Baltic cruise safety

I saw this somewhere else and thought it may be of interest if you are concerned about no representation in Russia.

 

Russia closes British consulate in St Petersburg. As EU citizens, Brits still have protection of all 27 other EU nations embassies in Russia.

Britain still has an embassy in Moscow.

From a personal point of view, the Baltic without St.Petersburg wouldn’t be worth doing. It’s the highlight of any Baltic cruise. Without doubt the most amazing city I have visited and I’ve done quite a few. Regarding the comment made earlier about it being dirty, couldn’t disagree more. The opposite is the truth. I wish our own Country was just half as clean. The underground railway has to be seen to believed, it’s pristine. I would have no qualms whatsoever going back right now.

Thank you Mr Piano for that very reassuring comment. I totally agree that St. Petersburg is the reason for most to take a Baltic cruise. I hope to be as impressed and "wowed" as you have been.

With the closure of GBR's consular facility, it would present additional problems for any passenger(s) who needed assistance once the good ship has sailed into the blue yonder. Suggest not to go ashore other than with a PO tour party and do not become a victim of an RTA. We will be on the 19th May sailing and will probably remain on board, as it will be our sixth visit. Agree with earlier post, the underground is worth a visit.

49 cruises 17 ships 3 liners 143 ports

Due to the present situation between Russia and UK do you think P and O will rethink itinerary for Baltic cruises this year?

 

Good Morning. I am following this post as I am already booked on the Britannia for the Baltic on 24/6/18 and whilst I am not concerned (at the moment) I am hoping that P&O do not decide to amend the itinerary and miss out the port of St Petersburg and actually give the option to cancel/rebook - if the situation becomes more volatile. I appreciate that the terms of cruise bookings does mean that cruise ports can be amended for various reasons, however, the reason for booking the Baltic cruise is the 2 days in St Petersburg with the added bonus of the other very interesting ports. I am very excited about this cruise and hoping all will go ahead.

 

 

We too are booked on this cruise and it was booked because of the ports of call, especially St Petersburg, and been looking forward to it since we booked back in April last year. Like a lot of others have been watching the situation with interest.

From a personal point of view, the Baltic without St.Petersburg wouldn’t be worth doing. It’s the highlight of any Baltic cruise. Without doubt the most amazing city I have visited and I’ve done quite a few. Regarding the comment made earlier about it being dirty, couldn’t disagree more. The opposite is the truth. I wish our own Country was just half as clean. The underground railway has to be seen to believed, it’s pristine. I would have no qualms whatsoever going back right now.

They are very strict with what they let tourists see. We went on a P&O excursion once and there was a major road accident on the road we were due to go along. The rep said there would be severe delays so we will take an alternative route if we didnt it would have serious impact on the places visiting on the excursion. She went on to say that the authorities tell tour guides which routes to use when visiting different attractions and if they went off the agreed route they could lose their license. We did go "off route" I hope with no consequences for the tour guide but it really opened your eyes to seeing parts of St Petersburg that the authorities didnt want tourists to see.

They are very strict with what they let tourists see. We went on a P&O excursion once and there was a major road accident on the road we were due to go along. The rep said there would be severe delays so we will take an alternative route if we didnt it would have serious impact on the places visiting on the excursion. She went on to say that the authorities tell tour guides which routes to use when visiting different attractions and if they went off the agreed route they could lose their license. We did go "off route" I hope with no consequences for the tour guide but it really opened your eyes to seeing parts of St Petersburg that the authorities didnt want tourists to see.

Absolutely, it also makes a difference if you get a tour guide who tells the truth about how it is over there. That's one of the reasons I would quite happily do a Baltic Cruise that excluded St Petersburg. Baltic ports are excellent without St Petes!

There are some very impressive things to see in St Petersburg, but what struck me was how miserable all the locals seemed. Maybe it's just the Slavic temperament. It was something of a relief to get to our next port of call, Tallinn, and see plenty of smiling faces.

I thought St Petersburg was an amazing and fascinating port and would be disappointed if it was taken off the Baltic cruises. I think we need to accept that the Russian culture is very different to ours and that includes smiling! It doesn’t mean they are miserable. In Russian culture for example, if you are doing what is deemed to be an important job ( like customs officers) it is seen as unacceptable to smile. This, for me, makes it a more interesting place to visit and learn about!

Absolutely, it also makes a difference if you get a tour guide who tells the truth about how it is over there. That's one of the reasons I would quite happily do a Baltic Cruise that excluded St Petersburg. Baltic ports are excellent without St Petes!

We had a guide once who was astonishingly outspoken. I felt sufficiently moved to ask if the coach driver spoke English as I was so worried about the possibility of the guide getting into trouble.

Further to your comment about St P - I would wholeheartedly agree that there is a wealth of great ports in the Baltic and we too would be more than happy to do a cruise without St P. - but we have been there several times. I can understand though that there will be many who booked this cruise especially because St P was included and they would be pretty disappointed at the very least if it was pulled. However I think that will only happen if the F.O indicate it would be advisable in which case both we and P&O will have no choice. In that extreme case, let's hope P&O are helpful in terms of people wanting to change their cruises.

But for anyone prepared to go with an open mind the Baltic cruises are fab - and still have a great deal to offer even in the absence of St P.

I thought St Petersburg was an amazing and fascinating port and would be disappointed if it was taken off the Baltic cruises. I think we need to accept that the Russian culture is very different to ours and that includes smiling! It doesn’t mean they are miserable. In Russian culture for example, if you are doing what is deemed to be an important job ( like customs officers) it is seen as unacceptable to smile. This, for me, makes it a more interesting place to visit and learn about!

I totally agree with your point about culture and smiling. we had a lovely Russian lady guide 2 years ago who told us that Russians keep their smile to themselves as they think it is a treasure and only bestow it on people they care about like family ( or tourists that tip them LOL ). They also think that if you smile at random strangers they think there is something wrong with them..ie: have they got food on their face for example.

Doubt if the Russians will place any embargoes on British visitors in 2018. If they do there will be several thousand football supporters demanding refunds for their World Cup Football tickets.

If you think the locals in St Petersburg are dour, try Moscow! I had a land based holiday in both cities some years ago and we were SO relieved to reach St Petersburg where we found things a lot friendlier! For that reason, as I've had 4 days in St Petersburg and seen all the main sights, I wouldn't be devastated if my Baltic cruise next year doesn't include St P, as there are other ports I've never visited that I want to see more!

There are some very impressive things to see in St Petersburg, but what struck me was how miserable all the locals seemed. Maybe it's just the Slavic temperament. It was something of a relief to get to our next port of call, Tallinn, and see plenty of smiling faces.

I agree with you there. I also found the place itself rather dour, although obviously the Hermitage is pretty amazing. So crowded though. I had a much happier day in Tallin

They are very strict with what they let tourists see. . .. (the guide) went on to say that the authorities tell tour guides which routes to use when visiting different attractions and if they went off the agreed route they could lose their license....

it really opened your eyes to seeing parts of St Petersburg that the authorities didnt want tourists to see.

It's great that you got to see some rarely seen areas of SPB, but there must have been some kind of miscommunication, misunderstanding, or a bit of fact-bending on the part of your guide.

The choice of routes is driven only by the schedule, which is extremely tight on any excursion for cruise passengers.

There are no "no-go" areas in SPB. Apart from some military installations and other institutions that require security clearance, the authorities couldn't care less of what tourists get to see. With private tours, you could incorporate pretty much anything if you are so inclined.

A distant relative went for a river cruise last year. His three days in SPB included visiting a strip club, a gay bar, a student dormitory, a big-four auditing company, a judo dojo, an X-Fit gym, and a night of drinking at a summer house of a random guy he met at the gym. He did make it to the Hermitage, but was so hungover he couldn't handle the crowds.

He came back to tell the tale.

It's great that you got to see some rarely seen areas of SPB, but there must have been some kind of miscommunication, misunderstanding, or a bit of fact-bending on the part of your guide.

The choice of routes is driven only by the schedule, which is extremely tight on any excursion for cruise passengers.

There are no "no-go" areas in SPB. Apart from some military installations and other institutions that require security clearance, the authorities couldn't care less of what tourists get to see. With private tours, you could incorporate pretty much anything if you are so inclined.

A distant relative went for a river cruise last year. His three days in SPB included visiting a strip club, a gay bar, a student dormitory, a big-four auditing company, a judo dojo, an X-Fit gym, and a night of drinking at a summer house of a random guy he met at the gym. He did make it to the Hermitage, but was so hungover he couldn't handle the crowds.

He came back to tell the tale.

We booked a driver for the evening from the same tour company we used for the two days we were in St Petersburg. At no point were we told where we could or couldn't go - but we didn't get to any of the places your friend made it to :'):'). BTW SPB were outstanding; we only had 6 in our mini-van and really got to see things up close and personal.

It's great that you got to see some rarely seen areas of SPB, but there must have been some kind of miscommunication, misunderstanding, or a bit of fact-bending on the part of your guide.

The choice of routes is driven only by the schedule, which is extremely tight on any excursion for cruise passengers.

There are no "no-go" areas in SPB. Apart from some military installations and other institutions that require security clearance, the authorities couldn't care less of what tourists get to see. With private tours, you could incorporate pretty much anything if you are so inclined.

A distant relative went for a river cruise last year. His three days in SPB included visiting a strip club, a gay bar, a student dormitory, a big-four auditing company, a judo dojo, an X-Fit gym, and a night of drinking at a summer house of a random guy he met at the gym. He did make it to the Hermitage, but was so hungover he couldn't handle the crowds.

He came back to tell the tale.

That is why the driver and guide took us to an area which we shouldnt have gone too. Because the schedule was very tight if we had stayed on the "agreed" route then we would have missed part of the itinerary for the day. So to keep us on schedule instead of being stuck in traffic due to the accident we went "off piste" to keep on schedule. The area not in anyway put any of us in danger or a "no go" area but it was not a pretty area that normally wouldnt be seen by tourists and certainly opened your eyes.

Hi. Anyone got any thoughts regarding the June Baltic cruise as to whether there may be any changes due to current Russia situation?

All P&O will say at this stage is that they are "monitoring the situation". Maybe a lot will depend on what happens in the next 48 hours.....??

The beauty of a cruise holiday is that if there any issues at all they can just avoid any troubled areas, even at the very last minute.

It is always disappointing to miss a port you want to visit but not if it is for safety reasons.

They won't take any chances don't worry about it

Also do bear in mind, the football World Cup is being hosted by Russia this summer. I would be amazed if anything kicked off before that extremely profitable event is over.

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Also do bear in mind, the football World Cup is being hosted by Russia this summer. I would be amazed if anything kicked off before that extremely profitable event is over.

 

 

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Very true if the England team decided not to travel I think it would be hard for p and to to justify visiting

Very true if the England team decided not to travel I think it would be hard for p and to to justify visiting

Agreed.

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Well I don't know about anyone else but I am actually getting worried now. Since that idiot Trump started in on Syria things have got even worse ! I feel like asking P and O to refund my holiday to book somewhere else instead :(