Tag Archives: Russia

Costa Returns to Northern Europe After Three-Year Gap

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Costa Cruises is sailing in Northern Europe for the first time since 2019. The brand returned to the region with the Costa Diadema, which kicked off the season on May 27.

The vessel is part of a three-ship program in the region, which will see the company offering itineraries to the Norwegian Fjords, the Baltic, the British Islands, Iceland and more.

Cruising in Northern Europe for the first time, the Costa Diadema is now sailing a series of seven-night cruises to the Norwegian Fjords.

The vessel’s itineraries depart from Kiel (Germany) and Copenhagen (Denmark) and include visits to several ports in Norway, such as Flam, Bergen, Hellesylt, Nordfjordeid, Stavanger, and Haugesund.

Another ship based in Kiel for the summer, the Costa Fascinosa will offer longer cruises to the Baltic and the Cape North.

Starting on June 7, the 3,012-guest ship sails ten- to 12-night itineraries that ports including Helsinki, Stockholm, Riga, Gdynia, Trondheim, Honningsvag, Tromso, Olden and more.  

Resuming service ahead of its program in Northern Europe, the Costa Fortuna completes the deployment lineup.

The 2003-built vessel will offer cruises departing from three different ports in the Netherlands and Germany: Ijmuiden, Amsterdam and Bremerhaven.

Extending from June 11 to August 28, the ship’s program features port-intensive cruises, with 11- to 14-night itineraries to the British Islands, Iceland, and the Norwegian Fjords.

A fourth ship, the Costa Favolosa, was also set to sail in the region for the company in 2022, offering itineraries at the Baltic. 

The vessel’s program, which featured visits to Saint Petersburg, was entirely cancelled by the company due to the recent developments in Russia.

After becoming one of the first mainstream cruise lines to resume service in 2020, Costa focused its European operations in the Mediterranean.

With the travel restrictions in Northern Europe, the company decided to cancel its entire local program in 2020 and 2021.

Carnival: 3.8 Percent of Capacity Was Set to Call in Russia

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Carnival Corporation had 3.8 per cent of its 2022 cruise capacity calling on Russian ports before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading the company to cancel and replace calls to Russian ports.

“We have decided to totally withdraw from Russia and have found attractive alternatives,” said President and CEO Arnold Donald, speaking on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.

“That said, Saint Petersburg was a marquee port for us. And while there have been times where we were unable to offer certain itineraries, in this instance, the close end nature of the deployment change does lead to some regional disruption in recent booking patterns.”

Donald admitted the war had added some volatility to Carnival’s business and had impacted consumer confidence.

“With 50 years under our belt, we have successfully managed through a plethora of headwinds like spikes in fuel prices, the Gulf War, Arab Spring, September 11, Ebola, Zika, SARS, MERS and more,” Donald said. “And once again, the mobility of ships continues to be an asset. Time and time again, we have seen guests travel through challenges. In fact, Carnival Cruise Line turned 50 this month and recently enjoyed its three best weeks of bookings since resuming operations.”

AIDA Announces Substitute Ports in the Baltic with Russia Out

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AIDA Cruises, Carnival Corporation’s German brand, has announced replacement ports in the Baltic and not call in Saint Petersburg this summer. 

The AIDAdiva, AIDAmar, AIDAnova and AIDAvita will see calls in Russia cancelled and replaced by destinations such as Riga (Latvia), Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway) or Visby (Gotland/Sweden).

The AIDAdiva will call at the Latvian capital Riga or Copenhagen instead of Saint Petersburg on its seven-day Baltic Sea roundtrip from Warnemünde starting between May 14 and October 8, 2022. The voyage with a departure date of May 7, 2022, will include a visit to Hamina in southern Finland.

For the seven-day round trips in the Baltic Sea with the AIDAnova from Kiel with departure dates between May 14 and October 15, 2022, AIDA Cruises has developed alternative routes in the Baltic Sea as well as to Norway and Denmark. Baltic cruises now include an extended stay in the Estonian capital Tallinn. Copenhagen/Kalundborg is also new on the itinerary.

The AIDAnova is now setting course for Scandinavia on new voyages. In addition to a visit to Copenhagen and Kristiansand, AIDAnova’s guests can enjoy a two-day stay in Oslo.

On its 10 day Baltic cruises, the AIDAmar will call at the port of Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland and the Latvian capital Riga instead of Saint Petersburg.

In addition, the first sailing of the AIDAvita will depart on July 24, 2022.