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Royal Caribbean removes St Petersburg calls due to Ukraine conflict

Royal Caribbean International and sister brand Celebrity Cruises have joined rival cruise lines in removing calls into the Russian city of St Petersburg this summer.

Many Baltic Sea cruises are being amended by companies because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Now Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have confirmed that they will join the boycott.

A statement from Royal Caribbean International said: “The safety of our guests and crew is always our top priority. We are continuously monitoring events taking place around the world, including the situation in Ukraine.

“With the recent events, we have made the decision to cancel our visits to St Petersburg, Russia, on all summer 2022 itineraries.

“We have planned alternative ports and will communicate itinerary changes in the next few days to our guests and travel partners.”

Celebrity issued a similar statement which said: “With the safety of our guests and crew always our top priority, we are removing St Petersburg, Russia, from upcoming itineraries, due to the current situation in Ukraine.

“We are notifying our guests and travel partners of this decision and our new plans to visit additional Scandinavian ports in its place.

“Guests also have the option to reschedule their sailing through our cruise with confidence programme.

“Our thoughts are with all who are impacted by this conflict.”

The move follows MSC Cruises rescheduling calls by four ships due to visit St Petersburg and other lines such as P&O Cruises, Cunard, Norwegian Cruise Line and Viking Cruises amending Baltic itineraries.

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