Baltic cruise and Russia

[lepidoptera]

Hey everyone, 

 

Until travel is back to normal, I have decided to only cruise in developed countries (I did Alaska this year and have Iceland and a transatlantic next year.) For a few months I have been playing around with booking a Baltic 2023 cruise. With the tensions with Russia being high I was just wondering what NCL has done before with St. Petersburg when things were dicey. I wasn’t paying attention to Baltic cruises in 2014 when everything went down in Crimea. I would be okay with the ship skipping the port,  but wouldn’t want to go to a country we had sanctions against/possibly don’t have an embassy. I know I could wait and see what happens, but I expect things will take a long time to simmer down even in the best of cases. 

[KeithJenner]

Whilst I haven't been following closely at all times over the past couple of decades, I do have a particular interest in Baltics cruises (3 done so far with one cancelled due to Covid and another to be booked soon). I have seen St Petersburg missed for weather reasons (very rarely), but don't recall it ever being missed for political reasons.

 

St Petersburg is a great port, but is just one of many. It's one of the best places to cruise even if you were to end up missing St Petersburg.

[MeHeartCruising]

I also don’t recall any disruption to St. Petersburg cruising. Ever.  Other than Covid related, that is.   As with Keith, I’d go on another Baltic cruise in a heartbeat even if St. Petersburg was skipped or not on the itinerary at all.  

Edited December 7, 2021 by MeHeartCruising

[milolii]

There is discussion on the Northern Europe Port of Call boards re:  the chances cruise ships will call on St.Petersburg next summer.  This discussion is primarily  focused on possible CoVID restrictions. This board is a great resource, however. 
 

We have a deposit on a 2022 cruise on the Dawn. We Would consider cruising without St.Petersburg, but not at the same fares.  We know things can change.

[lepidoptera]

Thanks everyone, you were super helpful.

 

I am also looking at the Dawn-I really like how the itinerary starts/ends in Stockholm and Copenhagen. Get to spend a little bit of time in both. Also I like that it goes to some not so typical ports, I would really like to visit Gdynia/Gdansk. I know everything is still really up in the air with Covid but I don’t want to have to worry about 2 major things that could cause my cruise to cancel. 

 

[milolii]

We chose the Dawn for the same reason.  Starts In Copenhagen and ends in Stockholm.  Also the one we chose does not have sea days.  I like sea days but not for this itinerary. 

[Lucinarei]

4 hours ago, lepidoptera said:

Thanks everyone, you were super helpful.

 

I am also looking at the Dawn-I really like how the itinerary starts/ends in Stockholm and Copenhagen. Get to spend a little bit of time in both. Also I like that it goes to some not so typical ports, I would really like to visit Gdynia/Gdansk. I know everything is still really up in the air with Covid but I don’t want to have to worry about 2 major things that could cause my cruise to cancel. 

 

 

3 hours ago, milolii said:

We chose the Dawn for the same reason.  Starts In Copenhagen and ends in Stockholm.  Also the one we chose does not have sea days.  I like sea days but not for this itinerary. 

 

We're booked on that cruise on the Dawn as well. SPB is definitely one of the stops we're looking forward to the most, but if it's skipped we'll still be very happy to be on that cruise! Still hoping that Covid doesn't cause any major issues that will affect the sailing... this is try #2 of this itinerary.

[lixogab]

For me the biggest risk is Covid.

As Sputnik is not recognized in the US, Pfizer , Moderna and Jansen are not recognized in Russia. Currently there are some limitations for foreign visitors. And now they are imposing mandatory QR codes to enter restaurants, malls, museums and any other public space. To get one you need to have a Russian vaccination or a recent PCR test and be registered on a government website (gosuslugi.ru) that works for Russian residents.

Hopefully all that will improve by summer but so far it looks to be pretty unlikely to happen.

 

[KeithJenner]

7 hours ago, lepidoptera said:

Thanks everyone, you were super helpful.

 

I am also looking at the Dawn-I really like how the itinerary starts/ends in Stockholm and Copenhagen. Get to spend a little bit of time in both. Also I like that it goes to some not so typical ports, I would really like to visit Gdynia/Gdansk. I know everything is still really up in the air with Covid but I don’t want to have to worry about 2 major things that could cause my cruise to cancel. 

 

The Dawn itinerary has so many advantages over the standard Copenhagen round trip. The additional ports, especially Riga, are amongst my favourite places to visit. Personally I wouldn’t bother looking at the Copenhagen round trip whilst the Dawn is doing those itineraries.

[ontheweb]

No one has mentioned Talinn, Estonia which is a truly great port.

[KeithJenner]

10 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

No one has mentioned Talinn, Estonia which is a truly great port.

Only because it is included in both itineraries. It is certainly a great port, one of my favourites.

[classy_cruiser]

I would be more interested in a Baltic cruise if Russia was not on the list of ports 

[Trimone]

We had two full days in Russia prior to the World Cup, it was fantastic nothing like the propaganda that’s associated with it, very educated guides  

[ocdb8r]

1) As with many places, don't assume people are replicas of their political leaders;

2) St. Petersburg is unique, even within Russia, as being both a fabulous cultural capital and very "European" feeling;

3) Even if the ship stops there, you are not required to get off (although I understand if you feel the stop is a waste if you have no desire to get off);

4) If "sanctions" against Russia make you nervous, don't plan on traveling there any time soon - the US currently has (and has for some time) sanctions against a large list of Russian individuals as well as State owned companies and agencies.

 

I have travelled to Russia extensively and while there are some things that can be disconcerting to people who have largely traveled in "western" countries, I wouldn't let it stop you from taking the opportunity to separate reality from whatever assumptions you have.  That is especially true for St. Petersburg.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Only because it is included in both itineraries. It is certainly a great port, one of my favourites.

Talinn, Estonia is not as well known as the other cities on the itineraries. Unless one did research or read reviews, they would not realize what a wonderful port it is.

 

I know everything I read about Talinn before our Baltic cruise was extremely positive, but I was still not prepared for what a wonderful port stop it was. 

[KeithJenner]

35 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Talinn, Estonia is not as well known as the other cities on the itineraries. Unless one did research or read reviews, they would not realize what a wonderful port it is.

 

I know everything I read about Talinn before our Baltic cruise was extremely positive, but I was still not prepared for what a wonderful port stop it was. 

Tallinn is certainly one of the lesser known ports on the Copenhagen round trip, but when you get to the Dawn itinerary you bring in places like Riga, Gdynia, Klaipeda and Aarhus or Kiel, which presents a very different cruise.

 

Again, the not mentioning Tallinn was no slight on that port, which I agree is one of my favourite ports in the world, but it isn't a difference between the Dawn itinerary and the Copenhagen trip, which was the subject of the discussion.

[ontheweb]

17 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

Tallinn is certainly one of the lesser known ports on the Copenhagen round trip, but when you get to the Dawn itinerary you bring in places like Riga, Gdynia, Klaipeda and Aarhus or Kiel, which presents a very different cruise.

 

Again, the not mentioning Tallinn was no slight on that port, which I agree is one of my favourite ports in the world, but it isn't a difference between the Dawn itinerary and the Copenhagen trip, which was the subject of the discussion.

OK, we are not really arguing. I just wanted to point out the wonders of Talinn to those unfamiliar with Baltic cruises. 

 

BTW, we had Gdynia on our Baltic cruise as the port for Gdansk.

[milolii]

11 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

The Dawn itinerary has so many advantages over the standard Copenhagen round trip. The additional ports, especially Riga, are amongst my favourite places to visit. Personally I wouldn’t bother looking at the Copenhagen round trip whilst the Dawn is doing those itineraries.

Keith, this is what we thought as well.  Thank you and @onthewebfor you input.  

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, milolii said:

Keith, this is what we thought as well.  Thank you and @onthewebfor you input.  

You are welcome, glad my input was helpful.

[KeithJenner]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

OK, we are not really arguing. I just wanted to point out the wonders of Talinn to those unfamiliar with Baltic cruises. 

 

BTW, we had Gdynia on our Baltic cruise as the port for Gdansk.

No, certainly not arguing. We are in agreement about Tallinn, that’s for sure.

[milolii]

18 hours ago, Lucinarei said:

 

 

We're booked on that cruise on the Dawn as well. SPB is definitely one of the stops we're looking forward to the most, but if it's skipped we'll still be very happy to be on that cruise! Still hoping that Covid doesn't cause any major issues that will affect the sailing... this is try #2 of this itinerary.

Do you mean July 20, 2022?   If so join the roll call.  We are working on private tours.  This is our third attempt.  First one was 2014, but canceled due to new job and work, not because of the political situation.  Second, 2020.  

 

[lepidoptera]

12 hours ago, classy_cruiser said:

I would be more interested in a Baltic cruise if Russia was not on the list of ports 

There is a June 13 2022 sailing on the Dawn that skips it completely. As far as I can tell there isn’t one scheduled for 2023. 

[lixogab]

Does NCL allow you export St. Petersburg on your own or you need to buy an excursion from them (US passport holder)?

[lepidoptera]

11 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Talinn, Estonia is not as well known as the other cities on the itineraries. Unless one did research or read reviews, they would not realize what a wonderful port it is.

 

I know everything I read about Talinn before our Baltic cruise was extremely positive, but I was still not prepared for what a wonderful port stop it was. 

All the talk about Tallinn makes me even more excited about it. I know a little bit about Estonia-one of my favorite college professors for my minor was from Estonia and she talked often about her home. Also I am very interested in hand made lace. Estonia has a wonderful lace tradition and I have several books written about their lace that has made me want to visit. I forget that it not a country that everyone knows about and wants to visit. 

[lepidoptera]

16 minutes ago, lixogab said:

Does NCL allow you export St. Petersburg on your own or you need to buy an excursion from them (US passport holder)?

You don’t have to go through the cruise line. I have read several reviews that mention using private tour companies that deal with the visa requirements for everyone going on their tours. Can’t recommend any because I haven’t used them, but I am planning on using one of those groups. However, due to the visa situation it isn’t a place you can just get off the ship and wander.