St. Petersburg Russia cruise ship cancellation

[memoie]

Hello, We are in the first stages of planning a 2019 baltic cruise which includes a couple of days in St. Petersberg. Can someone answer me the following question:

IF for some unknown reason (inclimate weather, political situation etc) the cruise ship cannot make it into St. Petersberg - what other port would the cruise ship go to? We are planning this cruise based mainly on St. Petes and would be disappointed should that happen but having another port would probably not be too bad. Thanks so much.:)

[Keith1010]

memoie....

 

This is one that we cannot predict. There would be many factors that come into play including when the decision is made, what the itinerary is, where St. Petersberg is with on the itinerary and the availability of docking/tender facilities.

 

 

The cruise line would do its best to substitute a port(s).

 

 

Keith

[paul929207]

You are asking for wild guesses. First of all we do not know which other ports you are going to. There may be some Baltic ports that you are not calling on that might be added. An extra day could be added in any of the existing ports. Sea days could be added.

[Keith1010]

This would be a guess.

 

Keith

[Floridiana]

The Baltic Sea has many interesting ports. They would just select one or two in addition to the ones you visit anyway. It would certainly be a bummer because most people go there with St. Petersburg in mind.

[jocap]

Perhaps you might add on more Scandinavian ports, if you're not already going there, such as Sweden, Finland and Norway.

[Ashland]

I would be very surprised if things went this far as to cancel St Petersberg as a port stop. JMHO

[Essiesmom]

Cancelling SPB would be a logistical nightmare. Most ships visiting spend two full days and one night there. That would make two port days to occupy. SPB is at the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland. Ships commonly visit Helsinki and Tallinn on the SPB itinerary. There is not much east of those ports that could accommodate a large cruise ship. The ship could opt to stay overnight in the port before SPB, but then coming to the next port a day early might not be possible. And adding one west of those ports would mean passing them, then backtracking. It would really mess up timing and itinerary. So it would have to be a really dramatic situation to cancel SPB. Itineraries are negotiated two years or more out, rearranging is a nightmare. EM

[CPT Trips]

It isn't far fetched to see canceling that port in 2019. Not if Herr Putin keeps mucking around in elections in democracies.

[Toofarfromthesea]

Hello, We are in the first stages of planning a 2019 baltic cruise which includes a couple of days in St. Petersberg. Can someone answer me the following question:

IF for some unknown reason (inclimate weather, political situation etc) the cruise ship cannot make it into St. Petersberg - what other port would the cruise ship go to? We are planning this cruise based mainly on St. Petes and would be disappointed should that happen but having another port would probably not be too bad. Thanks so much.:)

 

No one can really answer that. There IS insurance you can buy which includes a flat payment for missed ports.

[Bucket List Bohemians]

Book excursions thru Princess /cruise ship

 

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Message to U.S. Citizens – Closure of U.S. Consulate General in St. Petersburg

 

Home | News & Events | Message to U.S. Citizens – Closure of U.S. Consulate General in St. Petersburg

27

Event: Due to the Russian government’s ordered closure of the U.S. Consulate General, effective March 31, we are no longer able to provide services to U.S. citizens in St. Petersburg. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow and the U.S. Consulates General in Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok remain open.

Actions to Take:

• Residents of St. Petersburg’s consular district should contact the U.S. Embassy in Moscow for all emergency assistance and routine services, including notary services, passportrenewals, and Consular Report of Birth Abroad
  
• If you have a pending passport service in St. Petersburg, please contact U.S. Embassy Moscow.
  

Assistance:

U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia

• + (7) (495) 728-5577 or + (7) (495) 728-5000 (after hours emergency)
  
• moscowacs@state.gov
  
• U. S. Embassy Moscow
  

State Department – Consular Affairs

[paul929207]

It is quite possible that the Russians will go after the Princess excursions since they are a US/UK company. Whereas the private tours like SPB and Alla are Russian.

[Ashland]

It is quite possible that the Russians will go after the Princess excursions since they are a US/UK company. Whereas the private tours like SPB and Alla are Russian.

What do you mean "go after" :confused:

[Bucket List Bohemians]

ALL the excursions are run by Russian companies in Russia. Princess contracts those out, they don't bring people to Russia.

[Krazy Kruizers]

OP

I can understand your concern about St Petersburg being dropped from your itinerary. Especially with what is happening right now.

But 2019 is a long time away and no one can predict what the situation will be then.

You can be certain that the cruise lines are watching what is happening and will do what they think is best for the passengers.

And there are other ports that can be scheduled in place of St Petersburg. You may have 1 extra sea day and a port.

Just follow what the ships do this summer.

[Bucket List Bohemians]

THIS WAS POSTED ON A MESSAGE BOARD ELSEWHERE

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from Alla Tours

 

Thank you for sharing your concerns with me! I understand it seems UK/US and Russian relations appearing to be on shaky ground right now. And I will be glad to assuage your worries: we do not anticipate any issues with hosting our clients in St. Petersburg. Everything goes as scheduled. And, truth be told, I do not think that there would be a travel ban or some other issues preventing people to come to our country. For now, everything is quiet in the travel business.

 

Reagrds,

 

Alla Tours

[bob brown]

It isn't far fetched to see canceling that port in 2019. Not if Herr Putin keeps mucking around in elections in democracies.

The question is....who would be the most likely to "ban" US Citizens visiting St. Petersburg, as a means of retaliation....Putin or Trump?

Think about it.....;)

[sail7seas]

The question is....who would be the most likely to "ban" US Citizens visiting St. Petersburg, as a means of retaliation....Putin or Trump?

Think about it.....;)

Let's please leave the politics alone?

 

 

Ameicans should take special care to not lose their passport in St Petersburg Seeing the consulate is closed, could become a real headache

[SRF]

IF, and it is a BIG IF, your cruise company cancels the stop in St. Pete, you will be HAPPY they did so.

 

They do not want to do this. And if they do, things are VERY bad.

[sail7seas]

Perhaps you might add on more Scandinavian ports, if you're not already going there, such as Sweden, Finland and Norway.

 

 

AND Denmark

 

Copenhagen is a fabulous city We enjoyed a number of stays there

[Markanddonna]

You could stop in Gdansk which is a beautiful city. You could visit Malbork, the largest castle in three world if you stopped in that city.

[sverigecruiser]

All we can do is guess!

 

My guess is:

 

Extra day at sea, Helsinki or Tallinn.

 

I think that the most common thing to happen when a port is cancelled is an extra seaday but ships going to St Petersburg pass Helsinki and Tallinn so they might be an alternative for St Petersburg.

[Bucket List Bohemians]

Dear Krazy, our cruise is soon not 2019. We are already packed !

[yorkshirephil]

If St. Petersberg is the main reason for the cruise it may be prudent to wait and see what happens over the summer. If you go ahead you will have to accept what the selected line offers, there are plenty of options and some very good ports in the Baltic's. Cruise lines are usually very good at changing itineraries when certain ports become unavailable, we have had several visits to Istanbul cancelled over the last couple of years. Bear in mind that some of the other ports could be busier than usual if St. Petersberg is cancelled.

[sail7seas]

More often than not, a cancelled port day becomes a day at sea . It is not as simple as some think for a ship to ''choose' to visit an alternate port. Permision from harbor master, docng room, infrsturucture needs and ability of alternate port to provide what the ship needs. , blah, blah blah....