Realistically what are the chances that Baltic cruises including St Petersburg will happen next summer?

[DragonOfTheSeas]

On 11/19/2021 at 9:08 PM, galveston gal said:

Our cruise doesn’t show any excursions even available yet.  Cruise is July 8 2022

We are sailing RCL July 31 to the Baltic.  I noted there were a couple of excursions for St Petersburg listed in the cruise planner.  However, they do not list a price.  🙄  There is an accessible cruise listed [14 hr over 2 days] for $599.  This is way more than the independent party tours. 

[milolii]

On 11/18/2021 at 11:50 AM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

We're actually on Regent, which is an NCL cruise line.  Departure is July 8th, with final payment February 8th, now less than 3 months away. I will be having an important conversation with my TA then, I would imagine, unless we've heard good news before that. This is an expensive cruise for us--18 days, on a luxury line.

I can certainly understand your concern.  We are in a suite on NCL and it is  expensive.  But, NCL has the best suites.  Like you, our final is due long before sailing,  4 months before. It looks as if yours is 5  months.  I haven’t looked at Regent before, might look for the future. There is a family on our roll call, so I know that must not be inexpensive.  Getting to Europe from North America is expensive and time consuming, but so worth it!  
 

February 8 is soon.  I m not sure if we will have a clear picture by then.  Who knows?  Maybe it will be extended. We will make our decision by March 15,  one week before final.  
 

I spoke to my cruise consultant this morning about a cabin request. I commented  that I hope this cruise sails.  Her reply was yes, I do too.  I read here on CC that many of the Christmas Markets River cruises are canceling, with some folks right in the middle of their cruises, or at airports.  
 

Good Luck!  

[fluffybunny22]

The family meeting took place and 3 out of 4 of us voted to just pull the plug. The 4th thought we should call the cruise line and ask and that they can't possibly change the itinerary after final payment. All 3 of us voted to disregard the 4th person's opinions and the motion carried to move our cruise to 2023. We needed to make a decision now because the replacement vacation we've decided on the agency is having a really great Black Friday sale. The replacement trip gets booked tomorrow and my husband has the night to decide what class of travel he wants to fly. Apparently the idea of 8 hours in economy is unappealing. 

[jas283a]

On 11/11/2021 at 5:13 AM, galveston gal said:

This is our second time to attempt the Baltic.  We travel in early July.  Normally by now I have most of my shore excursions all lined up but I haven’t even gone that far yet.  And none have been listed by Celebrity either which is interesting. I booked a backup trip to Greece which I feel good about.  Will be following this thread.

We did Greece this past July. I have no doubt they’ll be open. The country depends too much on tourism. 

[jas283a]

On 11/19/2021 at 7:08 PM, galveston gal said:

Our cruise doesn’t show any excursions even available yet.  Cruise is July 8 2022

We’re on NCL July 20. Can book St. Petersburg excursions through the ship (we probably won’t) but good sign they’re offering. 

[jas283a]

I know this is my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own, but I think we’ll all be just fine. I think there’s a small chance St. Petersburg gets canceled but to me it’s 5% or less. My final payment is also the end of March, so I see that as plenty of time to decide (and I think the world still has restrictions but look VERY different in 8 months).
 

Maybe because I didn’t have anything booked pre-pandemic and I haven’t had to deal with cancellations like others, I’m not as gun shy. However, I also sailed on NCL’s inaugural restart sailing last July in Greece. We were literally the test case. Protocols changed even the week before we sailed, but it was all just fine. And these areas want the cruise ship tourists and the dollars they bring, they need it. I predict between natural immunity and vaccinations we will be more or less back to normal for the summer months of 2022, with some things going away (masks, capacity restrictions) and others staying (enhanced cleaning, vaccine requirement). Our family is looking forward to this and are very optimistic. And I hope I don’t reread this post in a few months wondering how I was so wrong 😂

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Well, not sure what areas you're talking about that that need our tourist dollars so badly.  Norway certainly doesn't.  I guess Russia does, but not the rest of the Baltic.  Not in the way that, say, Greece does.

[milolii]

On 11/25/2021 at 10:38 AM, fluffybunny22 said:

The family meeting took place and 3 out of 4 of us voted to just pull the plug 

OP,  I hope you enjoy the land tour.  I am a bit optimistic as well for the summer of 2022.  I also think we may not have a clear picture until next spring.  
 

 

 

[Cruisegroover]

On 11/26/2021 at 5:38 AM, fluffybunny22 said:

The family meeting took place and 3 out of 4 of us voted to just pull the plug. The 4th thought we should call the cruise line and ask and that they can't possibly change the itinerary after final payment. All 3 of us voted to disregard the 4th person's opinions and the motion carried to move our cruise to 2023. We needed to make a decision now because the replacement vacation we've decided on the agency is having a really great Black Friday sale. The replacement trip gets booked tomorrow and my husband has the night to decide what class of travel he wants to fly. Apparently the idea of 8 hours in economy is unappealing. 

I understand your decision. I have 2 other cruises (1 to Norway and the other to Iceland) connected to this Baltic cruise so if something falls over it leaves me scrambling to plug that hole. Not to mention rescheduling flights and hotels.

 

And things change so fast who knows what will happen with Omicron (nothing I hope) now popping up. It's a waiting game. I will decide before final payment is due (early March).

 

 

[fluffybunny22]

16 hours ago, Cruisegroover said:

I understand your decision. I have 2 other cruises (1 to Norway and the other to Iceland) connected to this Baltic cruise so if something falls over it leaves me scrambling to plug that hole. Not to mention rescheduling flights and hotels.

 

And things change so fast who knows what will happen with Omicron (nothing I hope) now popping up. It's a waiting game. I will decide before final payment is due (early March).

 

 

We did look into a Norwegian Fjords cruise as a replacement but with Norway also closed right now we wanted something that was currently open. I'm assuming everywhere will have a winter surge but things should probably be looking good come June. The tour we chose requires everyone to be vaccinated which isn't mentioned anywhere on their website or even when I called to make the reservation.

[milolii]

Tour companies are beginning to require the vaccinations.  I was on a Fall New England tour in October(replaced the cancelled August Ireland/Scotland tour), .

Vaccines required. I looked at some of the company’s competitors and discovered these companies were also were requiring vaccines. 

 

I joined a Rick Steves zoom event on November 15.  He and one of his employees reported on recently completed separate month long European trips.  He said vaccines were required everywhere.  He also announced vaccines would be required for all his tours when they resume.   He sited safety, but also pointed out that travelers, more and more,  won’t the allowed in museums, restaurants,, large events. etc, without showing proof of vaccination.  The event was very informative and is recorded should anyone wish to review.  The trips did not cover Scandinavia.  Germany was discussed, however. Can’t remember about Denmark. 
 

We dropped Norway from our plans as well….. for now, anyway. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

2 hours ago, milolii said:

Tour companies are beginning to require the vaccinations.  I was on a Fall New England tour in October(replaced the cancelled August Ireland/Scotland tour), .

Vaccines required. I looked at some of the company’s competitors and discovered these companies were also were requiring vaccines. 

 

I joined a Rick Steves zoom event on November 15.  He and one of his employees reported on recently completed separate month long European trips.  He said vaccines were required everywhere.  He also announced vaccines would be required for all his tours when they resume.   He sited safety, but also pointed out that travelers, more and more,  won’t the allowed in museums, restaurants,, large events. etc, without showing proof of vaccination.  The event was very informative and is recorded should anyone wish to review.  The trips did not cover Scandinavia.  Germany was discussed, however. Can’t remember about Denmark. 
 

We dropped Norway from our plans as well….. for now, anyway. 

Yeah well, most cruise lines demand them too, so it's moot if you want to cruise.  In Canada, you can't even fly domestically unless you're vaccinated or have a real, valid (rare) exemption.

[Turtles06]

22 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

In Canada, you can't even fly domestically unless you're vaccinated or have a real, valid (rare) exemption.

 

Good for you guys!  I wish we had the political will here in the U.S. to do the same.  

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 11/28/2021 at 3:28 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

Good for you guys!  I wish we had the political will here in the U.S. to do the same.  

I was a bit premature, that policy goes into effect tomorrow officially, December 1st, for planes and trains.  But there's some kind of grace period I believe.  And yes, I do believe it is a good thing, although I'm finding here in Florida that there may be an over-reliance on vaccines.  Everybody here in our condo complex seems to think that if people around them are double-vaxxed and boostered then Bob's your uncle, everything is back to normal.

[gnome12]

3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I was a bit premature, that policy goes into effect tomorrow officially, December 1st, for planes and trains.  But there's some kind of grace period I believe.

The grace period was from the end of October to the end of November, and allowed non fully vaccinated individuals to travel with a test. That is no longer allowed. 

[craig01020]

I am booked on an NCL Baltic cruise for May 2022, but I recently booked a Celebrity Alaska cruise as a backup. I'll make my decision on which one in early Feb., right before final payment date.

[nini]

BAck up plans are a good thing!

[craig01020]

1 hour ago, nini said:

Back up plans are a good thing!

Yeah, a round-trip Seattle cruise seems so simple compared to juggling five different countries' protocols!

[luv2travel90266]

But having the urge to experience the world makes it worthwhile. Hoping i won’t have cruise #5 and #6 (the Baltic) cancelled. 

[galveston gal]

On 12/9/2021 at 8:04 PM, luv2travel90266 said:

But having the urge to experience the world makes it worthwhile. Hoping i won’t have cruise #5 and #6 (the Baltic) cancelled. 

I have a backup too and it happens before the Baltic so we may do both!  I hesitate to pay for any shore excursions except those offered by the cruise line.

[craig01020]

On 11/27/2021 at 11:37 AM, fluffybunny22 said:

we wanted something that was currently open.

I booked an Alaska cruise r/t from Seattle as an alternative to my May 2022 Baltic cruise. A domestic flight seems so uncomplicated right now.

 

Both cruises are booked with refundable deposits, so I have until final payment is due in early February to decide.