Silhouette looks like she is at anchor and not docked at St Petersburg?

I was up at 4 when they tried to make another attempt at getting in..it was quite scary. Cruise itineraries are always subject to change and safety always comes first.

So sorry to hear about this unfortunate weather for all of those who are on board.

Just out of curiosity (as you mentioned you were up and they tried to attempt getting in), how many times did the ship "attempt" to get in to port?

I didn't really realize that the ship will "try" or "attempt" to get in. I just assumed they made decisions further out, based on the water conditions, weather forecasts, computers, etc.

This happened on a cruise two years ago. I think it was the Silhouette and they only had the one day instead of two days. 6/7 July 2016. We were following them on the Eclipse, but were a couple of days behind them. We were there 9/10/11 July 2016 and fortunately for us we didn’t suffer the disappointment that the weather has created for others.

 

 

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It was the Silhouette 2 years ago. We missed July 6 but made it in July 7. I can imagine how disappointed everyone must be.

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Silhouette is scheduled to arrive at Warnemünde July 3 at 22:30

Now that is a windy place; I remember getting wind burnt there when we visited on a very similar itinerary on Connie a good few years ago. Fully understand why they didn’t dock in St. Petersburg, but it’s such a shame as it’s a wonderful place to visit.

Now that is a windy place; I remember getting wind burnt there when we visited on a very similar itinerary on Connie a good few years ago. Fully understand why they didn’t dock in St. Petersburg, but it’s such a shame as it’s a wonderful place to visit.

That must have been 2014. We were in on the Royal Princess and saw the Connie in port at the same time. In retrospect, I have since sailed on the Connie in 2016 and much prefer it to the Royal Princess.

Princess sends the Regal Princess, Royal's sister ship to St Petersburg this summer. It is about the same size as the Silhouette. I wonder if it got to dock in St Petersburg.

This is one of my favorite itineraries and St Petersburg is easily the best thing about that itinerary. I can't imagine the frustration of those passengers.

Aus30, so you would have the Captain risk the safety of his passengers and crew, not to mention the seaworthiness of his vessel? I don’t understand that.:o

I think being offered a discount on a Russia cruise in the future would be great. Some people would take it, some people wouldn't. But at least it is something.

Insurance carriers could jump on this. You could pay a fee to have a replacement cruise IF what you wanted didn’t occur. Pick a number say $5000 coverage for a Baltic week. St Petersburg port missed once in 50 attempts. Insurance costs say $150. Many would consider it since for most its once in a lifetime? I agree safety has to be a priority but you pay to go to St Petersburg, Jerusalem, Rome etc. Why shouldn’t you be able to protect your dream if you chose?

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That must have been 2014. We were in on the Royal Princess and saw the Connie in port at the same time. In retrospect, I have since sailed on the Connie in 2016 and much prefer it to the Royal Princess.

 

Princess sends the Regal Princess, Royal's sister ship to St Petersburg this summer. It is about the same size as the Silhouette. I wonder if it got to dock in St Petersburg.

 

This is one of my favorite itineraries and St Petersburg is easily the best thing about that itinerary. I can't imagine the frustration of those passengers.

Just checked my signature and it was 2010 :o - where did that time go :D?

Our understanding of the situation is that the Silhouette’s size and tonnage with sudden wind gust (it was windy but not terribly so) prevented her from entering into the main channel (still three hours away) to get to St. Petersburg. Smaller ships did go through. We may try to get to St. Petersburg again with a different itinerary but definitely on a smaller ship! Celebrity should consider one of the M class ships for an itinerary including SP.

Our understanding of the situation is that the Silhouette’s size and tonnage with sudden wind gust (it was windy but not terribly so) prevented her from entering into the main channel (still three hours away) to get to St. Petersburg. Smaller ships did go through. We may try to get to St. Petersburg again with a different itinerary but definitely on a smaller ship! Celebrity should consider one of the M class ships for an itinerary including SP.

We definitely sailed on Connie to St. Petersburg in 2010 ;).

We definitely sailed on Connie to St. Petersburg in 2010 ;).

And we sailed on Connie to St. Petersburg in 2009. She's a great ship and it was a great trip.

Looking forward to returning on Silhouette next month.

Mike

Hi all,

We were on the NCL Breakaway two weeks ago and (thankfully!) made St. Petersburg, but missed Helsinki due to high winds. I was so disappointed (I'm of Finnish descent and was so looking forward to setting foot on the land of my grandparents)! NCL provided a $15 pp credit for port fees and inconvenience.

My learning is that these megaships come with their downsides, perhaps especially in regions where weather/winds can play a big role in port accessibility. The day that we didn't make Helsinki, the AIDA Diva make it no problema. When/if I sail the Baltics again, it'll be on a smaller ship.

So sorry for the folks on board the Silhouette! SPB was amazing and for most, I'm sure, the most anticipated port...and one that is challenging to visit on your own (VISA requirements etc).

Lynne

It was the Silhouette 2 years ago. We missed July 6 but made it in July 7. I can imagine how disappointed everyone must be.

Yep, we´ve been on the same cruise.

steamboats

And we sailed on Connie to St. Petersburg in 2009. She's a great ship and it was a great trip.

 

 

 

Looking forward to returning on Silhouette next month.

 

 

 

Mike

Totally agree with your observation. I was on her in June, 2008.

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And we sailed on Connie to St. Petersburg in 2009. She's a great ship and it was a great trip.

 

Mike

If I recall correctly, we embarked from Amsterdam on that Baltics cruise :confused:.

We were on the Silhouette cruise out of Amsterdam two years ago that only had one day in St. Petersburg. Yes, it was disappointing, but I was over it fairly quickly, because as others have reminded us, there are no guarantees on any ports, and safety has to be the priority. A 2-day Celebrity tour that we had planned on was cut to one day, and there was no attempt to reduce the time at each location and make up any of the missed sites, which unfortunately included the Peterhof. I had been so looking forward to those fountains. We did see the Hermitage, which was on my must see list. Those on the 2-day Moscow visit were very disappointed since they didn't get to do this at all. One half of the price of the tour was refunded to our account immediately. I did hear that some of those who had booked on their own with a tour company did a bit better, because they reduced the time at each location and made up a couple of the places that had been scheduled for the "lost" day. Maybe someone who was on one of these can report what happened to them. Also disappointing was the cancellation of the Russian Dance Troupe which was scheduled to perform on board for the between evening, and were left standing on the dock while we were pitching about in the Baltic. In any case, we made the best of it and learned that nothing is guaranteed, and there is no use yelling at the patient staff at Customer Relations as some were doing. I'd love to go back someday to see that palace!

Next sailing 07/07/18 is Named the World Cup Cruise, Silhouette is scheduled to be in Saint Petersburg 14, 15 y 16, The 14 will be the 3rd place match at Saint Petersburg and the 15 the Final in Moscow. Hope they have a good weather to dock safely

If I recall correctly, we embarked from Amsterdam on that Baltics cruise :confused:.

Possibly - they had several similar but slightly different itineraries. Ours sailed from Harwich.

Mike

We were on the cruise 2 years ago that only got one day. SPB were amazing, refunded the one day immediately and tried to fit in as much as possible.

Next sailing 07/07/18 is Named the World Cup Cruise, Silhouette is scheduled to be in Saint Petersburg 14, 15 y 16, The 14 will be the 3rd place match at Saint Petersburg and the 15 the Final in Moscow. Hope they have a good weather to dock safely

That's what I'm hoping for as we are sailing on that cruise in a few days. Didn't know about the world cup dates until after we booked, but makes the stop all the more interesting.

So sad for the people who had to miss the port on current cruise. Kudos to all who understand that mother nature has her own mind, and the captain(s) places passenger safety over itinerary.

We were on the cruise 2 years ago that only got one day. SPB were amazing, refunded the one day immediately and tried to fit in as much as possible.

We had a two day private tour booked with TJ Travel. They crammed in as much as possible, except Peterhof, and prorated the cost of the tour.

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We are on the 7/7 sailing so fingers crossed as St Petersburg is a bucket list visit for me. safety first though. We were on the eclipse last September that docked in Citvitavechia in a mssive thunder storm which wasn't fun and many of the tours didn't get into Rome due to flooding. X imediately reimbursed our tour costs.

This must be truly disappointing to those on board as it is the most beautiful and historic Baltic port. We were on a smaller ship in July 2015 (Brilliance) but made it through the high winds.

I am currently on the Silhouette and I understand that Mother Nature makes up her own mind, but can anyone tell me how come Britannia got in to St Petersburg and we didn’t even though we are the same size?

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I am currently on the Silhouette and I understand that Mother Nature makes up her own mind, but can anyone tell me how come Britannia got in to St Petersburg and we didn’t even though we are the same size?

 

 

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So sorry to hear what you have been through and that you were unable to dock in St. Petersburg. Was just on board Silhouette in the cruise prior to this one (Jun. 9-23) and thankfully we were blessed with great weather... but I would like to know how the staff (who were wonderful during our cruise) are responding to this issue.

I also understand Mother Nature can reek havoc... but I do hope Celebrity is offering some kind of compensation for this great loss.

Sending you warm regards and wishes of a very happy last few days of this cruise and look forward to yours, or anyone else's feedback that was on board.

Happy Cruising,

ek

Also on the previous cruise.

All depends on the Captain and how risk averse he/she is. Cruising is very weather dependent and having been on the Ventura at the beginning of the year when a gust caught the ship and she 'tipped' quite severely in the Bay of Biscay, I can only say that if a Captain has any doubt at all, he/she should not try to dock, as it could be extremely dangerous.