Are Celebrity still going to Istanbul?

[chamima]

Yes. I know that now. Never heard of a 2 night port stop before.

 

It was an overnight at the end of the Atlantis charter then an overnight at the start of the following cruise.

 

 

 

 

I think the biggest impact will be (once again) on the crew, who have lost a chance to catch up and regroup with those 2 nights in port for changeover. :(

[Pushka]

It was an overnight at the end of the Atlantis charter then an overnight at the start of the following cruise.

 

 

Yep. A two night port stop.

[Pushka]

I think the biggest impact will be (once again) on the crew, who have lost a chance to catch up and regroup with those 2 nights in port for changeover. :(

 

 

Agree. We were on the cruise before the charter (as you know :p) and that started with a noro alert for five days. So deep clean plus extra duties. Lots of maintenance and cleaning during the cruise. Then a party ship for 10? Days and I think that a sweetener might have been a stay in Istanbul to recoup. Been a challenging few weeks for the crew.

Edited August 23, 2015 by Pushka

[Heartsandflowers]

The Atlantis Charter IS being impacted. They are losing their overnight in Istanbul.

 

So presumably this means the guys on the charter are leaving the ship a day earlier than they expected. How on earth will 3000 gay guys find accommodation for a night in Istanbul? Seems a little unfair to expect them to do that.

[PaulaW]

So presumably this means the guys on the charter are leaving the ship a day earlier than they expected. How on earth will 3000 gay guys find accommodation for a night in Istanbul? Seems a little unfair to expect them to do that.

 

 

No, I don't believe that is the case. They will be arriving back in Istanbul on the day they would have left the ship anyways. I am guessing they have probably added another sea day to the end of their itinerary to account for the lost day in Istanbul.

[Heartsandflowers]

No, I don't believe that is the case. They will be arriving back in Istanbul on the day they would have left the ship anyways. I am guessing they have probably added another sea day to the end of their itinerary to account for the lost day in Istanbul.

 

Thank you for the clarification.

[WestLakeGirl]

However, if anyone had planned not to overnight, and was going to leave ths ship on its original arrival date, they won't be able to

[cruiserchuck]

However, if anyone had planned not to overnight, and was going to leave ths ship on its original arrival date, they won't be able to

 

Folks who booked a real early flight out on the last day of the cruise might also have trouble. We have done that before in situations where the ship was scheduled to dock the day before the cruise ended. We left the ship at about 3:00 am to go to the airport for a flight.

[Pushka]

Folks who booked a real early flight out on the last day of the cruise might also have trouble. We have done that before in situations where the ship was scheduled to dock the day before the cruise ended. We left the ship at about 3:00 am to go to the airport for a flight.

 

 

Agree. And Istanbul immigration queues, if more than one ship disembarking, are horrendous as they process visas..

[HadesNL]

The captain of equinox decided against an overnight in istanbul, instead we arrived on the second day. Everybody got their shore excursion re-imbursed and alternative arrengements/entertainment was in place.

 

The crew had a busy schedule today due to a shorter turnover time. Immigration was fast in 10 minutes and luggage was all ready in the terminal building. Celebrity bustransfers (25usd) were safe on time and excellently organised. There is no more noro-virrus outbreak on the ship. In istanbul all is calm and nothing unusual.

[dutchclogs]

The captain of equinox decided against an overnight in istanbul, instead we arrived on the second day. Everybody got their shore excursion re-imbursed and alternative arrengements/entertainment was in place.

 

The crew had a busy schedule today due to a shorter turnover time. Immigration was fast in 10 minutes and luggage was all ready in the terminal building. Celebrity bustransfers (25usd) were safe on time and excellently organised. There is no more noro-virrus outbreak on the ship. In istanbul all is calm and nothing unusual.

 

Good to hear! Are you still in Istanbul or at the airport already?

[HadesNL]

Just arrived back at AMS-airport. Two days before the planned arrival, Atlantis and Celebrity Cruises monitored the situation. It was the captain's final decision not to overnight as he was concerned for the safety of the ship's guests. We all understood that ofcourse and there was no hard feelings.

 

There were several guests though that had booked earlier flights out but on non-changable economy/business class tickets. Our Micheal's club concierge gave those guests alternative flights options but it was at the airline's discretion to honour these (seems Delta was more difficult then Lufthansa)

[Scrappytraveller]

Unless they know something we don't know, I still think this is a total overreaction. There was a scary incident on a train from Belgium to France, yet no cruise lines are cancelling port stops there. I looked at the Cdn government's travel advisory website and there is nothing about avoiding Istanbul.

I really hope this was a one time thing and they don't take this decision for the rest of the fall cruises.

I guess I'll have to figure out a plan B to condense our Istanbul sightseeing, in case our port day turns into a sea day too. I'm still looking forward to our time there.

[HadesNL]

I didn't encounter anything worrysome or see anthing out of the ordinary.

On the way to the airport, there was the usual flow of people going on with their daily lives, not a militairy wasteland. I wouldn't skip Istanbul, it's to much of an interesting place

[Pushka]

Thats the thing about terrorism. Particularly the recent 'solo' acts. Everyone feels safe until a terrorist acts. On the 'positive' side, the recent change in tactics means that the scale of damage is reduced unless you are immediately affected.

 

On the other hand, those people killed on the weekend in England on a sunny day going about their daily lives when a plane landed on the freeway might think that terrorism is overstated by the media and awful things happen to people all the time.

[Cruiseaholic 8]

Does anyone know whether the upcoming Reflection cruise on 31 August has also had its overnight in Istanbul cancelled as well?

[Miaminice]

Does anyone know whether the upcoming Reflection cruise on 31 August has also had its overnight in Istanbul cancelled as well?

 

Yes, it has...

 

We received the news yesterday morning.

 

The overnight will be in Athens, Rhodes and Chania/Crete were added as ports of call.

 

Some of our fellow travellers received the news while travelling already.

[Cruiseaholic 8]

Thank you very much for that info. I thought they might cancel, unfortunately my suspicions were correct. Shame we won't go to Istanbul but the other ports sound good. See you on board! :)

[shot2bits]

It's very easy to be complacent. Just because you feel safe, it doesn't mean you are. It is easy to take precautions and protect yourself and if this means not putting yourself in a potentially dangerous situation then so be it. There are many people on a much higher pay grade than me watching the situation closely. If they say Istanbul, or any other place, is dangerous, then I for one will believe them.

[Miaminice]

This is the new itinerary of the August 31. cruise on Reflection:

 

 

Date Ports of Call Arrive Depart Activity

Mo 31Aug2015 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy - 05:00 PM Boarding

Di 01Sep2015 At Sea - - Cruising

Mi 02Sep2015 Santorini, Greece 02:00 PM 10:00 PM Tendered

Do 03Sep2015 Mykonos, Greece 07:00 AM 06:00 PM Tendered

Fr 04Sep2015 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 06:00 AM - Docked

Sa 05Sep2015 Athens (Piraeus), Greece - 06:00 PM Docked

So 06Sep2015 Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey 08:00 AM 05:00 PM Docked

Mo 07Sep2015 Rhodes, Greece 06:30 AM 04:30 PM Docked

Di 08Sep2015 Chania (Souda), Crete, Greece 08:00 AM 05:00 PM Docked

Mi 09Sep2015 At Sea - - Cruising

Do 10Sep2015 Naples, Italy 07:00 AM 06:30 PM Docked

Fr 11Sep2015 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 05:00 AM - Departure

[Cruiseaholic 8]

Vielen Dank! :)

[Miaminice]

Vielen Dank! :)

 

My pleasure!

[morechances]

As a day stop, Istanbul would probably be fine. It is the overnight that leaves the ship, pax and crew more vulnerable.

 

And, as some have said, it is easy to be critical, without knowing the facts. There may have been a threat that we do not know about. Changing an itinerary is better than announcing that the ship or cruise line has received a threat.

 

Also, to change itineraries is not as easy as emailing passengers. There are many behind the scenes logistics that need to happen.

 

I am not happy about missing Istanbul. It was the ONLY reason that I booked this cruise.

However, it is what it is.

[upwarduk]

Here is the link to the Sticky:

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=6505

[cruisemom42]

It's very easy to be complacent. Just because you feel safe, it doesn't mean you are. It is easy to take precautions and protect yourself and if this means not putting yourself in a potentially dangerous situation then so be it. There are many people on a much higher pay grade than me watching the situation closely. If they say Istanbul, or any other place, is dangerous, then I for one will believe them.

 

But that's just the point many are making. Neither the US State Department nor the UK State Department are advising staying away from Turkey (other than the obvious exception of the Turkey-Syrian border area). If there were credible threats of danger to tourists, surely an Alert or Warning would have been issued.... :rolleyes:

 

I believe more in "Trust....but verify" than in blind reliance on others in high pay grades.