Two More Cancelled Ports

[dlouise]

We are boarding the Riviera on Monday, and were notified yesterday that they have cancelled the two stops in Egypt. This on top of the cancelled port in Tunis really changes the feeling of this cruise.

 

There are a few people that would like to see Oceania extend the stay in Israel instead of replacing Egypt with stops at beach resorts in Turkey and Cyprus.

Any thoughts..........

[JVNYC]

I didn't book this cruise a year ago b/c I knew Egypt would be cancelled. Not sure why anyone thought they would actually be going to Egypt....it's dangerous. It is not a safe area for large busses of tourists, bottom line.

 

People can go on and on about Oceania doing something wrong by cancelling these ports, but they did something very right and are keeping everyone safe. It's a no brainer!

[ORV]

Didn't the Egypt ports get cancelled last year also? Seems to be a pattern. Hmm. If I really wanted to go there I don't think I'd book it for next year.

 

Perhaps O should stop planning and advertising Egypt ports until it's safe to go there again.

[StanandJim]

Perhaps O should stop planning and advertising Egypt ports until it's safe to go there again.

 

Try petitioning their port authority to berth in Egypt again when things calm down; if yours is the Cruise Line that made that particular blunder :cool:

Business is never as simple as that.

[warburg]

Try petitioning their port authority to berth in Egypt again when things calm down; if yours is the Cruise Line that made that particular blunder :cool:

Business is never as simple as that.

 

Right again, StanandJim. Cruise line decisions are about what is best for the passengers in the light of current reality. We have traveled in Egypt and Israel during risky times. Before the world was computerized it wasn't so easy to track danger spots.

Mary

[ORV]

Try petitioning their port authority to berth in Egypt again when things calm down; if yours is the Cruise Line that made that particular blunder :cool:

Business is never as simple as that.

 

Yes, you're right about it not being that simple. I do feel that cruises that are being planned with ports that are "hot spots" should have an additional disclaimer over and above the standard contract language so we wouldn't get the invariable comments along the lines of "that port was the only reason I booked this cruise" etc.

 

Personally I think when you book a cruise with this type of port you know what you are getting into, and have no reason to complain when it gets cancelled.

[wripro]

Personally. I believe that if Oceania, or any cruise line for that matter, had the slightest inkling they might cancel Egypt for any reason whatsoever, they should do it before final payment when people have the chance to back out without losing their money. Waiting until the last moment and hoping things will be safe is just a way of not losing passengers. Does anyone think things in Egypt will be safer three or four months from now? I don't think so which is why the fair thing to do if a cruise there were in that time frame would be to announce the ports are being cancelled and let people decide on that basis.

[Sprit]

There is no change at all to the situation in Egypt since months. There's no reason at all to cancel all of a sudden now. Thread level is steady at same hight for long periods.

So Oceania cancelling these ports on such short notice is nothing more than frustrating her guests leaving them with no other option than to accept minor ports instead of highlights.

Again Oceania is proving to be terrible on customer service and handeling things in a proper way. They just advertise with these ports to make a "uniqiue" sailing, but they know far in advance they won't visit at all.

Don't be fooled by one of the worst customer services in the whole cruise industry but opt for reliable cruiselines instead.

[Sprit]

Personally. I believe that if Oceania, or any cruise line for that matter, had the slightest inkling they might cancel Egypt for any reason whatsoever, they should do it before final payment when people have the chance to back out without losing their money. Waiting until the last moment and hoping things will be safe is just a way of not losing passengers. Does anyone think things in Egypt will be safer three or four months from now? I don't think so which is why the fair thing to do if a cruise there were in that time frame would be to announce the ports are being cancelled and let people decide on that basis.

 

Completely right! Oceania is just frustrating things and leaving guest with no other option than accept instead of alternative options or cancelling.

[hypercafe]

Personally. I believe that if Oceania, or any cruise line for that matter, had the slightest inkling they might cancel Egypt for any reason whatsoever, they should do it before final payment when people have the chance to back out without losing their money. Waiting until the last moment and hoping things will be safe is just a way of not losing passengers. Does anyone think things in Egypt will be safer three or four months from now? I don't think so which is why the fair thing to do if a cruise there were in that time frame would be to announce the ports are being cancelled and let people decide on that basis.

 

I agree 100%. The problems in Egypt are not new and will not be fixed next week. Making these decisions after final payment just Lock people into a trip they really did not buy. As for not making the Egypt port authority mad as J&S have stated is the reason, well at this point Egypt would bend over backward for any tourist money, not black ball a line, instead of working about Egypt government workers Oceania should worry about their customers.

 

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[maxamize]

I also agree. There hasn't been any change in the situation in Egypt for months. This risk assessment and decision to cancel these ports could have been made months ago.

[dlouise]

The substitution of these minor beach resort ports is what is bothering us.

 

We fully understand the need to cancel Egypt, but come on give us some interesting ports instead, or stay in Israel an extra day. I checked and there are no other ships there for the following few days.

 

I hope someone from Oceania is reading this and will rethink the choice that has been made.

[Sprit]

The substitution of these minor beach resort ports is what is bothering us.

 

We fully understand the need to cancel Egypt, but come on give us some interesting ports instead, or stay in Israel an extra day. I checked and there are no other ships there for the following few days.

 

I hope someone from Oceania is reading this and will rethink the choice that has been made.

 

If I were you......don't be too sure on Israel as well. Realize Oceania might cancel that as well at the end.......just don't be suprised!

[Hawaiidan]

If I were you......don't be too sure on Israel as well. Realize Oceania might cancel that as well at the end.......just don't be suprised!

 

Think analyze the situation.... the whole mid-east is a powder keg that is blowing up... every year getting worse. Now Africa as well

 

I would anticipate seeing Jordan, Kenya, all of north Africa joining the list.

Booking to visit these places is in todays rapidly deteriorating political situation is "spitting into the wind" so to speak.

 

Desire to visit needs to be tempered with common sense. As some point people need to take some level of personal responsibility if they insist on heading into known dangers..........You pay your money and you take a chance and accept whatever comes.

 

Personally you could pay me to sail in to most all of the mid east nor to either the west ,north or east coast of Africa... Life is too short...why make it shorter?

[Fetchpeople]

You can be sure that a late decision to cancel ports in Egypt is one that O made with great reluctance and only after serious consideration. They certainly value the health and welfare of their passengers. They also value the profit dollars lost on extensive tours in Egypt which now are cancelled.

 

Needless to say, the tour activity in the new 2 ports pales in comparison with what was booked for Egypt.

 

Please give O some credit for thinking not about their bottom line, but about doing the right thing.

 

I have no idea either way, but could it be that other cruise lines are also bypassing Egypt? Or that some feedback from O's Egyptian contacts was pivotal in their decision?

[Pet Nit Noy]

The substitution of these minor beach resort ports is what is bothering us.

 

We fully understand the need to cancel Egypt, but come on give us some interesting ports instead, or stay in Israel an extra day. I checked and there are no other ships there for the following few days.

 

I hope someone from Oceania is reading this and will rethink the choice that has been made.

 

And if Oceania does not meet your wishes, consider arranging to depart the ship in Israel, staying on land one or more nights, and rejoining the ship once the cruise gets back to the appealing ports that made you book the cruise in the first place.

 

I know this costs extra money, but you ought to ask yourself which means more to you: Keeping the costs down? Or doing what needs to be done to prevent your cruise from being clouded by woulda/coulda/shoulda?

Edited May 28, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[Robyn2]

Have just returned this week from a Regent cruise which included Egypt, Jordan and Israel. We made all our ports and had a wonderful time. Tourism is down by 75% in these countries. We were made to feel so welcome and very safe at all times, even on the Golan Heights. Maybe there have been some new developments in the last week or two to merit these changes but certainly we had no problems whatsoever.

[StanandJim]

Yes, that is just what they were saying at the Bardo museum in Tunisia.....until they weren't

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/18/eight-people-killed-in-attack-on-tunisia-bardo-museum

There is a very fine line between safe and lucky.

 

As they say in the banking game, "Past results are no guarantee of future performance", and I would add that there isn't any "reset button" in real life.

 

I'd vote for better safe than sorry every time, and that's just considering lives and not the five hundred million dollar ship, which would also be at risk.

[TrulyBlonde]

Think analyze the situation.... the whole mid-east is a powder keg that is blowing up... every year getting worse. Now Africa as well

 

I would anticipate seeing Jordan, Kenya, all of north Africa joining the list.

Booking to visit these places is in todays rapidly deteriorating political situation is "spitting into the wind" so to speak.

 

Desire to visit needs to be tempered with common sense. As some point people need to take some level of personal responsibility if they insist on heading into known dangers..........You pay your money and you take a chance and accept whatever comes.

 

Personally you could pay me to sail in to most all of the mid east nor to either the west ,north or east coast of Africa... Life is too short...why make it shorter?

 

Yes, personal responsibility is also a huge factor. I would never consider a cruise in any of those areas at this time. Common sense prevails.

[bitob]

If you want to be sure of going somewhere on your bucket list don't plan to visit on a cruise. Your itinerary is out of your control. It's as simple as that

[azevedan]

Maybe just stay at home and go to the movies instead.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-colorado-theater-shooting-20150528-story.html

 

Bad things...even *very* bad things...can happen anywhere. Only you can decide your personal level of comfort. With a cruise, though, as has been pointed out, someone else will be making the decision for you.

We did a land tour of Egypt and Jordan in March of 2013 after having Egypt cancelled on a cruise the year before. Turned out to be a blessing - we got to see much more of the country.

 

I don't remember the timing, but we were offered the opportunity to cancel without penalty when the ports were cancelled (we decided to stay with it). We got Cyprus and an extra day in Rhodes. Cyprus does has some very nice Roman mosaics in Pafos....not sure if you'll be docking near there.

Edited May 28, 2015 by azevedan

[buggins0402]

Paphos is a nice town, with a very good archeological site. In fact, we had one of our most memorable cruise lunches in that city.

 

Antalya is probably the other port. It canbe apleasant day with visits to the ancient shipyard and fort on the hilltop. Agree the sites don't compare with Egypt, but when booking an Egypt/Israel itinerary substituted ports are always a risk.

[BillPizzaiolo]

I wonder how the smaller river cruises (Uniworld for example) provide safe passage up and down the Nile for their passengers? We decided to take that route to get to safely see the places in Egypt that we want to see. Their tourism business is hurting really bad so they are trying very hard to build it back up. It is not the Egyptian government that is forcing the cancellation, it most likely is the cruise line in the abundance of safety or $$$$$ costs.

[Pet Nit Noy]

I wonder how the smaller river cruises (Uniworld for example) provide safe passage up and down the Nile for their passengers? We decided to take that route to get to safely see the places in Egypt that we want to see. Their tourism business is hurting really bad so they are trying very hard to build it back up. It is not the Egyptian government that is forcing the cancellation, it most likely is the cruise line in the abundance of safety or $$$$$ costs.

 

I'm not sure Uniworld is "doing" anything to provide safe passage. I think the situation in the Nile Valley is simply different from the situation in the dense population centers.

 

Thinking about our own travel plans for 2016, I looked at the US State Department's statement about conditions in Egypt. It was all doom and gloom.

 

The UK's Foreign Office advice begins much the same way: large assemblies in the city turning violent quite quickly, during violent demonstrations high incidence of rape and attacks on foreign tourists, etc. Suddenly, in the midst of all the truly frightening facts comes the following sentence: " The area to which the FCO advise against all but essential travel does not include many of the tourist areas along the Nile river (eg Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings)."

 

Now that's some of the most tortured writing I've ever read, but simply stated it says, "Although we're warning against travel to many places for non-essential travel, you can still visit the tourist destinations in the Nile River Valley."

 

However, as others have pointed out, these assessments are true until they aren't.

Edited May 29, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[Hunding]

We are boarding the Riviera on Monday, and were notified yesterday that they have cancelled the two stops in Egypt. This on top of the cancelled port in Tunis really changes the feeling of this cruise.

 

There are a few people that would like to see Oceania extend the stay in Israel instead of replacing Egypt with stops at beach resorts in Turkey and Cyprus.

Any thoughts..........

 

I have no idea what "beach resorts" you will be visiting instead of Egypt, but if Antalya is one of them, you must attempt to get to Perge and Aspendos, two remarkable ancient cities with wonderful Roman ruins, and, in the latter, a gargantuan and well-preserved amphitheater. On Insignia in 2007, never having heard of Antalya, we booked at the very last-minute a tour to these sites, and were rewarded with one of the most surprising and delightful days of our cruise.