Should we continue with our Med sailing plans?

[Cruisingfan_sg]

Hi cruisers,

 

My wife and I are from Singapore and have fallen in love with cruising since our first cruise with Rcl back in 2017. Lately, we have been making do with watching YouTube videos on cruise ships and destinations.

 

Late last year, we were lucky enough to sail on one of Rcl’s ocean getaways from Singapore and booked a trip to the Med scheduled for Sept 2022 (we also booked a trip for December 2021 with Voyager sailing in south-east Asia but that’s another story).

 

We have been following the news lately and noticed a rise in racial negativity in Europe and the US. As Asians and of Chinese ethnicity, we have concerns on travel to these destinations in the near future, and if we should rebook our Med cruise to an asian destination. Hence, like to check with follow cruisers if our concerns are misplaced and if there are other things we should look out for. 

 

Apologies to the mod if the topic is inappropriate. Please delete where deemed fit.
 

 

[mom says]

I don't think the topic is inappropriate at all, and from what I've been reading and seeing on the news, I understand your concerns. But I think that right now tempers are fraught, and hopefully if the pandemic eases, so will the ugly behavior. Since you still have 17 months before your Med  cruise, perhaps wait a few months more and see if things improve as we hope they will.

[clo]

1 hour ago, mom says said:

I don't think the topic is inappropriate at all, and from what I've been reading and seeing on the news, I understand your concerns. But I think that right now tempers are fraught, and hopefully if the pandemic eases, so will the ugly behavior. Since you still have 17 months before your Med  cruise, perhaps wait a few months more and see if things improve as we hope they will.

I completely agree with all you wrote.  And @cruisingfan_sg, I hate so much what some of you are having to go through right now. I hope also that it's short-lived. Warm best of luck to you.

[ldubs]

12 hours ago, Cruisingfan_sg said:

Hi cruisers,

 

My wife and I are from Singapore and have fallen in love with cruising since our first cruise with Rcl back in 2017. Lately, we have been making do with watching YouTube videos on cruise ships and destinations.

 

Late last year, we were lucky enough to sail on one of Rcl’s ocean getaways from Singapore and booked a trip to the Med scheduled for Sept 2022 (we also booked a trip for December 2021 with Voyager sailing in south-east Asia but that’s another story).

 

We have been following the news lately and noticed a rise in racial negativity in Europe and the US. As Asians and of Chinese ethnicity, we have concerns on travel to these destinations in the near future, and if we should rebook our Med cruise to an asian destination. Hence, like to check with follow cruisers if our concerns are misplaced and if there are other things we should look out for. 

 

Apologies to the mod if the topic is inappropriate. Please delete where deemed fit.
 

 

 

Mrs Ldubs doesn't go to certain places in our area by herself any more.  Very sad.  We have a N. Europe cruise booked for summer next year.  I feel pretty good that we won't encounter any of those issues.  But if I did have any concerns I would certainly rebook. 

[SelectSys]

When I first saw this thread, I thought it was in relation to COVID.  I am still wondering about that as I plan on a Med cruise in fall of 2022.  I hope it goes ahead!

 

Personally, I would think the much larger likelihood for any tourist in Europe would be petty street crime more than anything else.   Even the chances of this are pretty small and if you pay attention to your surroundings and avoid unsolicited offers of help and/or conversation.

 

I believe you will be fine as part of a cruise ship.  The ports they call on are pretty safe in general.  Sticking to line provided tours would perhaps provide an additional level of confidence that "you won't have any trouble."   

 

Of course you need to do what makes you and your family comfortable.  Not being relaxed and comfortable on vacation doesn't sound like a pleasant getaway to me.

 

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

Mrs Ldubs doesn't go to certain places in our area by herself any more.

That is sad to hear - especially if it was in neighborhoods where it was previously safe her to go.  I must confess there are parts of San Diego where I would think twice about going.  

Edited April 5, 2021 by SelectSys

[wowzz]

15 hours ago, Cruisingfan_sg said:

racial negativity in Europe

Europe is a big place - where exactly did this negativity take place, and in what form?

I can't say that I'm aware of any recent negativity either in the UK or in Europe as a whole. Obviously you will get the odd bigot everywhere,  but they are very few and far between,  and you are unlikely to encounter  them in the destinations that most cruises visit in Europe.  

Edited April 5, 2021 by wowzz

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Europe is a big place - where exactly did this negativity take place, and in what form?

I can't say that I'm aware of any recent negativity either in the UK or in Europe as a whole. Obviously you will get the odd bigot everywhere,  but they are very few and far between,  and you are unlikely to encounter  them in the destinations that most cruises visit in Europe.  

 

For starters:

 

https://www.scmp.com/video/world/3127061/virus-has-no-nationality-asians-france-protest-against-hate-crime

 

https://www.euractiv.com/section/non-discrimination/news/alex-sr-covid-19-pandemic-exposed-racism-against-asians-in-france/

 

And from one article:

 

U.K. police data suggests a rise of 300% in hate crimes toward Chinese, East and South East Asians in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2018 and 2019. Over the past year in the U.K., Chinese takeaway owners have reported being spat at and attacked, nurses of ESEA heritage working in the National Health Services have reported incidents of racial abuse from patients, and people of ESEA descent have been victims of violent and racially aggravated street attacks.

 

https://time.com/5947862/anti-asian-attacks-rising-worldwide/

 

 

To the OP:  I agree with poster mom says above.  See how things look in a few months when (hopefully) many more people will be vaccinated and people will be able to get back to their normal lives.

 

 

[ldubs]

On 4/5/2021 at 2:37 PM, wowzz said:

Europe is a big place - where exactly did this negativity take place, and in what form?

I can't say that I'm aware of any recent negativity either in the UK or in Europe as a whole. Obviously you will get the odd bigot everywhere,  but they are very few and far between,  and you are unlikely to encounter  them in the destinations that most cruises visit in Europe.  

 

For our cruise next year  I might be more concerned about some knucklehead passenger than anything that might be encountered off the ship.  But hopefully by then this craziness will be a thing of the past.     

[dreamercruise]

I would continue with sailing plan.  Only difference is not to wander off by myself in port but to stay with travel group at all times.

[bbwex]

On behalf of the rest of my countrymen, I would like to apologize for the incitement of violence against members of the Asian community that may have been sparked, instigated, approved and/or encouraged by our former president. 

 

That being said, I would think that if you take tours with groups of other people, you are unlikely to be singled out and suffer any "crimes of opportunity."  Most of the people who commit these cowardly and thoughtless acts are unwilling to do so if there are witnesses and others around the potential victims.  Also you would not be in an area where some deranged individual would expect to find or seek out members of the Asian community.

 

I would think that the passage of time will also heal most of these issues, and I would strongly suggest giving the Med cruise a try.  There are so many extremely interesting places to see, and private tours, with groups you could put together or join on a cruise's Roll Call would be a pretty safe way to have one heck of an enjoyable cruise.