Russia Cruise Ports
Russia is the world’s biggest country in terms of landmass and spread from Eastern Europe through Northern Asia to the Pacific Ocean and close to the United States of America state of Alaska, so it will come as no surprise that there is lots to see and do in the country but from a cruising point of view, there are only a handful of easily reachable ports of call.
For the majority of cruises in the United Kingdom it is the incredible city of St Petersburg that is the destination of choice as not only is the historic city relatively easy to visit, with a choice of cruises leaving directly from these shores or a number of ports across Northern Europe offering itineraries but the majority of us can enjoy visiting without the need for a visa (on an organised ship tour).
Such is the size of the country, however, not only can you visit a Russian cruise port directly from the UK on a 2 week cruise of the Baltic Sea but you can also visit the country on a cruise of Alaska and even on a cruise around Japan and through Asia.
That give slots of options for cruise holidaymakers to choose from and whilst much of the country is far from the coast, there are lots of options available to those on a cruise with even the nation’s capital city been reachable on a shore excursion from St Petersburg, especially as most cruise line swill offer an overnight stay in the city to allow you to see as much as possible.
Cruises To Russia
Cruise Holidays To Russia
If you are wanting to visit Russia on a cruise holiday the great news is that there is lots of choice, although it really depends on where you want to visit.
If you want to visit the northern Pacific Ocean ports on offer, the majority of cruise ships will either be heading from Alaska at the end of the US summer to Asia for the winter seaosn or vice versa and that means there are only a limited number of ships and itineraries to choose from in an extremely limited cruising period.
If you are wanting to head to the more southern Pacific coastal ports, there a limited amount of itineraries that offer stops in Russia as part of Asian cruises especially those that spend most of their time cruising around Japan.
The countries leading cruise ports is in the west of the country in the European part of Russia where the historic city of St Petersburg plays host to most major cruise lines that operate in Europe as well as a number of smaller and luxury lines which means that no matter what your preference is when cruising the chances are that you are able to cruise your way.
The majority of cruise lines, especially those heading directly from the United Kingdom, will offer over night stays in St Petersburg, which allows you to visit the many attractions on offer and deal with the extra security clearances that are needed to visit the country.
From the United Kingdom, cruise to St Petersburg can be enjoyed on a wide range of cruise lines who offer a wide range of ships, including some of the world’s biggest and newest ships, so no matter how you prefer to cruise you can do.
Roundtrips to the country from the United Kingdom also visit many great ports across Northern Europe, Scandinavia and throughout the Baltic Sea on what is usually a 12-16 night cruise.
If you are wanting to visit the fromer Leningrad on a cruise, there are also a number of options to start and/or finish your cruise in the Baltic Sea and therefore spend more time cruising the region and visiting more ports, with Copenhagen (Denmark), Kiel (Germany), Stockholm (Sweden) and Amsterdam (The Netherlands) amongst the ports offering the most options and also offering great places to add on a few days before or after your cruise to spend time enjoying your departure port city.
From time to time, there are a small number of repositioning cruises that can be booked which start on the continent and then sail back to the UK via St Petersburg or vice versus.
Russia Cruise Guide
If you are looking to book a cruise which visits Russia as part of its itinerary either in the Baltic Sea or the Pacific Ocean, our cruise port guides bring you are of the information that you need to decide which ports of call are of the most interest for you and which ones are worth your time.
If you have already booked a cruise that calls into Russa and you are wanting to make the most of your time onshore, our cruise port guides bring you all of the information that you need to make the right decision, especially as most visitors to the country will need to pre-book organised excursions.
Popular Ports
The port of St Petersburg is head and shoulders the biggest and most popular cruise port in Russia but for those heading further afield, there are a number of other cruise ports that welcome cruise ships.
The historic city of St Petersburg is simply a must visit destination for tourists as it offers a vast array of attractions including stunning churches, incredible stately homes, and unique architecture all in a city built over many islands.
Vladivostok is in Russia’s far east and whist it is known mostly as a naval port its location on the Sea of Japan makes it a popular stopping off port for cruises around the Japanese islands.
Sochi was announced to the world as it hosted the winter Olympics but Europe’s longest city is a great place to visit all year around and is one of the warmest cities in southern Russia.
The far eastern city of Petropavlovsk is used by some cruise ships as a stopping off port as they head across the Bearing straight from Alaska to Asia at the end of the US summer to spend their winters sailing around Asia, so there are only a small number of cruise ships that port in Petropavlovsk.
Korsakov is another small port on the far east coast of Russia that is located just to the north of Japan and features on a small number of round Japan cruise itineraries.
Popular Cruise Lines
The majority of cruise lines that operate in Northern Europe offer cruise holidays to St Petersburg with household names such as MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), Princess Cruises, Holland America Line (HAL), Costa Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises all offering a wide range of itineraries going to the city.
If you would prefer a more luxurious trip on a smaller cruise ship lines such as Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Cunard and Silversea Cruises all offer itineraries that visit Russia whilst P&O, MSC Cruises and Princess Cruises all offer a range of NoFly cruises direct from the UK.
For those wanting to visit the Pacific coastal ports of Russia, the likes of NCL, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean are often the lines of choice.
Russia
Location: Eastern Europe, Norther Asia
Capital City: Moscow
Currency: Ruble
Language: Russian
Demonym(s): Russian
Top Ports: St Petersburg, Vladivostok
Russia is a country that seems so close but yet so far from most of us but it is a country that is so incredibly simple to visit on a cruise holiday, it really should be on everybody bucket list.
The vastness of the country means that there are lots of different cultures and ways of life found throughout the vastness of Russia, especially from a cruising point of view as its cruise ports are either located on the far west of the country or the far east.
The vastness of Russia can be perhaps explained best by the incredible amount and range of countries that it shares a land border with including Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (via the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave), Belarus, Georgia and the Ukraine on the European part of the country and Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea on the Asian side.
Best Time To Visit
No matter if you are wanting to visit St Petersburg or the Pacific coast ports, the best time to visit the country is during the summer months as much of the attraction of visiting Russia is walking around and taking in the stunning architecture and historic buildings which need the warmer and drier weather of the summer to enjoy at its best.
Here at CruiseHols.co.uk we bring you all of the information you will ever need to choose the right cruise destination for you and your family.
Our destination guides include everything from ports to attractions and excursion to the positives and negatives of the destination.
