Istanbul removed from Reflection in 2016

Just received e-mail from Celebrity advising the 11 night Greece, Turkey, Italy itineraries from April-October 2016 have been revised. Istanbul has been taken off, replaced by an overnight in Athens, and adding Bodrum, Turkey and Chania (Souda) Crete, Greece. Anyone have any opinions on Bodrum or Crete?

I just received the same email for our August cruise. I was surprised that they made the decision this far out.

We're booked on a 13 cruise on Equinox that was supposed to overnight in Istanbul at the end of the cruise. I received notification this afternoon that they are moving the overnight to Athens at the beginning of the cruise and we now simply disembark in Istanbul. So if we want to see anything in Istanbul we'll need to stay post cruise. Overall, I'm happy with the change as they lengthened our stays in Santorini and Mykonos. We were planning to stay an extra night in Istanbul post cruise if everything was settled down, but we'll just have to wait and see regarding that.

Not surprised that they cancelled Istanbul. A little disappointed we are losing a sea day, was really looking forward to every opportunity for breakfast on the balcony without rushing off to an excursion.

Hi Livin Life, I did not get this email - can you share any more details?

Thanks!

Bodrum is a wonderful seaport town. Easy to walk through the town from the pier along the boardwalk. Be sure to visit the castle of St. Peter and the nice museum. Lots of shoe stores if I remember right along the streets of shops.

but it is not Istanbul!

I love the stop on Crete in Souda Bay. the town Chania is about 20 mintues away by bus. We took a ship tour to a mountain monastery, beautiful olive groves, a walking tour of a hillside town and a visit to a Crete folk museum including how they make their liquer. We ened up in Chania for hour and half of free time .they have a great indoor market and the harbor area reminds one of Italy.

You will have a great cruise with these ports included.

The revised itinerary is:

Civitavecchia 5:00pm

At sea

Athens 6:00am

Athens 5:00pm

Mykonos 7:00am-6:00pm

Kusadasi 7:00am-6:00pm

Bodrum 7:00am-6:00pm

Chania (Souda) Crete 7:00am-4:00pm

At sea

Naples 7:00am-6:30pm

Civitavecchia 5:00am

No details were provided other than the itinerary is being modified.

Thanks! Appreciate the details.

I'm on the May 16th Reflection sailing and have not received anything on this, website plus my online reservation still states the Istambul overnight for that sailing.

The email I received is titled: "Celebrity Reflection Sailing April 2016-October 2016". My interpretation is Istanbul will not be visited on any of the Reflection sailings in 2016. Plus, another poster received an email that Equinox will not end with the scheduled overnight in Istanbul.

Wow, ok well I haven't gotten it yet I guess, thanks for the info. Is there anyway you could copy and paste that email here? Thanks again!

Istanbul is still listed as an overnighter on our April sailing on the Constellation

I received the email as well; we'll be on the Reflection in June. However, apparently my email service blocked the revised itinerary part of the message (I just have a box with a red X in it), so I went to the Celebrity website...and it's still showing the original itinerary. :rolleyes: So of course I came straight here to get the real story. ;)

I'm disappointed to miss Istanbul, as it was the reason we picked this itinerary over others. Still, I'm glad they made the decision early so we can plan (or perhaps change our plans) accordingly.

The revised itinerary is:

Civitavecchia 5:00pm

At sea

Athens 6:00am

Athens 5:00pm

Mykonos 7:00am-6:00pm

Kusadasi 7:00am-6:00pm

Bodrum 7:00am-6:00pm

Chania (Souda) Crete 7:00am-4:00pm

At sea

Naples 7:00am-6:30pm

Civitavecchia 5:00am

 

No details were provided other than the itinerary is being modified.

Wait...they also dropped Santorini? :eek:

In light of todays statement by the US State Department, I would not be surprised if there a lot of last minute changes over the coming months, depending on the regional situation.

Wait...they also dropped Santorini? :eek:

Whew, never mind. Here's what mine says...

Civitavecchia 5:00pm

At sea

Santorini 2:00pm-9:00pm

Athens 6:00am

Athens 5:00pm

Mykonos 7:00am-6:00pm

Kusadasi 7:00am-6:00pm

Bodrum 7:00am-6:00pm

Chania (Souda) Crete 7:00am-4:00pm

At sea

Naples 7:00am-6:30pm

Civitavecchia 5:00am

No mention of Government security advice in the letter I've just received. Here's the full letter we have just received regarding our 19 September 2016 sailing. Construction work is the reason given!

Dear GEORGE XXX,

Important changes to your booking on Celebrity Reflection / 9/19/2016

Your booking reference: XXXXXXX

Please be advised the Celebrity Reflection 11 Night Greece, Turkey & Italy itinerary has been modified as

detailed below. We are sorry that we have had to alter the ships itinerary due to construction work in the port

of Istanbul.

Original Itinerary Revised Itinerary

Day Port of Call Arrive Depart T/D Day Port of Call Arrive Depart T/D

Mon Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00 PM D Mon Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00 PM D

Tue At Sea C Tue At Sea C

Wed Santorini, Greece 2:00 PM 9:00 PM T Wed Santorini, Greece 2:00 PM 9:00 PM T

Thu Athens (Piraeus), Greece 6:30 AM 6:00 PM D Thu Athens (Piraeus), Greece 6:00 AM D

Fri At Sea C Fri Athens (Piraeus), Greece 5:00 PM D

Sat Istanbul, Turkey 7:00 AM D Sat Mykonos, Greece 7:00 AM 6:00 PM T

Sun Istanbul, Turkey 1:00 PM D Sun Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey 7:00 AM 6:00 PM D

Mon Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey 11:00 AM 8:00 PM D Mon Bodrum, Turkey 7:00 AM 6:00 PM D

Tue Mykonos, Greece 7:00 AM 3:00 PM T Tue Chania (Souda), Crete, Greece 7:00 AM 4:00 PM D

Wed At Sea C Wed At Sea C

Thu Naples / Capri, Italy 7:00 AM 6:30 PM D Thu Naples / Capri, Italy 7:00 AM 6:30 PM D

Fri Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00 AM D Fri Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00 AM D

You will see that the overnight call to Istanbul, Turkey has been replaced with an overnight to the existing

Athens, Greece call. The new arrival time for Athens (Piraeus), Greece is 6:00 AM and the departure time on

the following day is 5:00 PM. Due to this change the port order and times has been revised. The call time for

Mykonos, Greece is 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The call time for Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey is 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The

call port of Bodrum, Turkey and Chania (Souda), Crete, Greece have been added to the itinerary.

In view of these changes, should you choose to, you can change ship and sail date at the prevailing rate and

any complimentary amenities on your booking will be transferred across.

If you have any questions about this change, then you can call us on 01932 834194, Monday to Friday, 9am to

5.30pm. My team will be pleased to help you.

Once again, please accept our apologies and we look forward to welcoming you on board.

Yours sincerely

Kathy Barbrooke

Head of Guest and Trade Services, UK & Ireland

Building 3, The Heights, Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 0NY.

Email customerserviceuk@celebritycruises.com

It is true, the port in Istanbul will be under construction.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/istanbuls-new-cruise-port-to-be-an-exemplary-project.aspx?pageID=238&nid=73935

No mention of Government security advice in the letter I've just received. Here's the full letter we have just received regarding our 19 September 2016 sailing. Construction work is the reason given!

 

Dear GEORGE XXX,

Important changes to your booking on Celebrity Reflection / 9/19/2016

Your booking reference: XXXXXXX

Please be advised the Celebrity Reflection 11 Night Greece, Turkey & Italy itinerary has been modified as

detailed below. We are sorry that we have had to alter the ship’s itinerary due to construction work in the port

of Istanbul.

Original Itinerary Revised Itinerary

...

You will see that the overnight call to Istanbul, Turkey has been replaced with an overnight to the existing

Athens, Greece call. The new arrival time for Athens (Piraeus), Greece is 6:00 AM and the departure time on

the following day is 5:00 PM. Due to this change the port order and times has been revised. The call time for

Mykonos, Greece is 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The call time for Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey is 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The

call port of Bodrum, Turkey and Chania (Souda), Crete, Greece have been added to the itinerary.

In view of these changes, should you choose to, you can change ship and sail date at the prevailing rate and

any complimentary amenities on your booking will be transferred across.

If you have any questions about this change, then you can call us on 01932 834194, Monday to Friday, 9am to

5.30pm. My team will be pleased to help you.

Once again, please accept our apologies and we look forward to welcoming you on board.

Yours sincerely

Kathy Barbrooke

Head of Guest and Trade Services, UK & Ireland

Building 3, The Heights, Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 0NY.

Email – customerserviceuk@celebritycruises.com

Interesting! The US version I received has a lot less information (and no personalization at all). No reason was given in mine:

"Dear Valued Guest,

Please be advised the Celebrity Reflection 11 Night Greece, Turkey & Italy itinerary has been modified as detailed below. This revised itinerary can also be found online at http://www.celebritycruises.com. Thank you for your understanding; we look forward to welcoming you onboard."

I've just received the email re our August 2016 sailing. I'm very disappointed not to be going to Isanbul and the alternatives don't really appeal to me personally, although I may of course change my mind closer to the time.

If you are unhappy with the new itinerary why not change to a different cruise line to see Istanbul.

Unfortunately for us there aren't any cruises that do the itineraries that we like for the dates we can do. This was the only cruise that ticked all the boxes so we're sticking with it I guess.

If "Port Construction issues" are the reason for Istanbul being cancelled then I guess one cant criticise Celebrity too much. The larger ships may be the ones put off for obvious reasons. I guess things will become clearer in coming weeks and months. I have today requested my TA to find out how these decisions will affect our April Constellation cruise

Hi all, have just spoken to our TA, she says that all overnighters in Istanbul are being cancelled because of security concerns. We are booked on 19/9 Reflection but 2 days in Athens holds no appeal so am considering transferring to Constellation Venice overnighter Montenegro, Split etc Valleta then flying back from Rome. Any views on the Constellation would be appreciated

lets also hope the shooting down of the Russian military jet today by Turkey doesnt have major consequences.......