This is confusing. The 2025 WC is in Rio from March 5th thru March 7th, and the is scheduled to go across the Atlantic to Africa. This revision starts on April 22nd. What happens between those dates?
We were recently told that the Symphony is being retrofitted to enable it to enter the US. The electrical room necessary for dock connections is completed.
We love transatlantic crossings and the sea days. Since we were previously booked on the crossing from Toulon, this cruise made our trip possible without flying home from Europe.
Our trip was booked months ago and included 10 days in Greece island hopping. We replaced the Athens to Toulon Crystal cruise with a Seabourn cruise including Turkey and several Greek islands. We would have been happier with our original Crystal cruises but totally understand the reason for the change. All in all everything including flights ended up working and we only had to make a few modifications to our trip.
Has anyone tried to book any of the new segments? We plan on booking the Las Palmas to Miami crossing when it is available. We were booked on the Athens to Miami cruises.
Regent just issued a letter today to the guest on their world cruise so I don’t think Crystal will be far behind. Be patient it is a very difficult situation.
Onboard Symphony now and there is no grumbling just speculation. I think everyone understands the situation. Once the decision has been made then we can expect criticism by a few but not many.
Actually this works better for us. We haven’t been to Darwin and Alotau wasn’t really a port worth visiting (except to check off another country on our bucket list)
A well done answer to the question. When you consider the problems with logistics, crew deployment, port availability and of course passenger transportation etc it makes you realize how difficult the situation becomes. Safety overrides everything.
The general feeling aboard the Symphony (from the officers) is that it is too early for a decision. Planning for a change in itinerary is complicated and I understand that alternative plans are being discussed. World events can change rapidly and I think all passengers would vote on taking the safe course of action even if it involved c cruise cancellation.
We are onboard now and we asked this question and the answer is “it is being discussed and possible plans are being made.” The logical date and departure date is March 12, departing from Singapore non stop to Athens. More than likely the nonessential crew will be sent home and no passengers will be on the ship.