The Istanbul Conundrum

[worldtravellerrus]

You are so right DYKWIA

I have been on every continent on earth and been in countries that were in civil wars, train stations that had been blown up while I was there and the fear is NOT the reason we are concerned, hell I lived in the U. S. for about 10 yrs and had neighbors shot.

The real reason for me is that this year my wife and I celebrate our 50th anniversary and had planned this b2b trip for over a year and yes it is costing us a lot of money, on top of being a Canadian with the low dollar, but I just want to know what the hell X is going to do? if they are cancelling Turkey and Israel, fine, just say so. WE wanted to go back to these 2 countries again. If they are cancelling then have the balls to say so and we will find another way to celebrate our 50th, just don't jack everyone around.

 

QUOTE=DYKWIA;48857398]I think for some it is less about being scared that they will be in mortal danger but more a concern about booking a cruise at significant expense including certain ports only to have the cruise changed significantly at short notice / late in the day to include ports that they have no interest in going to.

 

We would love to do an Eastern Med Cruise but are reluctant to book a cruise featuring interesting ports in Turkey when, at the moment, we think its likely that it it will change and who knows where we will end up and how many overnights will be thrown in

[sylmack]

You are so right DYKWIA

I have been on every continent on earth and been in countries that were in civil wars, train stations that had been blown up while I was there and the fear is NOT the reason we are concerned, hell I lived in the U. S. for about 10 yrs and had neighbors shot.

The real reason for me is that this year my wife and I celebrate our 50th anniversary and had planned this b2b trip for over a year and yes it is costing us a lot of money, on top of being a Canadian with the low dollar, but I just want to know what the hell X is going to do? if they are cancelling Turkey and Israel, fine, just say so. WE wanted to go back to these 2 countries again. If they are cancelling then have the balls to say so and we will find another way to celebrate our 50th, just don't jack everyone around.

 

 

I agree 110%

 

I would rather Celebrity cancel ports before a lot of people book BECAUSE it is going to Turkey, than cancel once all the money is collected and it is too difficult to cancel.

 

Last year they cancelled our 3 days in Israel the day we were boarding. It became apparent later that they had no intention of going to Israel and knew it several weeks previous to our departure.

 

Have some balls Celebrity and cancel the ports in time for your customers to change plans if they don't like the new itinerary.

[BosoxI]

Please don't be offended but with that remark, it's probably a good job you aren't :D

As I said in my original post, terrorism is global issue and if some people had their way, cruise ships wouldn't stop anywhere, people wouldn't travel, airlines would stop flying whilst people in the US just keep guns and shoot each other

.....................just saying ;)

 

How clever you are

[realnice46]

Istanbul is still in their itineraries for 2017. I do think they need to clarify their position and post it on their website . I will just choose not to take one of those cruises for now. It is also possible that something will also happened in some other port of call. We just have to watch and see.

[Texed]

Ed,

Hopefully, obviously taking safety into consideration, you'll have a chance to at least experience some parts of this wonderful place :);). Jenny

 

Jenny,

 

We changed our cruises completely. We did not want to be concerned that they might change last minute. Maybe we will get to visit Istanbul at a later date. :)

[Beanb41]

Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to cross the US off of your list since you think there are mass shootings here everyday.

 

Rob, the USA is not on my cruise list anytime in the foreseeable future. Further to my comment regarding mass shootings Barak Obama stated on 3rd December 2015 that in the preceding 1066 days there had been 1052 mass killings in the USA. I would think that if Obama makes such a statement there would be an element of truth behind it.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Beanb41

[ThursdaysChild]

Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to cross the US off of your list since you think there are mass shootings here everyday.

 

Well, sadly Beanb41 is right. In 2015 there were more than 355 mass shootings in the US as of 12/2/15. Okay, he was not quite right...that's MORE than one a day. :eek:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/02/the-san-bernardino-mass-shooting-is-the-second-today-and-the-355th-this-year/

 

Until my country comes to its collective senses about this insane gun and ammo lust, I am safer abroad then I am at home.

Edited January 24, 2016 by ThursdaysChild

[cruiseerf]

Hello:

 

If most other large ship cruise lines have cancelled the Turkish ports then you can be sure that Celebrity will as well. The liability involved if they made a decision contrary to what is considered "industry Standard" could be HUGE. Cruiselines care about their passengers but they care about their Profits Also......Industry Standard could provide grounds to sue.......

 

We are on a cruise which cancelled our overnight in Turkey. We strongly believe the Kusadasi and Bodrum calls will cancel as well. We are calling this our "Mystery Cruise"......Who knows we may end up somewhere new OR somewhere we have been.....We always find something nice to see or a new restaurant in an old port.....We are enjoying thinking about all the possibilities! Until we know more, we will just wait and see.

 

Safe sails to all!

[DYKWIA]

Hello:

 

If most other large ship cruise lines have cancelled the Turkish ports then you can be sure that Celebrity will as well. The liability involved if they made a decision contrary to what is considered "industry Standard" could be HUGE. Cruiselines care about their passengers but they care about their Profits Also......Industry Standard could provide grounds to sue.......

 

We are on a cruise which cancelled our overnight in Turkey. We strongly believe the Kusadasi and Bodrum calls will cancel as well. We are calling this our "Mystery Cruise"......Who knows we may end up somewhere new OR somewhere we have been.....We always find something nice to see or a new restaurant in an old port.....We are enjoying thinking about all the possibilities! Until we know more, we will just wait and see.

 

Safe sails to all!

Hopefully they will sort this out ASAP and let people know. I hope, if they drop Turkey, they retain at least one non EU port on the itinerary, it makes for big tax savings on board.

[Dowunder]

Just received a promotional email with Celebrity cruises scheduled for April, June, July, August and Sept. All Eastern Med that include Kasadasi and all heavily discounted. Obviously many cancellations with no Istanbul, but they still think Ephesus should be OK.

[bonedoc7]

Mystery cruise sounds amazing!! I am one to plan way too much, i need to chill more! Like that i am booked on a mystery cruise! I keep waiting for prices to drop (so i can re-book or upgrade our stateroom) but prices are way higher than when i booked. Could be the canadian dollar and exchange rate, but no discounts as far as i can tell.

[drarill]

Hopefully they will sort this out ASAP and let people know. I hope, if they drop Turkey, they retain at least one non EU port on the itinerary, it makes for big tax savings on board.

 

We did the original Reflection itinerary two years ago, now with the new ports we might book it again for this summer. I do hope they keep one non EU port because last year on the Equinox from Rome to Barcelona the taxes were ridiculous.

[cruisemom42]

Hello:

 

If most other large ship cruise lines have cancelled the Turkish ports then you can be sure that Celebrity will as well. The liability involved if they made a decision contrary to what is considered "industry Standard" could be HUGE. Cruiselines care about their passengers but they care about their Profits Also......Industry Standard could provide grounds to sue.......

 

 

Safe sails to all!

 

One cannot say that most other lines have cancelled ports of call in Turkey. At least not yet.

 

Princess, HAL, Royal Caribbean, and Cunard, for starters, have not cancelled port calls in Turkey -- and those are lines with a fairly big presence in the Mediterranean.

[tinybabynurse]

....... Further to my comment regarding mass shootings Barak Obama stated on 3rd December 2015 that in the preceding 1066 days there had been 1052 mass killings in the USA. I would think that if Obama makes such a statement there would be an element of truth behind it.

 

Well, that's your first mistake.

[littlelulu01]

Mystery cruise sounds amazing!! I am one to plan way too much, i need to chill more! Like that i am booked on a mystery cruise! I keep waiting for prices to drop (so i can re-book or upgrade our stateroom) but prices are way higher than when i booked. Could be the canadian dollar and exchange rate, but no discounts as far as i can tell.

 

Agree with the mystery cruise allure. The prices are much less compared to cruises with more definitive ports of call. Two people in a sky suite on silhouette 14 night out of Rome 9/24/16; $6686 all in with taxes and port fees. Includes all four perks and a bonus of an additional $650 obc from online ta.

 

If they're going to substitute Israel and Turkey it would probably increase sales and prices. The other med cruises not visiting Israel and turkey have double the price tags and limited rooms available.

 

One could feasibly really make out booking at these low prices and perhaps end up with an itinerary very similar to the sailings that are selling for double.

 

Not great for those with these ports on their must do list but ports of call are never a given anyway. Sure would be appealing if they substituted for Split, Malta or Dubrovnik.

 

Santorini twice on the same sailing is what NCL did for the Jade sailings this year. Their lowest priced balcony rooms are selling for a couple thousand more than silhouette sky suites and their perks are quite inferior. Their lowest priced suite, non haven, is selling for 17k same dates.

[chrismakris]

Well, we got our answer by the looks of it for our cruise. Someone has posted that our overnight in Istanbul is no more. They have decided to still disembark in Istanbul, and have added a few more hours in some of the ports to make up for it.

 

A little disappointing, but not something that will make me change my plans for this voyage.

[littlelulu01]

Well, we got our answer by the looks of it for our cruise. Someone has posted that our overnight in Istanbul is no more. They have decided to still disembark in Istanbul, and have added a few more hours in some of the ports to make up for it.

 

A little disappointing, but not something that will make me change my plans for this voyage.

 

Understandable. Nice that you have a more definitive plan going forward and that you have a few extra hours in other ports.

 

I would think there is still a possibility of some major changes such as in debarkation port or changes to Israel ports.

 

I would love to know in advance, understand the need for wait and see but in all honesty I think the Ashod and Haifa ports could be canceled up to day of. I would much rather have a change now and lose out vs lose out at the last minute and get an extra sea day or a few overnights in Athens.

[GerScot]

If they are going to change some of the ports of call I wish they would tell us now. We are on Reflection in April and I like to have all my excursions researched and booked before I travel.

[jael001]

I've been putting off booking any excursions as I'm wary of intinerary changes again.

[Hlitner]

There are two major issues impacting cruises to Istanbul. There is the oft cited safety issue....but there is also a major (long planned) construction project that has currently closed much of the docking piers at the regular cruise port. Personally, when DW and I are in Istanbul (we really enjoy this city) we just go off on our own without any tours (although this is because we dislike tours....it is also a recommended security precaution to avoid being in large groups...such as tours). We are booked on an upcoming Prinsendam (HAL) cruise that is scheduled to dock in Istanbul (for an overnight) on April 1. I believe (not positive) this will be the next scheduled docking for any US-based cruise line. As of today, HAL has not announced any changes to our itinerary.

 

DW and I have spent more then our share of time in Istanbul (on both cruises and land visits) and have always enjoyed moving around all over the city (and region) on our own. While we are cognizant of the risks of being anywhere in this crazy world, we normally feel very comfortable in Istanbul (and Turkey) and have always been treated very well by the Turks. We do understand that the current situation is not ideal for Turkey, but one could say the same about San Bernadino, Paris, Belgium, etc.

 

Hank

Edited February 3, 2016 by Hlitner

[MVPinBoynton]

Our Oct 21 Constellation cruise has no eliminated the Istanbul overnight. This is great for us, since we are spendng 4 days before the cruise in Istanbul. We will also NW pick up an additional port Limassol, Cyprus.

[bama4cruisin]

Our Oct 21 Constellation cruise has no eliminated the Istanbul overnight. This is great for us, since we are spendng 4 days before the cruise in Istanbul. We will also NW pick up an additional port Limassol, Cyprus.

 

Hi Mike and Carol,

 

We met a few years ago on a Canada-New England cruise on the Summit. You will enjoy Istanbul immensely. We did a b2b on the Constellation which ended in Istanbul late last September and stayed 3 nights. It was amazing! While the violence has escalated some since, there had already been enough acts that the overnight at the start of the cruise following ours was cancelled. I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe; the people were welcoming. We loved our hotel for their hospitality, location, food, everything. Enjoy!

[MVPinBoynton]

Hi Mike and Carol,

 

We met a few years ago on a Canada-New England cruise on the Summit. You will enjoy Istanbul immensely. We did a b2b on the Constellation which ended in Istanbul late last September and stayed 3 nights. It was amazing! While the violence has escalated some since, there had already been enough acts that the overnight at the start of the cruise following ours was cancelled. I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe; the people were welcoming. We loved our hotel for their hospitality, location, food, everything. Enjoy!

 

Hi Jennifer, so nice to hear from you. I am glad that the overnight was taken away, since it will help for the embarkation to stay in place, hopefully.

[SFO-F/A]

Crystal cruises are now out of Turkey.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-5/news/news.cfm?ID=6754

 

We are booked on the Connie for October 21. Have not made air or tour plans yet. I have a feeling that Israel will be cancelled on our itinerary. If it is, the cruise will turn into a Greek island cruise which we did last year. I would love to go to Istanbul but can't see just booking a cruise because of the embarking port if we have been to the other ports and don't care to return. I just wish that if Celebrity is anticipating an itinerary change they do it sooner more than later so we would know what ports the ship will be stopping. Last year when Istanbul was cancelled as an overnight on the Reflection we didn't have a lot of notice.

 

NCL also sent a message they are not stopping in Turkey.

[Host Jazzbeau]

NCL also sent a message they are not stopping in Turkey.

 

This also applies to Oceania and Regent, following the lead of their new corporate masters.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-5/news/news.cfm?ID=6769