2023 Baltic Itineraries

[msmoger]

I've noticed that Princess (as well as Celebrity and RCL) have included St. Petersburg on their 2023 Baltic itineraries.  Given the current situation are folks that have booked these cruises doing so with the assumption that there still might not be an opportunity to visit SPB in 2023?  I'm certainly not trying to cause any type of philosophical debate.  I'm simply stating something that has to be considered.  Certainly if the sanctions are still in place there won't be any SPB port calls.  For me personally, I would welcome a Baltic cruise that called on some of the less visited ports in the Baltic states, as well as an overnight on Stockholm (as was done this year).

 

BTW, I searched this board and was not able to locate any threads that discussed this topic.

[Wiseyowl]

Interested in this as we have a baltics cruise booked for summer 2023 and were looking to see what alternatives have been offered for those this year

[kitkat343]

 

 

 

 

16 hours ago, msmoger said:

 Given the current situation are folks that have booked these cruises doing so with the assumption that there still might not be an opportunity to visit SPB in 2023?  I

 

 

 

 

Given the fact that they've rescheduled all of 2022's cruises to St. Petersburg, one would certainly hope that all passengers are aware of the possibility that St. Petersburg will need to be dropped next year also.  However, there will probably be a few very confused people who will be shocked and angry at the cruise line when they find out.   These are the same people who show up with their kids at embarkation and didn't realize they were supposed  to register  - and pay for - their children ahead of time.   But there should be much less turmoil and fewer disappointed passengers in 2023 than there were for the 2022 season, because everyone has a year to decide if they would like to take the Baltic cruise without St. Petersburg or an alternative cruise.  

 

St. Petersburg absolutely was a highlight for me, but  the alternative ports might  be really interesting.  Not sure it would be worth it to travel all the way from the US without St. Petersburg, but I think it depends upon whether you think St. Petersburg will reopen within the next few years, and how likely you are to be able to repeat this cruise (Stockholm, Tallinn and Copenhagen would absolutely be worth repeating if you have the money and time).

 

 

21 minutes ago, Wiseyowl said:

Interested in this as we have a baltics cruise booked for summer 2023 and were looking to see what alternatives have been offered for those this year

 

 If no one answers your question here with Princess specific info, the various alternatives utilized by all cruise lines have been discussed on the Baltic forum.  

[Esprit]

 I’d be more tempted to do a third Baltic cruise if St Petersburg was dropped. 

A night over in Stockholm is much more attractive.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Esprit said:

 I’d be more tempted to do a third Baltic cruise if St Petersburg was dropped. 

A night over in Stockholm is much more attractive.

That is an interesting comparison. On one hand, we are so glad that we had 2 days in St. Petersburg many years ago. On the other hand, Stockholm was the one port on that same cruise where we could have used much more time, even an extra day, to do all the things we found in our research before the cruise for that port.

[msmoger]

Maybe somebody with inside knowledge concerning the logistics of how the cruise industry plans itineraries can chime in.

 

I guess I assumed when an itinerary is offered there is some communication between the cruise line and the port to confirm dates and berth availability.  Having said that, I would think this would not currently be possible with Russian ports.  I would assume communicating with the port authorities would be a violation of of the sanctions.  I'd like to hear from anyone that might have first hand knowledge.

 

Also, besides for a Stockholm overnight, I'd love to visit ports in Latvia and Lithuania.  Also some additional ports in Sweden and Denmark (just not on the Island Princess as is being offered this year 😉).

 

Finally, I'm pretty sure a vast majority of Cruise Critic users know you need to register your kids in advance. 😁

[mvaldes140]

5 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

These are the same people who show up with their kids at embarkation and didn't realize they were supposed  to register  - and pay for - their children ahead of time.

That's a thing people actually do???

[kitkat343]

6 hours ago, mvaldes140 said:

That's a thing people actually do???

I read about that  on cruise critic many years ago, but I don't know that it happened for certain.  The point I was making was that all reasonable people should be aware of the possibility that St. Petersburg will need to be cut in 2023, although there may be a few who are surprised.  I do have a friend who was flying to Israel with their firstborn, and was denied boarding at Newark because they didn't realize their kid needed a passport.  They spent the day at the emergency passport location in NY, and were able to fly out the next day.  

 

An additional night in stockholm would be amazing, as would Baltic cruises that start and end in different cities.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

2023 European cruises were published long before the current Russia/Ukraine war and related sanctions. Some cruise lines like Norwegian (and sister brands Oceania/Regent) have taken preemptive steps to remove Russian ports for 2023 and craft new itineraries and/or redeploy ships. Other companies like Carnival Corp (which Princess a part of) and Royal Caribbean Group are taking a more “wait and see” approach to make a decision for 2023. 

[milolii]

2023:  NCL,has already removed the Getaway from Northern Europe all together.  The smaller Dawn will sail some Baltic itineraries and the Prima(new ship) is also in the Northern Europe. Their Baltic itineraries are not consistent with confusing gaps throughout the season. There is more of a shift to British Isles, Greenland, Iceland. 

We are on Sky Princess to Norway in August,  and we’re hoping to hook up with a second Baltic cruise, but having trouble finding one.   NCL Getaway offered a cruise a few days after our Sky trip, but it’s been scrapped now. 

[ekka49]

23 hours ago, Wiseyowl said:

Interested in this as we have a baltics cruise booked for summer 2023 and were looking to see what alternatives have been offered for those this year

St Petersburg will be a greatly  MISSED port . But Putin and his cronies and their dollars, will not be missed.

Sorry to bring in politics 

[Lady Meer]

2 hours ago, milolii said:

We are on Sky Princess to Norway in August,  and we’re hoping to hook up with a second Baltic cruise, but having trouble finding one.   NCL Getaway offered a cruise a few days after our Sky trip, but it’s been scrapped now. 

P & O?

[msmoger]

22 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

2023 European cruises were published long before the current Russia/Ukraine war and related sanctions. Some cruise lines like Norwegian (and sister brands Oceania/Regent) have taken preemptive steps to remove Russian ports for 2023 and craft new itineraries and/or redeploy ships. Other companies like Carnival Corp (which Princess a part of) and Royal Caribbean Group are taking a more “wait and see” approach to make a decision for 2023. 

 

At this point I think it's somewhat disingenuous of Princess or any cruise line to publish these itineraries when there is an obviously high probability that SPB will not be included.  I realize it's early but I think it would make much more sense at this point to not include SPB and in the unlikely event circumstances change, add it back in.  Why would this be any different than the reverse (drop SPB and add alternative ports).  I'm surprised how many folks have appeared to have booked these cruises.  Certainly booking private excursions is a bit of a crap shoot.  Just my opinion.

[milolii]

Agree with @msmoger change them already.   NCL has.  Don’t know if people are booking them.  Will send my PVP an email.  Like  that will work! LOL 

Edited June 6, 2022 by milolii

[caribill]

10 hours ago, msmoger said:

 

At this point I think it's somewhat disingenuous of Princess or any cruise line to publish these itineraries when there is an obviously high probability that SPB will not be included.  I realize it's early but I think it would make much more sense at this point to not include SPB and in the unlikely event circumstances change, add it back in. 

 

Not only did SPB get removed from this year's itineraries, but the embarkation port was changed from Copenhagen to Southampton.

 

I have not looked at what the embarkation port is for the 2023 Baltic cruises, but it it is Copenhagen I would not make any non-refundable travel plans to/from that city.

[SimplyMarvie]

Even if they do add it, I would be very concerned about the safety of travel there given anti-Western/NATO/American sentiment and how hard it is for the cruise line or the Embassy to assist you if something bad were to happen. Even if sanctions are limited, I don't think those things are going to change quickly.