Realistically what are the chances that Baltic cruises including St Petersburg will happen next summer?

[isnowman]

I was wondering if anyone on a 2 night St Petersburg has chosen to go to Moscow. Our currently booked cruise in September 2022 has us in St Petersburg for 2 nights, and although it is expensive, the ship itinerary looks appealing. Can anyone provide any comments.

Thank you

[milolii]

@isnowman is this a shore excursion through the ship?  
 

You  might also post your question on this thread where you may get more exposure.  

 

[isnowman]

22 hours ago, milolii said:

@isnowman is this a shore excursion through the ship?  
 

You  might also post your question on this thread where you may get more exposure.  

 

Thanks for replying milolii. Yes the cruise is through the cruise line. Although I would love to see Red Square and the Kremlin my DW and I think our money might be better spent just touring St Petersburg. 

[luv2travel90266]

2 to 3 days in St Petersburg is short as there is lots to see. I am doing my first trip there Aug 2022 (hopefully it is open for visitors) .  

[milolii]

@isnowman I am sure you and your wife will enjoy St.Petersburg 

 

@luv2travel90266I hope we all,can visit.

 

 

 

[milolii]

Moscow now on a lockdown.  No mention of Saint Petersburg.  
 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/28/europe/russia-covid-moscow-restrictions-in-effect-intl/index.html

[Hezu]

21 hours ago, milolii said:

Moscow now on a lockdown.  No mention of Saint Petersburg.  
 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/28/europe/russia-covid-moscow-restrictions-in-effect-intl/index.html

Finnish media reports that the same measures will start next week in St. Petersburg.

 

Of course, it remains to be seen how the situation in Russia develops and nobody can yet say what will be the status in next spring.

[luv2travel90266]

 

" Russia's second city St. Petersburg will impose a partial lockdown from Oct. 30-Nov. 7, authorities announced Saturday." Full article is below 

 

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/10/29/coronavirus-in-russia-the-latest-news-oct-29-a69117 

[milolii]

@Hezu and @luv2travel90266 Thanks for  the updates and links!  

[yliebert]

I a booked on a Baltic cruise in June 2022.  Final payment is not due until March, but at this point I am seriously thinking of cancelling.  I have done this cruise before and St Petersburg is a highlight of the trip.   I am also worried about excursions in some of the other ports. I checked the CDC website yesterday and most of the ports are problematic.  Where do you think it would be safe to tour?

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, yliebert said:

I a booked on a Baltic cruise in June 2022.  Final payment is not due until March, but at this point I am seriously thinking of cancelling.  I have done this cruise before and St Petersburg is a highlight of the trip.   I am also worried about excursions in some of the other ports. I checked the CDC website yesterday and most of the ports are problematic.  Where do you think it would be safe to tour?

June is a very long time from now, in Covid years. It could be 180 degrees from what it is now. Start looking more seriously in February. 

[BarbandDaleT]

My only reason for the NCL Baltic cruise in August 2022 is to see St Petersburg.  It has been on my list since I was a teenager and I am getting to the age where the flights to Europe are too taxing from Minneapolis.  I am intrigued by the day flights from NYC.  That might extend my European travels a few years.

 

But, if the St Petersburg stop is canceled, I am not interested in the entire trip.  I seriously wonder if the other passengers booked will agree, thus making the cruise a loss for NCL.

[nini]

2 hours ago, BarbandDaleT said:

 

But, if the St Petersburg stop is canceled, I am not interested in the entire trip.  I seriously wonder if the other passengers booked will agree, thus making the cruise a loss for NCL.

This would be a loss for all cruise lines to lose this as a port. We will be on Princess and so looking forward to St. Petersburg.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

12 hours ago, BarbandDaleT said:

But, if the St Petersburg stop is canceled, I am not interested in the entire trip.  I seriously wonder if the other passengers booked will agree, thus making the cruise a loss for NCL.

The question is, when is your final payment due, and what happens if the ports get changed after that date?  Would you cancel at final if things are uncertain, or risk it?  Would NCL give you a refund if they drastically changed the itinerary?  As I've said already, I'm more worried about Norway opening up.  Yes, St. Petersburg is important, but at this point, I  just want to be on a ship! But I'm not sure I want to invest our money into a completely unknown itinerary, and our cancel date is February 8th.

[nini]

Cruise lines have the right to change itineraries as needed, including during the cruise. It is the contract.

[rwf1]

I hope they extend final payment dates. If we have to make final payment by January 27, then we will probably cancel. Even though cruise lines have the right to change the itinerary, and nothing is set in stone, there are a significant number of unknowns for Baltic cruises which I doubt will be cleared up early next year.

 

Are any Baltic countries accepting cruise ships? At least cruises to the Mediterranean, for example, have been sailing for awhile, and they have had time to figure out the process.

[nini]

4 hours ago, rwf1 said:

I hope they extend final payment dates. If we have to make final payment by January 27, then we will probably cancel. Even though cruise lines have the right to change the itinerary, and nothing is set in stone, there are a significant number of unknowns for Baltic cruises which I doubt will be cleared up early next year.

 

Are any Baltic countries accepting cruise ships? At least cruises to the Mediterranean, for example, have been sailing for awhile, and they have had time to figure out the process.

You have an excellent point about the Baltic as well.

[Hezu]

15 hours ago, rwf1 said:

Are any Baltic countries accepting cruise ships? At least cruises to the Mediterranean, for example, have been sailing for awhile, and they have had time to figure out the process.

Recent HS.fi news article (in Finnish) mentions that 11 000 tourists on cruise ships visited Helsinki this year. The cruise season did start this year only in August (after intra-Schengen area entry controls ended) and in years before this pandemic the number of cruise visitors was over 600 000. The article does not mention, what sort of routes these cruises had, I would presume it was just EU countries.

[milolii]

@Hezu thank you for the update.

[milolii]

On 11/1/2021 at 6:55 AM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

The question is, when is your final payment due, and what happens if the ports get changed after that date?  Would you cancel at final if things are uncertain, or risk it?  Would NCL give you a refund if they drastically changed the itinerary?  As I've said already, I'm more worried about Norway opening up.  Yes, St. Petersburg is important, but at this point, I  just want to be on a ship! But I'm not sure I want to invest our money into a completely unknown itinerary, and our cancel date is February 8th.

I know you were responding to @BarbandDaleT.  We are on NCL as well. 
I posed this question to my PCC.  Here is her answer.  Although she can’t predict or promise anything, she could relate what has happened in the past with regard to significant itinerary changes because of  hurricanes in the Caribbean.  She stated NCL worked with guest and provided options such as FCCs.  To be clear, these were major changes such as Eastern vs  Western Caribbean.  She did agree the elimination of St.Petersburg would be a significant change. 
 

It is possible cruise lines may choose to alter or eliminate cruises which have a potential to significantly affect a good portion of; or an entire season,  before final payments.   The restarts have been strategic and successful for cruise lines. More bad PR is not desirable. 
 

Additionally, in the US there are reports(including a cruise critic article) of possible new regulations around refunds for  canceled or delayed cruises, or significant changes to cruise itineraries.  Not sure what it means for some of us, but just the talk of such regulations prompted cruise lines to relax some policies. NCL, for example, has recently cancelled some Hawaii sailings before final payment.
 

https://www.nbcchicago.com/consumer/cruising-toward-a-refund-regulators-propose-new-rules-to-protect-future-u-s-cruise-passengers/2597651/

 

We won’t make final payment if questions, particularly around St.Petersburg, remain.  I  am not sure an extension of the final payment date would make us feel more comfortable or not. That might raise more questions. LOL.  We would be interested in a cruise without St.Petersburg perhaps, but at a lower price point.  Our final payment date is March 22.  
 

Meanwhile, on Monday, the US CDC moved Russia to level 4, “Do Not Travel” .   That list has many countries on it, however. 

[galveston gal]

This is our second time to attempt the Baltic.  We travel in early July.  Normally by now I have most of my shore excursions all lined up but I haven’t even gone that far yet.  And none have been listed by Celebrity either which is interesting. I booked a backup trip to Greece which I feel good about.  Will be following this thread.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 11/3/2021 at 4:18 AM, milolii said:

I know you were responding to @BarbandDaleT.  We are on NCL as well. 
I posed this question to my PCC. 

...

We won’t make final payment if questions, particularly around St.Petersburg, remain.  I  am not sure an extension of the final payment date would make us feel more comfortable or not. That might raise more questions. LOL.  We would be interested in a cruise without St.Petersburg perhaps, but at a lower price point.  Our final payment date is March 22.  

...

We're actually on Regent, which is an NCL cruise line.  Departure is July 8th, with final payment February 8th, now less than 3 months away. I will be having an important conversation with my TA then, I would imagine, unless we've heard good news before that. This is an expensive cruise for us--18 days, on a luxury line.

 

On 11/11/2021 at 7:13 AM, galveston gal said:

This is our second time to attempt the Baltic.  We travel in early July.  Normally by now I have most of my shore excursions all lined up but I haven’t even gone that far yet.  And none have been listed by Celebrity either which is interesting. I booked a backup trip to Greece which I feel good about.  Will be following this thread.

We booked our excursions months ago, but there's no risk since they're all ship's excursions, mostly included in the price.  

 

I would still take this cruise if they eliminated St. Petersburg, perhaps adding an extra day in Oslo or adding Riga, for example.  Our flights are booked as well, but again, through the cruise line so not much risk there.

[nini]

We are traveling with two friends and we have decided that if St. Petersburg is questionable, then we will cancel as this was the main reason for booking.

[galveston gal]

On 11/18/2021 at 1:50 PM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

We're actually on Regent, which is an NCL cruise line.  Departure is July 8th, with final payment February 8th, now less than 3 months away. I will be having an important conversation with my TA then, I would imagine, unless we've heard good news before that. This is an expensive cruise for us--18 days, on a luxury line.

 

We booked our excursions months ago, but there's no risk since they're all ship's excursions, mostly included in the price.  

 

I would still take this cruise if they eliminated St. Petersburg, perhaps adding an extra day in Oslo or adding Riga, for example.  Our flights are booked as well, but again, through the cruise line so not much risk there.

Our cruise doesn’t show any excursions even available yet.  Cruise is July 8 2022

[Wendy The Wanderer]

15 hours ago, galveston gal said:

Our cruise doesn’t show any excursions even available yet.  Cruise is July 8 2022

Interesting, but perhaps not surprising.  I can't understand why Regent does it so early. Our cruise is also on July 8th 2022 (we'll wave at each other!), and I was able to book excursions on July 8th, 2021, cwazy! We're doing 3 nights pre-cruise in Copenhagen, at the Nyhavn Hotel.  We got our air through the cruise line so we have no liability if the cruise gets cancelled or shifted.