Turkey

[dondiane]

Have any of the cruise lines removed Turkey from their itineraries?

[cactusrose]

Just Istanbul. If planned they are still going to Kudasasi

1972 - Song of Norway, Caribbean
1980 - Hawaii American Curise line, Tahiti
09/01/2002 - Veendam, Alaska
05/29/2003 - Pacific Princess, Alaska
11/26/2003 - Star Princess, Australia/New Zealand

5/28/2004 - Star Princess, Venice to Barcelona
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff00ff&cdt=2004;05;28;21;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]

11/06/2004 - Diamond Princess, Mexican Riviera
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00ff00&cdt=2004;11;06;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]

[Aussie Gal]

We are going to be on the HAL Prinsendam in October and Istanbul is still on our itinerary.

Jennie.

The next cruise is always the best!

3RD OCTOBER, 2004 PRINSENDAM

[juliejoe]

Jennie,

Istanbul is a marvelous city to experience! I do hope HAL doesn't change your itinerary.

Julie

Deuteronomy 4:29
<')))><
Grand Princess 8/17/04 Baltic B2B with 8/27/04 Transatlantic & 11/27/04 Western Caribbean

[Aussie Gal]

Julie,

I agree with you. We were last in Istanbul in 1995, so we are looking forward to seeing it again. We are crossing our fingers that it stays on the itinerary.

Jennie.

The next cruise is always the best!

3RD OCTOBER, 2004 PRINSENDAM

[ger_77]

We will be on the Prinsendam to Istanbul on the May 31 sailing and we have just completed and received confirmation for shore excursions there. Where did you hear that Istanbul was being removed from the itinerary? Sure hope we don't miss it - it would be a shame!

Smooth Sailing! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Till Our Panama Canal Experience
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[wwinfl91]

We were in Istanbul last summer and had a great time with a private tour guide who did a wonderful job. If you are interested in a private tour check out their website

[url="http://www.turfantastik.com/"]http://www.turfantastik.com/[/url]

We did a full day tour with 3 other couples and saw the Byzantine Hippodrome, Haghia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Underground Cistern and Blue Mosque, famous for its tiles as well as a stop at the Grand Bazar.

We had lunch at a great local restaurant that is on the grounds of the Topkapi Palace.

Hopefully you will get a chance to experience this fantastic historic city.

Have a GREAT next cruise.

HAL Noordam 3/97 West Carib
Hal Westerdam 12/97 East Carib
HAL Veendam 11/98 East Carib
Hal Zaandam 12/00 South Carib
HAL Veendam 10/01 Panama Canal
RCCL Enchantment 09/02 W.Carib
Costa Atlantica 12/02 E.Carib
HAL Noordam 03/03 S.Carib
Golden Princess 07/03 Med
Celebrity Zenith 12/03 W.Carib
HAL Maasdam 05/04 Canada

[Andee]

Oceania has removed Istanbul and Kusadasi from their itineraries.

[cactusrose]

Most Cruise Lines follow the Travel Warnings issued by the US Department of State. I just noticed that the Travel Warning for Turkey is no longer posted on this site. Looks like the cruise lines that haven't changed the itinerary may not.

If you're interested here is a link to the site.

[url="http://travel.state.gov/"]http://travel.state.gov/[/url]

1972 - Song of Norway, Caribbean
1980 - Hawaii American Curise line, Tahiti
09/01/2002 - Veendam, Alaska
05/29/2003 - Pacific Princess, Alaska
11/26/2003 - Star Princess, Australia/New Zealand

5/28/2004 - Star Princess, Venice to Barcelona
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff00ff&cdt=2004;05;28;21;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]

11/06/2004 - Diamond Princess, Mexican Riviera
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00ff00&cdt=2004;11;06;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]

[This message was edited by cactusrose on 04-23-04 at 07:52 PM.]

[brownj]

Istanbul - You will regret it as we did if you do not spend a couple of days here. For our tous We used a local tour company called Byzance. I could not be happier with the service we received from the guide, I have never had a more positive experience with any company of any kind -- EVER! I don't know what more I could say. We had to leave very early the next morning after our arrival so we only had time to see the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia and walk through a small part of the Grand Bazaar. That means we missed Topkapi Palace entirely (it takes 4-5 hours to tour properly) and several other places we wanted to see. This is definitely on our list of places we wish to re-visit one day.

I hope this helps. We have wonderful memories of the people we met and places we visited.