Cairo Cruise

[cruisealert]

The above itineray and possible substitutions was for a cruise in May, not the June 17 cruise. Now, if they do the alternate for the May cruise, they may do something similar for the June 17 cruise, but Regent has not come out with anything as of yet regarding the June 17 cruise.

 

Cruisealert - we too are on the June 17 cruise and are waiting to hear if the itinerary will change or not. Hang in there.

We are hanging in -- optimistically. We think that whatever develops will still be awesome. We are thrilled about 3 days in Israel and 2 days in Istanbul and will stay a few more, probably. First time in those countries

[vakamalua]

We are on the Istanbul to Safaga cruise in October; this itinerary with the Egyptian ports and post cruise extension was one of the primary reasons we chose it.

 

Another thread said that the 2012 itineraries would be announced in March. Given the circumstances, if an identical or very similar itinerary were scheduled for 2012, any chance that Regent would let us transfer our booking to 2012 AT THE SAME PRICE?

 

If not, it would be their total loss since we'll cancel this cruise all together before the penalty phase begins. We'll then use our travel time and dollars on a non-Regent trip in a different part of the world this year; and when the time comes to re-look at the mid-east, we won't put Regent at the top of our list.

 

BTW: A CNN poll today indicated that 78% of people would not be willing to travel to Egypt even though the revolution is "over."

[laryrob]

We are on the Istanbul to Safaga cruise in October; this itinerary with the Egyptian ports and post cruise extension was one of the primary reasons we chose it.

 

Another thread said that the 2012 itineraries would be announced in March. Given the circumstances, if an identical or very similar itinerary were scheduled for 2012, any chance that Regent would let us transfer our booking to 2012 AT THE SAME PRICE?

 

If not, it would be their total loss since we'll cancel this cruise all together before the penalty phase begins. We'll then use our travel time and dollars on a non-Regent trip in a different part of the world this year; and when the time comes to re-look at the mid-east, we won't put Regent at the top of our list.

 

BTW: A CNN poll today indicated that 78% of people would not be willing to travel to Egypt even though the revolution is "over."

there is a dubai to Athens cruise we are on which lvs dubai on 3/30/12

[jhp]

Vacamula, I also heard on CNN yesterday that after the Luxor massacre, it was only 3 months before things returned to normal in the tourist trade. I truly hope this is the same, as the Egyptian economy is a bit based on tourism, to say the least! It is so hard to predict the future when the present emotions and feelings of those people with what has happend in the past few days are not yet known. Let's hope the military will lead them to create what they want, but have never had.

[mcavanaugh]

Laryrob: We booked that Dubai to Athens cruise (Marc 30, 2012) before we left Mariner in January. Now, we too are caught in the "conundrum" of this post. How do you feel about the itinerary and the fact that it is not until 2012? Maxne

[fansynancy]

We sadly cancelled our "Paths of Ancient Culture" cruise for June. For us, Egypt was to be the highlight and the value just isn't there without it. We couldn't find another cruise that excited us as much that wasn't already sold out. It looks like a land trip is in our future. I am really hoping Regent will have a similar trip next year and that the situation in the Middle East will be improved. If we waited any longer, we would be out 15% if we could not find another Regent cruise to suit us. With so few ships left in the fleet and a schedule that is restricted by kids' school schedule, a cruise credit feels chance-y.

[Quilting Queen]

We were booked on a Egypt cruise/tour that got canceled. We decided to do other antiquities to Istanbul, Turkey, Greek Isles ending in Athens, Greece.

 

Since Athens is the cruise end we are hunting for a hotel for one night hotel and it is hard to find reviews. I haven't found anyone else going on the Seabourn Odyssey April 11, 2011.

 

We will try Egypt next year or the year after if we are stil healthy enough to travel.

 

Norine

[cruisealert]

We sadly cancelled our "Paths of Ancient Culture" cruise for June. For us, Egypt was to be the highlight and the value just isn't there without it. We couldn't find another cruise that excited us as much that wasn't already sold out. It looks like a land trip is in our future. I am really hoping Regent will have a similar trip next year and that the situation in the Middle East will be improved. If we waited any longer, we would be out 15% if we could not find another Regent cruise to suit us. With so few ships left in the fleet and a schedule that is restricted by kids' school schedule, a cruise credit feels chance-y.

On Feb 16 we got an official update from Regent on this same June17th Mariner cruise. Basically they said that they had current reports from Egyptian ground operations that there is a good probability that it will be safe for the Mariner to make its two ports in Egypt in late June.

 

However, in the event that they have to amend the schedule and drop both Egyptian ports, they would add Crete and an overnight at Haifa(Jerusalem). So we are happy with either outcomne -- original itinerary or amended. Egypt would be great, but an extra day in Jerusalem and a Greek Isle would be fabulous. Glad we did not cancel.

[ridolphi]

Agree cruisealert -- we too were happy with either itinerary so we are sticking with it.

[pbquail]

My husband has a heart condition////and when things started in Cairo, he was quite distressed,,,,he as well as I are assuming that the entire middle east is very unstable.. so we cancelled our cruise starting May 4th.

We assumed that as long as it was 90 days out, we would just suffer a minor $$ cancellation fee (plus insurance premium) Well. we are being penalized over $6500! ! ! which I feel is grossly unfair.

 

We were afraid to wait till the last minute...plus the fact that we were unsure of where they would go if the itinerary were cancelled.

 

If they were to offer us the possibility of using that $$ for a future cruise.. we would certainly feel much better.

Hope no one else is in this horrible situation

I am so disappointed as well. My husband and I also had to cancel this May 4 cruise and lose the full 15%, although we are told it could be used on a future cruise. Unfortunately, this is the only time for the next two years or more that my husband could take a full 3 weeks off at the right time and this was the perfect cruise to Egypt and Israel. I find it interesting that the may 4 cruise is still being individually marketed to me (received the email two days ago) and still shows only the original itinerary, no substitutions. Very disappointed that Regent didn't stand behind us and let us cancel given that the state department was telling us at the time (right before final payment was due) that there was a do not travel in place (and may still be.) Right now, I am not sure I ever want to take another Regent Cruise. It certainly makes me unhappy to lose $6k+. And although I appreciate the offer of the 15% credit, we would have to spend a lot more to take a cruise we don't want to take, and if they had given us a refund instead of a credit, I would have been more inclined to sign up for the same cruise if and when it is safer to travel in that part of the world and if it was scheduled when we were able to go. We have been Crystal Cruisers and this may just send us straight back to Crystal. I know that Regent has no control over what happens in the world; however, they do have control over how they respond to it. Sorry for complaining, just very disappointed.

[Travelcat2]

I am so disappointed as well. My husband and I also had to cancel this May 4 cruise and lose the full 15%, although we are told it could be used on a future cruise. Unfortunately, this is the only time for the next two years or more that my husband could take a full 3 weeks off at the right time and this was the perfect cruise to Egypt and Israel. I find it interesting that the may 4 cruise is still being individually marketed to me (received the email two days ago) and still shows only the original itinerary, no substitutions. Very disappointed that Regent didn't stand behind us and let us cancel given that the state department was telling us at the time (right before final payment was due) that there was a do not travel in place (and may still be.) Right now, I am not sure I ever want to take another Regent Cruise. It certainly makes me unhappy to lose $6k+. And although I appreciate the offer of the 15% credit, we would have to spend a lot more to take a cruise we don't want to take, and if they had given us a refund instead of a credit, I would have been more inclined to sign up for the same cruise if and when it is safer to travel in that part of the world and if it was scheduled when we were able to go. We have been Crystal Cruisers and this may just send us straight back to Crystal. I know that Regent has no control over what happens in the world; however, they do have control over how they respond to it. Sorry for complaining, just very disappointed.

 

 

Am so sorry to hear that you cancelled this cruise. There is such a high probability that Regent will be able to dock in Cairo -- in spite of recent problems. Our TA told us that, if people cancelled certain cruises that included Cairo, they could use the money towards another cruise. In your case, you could have had a $6,000 credit. I cannot imagine why you did not take advantage of this offer.

[RachelG]

I have 2 friends who live in Cairo now. They work for an oil company. They say everything is pretty much back to normal, business as usual, except less tourists.

[ridolphi]

Thats encouraging - thanks RachelG.

[pbquail]

Am so sorry to hear that you cancelled this cruise. There is such a high probability that Regent will be able to dock in Cairo -- in spite of recent problems. Our TA told us that, if people cancelled certain cruises that included Cairo, they could use the money towards another cruise. In your case, you could have had a $6,000 credit. I cannot imagine why you did not take advantage of this offer.

 

there is not another cruise that either falls during the time that my husband has available to get away nor that we want to take - we have traveled quite a bit and the cruises that fall when we can get away are ones we have done more than once before so we would have to spend additional money to go on a cruise that we would not have chosen before just to be able to use the credit. that is what doesn't make sense to me!

the only reason we were going on this cruise was the itinerary and the timing and that just doesn't happen for the coming year and a half at least.

[Responder]

Since Sep 2010 we have been booked on the Nov 12 2011 Voyager-starting with 3 days in Cairo then from Luxor to Barcelona.

 

Interestingly, I just took a look at the Regent site and it appears that the ship is virtually empty. Every cabin is available and the H category is on GTY which typically is on a wait list before a trip is even announced.

 

Furthermore, we are booked on a GTY and they have already assigned us a cabin the in same GTY level we booked. The prices have remained the same as before. We have a good TA and he will deal with that if it comes to fruition.

 

I sure wish we knew what was going to happen, but as it is, it's a lot better than the poor folks in Japan....what a disaster.

[Eager2Travel]

We are booked on the October 28th Istanbul to Luxor cruise. We also booked last September. We were very excited about this trip and especially when Regent offered the free land portion. However, I think we are going to let go of it. The itinerary just doesn't hold the appeal that it once did.

[Travelcat2]

We are booked on the October 28th Istanbul to Luxor cruise. We also booked last September. We were very excited about this trip and especially when Regent offered the free land portion. However, I think we are going to let go of it. The itinerary just doesn't hold the appeal that it once did.

 

Really wish you could regain your excitement. We are thinking about booking another cruise that begins in Istanbul. Istanbul is one of our favorite places in the world. If we had not been to Egypt previously, I would jump on a plane and visit now. . . . the security will be there for you and there will be less crowds. If you think back to the tragedy of "9/11", you may recall that as soon as planes resumed flying, the security was (and still is) better than it had been prior to that date.

 

Hope you'll think about it a little longer.

[Travel2Learn]

Really wish you could regain your excitement. We are thinking about booking another cruise that begins in Istanbul. Istanbul is one of our favorite places in the world. If we had not been to Egypt previously, I would jump on a plane and visit now. . . . the security will be there for you and there will be less crowds. If you think back to the tragedy of "9/11", you may recall that as soon as planes resumed flying, the security was (and still is) better than it had been prior to that date.

 

Hope you'll think about it a little longer.

 

I did a Nile cruise several years ago at a time when it was considered too dangerous. Many tours were canceled. We had a lovely time and appreciated that there were fewer crowds. If boyfriend could take enough vacation time, I'd book the Oct 29th cruise in a heartbeat.

[Emdee]

I too have rescheduled my November Luxor to Barcelona cruise to October 2012.

 

Since we are both working we like to plan our vacations well in advance. With areas in the Middle East unsettled it did not seem to be an optimum time to take a cruise in the region. We were not willing to wait and see closer to the time how things diveloped though we realized that things may be quite ok at that time. Instead we have replaced our trip with one to Mendoza wine country, Iguazu falls and a cruise on Azamara from Buenos Aires to Rio. Still on the look aout for something in early october but nothing has caught my eye yet.

 

We were lucky to have escaped problems in Japan which we just left last Saturday less than a week before the quake etc.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Oh wow Emdee, you did dodge a bullet--you certainly get around these days!

 

I think I agree, I wouldn't plan a trip to the Middle East right now. If I had one planned, I probably would do a "watch and wait", but thankfully I'm not in that position. Just hope this doesn't spread to Morocco--I read that the king has announced reforms recently. And of course, for this purpose I deem Istanbul to be part of Europe, wouldn't hesitate to go there any time, such a great city.

[Eager2Travel]

Thanks one and all for your input. We have visited Egypt before so it is not new for us. We will be on the Mariner shortly and will make our decision at that time.

[vakamalua]

We are very disappointed but have cancelled our October Istanbul to Safaga cruise. We booked the trip for the itinerary and just won't take the chance that we miss the portion in Egypt (one-third the trip including the post-cruise) or lose money within the cancellation period. The same trip's fare in 2012 is quite a bit more per person so we decided not to rebook.

 

Back to the drawing board for travel plans. Looking at South American options but because of itinerary limitations, probably not Regent.

 

Best wishes to all who continue on the October cruise.

[Responder]

We are very disappointed but have cancelled our October Istanbul to Safaga cruise. We booked the trip for the itinerary and just won't take the chance that we miss the portion in Egypt (one-third the trip including the post-cruise) or lose money within the cancellation period. The same trip's fare in 2012 is quite a bit more per person so we decided not to rebook.

 

Back to the drawing board for travel plans. Looking at South American options but because of itinerary limitations, probably not Regent.

 

Best wishes to all who continue on the October cruise.

 

We're booked on the one after yours from Safaga to Barcelona.

 

Lots of ifs to date. Since we have till around August to cancel ourselves with the $100 pp penalty, we will hang in a bit longer. We also booked this trip for the itinerary.

 

Our feeling is that if we cancel, we get nothing, but if Regent either cancels or makes too many route changes, from past experience with them, they will most likely offer a nice credit for the inconvenience and hopefully will give us some priority on rebooking on another cruise.

Our TA is one of the Seven Seas Council Members and hopefully will take care of this for us.

[JPR]

The current Weekend Journal (Wall Street Journal) has a an article written about a very recent family vacation to Egypt. They had a great time: tourists are welcomed with open arms, no lines, fantastic discounts.

[Travelcat2]

I have no doubt that the people of Egypt are welcoming to their foreign guests. We found Egyptians to be warm and friendly people. Unfortunately, due to recent uprisings in Cairo, Alexandra, etc. many mainstream cruiselines have cancelled all 2011 cruises to Egypt. Last Sunday, Seabourn cancelled their cruises to Egypt as well. I feel badly for the people of Egypt and hope that tourism will increase soon.