Implications of new Europe travel alert?

:confused:My husband and I are booked for a 12 night Mediterranean cruise for the last week of July. Most of our ports are in Greece but we do have stops in Croatia and Turkey (begins in Rome, ends in Venice). Now that the U.S. State Dept. has issued a travel warning for all of Europe, our friends no longer want to go with us. I'm seeking opinions on the safety of cruising to this region in light of the recent attacks and the travel warning. Does anyone plan to cancel their trip? Any suggestions as to why we shouldn't cancel ours as well?

In the end it is a personal decision.

For us, we will not change our travel plans. We will continue to go to Europe.

Things happen even in our own country.

Keith

We are not canceling our planned 3 weeks in Europe this summer. Everyone has to decide what their comfort level is in today's world. I don't see significant change in how the world operates going forward and I choose to not let that impact my love of travel. There are still many places I want to see and experience.

Europe is a little larger than the USA, with about double the population.

So think of European countries as the equivalent of states in the USA.

Would the Boston atrocity even have scuppered your plans to visit, say, Martha's Vineyard? It's a little closer than Le Havre to Paris and a little further than Zeebrugge to Brussels. And your cruise doesn't take you with 700 miles of either. Or within 350 miles of Istanbul or Ankara.

Did you consider cancelling travel anywhere in the US because of the Boston marathon atrocity?

I didn't.

Hellfire, I wouldn't even have considered cancelling a trip to Boston!!

Brave?

Nah, not me :o.

I just keep the risks in proportion.

So whether I travel in Europe or the US I concern myself more with road safety and pickpockets and fire-exits and mundane every-day stuff like that.

A drunk driver is far more likely to end my life than a terrorist - even in Paris or Brussels or Istanbul or Boston.

JB :)

Totally agree with above. It is a personal decision based on your risk tolerance but in my view I am more likely to die from many other things other than terrorism. My wife and I will be together so if something awful happens then we will be together.

We are going on a Greek isles cruise in May starting and ending in Venice for our 10th anniversary that we promised we would do on our wedding day. I will not allow radical Muslim extremists take that away from us.

I could understand maybe being apprehensive or being more vigilant, but there isnt a chance on Earth I would cancel.

I have a trip coming up next month that ends in Athens and visits a few Greek ports. Until I read this thread, I hadn't even considered it a potential hazard or something to be concerned about. Sure, arriving at the airport at Gatwick, I might be more vigilant than I might otherwise have been, but it changes nothing.

In London, where I live and work each day, we know there is a possibility we'll be targeted. There isn't a chance I'd change my habits except maybe being more observant. If I was booked to start a cruise at Tower Bridge I would do it every day of the week and some.

Agree that it is personal decision, but we do not plan to cancel our European trip this summer. We live in a suburb of Chicago. It's very docile here , but unfortunately in depressed neighborhoods in Chicago, there are gang war killings frequently. We don't go in those areas & use good sense when traveling elsewhere.

Given a number of recent terrorist attacks in both Istanbul and Ankara most cruise lines have pulled out of Istanbul till things settle down . But calls are still being made at Cesme and Ephesus in Turkey .

Cruise lines monitor these things too on a daily basis and asess the safety/risks involved both for their passengers and also remembering their multi million asset in the actual ship. So if the cruise line thinks owing to changing circumstances or advice from Security agencies then at short notice they will alter an itinerary and delete a port and more often replace it with an alternative .

I'm not especially worried but I did just sign up with Medjet assist. I'm traveling solo - and it seemed, to me, a reasonable price for a little peace of mind in case something untoward happens.

Hi TXCruiser10

If you're on the Oosterdam leaving Rome on July 23, we might see you aboard. We will be travelling through Europe for a couple of weeks before the cruise and we have not for one minute, contemplated cancelling a trip that we have been planning and looking forward to for some time - but as others have said, it is a personal choice.

I'm sure the cruise line will constantly monitor the landscape and will opt for alternative ports if safety is an issue.

Hope to see you onboard !

Europe is a little larger than the USA, with about double the population.

So think of European countries as the equivalent of states in the USA.

 

Would the Boston atrocity even have scuppered your plans to visit, say, Martha's Vineyard? It's a little closer than Le Havre to Paris and a little further than Zeebrugge to Brussels. And your cruise doesn't take you with 700 miles of either. Or within 350 miles of Istanbul or Ankara.

 

Did you consider cancelling travel anywhere in the US because of the Boston marathon atrocity?

I didn't.

Hellfire, I wouldn't even have considered cancelling a trip to Boston!!

Brave?

Nah, not me :o.

I just keep the risks in proportion.

 

So whether I travel in Europe or the US I concern myself more with road safety and pickpockets and fire-exits and mundane every-day stuff like that.

A drunk driver is far more likely to end my life than a terrorist - even in Paris or Brussels or Istanbul or Boston.

 

JB :)

I agree with this.

I don't avoid visiting the US because of a shooting in California. Likewise, I'm not going to avoid visiting Europe due to an attack in Brussels.

We struggled with this as well. Of course we would travel somewhere, but we considered postponing Europe until things settle down. We are not of the mind that if we change our travel plans, "the terrorists win." We just want to get as much information as we can and make an informed decision about where we want to take our family.

After much deliberation and heartache, we decided to go on our 12 day Med cruise. We think the statistical chances of something happening at the particular time and place we happen to be are very slim, and things can happen anywhere. Who knows if things will get worse, and our kids would never be able to experience Europe. We are going, and we are leaving our fears behind.

It is wise to consider all the information available, and in the end we decided the minimal risk is worth it and is probably not much greater than it was before the attacks.

We may not get off in Kusadasi, but we will see. I have not canceled that tour yet!

We struggled with this as well. Of course we would travel somewhere, but we considered postponing Europe until things settle down. We are not of the mind that if we change our travel plans, "the terrorists win." We just want to get as much information as we can and make an informed decision about where we want to take our family.

 

After much deliberation and heartache, we decided to go on our 12 day Med cruise. We think the statistical chances of something happening at the particular time and place we happen to be are very slim, and things can happen anywhere. Who knows if things will get worse, and our kids would never be able to experience Europe. We are going, and we are leaving our fears behind.

 

It is wise to consider all the information available, and in the end we decided the minimal risk is worth it and is probably not much greater than it was before the attacks.

 

We may not get off in Kusadasi, but we will see. I have not canceled that tour yet!

I know the attack in Brussels and Paris last year were awful. Obviously you need to make reasoned judgement and decisions. I think though your logic of now before its too late is stretching things a bit! Given the gun laws in the US and all that can and does go with it, I'm in agreement with lovemylab and John Bull.

Just have your wits about you. There hasnt been one moment Ive thought about cancelling. Its all about perspectives.

We struggled with this as well. Of course we would travel somewhere, but we considered postponing Europe until things settle down. We are not of the mind that if we change our travel plans, "the terrorists win." We just want to get as much information as we can and make an informed decision about where we want to take our family.

 

 

 

After much deliberation and heartache, we decided to go on our 12 day Med cruise. We think the statistical chances of something happening at the particular time and place we happen to be are very slim, and things can happen anywhere. Who knows if things will get worse, and our kids would never be able to experience Europe. We are going, and we are leaving our fears behind.

 

 

 

It is wise to consider all the information available, and in the end we decided the minimal risk is worth it and is probably not much greater than it was before the attacks.

 

 

 

We may not get off in Kusadasi, but we will see. I have not canceled that tour yet!

I'm still contemplating that as well. We will be in Kusadasi early June and have a tour booked. I haven't cancelled my reservation, but I am thinking about it. Might be nice to just enjoy the ship that day worry-free. I hate to cancel a tour because of terrorism, because then they win. It's a tough call.

Have you decided yet?

We had a cruise booked for May/June...leaving from Barcelona and ending up in Rome. We were going to spend about 4 days in Barcelona before our cruise. We were concerned with the Brussels attacks. We went back and forth and understand both sides of the argument. Yes, bad things can happen at home from a traffic accident; to a random act of violence. We did not want to change our plans but in the end we did. We thought that for us, we would be very hesitant in both large airports and traveling at some of the major tourist sites. Luckily, we had trip insurance through the cruise line and we only lost our $200 deposit..we used our funds we had already paid and the cruise line transferred it to a new cruise and now we are booked on a New England/Canada cruise this fall. We redeposited our airline miles so we were not out anything there. It is really a personal decision. We did not want to spend the money and be worried and have that fear interrupt our trip. We have been to Europe many times and if things settle down we may rebook the same trip for next year. It is a tough call.

Well at the end you have to do what makes you comfortable. I hope you enjoy your New England cruise.

I'm still contemplating that as well. We will be in Kusadasi early June and have a tour booked. I haven't cancelled my reservation, but I am thinking about it. Might be nice to just enjoy the ship that day worry-free. I hate to cancel a tour because of terrorism, because then they win. It's a tough call.

Have you decided yet?

Hi! We have not canceled anything. We decided to go on the cruise, and as of now are still planning on doing our excursion in Turkey. I hear what you are saying about the terrorists winning, but I do not take that into account when I am thinking of my family's safety. If we hear of legitimate threats or if the State Dept issues a stronger advisory, we will reconsider. We did end up purchasing the travel insurance through Royal Caribbean, just in case. It has a cancel for any reason clause in which you would receive 75% of your fare as credit toward a future cruise. But we have no intention of using it.

Have you decided? It is going to be an amazing trip.

Hi! We have not canceled anything. We decided to go on the cruise, and as of now are still planning on doing our excursion in Turkey. I hear what you are saying about the terrorists winning, but I do not take that into account when I am thinking of my family's safety. If we hear of legitimate threats or if the State Dept issues a stronger advisory, we will reconsider. We did end up purchasing the travel insurance through Royal Caribbean, just in case. It has a cancel for any reason clause in which you would receive 75% of your fare as credit toward a future cruise. But we have no intention of using it.

 

Have you decided? It is going to be an amazing trip.

I agree with you. If there is a serious imminent threat to Turkey at the time of my cruise, I am not getting off the ship. I would hope that Celebrity would make the call to just not dock in Kusadasi if that was the case, that way I don't have to make the decision myself.

I contacted the tour company, and switched to a different tour which is 1 hour shorter than the tour I booked originally. Not that it makes a huge difference, but now I am scheduled to be off the ship in Turkey from 8:30am and back onboard by 12:15. I wasn't required to put down a deposit or give my credit card info, so I can probably even make my final decision onboard and just not show up if I change my mind. As of right now, I'm planning to attend the excursion as booked.

But I am totally hoping Celebrity changes the itinerary and takes us to Mykonos or something for another day :p

I had a Mediterranean cruise booked for May which we decided to cancel after the Brussells attack. I am a worrier and knew it would be difficult for me to relax when I knew I would always be wondering if there was a suicide bomber next to me ready to blow me up. Hopefully at some point, things will calm down and I can go then. Personal choice. We went to Kusadasi and Greece last summer and was going to do the Western Mediterranean this summer. To me the police seem overwhelmed by the scope of the threat. I enjoyed Greece and Turkey last year. We love Europe but I wanted to feel relaxed

I know our cousins on the other side of the Atlantic have always been nervy tourists, but i would never give in to these savages and alter my holiday plans.

to be honest we have felt more scared in the USA after listening to news reports of a gun culture, multiple shootings and gang wars than in mainland Europe, but it would never stop us going there.

you will be welcomed and if you are in England call in and i will take you down the pub for a pint.