Plantours Kreuzfahrt has launched the Baltic cruise season 2022 with a 12-day 'Easter cruise' that shows how quickly times change and how nimble the cruise industry is.

Originally the ship's schedule after leaving Kiel on 8 April was an Easter tour of towns tour of the south, east and north coastal towns with calls at Gdynia, Klaipeda, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen. The two Russian ports of Kaliningrad and St Petersburg were cut out due to the sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine with Mariehamn in Åland, Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland and the Danish island of Rönne substituting.

According to its Master Mats Nelson the all-German speaking passengers accepted the destination changes gracefully and looked forward to seeing the new destinations – many for the first time naturally.

Covid-19 was also factored in before the cruise left as the ship's normally maximum 420 passengers were cut to 300 with regular testing of passengers and crew. Though some cases were reported by Helsinki, the cruise continued following isolation and distancing rules.

Not only is the Hamburg the first to undertake a proper Baltic cruise, but the ship's 2021 refurbishment was also making its debut. Thus many repeat passengers, which Plantours says forms a large segment, get to see new destinations in a new setting.

After arriving in Kiel the ship immediately sets off for a 5-day German Bight cruise of German destinations redeploying from Hamburg and then on 20 April, Hamburg leaves its eponymous port for a 11-day Round The British Isles cruise.

Reported by John Pagni