! We've heard these stories before and always try to do a bit of cross-packing!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[kaznaid]

Annie Morehead and beachgal, we did an Iceland and Norway cruise on the Eclipse out of Southampton in 2012 and DH's bag was put on to a Princess ship going to the Baltics for the exact same 15 days, we were reunited with our bag when we disembarked! I always say better DH than I, he could at least find some shirts, etc onboard and Celebrity loaned him a tux for the formal nights . As you say, travel is always an adventure, better go with the flow and laugh:)

 

The very first cruise I went on was a 4 day "taster" cruise on Legend of the Seas to France and the Channel Islands. Apparently, as everyone was embarking the ship, a fork-lift truck carrying the bags onto the ship toppled over and the crate of suitcases (about 20 apparently) all went into Southampton Water!! They managed to recover some but others are still there 8 years later! They didn't inform the owners of the bags until we were well out of Southampton! Luckily it was 4 days only and I understand some of the passengers disembarked in France the next day and went home (most of the passengers were British!)

 

However ... back to the topic in hand! Here in the UK the Ukraine problems have been off the front page of the newspapers and about 4th in the TV news headlines for almost a week - waiting for the elections tomorrow (Sunday) probably. The missing Malaysian airliner has been the main news item.

 

Hopefully, the elections will bring some harmony to the Ukrainians and some of us can get back to the excitement of our Baltic Cities cruises ... including the two days in St Petersburg (which, IMHO, I don't believe will be in any danger).

 

Fingers crossed!

[iluvbkk]

Well, we need to pay attention as it appears the situation is heating up. Let's see what happens after Sunday but I don't think it's simply going to go away. Regardless, if you are sailing in May, as we are, you are compelled to go with the flow or stand a lose a bucket of money.

Also, nothing happens in a vacuum. What goes on between Ukraine and Russia affects that region greatly and St. Petersburg is in that region at 800 miles distance, in my opinion. It affects people's attitudes and creates worries in surrounding countries as well.

That said, we will continue to watch the pot boiling.

[MavisMarie]

I am becoming more concerned. I don't know if it's ok to include this link, but since it relates to our travel, I will post it for everyone to read. In the text of the article, there is a link to enroll in the Department of State's STEP program: Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.

Article: http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/latest-national/latest-national-news/51050-u-s-state-dept-issues-russian-federation-travel-alert-due-to-events-in-ukraine.html

STEP program: https://step.state.gov/step/

[iluvbkk]

Thanks for that posting. While an alert is important, it doesn't mean the ship won't stop at SPB but it bears keeping eyes and ears open.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[RJ2002]

Thanks for that posting. While an alert is important, it doesn't mean the ship won't stop at SPB but it bears keeping eyes and ears open.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Agree. We still receive the STEP advisories from our prior travels, and got the one on Russia also.

 

I am afraid that this topic will return as a top news item after the Sunday elections, and events that may follow the election.