Implications of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and how that effects itineraries.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We are booked on the July 31 Voyager of the Seas Baltic cruise that includes St Petersburg. Russia. As events have unfolded over the last few days we have really been conflicted. While many on our cruise are cancelling, we are holding tough right now.  Thoughts?

 

 

Tonight, we got the following email:

 

 

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS   Dear Guest, We’re reaching out regarding our upcoming Voyager of the Seas sailing. We’re continuously monitoring events taking place around the world, including the situation in Ukraine. With the recent events, it is increasingly uncertain if we can visit St. Petersburg, Russia, as scheduled. For your peace of mind, we want to share our plans. At this time, our intention is to sail to St. Petersburg; however, we have secured alternate ports, should we feel that changing our itinerary is the best path forward. You and your travel advisor will be the first to know should we decide to formally change our itinerary. We understand that the developments in the region may make you hesitant to sail to Russia, so here are some options to ensure you have the best time with us. Remain on this sailing, knowing that our plans will always have your safety as our top priority and that we have a backup plan with an alternate port. As always, you have Cruise with Confidence available to you, where you can opt-in for a Future Cruise Credit to be used on another sailing. If you previously applied a Global Suspension Future Cruise Credit on this sailing, your new Cruise with Confidence credit will include the previous credit that was based on your cruise fare. The bonus 25% will be issued as a separate credit. Your certificates will have an expiration date of 1 year from your cruise’s original start date. And should you wish to change your ship and sail date at prevailing rate, we’ll gladly help you switch and waive any change fees for your cruise. Additionally, if we do end up changing your itinerary, we’ll offer you the opportunity to cancel for a full refund. If you have any questions or wish to move to a new ship and sail date, please reach out to your travel advisor or contact us at: 1 888 281 9344 in the U.S. 1800 754 500 in Australia / 0800 102 123 in New Zealand In the UK only, by using our webchat service or by calling 0344 493 4005 All other countries, please visit http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number. Thank you for your understanding and patience. We look forward to welcoming you onboard in the near future. Sincerely, Aurora Yera-Rodriguez AVP | Guest Experience Royal Caribbean International

[Jimbo]

No way would I go on that cruise.

Edited February 25, 2022 by Jimbo

[DragonOfTheSeas]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

No way would I go there.

I really do not think there is any way St Petersburg would still be in the itinerary--even by July.  We are holding out on the cruise to see what port stop they use to replace that. 

 

However, the really crazy thing to consider is that there are cruises that stop there in May.  Wow! 😲

[etravel]

Same here!!! 

[livingonthebeach]

13 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

We are booked on the July 31 Voyager of the Seas Baltic cruise that includes St Petersburg. Russia. As events have unfolded over the last few days we have really been conflicted. While many on our cruise are cancelling, we are holding tough right now.  Thoughts?

 

 

Tonight, we got the following email:

 

 

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS   Dear Guest, We’re reaching out regarding our upcoming Voyager of the Seas sailing. We’re continuously monitoring events taking place around the world, including the situation in Ukraine. With the recent events, it is increasingly uncertain if we can visit St. Petersburg, Russia, as scheduled. For your peace of mind, we want to share our plans. At this time, our intention is to sail to St. Petersburg; however, we have secured alternate ports, should we feel that changing our itinerary is the best path forward. You and your travel advisor will be the first to know should we decide to formally change our itinerary. We understand that the developments in the region may make you hesitant to sail to Russia, so here are some options to ensure you have the best time with us. Remain on this sailing, knowing that our plans will always have your safety as our top priority and that we have a backup plan with an alternate port. As always, you have Cruise with Confidence available to you, where you can opt-in for a Future Cruise Credit to be used on another sailing. If you previously applied a Global Suspension Future Cruise Credit on this sailing, your new Cruise with Confidence credit will include the previous credit that was based on your cruise fare. The bonus 25% will be issued as a separate credit. Your certificates will have an expiration date of 1 year from your cruise’s original start date. And should you wish to change your ship and sail date at prevailing rate, we’ll gladly help you switch and waive any change fees for your cruise. Additionally, if we do end up changing your itinerary, we’ll offer you the opportunity to cancel for a full refund. If you have any questions or wish to move to a new ship and sail date, please reach out to your travel advisor or contact us at: 1 888 281 9344 in the U.S. 1800 754 500 in Australia / 0800 102 123 in New Zealand In the UK only, by using our webchat service or by calling 0344 493 4005 All other countries, please visit http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number. Thank you for your understanding and patience. We look forward to welcoming you onboard in the near future. Sincerely, Aurora Yera-Rodriguez AVP | Guest Experience Royal Caribbean International

I’m on the Jewel of the Seas returning to Miami tomorrow a.m. Trying not to watch the news but we all are aware of the present situation. The mood onboard has turned a bit somber for our last sailing day. The bigger problem is the effect it would have on cruising in general if this turns out to be a major world conflict.

[Coralc]

17 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I really do not think there is any way St Petersburg would still be in the itinerary--even by July.  We are holding out on the cruise to see what port stop they use to replace that. 

 

However, the really crazy thing to consider is that there are cruises that stop there in May.  Wow! 😲

I don't think the May cruises will be stopping there either. St. Petersburg will most likely be off of itineraries for a while. It is just an upsetting situation all around. 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

3 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

I’m on the Jewel of the Seas returning to Miami tomorrow a.m. Trying not to watch the news but we all are aware of the present situation. The mood onboard has turned a bit somber for our last sailing day. The bigger problem is the effect it would have on cruising in general if this turns out to be a major world conflict.

I guess I had not really thought how the whole situation would effect cruising in general.  As veteran cruisers we really want the cruise lines to survive the pandemic.  . . . and now they need to survive this, too. 

[livingonthebeach]

Just now, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I guess I had not really thought how the whole situation would effect cruising in general.  As veteran cruisers we really want the cruise lines to survive the pandemic.  . . . and now they need to survive this, too. 

Of course - we all definitely want cruising to continue as well as International travel. I’m hoping and praying the situation can be peacefully resolved and maybe it will be. But for right now, we all have to be aware that a major world conflict can change all of our future cruising plans. 

[yogimax]

Please pray for the innocent victims of the invasion of Ukraine,

[dccruisin]

We are on the July 3rd Baltic.  Highly doubt we will have SPG as a port.  However we are still staying booked at least for now.  We want to see what the new itinerary will be.   Voyager underwent a
major $97M refurbishment in October 2019. With COVID it has not been sailing since around April 2020.
And Voyager is not due to be back in service until its first itinerary from Barcelona April 15th.
So it will be like sailing on a new ship with everything refurbished.

 

This is the 4th time I have  tried to go to Russia.  The first time was a land visit in 1980.  But Carter withdrew the US from the Olympics because of Russia's invasion of Afghanistan.  Booked cruise for 2020, then again 2021 and then 2022.  I had hopped 3rd time would be the charm but I have my doubts.

 

Linda 

 

 

 

[CatLadyFemme]

4 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I really do not think there is any way St Petersburg would still be in the itinerary--even by July.  We are holding out on the cruise to see what port stop they use to replace that. 

 

However, the really crazy thing to consider is that there are cruises that stop there in May.  Wow! 😲

We are in this cruise in May 😬. We are assuming not stopping in St. Petersburg, and are wondering what they are going to replace it with. If it WAS to still plan to stop there as we got closer, we’d probably cancel…but this is the first cruise MrCatLady and I will have gone on since March 2020, and it’s been already been rescheduled so many times. 

Edited February 25, 2022 by CatLadyFemme

[Trixie21]

NCL have already cancelled all stops at St. Petersburg for the whole of the 2022 season. I would expect RC to follow suit very soon. Apart from anything else there is a point of principle in not contributing one penny to the Russian economy while this plays out. No country is going to get militarily involved with the Ukraine crisis - its sanctions and support. No one wants to start a world conflict. If Putin stops at Ukraine , that's where it will stop - Russia will be ostracised from the rest of the free world.

I wouldn't at this  point be at all concerned about cruising in Europe or the baltics- no way will the cruise lines take you anywhere which is remotely unsafe. If the situation deteriorated they will simply cancel the cruise.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

4 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

I wouldn't at this  point be at all concerned about cruising in Europe or the baltics- no way will the cruise lines take you anywhere which is remotely unsafe. 

I agree with your statement.  We have not cancelled and do not plan to at this time.  However, I feel that if too many people cancel due to the loss of SPB Royal Caribbean [and other cruise lines] may move the ship to another area. 

 

Many on our roll call have said they have or are going to cancel for a variety of reasons.  The most often mentioned are below: 

1.  They only took this cruise to go to SPB. 

2.  If somehow SPB is included as a port they do not want to pay anything into Russia. 

3.  Some feel the Baltic situation is too iffy right now.  They point out that there is a small Russian territory on the Baltic between Lithuania and Poland.   It is cut off from the rest of Russia and surely Putin wants to correct that.  However, Lithuania is part of NATO.  

[Biker19]

Anyone want to take odds on how long before there's a CC rule on limits on Russia discussion - a la COVID rates of past?

[DragonOfTheSeas]

4 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Anyone want to take odds on how long before there's a CC rule on limits on Russia discussion - a la COVID rates of past?

I believe the Covid restrictions came about because comments quickly became political, judgmental and sometimes even nasty.  

 

Cruise Critic is all about shared information.  Those who are not interested in Baltic cruises or SPB as a port can skip any thread on the subject.  Easy Peasy 😁

[Rodinglane]

We received a notification from Holland America today regarding our May 8 Baltic cruise that they are “closely monitoring the situation…”  concerning  events in Ukraine and that we’ll be notified if there are any changes in the itinerary. 

 

I’m rather surprised that HAL isn’t simply cancelling St. Petersburg since obviously the situation is not going to improve for some time.  I’m not sure what it is they are going to “monitor”.    I have to say I’m disappointed that even if it were safe for HAL to go to Russia, since the country is now under heavy economic sanctions, it seems highly inappropriate for us to spend our dollars there.   But I guess that’s business…

 

Our strategy is to wait until final payment is due in early March and if they haven’t announced an alternate itinerary we will cancel.  We do not wait to take the risk of the days in St Petersburg being replaced by sea days which is quite possible. 

Edited February 25, 2022 by Rodinglane

[OnTheJourney]

14 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

But for right now, we all have to be aware that a major world conflict can change all of our future cruising plans. 

Absolutely. If somehow this thing escalates to the point of NATO countries being drawn in militarily, all bets are off as to how far it could go. When we were in St. Petersburg on our Baltic cruise back in '15, crossing into the border felt "tense". You could feel the tension and nervousness on the ship the morning we arrived there. I was detained for like 20 minutes at border control, being asked all sorts of questions as to why I was coming in something like an hour before meeting our Alla tour guide. No smiling from the agent. It felt uncomfortable. They let my wife go right through. Several agents were consulting together (in Russian) while I stood there waiting. I finally told the guy I'm "going to shop" while waiting for our tour, after which I was let through. It was a fantastic experience. Can't say enough good things about Alla tours. Not sure what I'd do if I had a Baltic cruise booked where SPB was taken off the itinerary prior to departure. It's still a terrific cruise even without SPB, but of course that's probably the main reason most people go. 

Edited February 25, 2022 by AnyWayIsGood

[OnTheJourney]

13 hours ago, yogimax said:

Please pray for the innocent victims of the invasion of Ukraine,

This is the most important thing of all. Thank you for posting this. It deserves hundreds of 'likes'. 

Edited February 25, 2022 by AnyWayIsGood

[omaonthego1949]

We were booked on an Oceana cruise to the Baltic in September which included a stop in St Petersburg. They just sent us a letter saying that they would not be going to Russia on the cruise. Good for them! We were getting ready to cancel anyway.

personally I think that Russia should be ostracized for allowing Putin to invade the Ukraine! Just my opinion. 
 

[omaonthego1949]

3 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I agree with your statement.  We have not cancelled and do not plan to at this time.  However, I feel that if too many people cancel due to the loss of SPB Royal Caribbean [and other cruise lines] may move the ship to another area. 

 

Many on our roll call have said they have or are going to cancel for a variety of reasons.  The most often mentioned are below: 

1.  They only took this cruise to go to SPB. 

2.  If somehow SPB is included as a port they do not want to pay anything into Russia. 

3.  Some feel the Baltic situation is too iffy right now.  They point out that there is a small Russian territory on the Baltic between Lithuania and Poland.   It is cut off from the rest of Russia and surely Putin wants to correct that.  However, Lithuania is part of NATO.  

 

[topnole]

3 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I believe the Covid restrictions came about because comments quickly became political, judgmental and sometimes even nasty.  

 

Cruise Critic is all about shared information.  Those who are not interested in Baltic cruises or SPB as a port can skip any thread on the subject.  Easy Peasy 😁

Yeah.  Comments on war are not likely to get political.  😂😂

 

Those not interested in Covid discussions could have ignored the thread too.  

[omaonthego1949]

We will not cruise on any ship that goes to Russia. We are booked on Oceana in Sept to sail the Baltic. They have informed us this morning that they will not be sailing to St Petersburg. I commend them! So we’ll wait and see what their replacement is and not punish Oceana for Vladimir Putin’s evil behavior.  First covid now Putin! Will the world ever get a break?

[omaonthego1949]

15 hours ago, dccruisin said:

We are on the July 3rd Baltic.  Highly doubt we will have SPG as a port.  However we are still staying booked at least for now.  We want to see what the new itinerary will be.   Voyager underwent a
major $97M refurbishment in October 2019. With COVID it has not been sailing since around April 2020.
And Voyager is not due to be back in service until its first itinerary from Barcelona April 15th.
So it will be like sailing on a new ship with everything refurbished.

 

This is the 4th time I have  tried to go to Russia.  The first time was a land visit in 1980.  But Carter withdrew the US from the Olympics because of Russia's invasion of Afghanistan.  Booked cruise for 2020, then again 2021 and then 2022.  I had hopped 3rd time would be the charm but I have my doubts.

 

Linda 

 

 

 

 

[omaonthego1949]

This is the third time we’ve booked this cruise since 2019. Think I’m giving up on it!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

3 minutes ago, topnole said:

Those not interested in Covid discussions could have ignored the thread too.  

Actually, it seemed that for a while no matter what the topic of a thread was, Covid dominated the discussion.  I would read a thread on the Dining room or traveling with children or excursions and very quickly the discussion would be hijacked by people on both sides of the mask and/or Vax debate.  The discussions became disagreeable and never seemed to come back to the topic.   JMHO