Any of the cruiselines cancelling tours due to Ukraine probs??

Also, how about upcoming Russian cruises?

I have one booked for June on Budapest to Bucharest,with ext.to Constanta on Black Sea,wonder about that?Maybe change that last port ,if probls persist?

Anyone cancelling their cruises there?Hear a travel warning issued for Ukraine,not sure about Russia.??:confused:

Constanta is in Romania: nothing to worry about.

I guess even if Crimea peninsula goes to Russia the only drawback'd be: need to get a russian visa for Ukraine cruise.

I can only speak for (western) european cruises: Nearly all ports in the Danube delta are on the romanian branches of the Danube. Only A-Rosa goes to the ukranian branch (Izmail ..). They have not given any statements yet.

Don't know about the situation with Don/Volga cruises atm. I am sure all cruise lines are monitoring the situation.

Viking may be re-thinking its Dnipro (Dneiper) river cruises scheduled to resume in early May. These spend several days in each of the Crimea Black Sea ports of Odessa, Yalta and Sebastopol as well as visiting the Dnipro River ports of Kherson, Zaphoryze and Kiev.

It's two months away and the situation may be resolved by then.

wonder how that would affect Viking decision??

Think I d pass on that one,but many may have made their final payment already.Hope they have good travel insurance,just in case.:mad:

We have reservations for a Kiev to Odessa cruise in May. Final payment has been made. We haven't (yet) been told the cruise is cancelled. It's still over 2 months away and who knows what will happen by then. Stay tuned.......................

So far, no one's cancelled anything because of the situation in Ukraine, but we're keeping an eye on it. Here's a news item we posted today about possible cruise impacts; we'll be updating this as we get new info, so stay tuned.

Link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5765

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

it on the lines affected in this article.??

Have been monitoring various sites and much discussion about this on both river and ocean cruises.

Know other have different opinions,but I d cancel the Keiv to Odessa one,hope I had GOOD insurance,if Final payment made.Would NOT be able to enjoy myself if worried about this.

I have river cruise,with 1 shore exc.to Constanta on Black Sea.But seems far enough away to be no problem.But will keep up to date on current events.

Everyone has to decide for themselves what is right for them after reading all the info available.No one answer fits all.

We have reservations for a Kiev to Odessa cruise in May. Final payment has been made. We haven't (yet) been told the cruise is cancelled. It's still over 2 months away and who knows what will happen by then. Stay tuned.......................

I can only guess. However if the situation remains as is which the most expected scenario then either Viking will substitute Sevastopol and Yalta with other ports of call or shorten the cruise to 7-8 nights. They won't sail to Crimea that's for sure because the boat is operated by Ukrainian company.

I can only guess. However if the situation remains as is which the most expected scenario then either Viking will substitute Sevastopol and Yalta with other ports of call or shorten the cruise to 7-8 nights.

And what would they substitute? The stops in Sevastopol and Yalta cover some of the major attractions of the cruise--the submarine tunnels, Bakhchiserai, Livadia Palace, Aloupka Palace, Balaklava, Panorama Museum. Viking used to make other stops along the Dnieper but they were considered so lackluster that they were dropped from the itinerary in favor of Sevastopol and Yalta.

They won't sail to Crimea that's for sure because the boat is operated by Ukrainian company.

Is this conjecture or fact? Do we know the political leanings of the company that owns and operates the ships that Viking uses and have they stated that they would not sail into Russian controlled territory? There are Ukrainian citizens who are actually quite pro-Russia and are happy to renew ties with Russia.

Conjecture based on a fact Ukraine and Russia are almost at war now.

I've never seen a cruise from Miami to Venezuela or Cuba or let's say from Taiwan to China.

By the way Taiwan and China also had very strong ties and even speak the same language.

Though I still hope the situation will be resolved in a few weeks...

Conjecture based on a fact Ukraine and Russia are almost at war now.

I've never seen a cruise from Miami to Venezuela or Cuba or let's say from Taiwan to China.

By the way Taiwan and China also had very strong ties and even speak the same language.

Though I still hope the situation will be resolved in a few weeks...

I totally understand your point, but just for the record Oceania does run cruises that start in New York, and Miami and also stop at Isla Margarita, Venezuela.

Isla Margarita is a popular cruise port. Margarita is part of Venezuela, but it kind of does it's own thing being an island off the coast. It is very different from the mainland - enough of that though, this is an RC forum.

Conjecture based on a fact Ukraine and Russia are almost at war now.

I've never seen a cruise from Miami to Venezuela or Cuba or let's say from Taiwan to China.

By the way Taiwan and China also had very strong ties and even speak the same language.

Though I still hope the situation will be resolved in a few weeks...

Thank you for clearing that up. In these fraught times, we don't need to mislead people with guessing games. They are having enough trouble getting accurate information and we should avoid muddying the waters.

Just a suggestion from a family member of mine who is in the insurance business and a friend who is a travel agent. Check with your insurer before you embark on any travel into an area of civil unrest/potential war action because if you do so knowingly when there are travel alerts, any travel insurance you have, or possibly life insurance etc. could be null and void. I would also think that any reputable travel organization such as all river cruise lines would be carefully monitoring this and would make decisions to avoid such areas as they will not want to put their customers at risk regardless of any political affiliations they may have.

Just a suggestion from a family member of mine who is in the insurance business and a friend who is a travel agent. Check with your insurer before you embark on any travel into an area of civil unrest/potential war action because if you do so knowingly when there are travel alerts, any travel insurance you have, or possibly life insurance etc. could be null and void. I would also think that any reputable travel organization such as all river cruise lines would be carefully monitoring this and would make decisions to avoid such areas as they will not want to put their customers at risk regardless of any political affiliations they may have.

determine HOW they cover you,if you have ins.if you decide to CANCEl.But cruiseline does NOT?

Years ago the ins.we had would NOT reimburse us after Travel Warning for Egypt(but ship still sailing).Said THEY determined it,not US government(or something similar).So we ended up going ANYWAY,wonder if this has changed?

Anyone know specifics re this??

If the line cancels the sailing, I don't think it's going to make any difference if you have insurance or not. If THEY cancel the trip, THEY are going to reimburse you the cost of the trip. That's not going to be a circumstance that comes under the insurance. Friends who are traveling with us on the tentative upcoming Kiev to Odessa cruise called the operator the other day and was told they are monitoring the situation daily with their contacts in Ukraine and it's still too early to decide if they are going to cancel/change itinerary/sail as previously announced.

are you STILL going,even with Travel Warning?Did you get insurance?Will it cover that?

Many people must be facing this choice right now.

Then what about airfare if you got it on your own?Lots to consider.

What about others?:confused:

are you STILL going,even with Travel Warning?Did you get insurance?Will it cover that?

Many people must be facing this choice right now.

Then what about airfare if you got it on your own?Lots to consider.

What about others?:confused:

One thing you should do as part of your deliberations as to whether to cancel or not is to talk to your insurance carrier directly. Pick up the phone and call them. Get them to explain exactly what you are covered for and exactly what will or will not be covered if you decide to cancel. If don't feel confident with these answers; ask to speak to a supervisor.

There are many companies offerring many policies and many choices for what is covered and what isn't. Don't guess what is covered on your particular policy and don't depend on your friends for an answer, even your CC friends.

Just got the e-mail this AM. The trip has been canx. Options are either a full refund or choose any other trip to depart before March 31, 2015 at $100 discount per person.

Just got the e-mail this AM. The trip has been canx. Options are either a full refund or choose any other trip to depart before March 31, 2015 at $100 discount per person.

Will the discount get you a similar cruise for the price you had paid?

Will the discount get you a similar cruise for the price you had paid?

I don't think so, as to get the discount the trip has to be taken by March 31, 2015. This year anyway, the first sailing wasn't until May so if they do do a similar trip in 2015, I doubt it would be before March 31, 2015.

I would contact the cruise line and tell them you are interested in taking the same cruise that was cancelled this year, next year. They may be willing to extend your credit. Sometimes you just have to book before the 3/31/15 deadline. It doesn't hurt to ask.

I might as well post what Viking told me about the Footsteps of the Cossacks cruise set for this summer.

At this time we must advise that Viking Cruises does not have sailings scheduled in Ukraine until May. At this point we have not altered any sailings and have not noticed significant passenger cancellations, but we are monitoring the political climate in Ukraine closely and will continue to do so in the coming weeks. At present, the Ukraine trip itself does not require that passengers from the US obtain a Visa. If the government in Ukraine decides to require Visa for travel into the Ukraine then yes, you would then be responsible for this additional purchase. If Russia occupies parts of the Ukraine and then requires a Visa, then yes, a Russian Visa would be required. We have no current information on this topic, if you would like to speak with the experts in this subject, please call Generations Visa Service, 1-800-845-8968. Note: Viking River Cruises accepts no responsibility for obtaining required visas nor for advising guests of visa or other immigration requirements.

In my email to them I asked specifically, if they would provide a letter of introduction, which is required to get a Russian visa, if they would provide any credit for the extra cost we will go through to get visas if they keep their ports of call in the Crimea. Their customer focused response was to say it wasn't their problem and ignore the specifics of my request.

Am I disappointed? Yes, Viking charges a premium for their cruises and I expect better customer service when I pay a premium price.

if you have one,that is.

Sounds like same run around we heard about last yr.with the river flooding.So many cruises and companies really did NOT help the customers,at ALL.

Of course, travel ins.is also very restrictive.Have to read ALL THE FINE print,so they can avoid paying you at any cost,it seems.

Then,the visa problem. Day to day changes,right?

Also, don t think Viking is considered PREMIUM,per se.But the DO seem to DOMINATE the river cruise market.

Let us know,:confused:

I still think it is too early for any conclusions and hopefully your trip won't be cancelled. Look at other cruise lines: SilverSea is scheduled for Yalta on 04/30 and Sevastopol on 05/01. So far they haven't provided any updates about visas either.