Could Russia calls soon reappear on cruise itineraries?

Will cruise ships once again call on Russia as part of their Baltic and Northern Europe itineraries? It might happen sooner than you think, according to one cruise line executive.

According to Harry Sommer, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, ships in the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleets might see St. Petersburg added back to their schedules as soon as 2026.

Sommer shared the information during NCLH's fourth-quarter 2024 earnings call Thursday. (The three cruise lines are part of NCLH.)

"In our summer '26 deployment, we have one-third of our fleet — 11 ships — that are going to be based in Northern Europe, and that's without St. Petersburg being available," Sommer said. "If St. Petersburg was to become available for the summer '26 season, I think ... we could disproportionately benefit from positive things in that region. Of course, as a human being, I hope for peace for purely humanitarian reasons, but as a cruise operator, we think this could provide us a unique opportunity for the summer of '26 or ... the summer of '27."

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, cruise lines scrapped calls on Russia ports — and, in some cases, completely canceled their Baltic seasons.

This past week, the U.S. and Russia met to discuss the terms of a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, with several international government officials indicating that an end to the Russia-Ukraine war could be close.

Sommer raised the topic in response to a question about recent statements by Howard Lutnick, the U.S. secretary of commerce, who indicated he will make every effort to increase the amount of taxes paid by cruise lines to the U.S. Sommer said he wouldn't speculate on what more taxes would mean for the cruise industry but pivoted to talk about what he believes could be positive changes made by the current administration.

"Considering how many moving pieces there are ... it's really hard for us to speculate on what this would mean to us, so I won't," Sommer said. "But I will say that I'd be remiss if I didn't point out some of the positive things that are coming out of the administration. I think this push for sustained peace in the Middle East and potentially between the Ukraine and Russia can be a significant tail wind for us in 2026."

Sommer said the lines will also look to add Israel calls back onto cruise schedules if the geopolitical climate permits. However, even if conditions are favorable in the short term, Sommer said a return to Israel would likely not happen before 2027, citing that it's more difficult to reposition ships to that region than it is to simply add back a port, as in the case with St. Petersburg. (Lines pulled Israel calls following the increased conflict in the region, which began in October 2023.)

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"The Middle East is a little more complicated because that's part of a deployment program where we position ships between the summer and winter, so we would not change our deployment to take advantage of a Red Sea Middle Eastern opening in the short term," Sommer said. "That would be more of a '27 item."

Ships that sail in the Middle East often spend time there between their summer and winter seasons, meaning that they're generally deployed there from late winter into the spring.

During the earnings call, Sommer also said that the NCLH brands have not experienced any lack of booking confidence due to the current political climate in the U.S.

"The week of the election was a challenging week, as it is every four years, but that's one out of 200 weeks, so we don't necessarily worry about that," Sommer said. "I think since then we've seen normal patterns — nothing really extraordinary, positive or negative, since the election has occurred."

NCLH's booking numbers remain strong, and it's seeing what Sommer called the "highest growth in company history." Its brands' overall net yield was up 10% in 2024, and projected revenue in 2025 is expected to top $10 billion. Additionally, across the three brands, 13 new ships are on order, scheduled to be delivered over the next decade.

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