When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, cruise lines reacted quickly. On that same day, Viking cancelled all 2022 departures of its Ukraine river itinerary. On March 1, Viking made the decision to cease all operations in Russia in 2022. “We are deeply opposed to the unfolding conflict in Ukraine and are heartbroken for all the people who are impacted,” the company said in a statement.
We, therefore, knew that our Viking Homelands cruise itinerary would be affected. There was no doubt that St. Petersburg would be eliminated, but we could only guess what else might change. Although I was initially disappointed that I might never see St. Petersburg, I fully supported Viking’s decision.
On March 14, we received an email from Viking advising us of the revised itinerary. St. Petersburg, of course, was pulled, as were the stops in Helsinki, Finland, and Tallin, Estonia.
We would now have an overnight stay in Oslo, Norway, which made me very happy. That’s one city that I had hoped to visit. Viking also added two new ports of call: Mariehamn on the picturesque island of Åland and Bornholm, a historic Danish island. I wasn’t familiar with either one, but that didn’t bother me. It might be fun to visit places that are off the beaten path.
In recognition of the changed itinerary, Viking added a $250 shipboard credit to our account for this voyage for each guest. In addition, upon our return, we were offered a 10% Future Cruise Voucher based on our paid cruise fare. I really wasn’t expecting anything, so these offers were a nice surprise.
In just over two months, we’ll be on the Viking Venus. I’m really getting excited.
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| Viking Homelands - Revised Itinerary |
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