NCL pulling visits to St Petersburg

[dmsw00]

Just received an email from NCL to advise that, for the rest of the year, none of their ships will be visiting St Petersburg, Russia (we were doing a cruise on Prima on 3rd September 2022, and a St Petersburg overnight stay was scheduled).

 

They say that 'Our team is working diligently to confirm replacement ports and will advise all impacted guests and travel advisors as soon as possible'.

 

I suppose it's a case of 'wait and see' details of the ' new' itinerary, before deciding whether we wish to continue?

[Ray4Fun]

Good.   No need to see up front what a mass murder looks like. 

[ALD18]

Totally agree with the decision 100%, but feel really bad for everyone on those itineraries.  We did the Baltic a few years back and without question St. Petersburg was the highlight hands down.  Various replacement ports are available, but impossible to replace that experience. 

[Davechipp74]

44 minutes ago, Ray4Fun said:

Good.   No need to see up front what a mass murder looks like. 

I dont believe you would see anything first hand in St. Petersburg  as the Ukrainian border is some 2000km away from the port.

[bluesea777]

5 minutes ago, DAVECHIPP1974 said:

I dont believe you would see anything first hand in St. Petersburg  as the Ukrainian border is some 2000km away from the port.

 

Yes, but St. P is still in Russia. Who know what will happen to the whole country in general between now and the first Baltic cruise that includes STP in mid-May - less than 3 months away.

 

 

[don't-use-real-name]

4 minutes ago, DAVECHIPP1974 said:

I dont believe you would see anything first hand in St. Petersburg  as the Ukrainian border is some 2000km away from the port.

But Americans (with the sanctions) maybe secondary targets and in for some unpleasant

experiences .

Damn Putin for opening Pandora's Box !

[susiesan]

1 hour ago, dmsw00 said:

Just received an email from NCL to advise that, for the rest of the year, none of their ships will be visiting St Petersburg, Russia (we were doing a cruise on Prima on 3rd September 2022, and a St Petersburg overnight stay was scheduled).

 

They say that 'Our team is working diligently to confirm replacement ports and will advise all impacted guests and travel advisors as soon as possible'.

 

I suppose it's a case of 'wait and see' details of the ' new' itinerary, before deciding whether we wish to continue?

Just got the email. I will likely cancel.

Edited February 24, 2022 by susiesan

[bluesea777]

1 minute ago, susiesan said:

Can you copy the email you received here? I am on a Baltic cruise on dawn and have not received that email.

 

By the look of it, the emails are currently being sent out (mass emails) to the passengers on Baltic/Northern Europe cruises.

 

[bluesea777]

3 minutes ago, susiesan said:

Just got the email. I will likely cancel.

 

Why? If STP is your sole reason for the cruise, okay, but what about the other ports of calls on the itinerary. NCL is looking for replacements.

 

 

[KeithJenner]

Whilst St Petersburg is a great port, don't let that take away from the fact that the other Baltic ports are also some of the best places to visit on a ship.

 

I can understand if some people only ever intend to go to the area once they may want to wait until St Petersburg is an option again, but I wouldn't rush to cancel because of this.

[njkate]

17 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

But Americans (with the sanctions) maybe secondary targets and in for some unpleasant

experiences .

Damn Putin for opening Pandora's Box !

True and our embassy in St Petersburg has been closed for a few years, Moscow over 6 hours away would be only option.

[Ottawa Lynne]

What a shame. We did a Baltic cruise a few years ago and a private tour in STP was definitely the highlight. There is so much to see and do there. Personally, if I could only go once I would cancel and hope for peaceful times another time - if there's a chance you could do it a second time then I would go.

[BklynBorn47]

STP was part of our Baltic land tour in 2018.  For personal family reasons I would have preferred to skip STP,  but  I had to get in the van or be on my own in Estonia until they returned. In retrospect I wish I had skipped it.  A video tour of the Czar's palaces and the churches closed during the Soviet era would have been enough.  

The history of Russia's occupation of the Baltic States for nearly 50 years is important including populating those countries with Russian citizens to "prove" they should be part of the USSR.  The people of those countries have good reason to be fearful even if they are not currently in the line of fire.  

I hope that cruises to the other stops in the Baltic will not suffer.  

 

As for our cruise to Black Sea Ports later this year, even before Putin's invasion I had decided to stay on the ship when we docked in Sochi.  I didn't want to fund his war machine.  Now it likely won't happen anyway, not Odessa either.

 

All that said, I am not judging anyone who decides to cancel their cruise because STP has been eliminated.  I just wanted to add my perspective.  

 

 

[charlie murphy]

I support the cancellation of Saint Petersburg. No doubt that It is a highlight of the cruise. I would say it was A highlight not the hightlight. We did Saint petersburg as independent travelers off our cruise. No doubt it is a special  port, however you will be completey spent after visiting the Port.  If you are there for only one day It is not enough and you are not missing a thing. I WOULD NOT recommend someone canceling a baltic cruise if the only port you miss is Saint Petersburg. The other ports in the area from Germany to Finland are equally wonderful and if Saint petersburg is replaced by Brugge YOU WIN. ( I know that this port in recent years decreased visitorship to perserve it's heritage, not sure if iterneries visit anymore. )  Yes it is different and a full day at other ports.  STP packs too much into too little time. If you really need to see STP stay a while and enjoy the city . One or two days in not enought and way to sight intensive if you ask me, but I understand the reason, lots to see, big distances between , big crowds and at best you get is the highlights in too little time.  The canal tours in copenhagan is better. the sail in and out of Stockholm is better. The beer in belguim is better. you will get lost in the Hermitage, it is special for sure, so is the spilled blood chapel, saint catherines or peterhof  are away off and a full day if i remember.  BOTTOM LINE think before you decide, there are a lot of great ports on this iternery SPT is ONLY one of them . 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, ALD18 said:

Totally agree with the decision 100%, but feel really bad for everyone on those itineraries.  We did the Baltic a few years back and without question St. Petersburg was the highlight hands down.  Various replacement ports are available, but impossible to replace that experience. 

I also feel bad for the owners of the private tour companies and the tour guides. This will be another summer with no income. This mess is not their fault.

[lepidoptera]

 A few months ago I started looking really hard at a Baltic. Ultimately decided to wait due to worries that there would be sanctions against Russia/a lack of consular assistance. I wish I had been wrong for everyone’s sake. 

[lgdesign]

12 minutes ago, lepidoptera said:

 A few months ago I started looking really hard at a Baltic. Ultimately decided to wait due to worries that there would be sanctions against Russia/a lack of consular assistance. I wish I had been wrong for everyone’s sake. 

Same here... what a fasco for those living in the region.

[pghflyer]

Still St. Pete plays significantly in the pricing of such itineraries because it is a unique port that allows a premium price, and I suspect also has increased costs for the companies. So if they are (appropriately) dropping it, the price should be adjusted as well.

[milolii]

13 minutes ago, pghflyer said:

Still St. Pete plays significantly in the pricing of such itineraries because it is a unique port that allows a premium price, and I suspect also has increased costs for the companies. So if they are (appropriately) dropping it, the price should be adjusted as well.

Yes, I agree.  We canceled last week as we decided we just didn’t want to go there anymore.  
 

 

57 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I also feel bad for the owners of the private tour companies and the tour guides. This will be another summer with no income. This mess is not their fault.

I agree, this is third time we cancelled with TJ travel, who have been wonderful.  

[charlie murphy]

18 minutes ago, milolii said:

Yes, I agree.  We canceled last week as we decided we just didn’t want to go there anymore.  
 

 

I agree, this is third time we cancelled with TJ travel, who have been wonderful.  

not a capitalist economy in russia. The tour guides will survive.  I am sure russia does not rely on the cruise trade for their economy to function, other regions do. i am also not an economist so i could be wrong with my assumptions but I don't think so. My first thought is not to lost revenue of the tour guide,  there is a bigger issue here. such as passenger, crew and vessel safety.  I would suspect that fees at other ports are commencerate with the fees of the russian port, I also assume that those contracts were arranged years in advance, the port of saint petersburg is not saying " oh as long as your not stopping here let us refund your fees" so the cruise line will be eating these fees and scambling to find an alternative. i would not expect a price drop. Let's hope for a better Stop (or two). there are a bunch of great ports in very close proximty in the baltic sea. 

[CruiseMH]

The baltic has approx. 5000 very beautiful and interesting ports.(ok,5000 not really of course,but a lot)

There are beautiful cities in Poland,Finland,Estonia, Lithuania,Sweden,Denmark and Germany.

You can easily fill 9-12 days of interesting ports without going to St. Petersburg. Yes, it is a very beautiful city but i would clearly recommend to not cancel just because of this.

 

[Lindysu]

I am Australian and I am really annoyed and peeved at this move by NCL. The only reason I booked on the cruise was St Petersburg. I am not due to cruise until August. Surely NCL can wait and see what pans out in the interim before cancelling. As another poster pointed out, the Ukraine is nowhere St Petersburg. By the way, the whole world is not American. Plenty of other nationalities cruise too! I don't think I'll be booking with NCL again. I vote with my feet!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I fully expect Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean Group to follow suit soon and withdraw St Petersburg and other Russian ports from 2022 itineraries for their various brands.  This move is more about solidarity with US government economic sanctions on Russia than immediate security threats in St Petersburg. 

[ColeThornton]

4 minutes ago, Lindysu said:

I am Australian and I am really annoyed and peeved at this move by NCL. The only reason I booked on the cruise was St Petersburg. I am not due to cruise until August. Surely NCL can wait and see what pans out in the interim before cancelling. As another poster pointed out, the Ukraine is nowhere St Petersburg. By the way, the whole world is not American. Plenty of other nationalities cruise too! I don't think I'll be booking with NCL again. I vote with my feet!

 

 

I'm confused.  What does being American have to do with this?

[bcwife76]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

I'm confused.  What does being American have to do with this?

Yeah, I'm also confused by this lol We are Canadian, we were booked on the Getaway to the Baltics for August but ultimately cancelled at the end of December, deciding to put it off (again) til 2023.