I need to make this a long post. Please bear with me.
For the Navigator Nov 10 sailing from Istanbul which we are on, complete with pre cruise and post cruise tours booked as well as the overland packages in both Israel and Egypt, we cannot figure out how or where Regent can just substitute other ports and make it work.
The itinerary is 21 days finishing in Dubai.
Navigator has to get to Dubai on time because the next leg of the ship goes from Dubai to Singapore.
Voyager's cruise on Oct 15 is different. It was supposed to repeat a set itinerary then do it again in reverse I think. Or something similar. It's not one leg of a longer itinerary.
For many passengers on Navigator, Istanbul to Dubai is just one leg of a grand voyage and they may have already been on board for weeks or months with more to go after Dubai.
Only this leg on Nov 10 puts the ship in danger. Once past Egypt or even Dubai ( if uprisings escalate), they're in the clear.
I don't know how many passengers join the cruise in Istanbul like us and how many are already onboard.
My point is Regent can't cancel the Nov 10 cruise. The ship has to get to Dubai. How do they minimize the risk and still provide a decent cruise while skipping the major and main stops on the itinerary? I don't think they can for the passengers embarking in Istanbul and disembarking in Dubai. Passengers already on the ship or staying on for the longer voyage might be ok with it.
Last year on a grand voyage on Explorer, the ship was turned around from New Zealand due to invasive barnacles on the hull and the whole New Zealand leg of that grand voyage was skipped while the ship added many sea days. I know passengers who were onboard were offered cruise credits but I don't know how much. We joined that cruise after the debacle was over when it got to Bali. The passengers who had been on during the New Zealand experience and who were still on were generally ok with it because Regent stepped up with cruise credits. I don't know if any refunds were offered.
I'm not excited if Navigator ends up with almost 10 straight sea days with Israel and Egypt cancellations...possibly other ports cancelled if the Israeli conflict escalates.
If anyone has more experience dealing with these situations or if you're on Navigator on Nov 10. I would love to hear your thoughts.
