Carnival Corporation and others latest to drop Ukraine and Russia cruises

Several Carnival Corporation brands and the boutique cruise line Windstar are among the latest to drop cruise calls in Ukraine and Russia due to the ongoing war between the two countries.

The conflict erupted on Thursday when Russia invaded Ukraine, provoking widespread and unprecedented condemnation from the international community, with sanctions introduced against Russia now making travel their unfeasible.

Carnival Corporation announced on social media that it was dropping Russian ports as cruise destinations during the coming summer season.

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Cruise lines cancelling Russian ports of call include eight of the company nine brands (Carnival Cruise Line, AIDA, Princess, Holland America, Seabourn, Cunard, P&O Cruises UK and Costa).

“We are in the process of securing alternate itineraries for our cruise ships before announcing our future plans,” said Micky Arison, Chairman, Carnival Corporation. “We will be advising our guests and travel partners shortly as plans become finalized.”

While St Petersburg is the primary Russian port on the Baltic summer cruise program, Costa Cruises has also sailed longer cruises from mainland China calling in the Russian Far East in Vladivostok.

Those calls are also expected to be dropped once the Chinese market reopens.

The small, boutique cruise line Windstar has also dropped its Russian port calls, cancelling all sailings and cruise tours in the Black Sea region and changing its Baltic itineraries to replace calls in St. Petersburg, Russia with calls in a non-Russian port.

“We are currently working to confirm replacement ports and will remain in close contact with our partners in the region,” said Christopher Prelog, President, Windstar. “We prioritize safety above all and will be monitoring this situation very closely, amending itineraries as necessary.”

The move by Carnival Corporation and Windstar comes after Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas, Oceania Cruises, and others, announced that they were dropping their scheduled calls in Russia and Ukraine due to the conflict.

“The safety and security of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our top priority,” Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement to USA Today. “We are currently working to confirm replacement ports and will advise all impacted guests and travel advisors as soon as possible.”