Crisis in Russia re: Visas

I may be worrying prematurely, but what happens if Russia decides to eliminate visas for tourists due to the current crisis. We are booked on the Journey departing June 28, with 3 days in St. Petersburg. That was the reason for booking. If we cannot see that port, would cancellation and refund be the policy?

I would also like to know the answer.

We are also on a cruise with Oceana in August. However, we don't pay until end of May..Am wondering if we should go. If they reroute the ship, not sure you would get your money back.

[quote name='jasule']I may be worrying prematurely, but what happens if Russia decides to eliminate visas for tourists due to the current crisis. We are booked on the Journey departing June 28, with 3 days in St. Petersburg. That was the reason for booking. If we cannot see that port, would cancellation and refund be the policy?[/QUOTE]


Anything is possible, however, given Russia's serious economic problems it seems unlikely that they would initiate a policy to decrease tourism.

It would seem more probable to me that the some combination of NATO countries might consider a regime of sanctions that could include an attempt to limit visitors and thus harm Russia in that manner. That being said, at this stage there goes not seem a common will yet to institute such a policy nor does it seem to be presently discussed.

We too have booked to be in this area this summer. I would imagine if visiting SPB were an issue, alternate ports might be offered rather than a cancellation of the entire itinerary. Then it would be a decision for cruisers as to whether such a new itinerary would be attractive enough to justify still participating.

Therefore we are considering "cancel for any reason" insurance.

Just noticed there is a story under the "Cruise News" section of this board, a story that was posted yesterday.

The majority of the discussion revolves around the Black Sea and implications for cruising there.

But there is also a brief mention that John Kerry has mentioned the possibility of an embargo on visas for tourists wishing to visit Russia. Whether such a policy will be established and how many other nations would follow suit is an interesting question.