Celebrity scraps some East Med cruises

[zelker]

Nope, no news. So did you rebook something else?

[scarlett81]

Nope, no news. So did you rebook something else?

 

No I've left it for now. After what Gracie said, and what the rep said to me about it probably just being the website I decided to keep it.

There's no harm in holding it, I still have over a month till final payment.

I'm keeping my eyes open though for similar itineraries and price ranges on other lines.

[zelker]

No I've left it for now. After what Gracie said, and what the rep said to me about it probably just being the website I decided to keep it.

There's no harm in holding it, I still have over a month till final payment.

I'm keeping my eyes open though for similar itineraries and price ranges on other lines.

 

Me, too. Mariner of the Seas seems to be as close as it gets and in the same price range (maybe even less for some cabin categories). BUT not only is Istanbul not showing up on their itineraries either, one Roll Call said they are missing other ports. Now granted, the first sailing isn't until mid-May but still, how are people supposed to plan?

[cruisemom42]

Is this cruise by chance the first one to call at Istanbul in this cruising season for Celebrity? If so, I have noticed in the past (on other cruise lines) that they sometimes don't finalize the excursions for a specific port too much in advance of the first arrival there per season.

 

I wouldn't absolutely count out the idea that Celebrity is "waiting" to finalize Istanbul for other reasons -- although I strongly doubt that safety is one of them; more likely cost -- but IF it's the first call there in 2012, it could very well be that they are still finalizing their port offerings for this year.

 

What are the ports of call offered before/after Istanbul?

[zelker]

Is this cruise by chance the first one to call at Istanbul in this cruising season for Celebrity? If so, I have noticed in the past (on other cruise lines) that they sometimes don't finalize the excursions for a specific port too much in advance of the first arrival there per season.

 

I wouldn't absolutely count out the idea that Celebrity is "waiting" to finalize Istanbul for other reasons -- although I strongly doubt that safety is one of them; more likely cost -- but IF it's the first call there in 2012, it could very well be that they are still finalizing their port offerings for this year.

 

What are the ports of call offered before/after Istanbul?

 

Yes, it's the first sailing of this itinerary this year but it did this same one as recently as November. Excursions for all other ports (Rome, Naples, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi) are in place - it's only Istanbul that's missing. That said, the concern has been that several cruises were pulled that included Istanbul (granted, they also included Israel and Egypt) and that's where the concern stemmed from.

 

But yes, we are aware (and are hoping) that it could be nothing more than finalizing excursions with providers and that they will show up before final payment is due mid-Feb. If not, I'm not willing to take the chance that they'll substitute ports I'm not interested in visiting.

[letsgo39]

I think April 30th is the first cruise there this year. We are on the May 21 departure and the port before Istanbul is Santorini with a sea day inbetween.We are scheduled for a overnight in Istanbul and sailing to a Ephesus when we leave Istanbul. It looks like the Mariner also has no excursions listed in Istanbul around the same time so now I am just getting more confident that they just do not have all their arrangements in place for excursions.Perhaps we are all over reacting!:o

[cruisemom42]

Yes, it's the first sailing of this itinerary this year but it did this same one as recently as November. Excursions for all other ports (Rome, Naples, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi) are in place - it's only Istanbul that's missing. That said, the concern has been that several cruises were pulled that included Istanbul (granted, they also included Israel and Egypt) and that's where the concern stemmed from.

 

But yes, we are aware (and are hoping) that it could be nothing more than finalizing excursions with providers and that they will show up before final payment is due mid-Feb. If not, I'm not willing to take the chance that they'll substitute ports I'm not interested in visiting.

 

Contracts for shorex usually run for an entire season. November would've been the end of the previous Med season and April will be the start of this season. Perhaps Celebrity is searching for a new provider from last year; who knows? Like you, I would be somewhat uneasy until they are posted, but I think the chances that Celebrity will call there are higher than that they will cancel.

 

Good luck -- as I said earlier, it's truly one of my favorite cities and I hope you get there either on this cruise or a different one.

[iancal]

I cannot imagine why anyone, including Celebrity, would think that Istanbul is particularly unsafe. It must be a money issue.

 

We have been there a number of times, including twice on our Constellation cruise this past October. Great city to visit, lots and lots to see, and extremely friendly people. That goes for some of the other parts of Turkey that we covered on our independent land tours as well.

 

There are lots of good private tours available. It is also quite easy to get around on the tram to see the sites. It passes right by the dock.

[scarlett81]

I think April 30th is the first cruise there this year. We are on the May 21 departure and the port before Istanbul is Santorini with a sea day inbetween.We are scheduled for a overnight in Istanbul and sailing to a Ephesus when we leave Istanbul. It looks like the Mariner also has no excursions listed in Istanbul around the same time so now I am just getting more confident that they just do not have all their arrangements in place for excursions.Perhaps we are all over reacting!:o

 

I'm also on the May 21st sailing.

I sure hope we're overreacting and don't end up getting 2 days in Athens or something plus another sea day..! This cruise already has 3 full sea days, and I wouldn't want anymore.

I checked out similar itineraries and believe it or not, in this price range its slim pickings out there. We really don't want RCI..not rock wall, fast food type people. But we don't want Regent $$$. I considered Holland or Princess's itineraries.

Its funny to me that X would pull Egypt and Israel, when Princess and other lines still have full on holy land cruises running all spring and summer. Why do some pull and others dont?

Lets all hope our itinerary is intact!

[Gracie115]

Its funny to me that X would pull Egypt and Israel, when Princess and other lines still have full on holy land cruises running all spring and summer. Why do some pull and others dont?

Lets all hope our itinerary is intact!

 

 

If I might ask what lines besides Princess did you see still offering Egypt and are they doing it this Spring? Celebrity still has Egypt on a few sailings this fall but somehow I think they will wind up changed. We love the Greek/Turkey itininerary but if my DH could get to Egypt and finally see the Pyramids we would certainly consider it..but I'm very doubtful of any of them stopping there.

[cruisemom42]

If I might ask what lines besides Princess did you see still offering Egypt and are they doing it this Spring? Celebrity still has Egypt on a few sailings this fall but somehow I think they will wind up changed. We love the Greek/Turkey itininerary but if my DH could get to Egypt and finally see the Pyramids we would certainly consider it..but I'm very doubtful of any of them stopping there.

 

Princess has two ships -- one of their larger ones, Crown Princess, and one of their smaller ships, Pacific Princess -- calling in Alexandria about 3 times each this spring (from April through the end of June). It looks like the Pacific Princess itinerary includes Egypt and Israel, while the Crown Itinerary does not include Israel but does include Egypt and Istanbul.

 

Princess' Med itineraries I find have far more variety than most other mass market lines other than HAL.

[BridgeMates]

If I might ask what lines besides Princess did you see still offering Egypt and are they doing it this Spring? Celebrity still has Egypt on a few sailings this fall but somehow I think they will wind up changed. We love the Greek/Turkey itininerary but if my DH could get to Egypt and finally see the Pyramids we would certainly consider it..but I'm very doubtful of any of them stopping there.

 

Hope you're wrong on this as we have booked Egypt for October and are so excited about the itinerary as it also includes Petra ending in Dubai. Yes, I know the situation in the Middle East, but I only have a few years left to see the pyramids, etc. and I'm sure the ship won't dock if there's any danger, but

How far in advance would they "pull" this cruise? and since it's primarily Egyptian, what would they do? work out a completely new itinerary? or just go to the ports where there isn't any trouble going on? Needless to say I am concerned what alternate plans Celebrity would arrange. Any ideas?

Thanks....all opinions are welcome. :)

[Gracie115]

Hope you're wrong on this as we have booked Egypt for October and are so excited about the itinerary as it also includes Petra ending in Dubai. Yes, I know the situation in the Middle East, but I only have a few years left to see the pyramids, etc. and I'm sure the ship won't dock if there's any danger, but

How far in advance would they "pull" this cruise? and since it's primarily Egyptian, what would they do? work out a completely new itinerary? or just go to the ports where there isn't any trouble going on? Needless to say I am concerned what alternate plans Celebrity would arrange. Any ideas?

Thanks....all opinions are welcome. :)

 

 

It's not that they'll "pull" the cruise, they'll change the itinerary. Like you now we were booked for LAST Sept on Silhouette, reason we booked was for the 3 days in Egypt. They cancelled those in May and replaced with 2 more days in Israel, which while I was unhappy at the time, wound up being just outstanding. But at this point I would NOT be trusting in X to get you to Egypt, just my opinion of course. I assure you, if we thought differently we would have booked one of the ones for this fall ourselves.

[Gracie115]

Princess has two ships -- one of their larger ones, Crown Princess, and one of their smaller ships, Pacific Princess -- calling in Alexandria about 3 times each this spring (from April through the end of June). It looks like the Pacific Princess itinerary includes Egypt and Israel, while the Crown Itinerary does not include Israel but does include Egypt and Istanbul.

 

Princess' Med itineraries I find have far more variety than most other mass market lines other than HAL.

 

Thanks, for the information.

[BridgeMates]

It's not that they'll "pull" the cruise, they'll change the itinerary. Like you now we were booked for LAST Sept on Silhouette, reason we booked was for the 3 days in Egypt. They cancelled those in May and replaced with 2 more days in Israel, which while I was unhappy at the time, wound up being just outstanding. But at this point I would NOT be trusting in X to get you to Egypt, just my opinion of course. I assure you, if we thought differently we would have booked one of the ones for this fall ourselves.

 

Thanks Gracie. If they give us notice before final payment we can decide what to do, but I guess that's not certain either. :(

[ForTheGlory]

FYI to all... Istanbul excursions are now listed, at least for the May 21 cruise.

[richsea]

FYI to all... Istanbul excursions are now listed, at least for the May 21 cruise.

 

Very reliveved...thanks!

[letsgo39]

Just booked the Bosphorus cruise for our second morning. I am also very relieved!

[Gracie115]

relieved? me too!!:D:D:D:D:D

[scarlett81]

paragonj Thank you so much for posting that! I've been wondering.

Let's hope it stays this way and happy safe sailing to all.