Russian River Cruise Operator Says Cruising is Beyond Politics

Industry execs say they have not seen a drop in cruise bookings since Putin began his quest to replace Stalin in the history books.

It would seem that Mozharova Alla, head of marketing and marketing for Russian river operator Vodohod, has never had lunch with Putin. If he had, he might reconsider this statement. "We strongly believe that traveling is beyond politics and serves to unite people worldwide. While travel begins to return in greater numbers following the COVID-19 pandemic, like any other company, we hope that the future of cruise will continue to evolve in 2022 and beyond, as Russia has so much to offer to curious travelers, especially when it comes to river cruise holidays."

Here is another eye-opening quote from a Seatrade News article on the effect of Putin's invasion of a sovereign county. A Viking spokesperson also told Seatrade that it continues to see "a high level of interest" in its Waterways of the Tsars itinerary scheduled from May.

Mundy Cruising's director of sales & marketing, Alexander Loizou, told Seatrade Cruise News. 'We've not seen any impact caused by the increased tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and any has made no changes of our partners to cruise itineraries calling Russia. There seems to be little impact on the cruise industry from my point of view, as a small luxury retailer."

A Viking spokesperson also told Seatrade that it continues to see 'a high level of interest' in its Waterways of the Tsars itinerary scheduled from May.

Claus Bødker, director of Cruise Baltic, was also quoted as saying while the organization can't monitor bookings, it is not aware of any cancellations of cruise calls, 'but we all hope for a de-escalation of the situation.'