Cruise Lines Monitoring Ukraine-Russia Standoff for Black Sea and Baltic Cruises

(12:45 EST) — The tense and fluctuating situation in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula has spurred concerns over upcoming cruises to the Black Sea — and even summer sailings to St. Petersburg, more than 1,355 miles away.

Russian navy ships are blocking the harbor in Sevastopol, a planned stop this year for Silversea, Oceania, Windstar, Azamara, Regent Seven Seas, Celebrity and Holland America. Trucks full of Russian troops have arrived in Yalta, where MSC, Silversea, Costa, Seabourn, Oceania, Windstar, Princess, Cunard and Azamara are scheduled to sail, some as soon as April. Should unrest escalate, itineraries stopping in Odessa, a Black Sea port that is not in Crimea but part of Ukraine, could also be affected.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning to defer nonessential travel to Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula on Feb. 28. Foreign offices in countries, including the U.K., Australia and Canada, have made similar declarations for Crimea.

So far, most of the cruise lines are taking a “wait and see” approach. No Black Sea sailings have been rescheduled or canceled on Azamara, Celebrity, Regent Seven Seas, Costa, Seabourn or Oceania.

“We will continue to closely monitor the situation in Ukraine and will contact guests or their travel agents should we make any modifications to upcoming itineraries. The safety and security, of our guests and crew members is always foremost in our minds,” said Cynthia Martinez, spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited.

River cruises could also be affected. Viking, which has 11-night itinerary on the Dnieper River that stops in Odessa, Yalta, Sevastopol and Kiev, has yet to cancel. The “Footsteps of the Cossacks” cruises are slated to begin May 7 and run through Oct. 8.

“We are monitoring the climate in Ukraine closely. In the meantime, our thoughts and support are with the Ukrainian people,” a Viking spokesman said.

Viking also does river cruises on the Volga between St. Petersburg and Moscow, as does Uniworld, Vantage, Grand Circle, AMAWaterways, and Scenic. While the State Department has a current travel alert for Russia in place, it covers the region near Sochi where the Olympic Games were held, and is set to expire March 24.

Within the cruise industry, most analysts say that problems within the Black Sea would not have a huge effect, as the region doesn’t have that many ships. The greater issue is whether Western pressure on Russia — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has brought up the possibility of visa bans — would force Baltic Sea cruises to cancel their stops in St. Petersburg.

“While we don’t expect Western European itineraries to be impacted by recent developments in Europe, we think Northern European itineraries could be impacted,” said stock analyst Robin Farley, with U.S. Bancorp. Baltic itineraries make up roughly 9 percent of Carnival Corporation’s capacity, she said, while the figure is less than 4 percent for Royal Caribbean Limited.

On the Cruise Critic message boards, members have been debating whether to cancel bookings in both the Baltic and Black seas before final payment deadlines. While some felt that the absence of Russian and Ukrainian ports would defeat the purpose of the cruise, others believed the lines would come up with acceptable substitutes.

“My (Black Sea) cruise had 3 stops in Crimea and I didn’t want to take the chance they would stop where I wasn’t interested in so I cancelled my cruise yesterday as the penalty was somewhat minimal then,” noraloui said.

“I believe the saying goes ‘go with the flow,’ bubbachief noted. “It is out of our control, and you can either panic and cancel your trip, or just pay and hope for the best, which is what we plan to do. Any vacation to European countries is an absolutely great vacation.”

–By Chris Gray Faust, Destinations Editor