The Baltic and strategic planning in an uncertain world

The welcome view, from most of the cruise executives attending, was that the Baltic is still very much on the radar, albeit with changes having to be made to accommodate the absence of St Petersburg.

Sander Groothuis, vp port & shore operations Carnival UK, said: “There is still a demand by our guests. There is no hesitation for us to keep going in the Baltic.” And Crystal Morgan, senior director, deployment planning Princess Cruises, added: “In 2022 we still have cruises in the Baltic. The demand is still there.”

It has also opened doors for new and smaller ports. Michael Schulze, Phoenix Reisen, added: “We have cancelled no Baltic cruises. About 70-75% of our guests stayed with us for the new itineraries. We have added some less well-known ports in Sweden.”

All three confirmed that the Baltic remains on the itinerary for 2023 and into 2024, hopefully with St Petersburg reinstated.

Newcomer Ambassador Line has also made some changes but Coates noted: “The Baltic is a key destination. A very important part of the Northern Europe programme which is about 60% of our capacity. We have seen remarkable resilience for the Baltic in our May bookings.”