Will Casablanca get scratched from cruises?

[C 2 C]

Trouble is brewing in North Africa. Anyone booked on a ship stopping in Casablanca be prepared to go elsewhere.

 

RABAT, Morocco - Two brothers strapped with explosives blew themselves up near an American cultural center in Casablanca Saturday, and police arrested another three suspects — including one wearing an explosives belt — hours later, an official said.

The attacks came just days after three suspected militants blew themselves up as they were cornered by police in Casablanca, and al-Qaida claimed suicide car bombings in neighboring Algeria that killed 33 people. The attacks have stoked new fears of Islamic terrorism in North Africa — especially in Morocco, long known for its stability.

For the full story:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070414/ap_on_re_af/morocco_explosion

[Ine]

About 3 or 4 years ago there was a serious bombing in Casablanca too. I remember Westerdam of HAL had this port in its inaugural sailing that same year and the stop continued as planned. As probably more ships did.

Remember the bombs in the past in Kusadasi, on Corsica, Istanbul, Madrid, also Costa Brava (ETA), Israel, Egypt etc.

Rumor is that also suspected persons/groups are in Tunesia and Morocco.

 

I guess it makes travel not always attractive, but unfortunately yes it can happen anywhere....

[lysolqn]

Hmmm...it's along way off, but our Century transatlantic in December makes three stops in Morocco before heading off to the Canary Islands and then the crossing. One of the things that attracted us to the itinerary was the time spent in Morocco. We'll just have to wait and see.

[ocngypz]

Ultimately, it will be up to the ship's insurance company.

[wv4891]

Our Sept 2008 Transatlantic on the Constellation has a port stop there. I have always wanted to go to Casablanca and still plan on doing so. But time will tell if Celebrity continues to stop there or not.

[Nonna and Papa]

Arno,

 

You may need to stop listening to, or reading the news. Your reports lately aren't good stuff!!

 

Let's all hope that these incidents are short lived. The last thing needed in the world is another area of instability.

 

Mary

[C 2 C]

Arno,

 

You may need to stop listening to, or reading the news. Your reports lately aren't good stuff!!

 

Don't shoot the messenger.;)

 

Ten years (November 1997) ago we were sailing on NCL's "Dream" to the Middle East. While on board many other ships cancelled their stops in Israel and we were prepared for the same fate. We spent 3 wonderful days in Israel but worried every day about potential violence. In 2004 Istanbul was cut from one of our cruises so we cancelled.

If Egypt were cut from our Galaxy cruise in November I would cancel as well.

 

If you want to see some of the countryside in Morocco, watch the movie "Babel"

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount_vantage/babel/

[KRB_AMB]

We are crossing our fingers (and toes) that we dont have another change to our itinerary on Galaxy... we sail on May 1 with two stops planned on Morocco. The itinerary for Galaxy has already been changed twice and some of us are not sure where we will go... it may be the mystery cruise. We recently got our stop in St Martin changed to Antigua...

 

Like one of the other posters said it will depend on the insurance carrier for X. I just looked and there have been no changes on the US State Departments travel advisories.

 

Hopefully will have some reports for you in about a month!

 

Ken

[Cote d'or]

In june 2005 we were in Kusadasi, Turkey, sailing the Galaxy. One month later there was a bomb attack. As far as I know, Celebrity never cancelled the stop in Kusadasi.

[Nonna and Papa]

Don't worry, Arno. I would never consider shooting the messenger!:)

 

Oh please, let's all hope and pray that our Galaxy itinerary isn't changed. The main reason we booked that cruise was to go to Egypt! What a disappointment that would be.

 

As for the situations that continue abroad..again, let's all hope and pray for the best outcome.

 

Now, quit reading the paper!!!;)

 

Mary

[Deb C.]

Bad news:

HAL has decided to by-pass Casablanca tomorrow on its world cruise on the Amsterdam.:( Just heard it from a friend on the ship. They are going to stop at Gibraltar instead. Just too big a chance to take!

[hobo1937]

We are scheduled to be in Tangiers 5/1 on the Millie. It will be interesting to see what happens to that port stop. Already scheduled for Gibraltar the day before so that's not an option.

[bububr]

Just finished jury duty with a gentleman from Morocco. He was back last year and said he noticed a lot more crime, and people that were destitute. He was there prior to 9/11 and said it is like night and day. While they appreciate tourism, US citizens are not looked at highly at this point.

 

I was looking to book, and usually nothing deters me, but I am going to wait because I don't want to book, and look forward to it then do a sail by instead. I'm going to see how the next few sailings do before I consider.

 

Here is another link:http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_975.html

 

Lets hope for the best!!!

 

Dave:eek:

[roygg]

We are also on this sailing and have to try to not get too wound up about the prospect of a further shift in itinerary.

After all what has happened so far:

1. Changed the sail date from 27 Apr to 1 May.
   
2. Dropped stop at St.Maarten
   
3. Dropped stop at Corsica
   
4. Reduced lay over in Barcelona twice, now down to 4 hours in reality.
   
5. If Morocco does get dropped there will not be any of the original ports that's not been tinkered with.

The original poster raises a very reasonable question but I believe the answer will not be revealed before our crossing, in just a few days now.

 

However, It is important for us all to be aware of what is going on eg:

U.S. Consulate General Temporarily Closed to the Public
April 16, 2007
Effective immediately, the U.S. Consulate General in Casablanca has temporarily suspended services to the public for a review of security measures

.

 

I would not expect Celebrity to tell us of a change in course at this late stage. Since the web cams are not working, the outside world will perhaps not know where we are until after we have been there.

 

What an adventure !

 

Is that not what sailing is all about?

[roygg]

For the record.

As anticipated, passengers discovered after they had checked in that the ship would not be visiting Casablanca. We were handed a small piece of paper, with our seapass, stating a change in itinerary. Galaxy did instead visit Ibiza after calling at Agidir. As it turned out the passengers got a bonus in Ibiza, the old town was decked out for a small fiesta which made for a very enjoyable stroll. Stopover time in Barcelona was extended 8 - 6

[sasset]

roygg:

 

We were to be on this (Galaxy May 1) cruise but switched to Summit later in the year. Just for the record can you post the final itinerary?

 

Thank you and regards

[DonLou]

Last year there was a State Dept. advisory concerning Morocco because of an incident. The ship with the same itinerary as ours, but sailing a month before our cruise, bypassed Casablanca and went to Malaga instead. A lot of people were concerned that our cruise too would not be visiting Casablanca. It actually wasn't until a couple of days into our cruise that we knew we would be making port in Casablanca. I guess you can never be too sure but I'll take safety over bravado.:o

[dmk]

The original itinerary for the Millennium, Transatlantic, Dec 2007 had stops in Tangier's and Casablanca. They were replaced by other ports sometime ago. I am pleased with the new itinerary.

[Cote d'or]

The original itinerary for the Millennium, Transatlantic, Dec 2007 had stops in Tangier's and Casablanca. They were replaced by other ports sometime ago. I am pleased with the new itinerary.

 

I wonder if these replacements were done for safety or practical reasons. The itinerary for our TA with the Galaxy, december 2007, still has Casablanca and Agadir on the list.

[roygg]

roygg:

 

We were to be on this (Galaxy May 1) cruise but switched to Summit later in the year. Just for the record can you post the final itinerary?

 

Thank you and regards

Sasset:

Galaxy sailed following course :

 

San Juan - Antigua 272 nm

Antigua - Agadir 2971 nm

Agadir - Ibiza 840 nm

Ibiza - Barcelona 154 nm

Barcelona - Villefranche 264 nm

Villefranche - Civitavecchia 237 nm

Total 4739 nm 1 nautical mile = 1.15 land miles