Royal Caribbean has joined the growing list of cruise lines that will skip scheduled visits to Russia due to the Ukraine invasion.

The invasion of the Ukraine has generated a great deal of animosity towards Russia. Many see financial hits against Russia as an easy way to voice their displeasure with the invasion.

Less than a week ago, Royal Caribbean said it had a back up plan in case going to Russia was out of the question.

On Tuesday, guests booked on Voyager of the Seas were informed their ship will not visit St. Petersburg, Russia.

"The safety of our guests and crew is always our top priority," Royal Caribbean said in an online statement.

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

"We are continuously monitoring events taking place around the world, including the situation in Ukraine."

Instead of visiting Russia, some of Voyager of the Seas' sailings will go to Germany and Poland.

Others are going to Sweden.

Voyager of the Seas is scheduled to launch her first season in the Baltic Sea in 2022, becoming the first Voyager Class ship to do so.

Baltic cruises are a popular European cruise itinerary, but many cruise lines are amending their plans to avoid Russia.

Royal Caribbean supporting crew members during the war

In addition to bypassing Russia, Royal Caribbean is also offering support to its crew members from the region.

Royal Caribbean employs over 500 crew members from the Ukraine, and 200 crew members from Russia.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley posted on Monday the company is offering these crew members assistance getting them home or close to home if they wish to leave their ship.

Other cruise lines skipping Russia

Royal Caribbean has joined many other cruise lines in bypassing Russia this year.

Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, and a host of other brands have all said they will skip visits to Russia.

In light of the recent attacks by Russia in Ukraine, Carnival Corporation brands will be modifying our itineraries in the coming week once alternative ports can be confirmed. We stand for peace.

— Carnival Corporation (@CarnivalPLC) February 26, 2022

Carnival Corporation tweeted, "In light of the recent attacks by Russia in Ukraine, Carnival Corporation brands will be modifying our itineraries in the coming week once alternative ports can be confirmed."

"We stand for peace."

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia on Thursday hasn't changed Royal Caribbean's scheduled visits quite yet.

Baltic cruises are a popular summer cruise option, but with tensions high in the area, a change to scheduled cruises is not out of the question.

While Royal Caribbean has not announced any changes yet, it does have back up ports of call it could fall back on.

In an email to guests booked on Voyager of the Seas sailings that visit St. Petersburg in summer 2022, Royal Caribbean said it has, "secured alternate ports" just in case.

"We’re continuously monitoring events taking place around the world, including the situation in Ukraine. With the recent events, it is increasingly uncertain if we can visit St. Petersburg, Russia, as scheduled. For your peace of mind, we want to share our plans."

"At this time, our intention is to sail to St. Petersburg; however, we have secured alternate ports, should we feel that changing our itinerary is the best path forward."

Royal Caribbean said anyone who is booked on a sailing that visits the Baltics  and wishes to change their ship and sail date at prevailing rate, the cruise line will gladly help you switch and waive any change fees for your cruise.

Celebrity Cruises sent the same letter to its paid customers.

Voyager of the Seas is scheduled to launch her first season in the Baltic Sea in 2022, becoming the first Voyager Class ship to do so.

As of now, Voyager of the Seas will sail from Copenhagen, Demark and offer Scandinavia & Russia cruises.

Other cruise lines reactions

Less than 24 hours since the Russian invasion, only one cruise line has announced a change to an itinerary.

Boutique cruise line Atlas Ocean Voyages said it would drop visits to St. Petersburg.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings told Wall Street analysts it was considering alternatives to port calls in Russia, "we have roughly about 5% of our total capacity that calls on St. Petersburg over this course of the summer season." NCLH CFO Mark Kempa said earlier today.

"All in all, it's about 50 sailings. And we are looking at alternative ports as we speak."

"And worst-case scenario, if we're not able to call on St. Petersburg or the surrounding areas, there's plenty of other ports in the -- in that Scandinavian region that we have the ability to call on."

Royal Caribbean has issued an advisory to guests who wish to tour the city of St. Petersburg, Russia, on their own.

Guests will now be required to have an E-visa for the port, and must apply via the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

The issued E-visa will be valid for 30 days, allowing a single entry for stays up to 8 days. Applicants must apply for the E-Visa within 20 days of their intended arrival and no later than 4 days before.

Although the E-visa is single entry, this will allow the guests to go through the St. Petersburg immigration check points multiple times during any stays that are multiple days long.

Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas is now the biggest cruise ship to ever visit a Russian port. 

On September 9, 2019, Spectrum visited the port of Vladivostok, Russia after passing under the famous ‘Russky’ bridge.

During the ship’s visit to Vladivostok more than 200 Russian guests joined the ship as the first Russian’s to sail onboard Spectrum from a Russian port. The guests will visit cities in Japan and China during a 7-night cruise aboard the innovative ship.

“This is a very big achievement for us in the Russian market. Together with our partners, Inflot, we are excited to see our guests enjoying Spectrum of the Seas. These types of opportunities help us continue to grow our business in the Far East as we have more Russian guests explore our Asian itienraries,” said Natalia Bentas, Sales Manager Europe/ Middle East /Africa IRs, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Julia Dmitrieva, product director at Inflot, the official representative of the cruise company in Russia, shared: “We have been preparing for this event for over year. The first visit to a Russian was a complete success due to the coordinated efforts of the team, our company’s specialists, port agents and customs services of the port of Vladivostok.”

Royal Caribbean held talks with the Odessa City Council to bring a cruise ship there in April 2014.  A meeting between Royal Caribbean's vice president Craig Milan  met with the vice-mayor of Odessa, Elena Pavlova on August 21st to look at the tourist infrastructure of the city.

Milan commented on the city's possibility, "Several cruise ships call at  your port. Unfortunately they are isolated cases. But feedback from our customers, who have been in Odessa, has been very positive."

Milan says regular cruises with a mandatory sunset and base parking are planned in Odessa in April 2014.  

In turn, Pavlov noted that the city is interested in such a partnership, "If everything goes as planned, our city is waiting for the next tourist boom. Royal Caribbeancan bring from 2 to 4 thousand passengers on average." 

Royal Caribbean is interested in investing in the development of the Yalta and Sevastopol seaports as well.