Summer sea cruises starting from Turkey, winter cruises in the Persian Gulf, as well as some European programs – these are the sea cruise routes that are now available and in demand among Russian tourists. According to experts, although at the moment, due to sanctions, some of the starting points of cruises in Europe and America are not available to Russian tourists, and some companies have introduced “special booking conditions” for Russian tourists, that is, in fact, they are not allowed on board, available there are still offers – and they are in demand.
Tour operators named ATOR the main proposed routes:
- ANEX Tour represents the Turkish cruise company Selectum Blu on the Russian market, offering cruises to the Greek islands on the Blue Sapphire liner. What is convenient, the start of the cruise from Turkey, from Bodrum, where there are direct flights. According to Anex representatives, bookings are already available for the entire season until the end of navigation in October 2022
- The PAC GROUP tour operator, which is still the general sales representative in Russia and a number of CIS countries of the cruise company MSC Cruises, named Mediterranean cruises, as well as winter cruises from Dubai, among the most popular among Russian tourists. Experts noted that sales of the latter are quite comparable with the pre-pandemic level and it is assumed that they will only grow. Among the proposals are cruises around the Persian Gulf on a new class liner MSC World Europa, the inauguration of which will take place in December in Qatar. And also – a novelty, cruises on the Red Sea with a visit to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, you can start the cruise in the port of Ain Sokhna (flight to Cairo) or Safaga (flight to Hurghada).
Winter cruises are in high demand, partly because Dubai, for example, meets the main criteria for choosing cruises by tourists at the moment. First of all, this is the convenience of delivery – according to experts, air travel is the main factor that affects tourists the most. For example, in the summer, cruises from Turkey, where it is easy to get to and without a visa, significantly benefit from cruises from Greece, where you have to fly with a transfer. At the same time, as tour operators emphasize, when it comes to cruises around the Greek islands, a visa is needed in any case.
Another argument is that covid restrictions have been preserved by some cruise operators – for obvious reasons. As PAC GROUP notes, MSC Cruises, understanding the role of this factor, partially approved the Sputnik V vaccines on board in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf.
As for the method of paying for additional services on liners, tourists are generally advised to have cash in euros. MSC also offers to buy in-flight credit in advance, the full amount of which must be spent on board. Meanwhile, on some liners – for example, Blue Sapphire, Duty Free shops on the liner already accept cards of the Mir payment system.
For prices, the information is as follows:
- At the moment, tourists are offered several options for cruises in the Mediterranean. For the vaccinated, Sputnik V offers a cruise on the MSC Liriсa liner under the Solar Mediterranean program: the 7-day liner route includes Piraeus (Greece), Kusadasi (Turkey), Haifa (Israel), Limassol (Cyprus), about. Rhodes (Greece), about .Santorini (Greece). Russian tourists are offered to start at the port of Kusadasi, flying to Izmir. The cost of a cruise for 2 starts from 1098 euros, for arrivals in June and July there are special prices for the Ready to cruise promotion.
- Short cruise for 4-5 nights on the Blue Sapphire liner from Bodrum. The route includes visiting the islands of Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes. The cost of cruises starts at an average of 153 thousand rubles. for 2 with flight and 1 night at the hotel.
- For winter cruises, there is currently a special Winterwonders promotion with special prices and a 10% discount on excursions in English. The starting price of a cruise starts from 898 euros for two in the Persian Gulf on the MSC World Europa liner and from 598 euros for two in the Red Sea without a flight.
Note that you can choose a sea or river cruise from TURPROM recommends any major Russian tour operator at guaranteed best prices in one of the well-known online package tour aggregators: ✈ here is a direct link to Level.Travel and here ✈ is a direct link to Travelata. These online agencies aggregate absolutely all tours of all Russian tour operators, which allows tourists to conveniently compare them and choose the best tour packages. The selected tour can be booked immediately, receive instant confirmation and pay online through a secure banking gateway and receive documents. Or you can just look at and compare the current prices for tours from all tour operators at once.
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