HOly Land Cruise in the midst of Egypt late October???? Would YOU go?

[luv2cruise391]

I am booked on the 10 nt Holy Land Sojourn cruise on the Rotterdam sailing RT Athens Oct. 31. The ports in Egypt have been canceled. My question is would YOU go or cancel given all that's going on in Egypt right now????????????

We have 2 stops in Israel - Ashdod and Haifa (Jerusalem). HAL says they will most likely NOT cancel the cruise though it is only half full now, but will probably substitute more ports if needed. (Thus, not really a Holy Land cruise:( )

I am getting way different views on this so I would like to take an informal poll.

Go or don't go?

I don;t know if we should cancel now and lose $400 per room and get the rest of our money back from HAL or what???????????

We could cancel our flight and 3 nights Athens stay with a $520 cancellation fee - if we do so by Sept. 27. We'd only have till Sept. 5th before our HAL cancellation fees go up to 50%!

We have travel protection insurance, but no travel WARNING has been posted (yet?) so not sure if they would pay or not. The policy does have a terrorist policy, but there has to be a warning issued by the Sate Dept within 30 days of sailing:(

What to do - what to do?????????

Debbie in MS

[OlsSalt]

Check our the State Department "STEP" program about traveller security. Personally, I would go. HAL will cancel ports based upon their own criteria for passenger safety, which I assume is also quite high. While these unfortunate events looks splashy in media photos, they are often very localized.

 

Think of the 1960's when cities in America were burning - would one avoid the entire US during those difficult times, or even the entire state? What is unfolding in Egypt is truly tragic because not only because they have such valuable tourist resources but so much of their economy depends upon tourism which is now shattered. God speed to them.

[RuthC]

That's a lot of money to lose, imo.

I know that Ashdod and Haifa are excellent stops; I presume there were other stops still on the itinerary that are of interest to you?

Add to that, a cruise is so much more than just ports. There's shipboard life, and the opportunity to get away from the real world and relax.

I would go. HAL isn't going to go to any ports if there is reason to believe the passengers or ship would be in danger. You can still have a good time.

[luv2cruise391]

I asked if we would get a refund and I was told I would need to talk to a price specialist about that after prices dropped. Upgrade for me would not mean much since we are already booked in a Neptune Suite. And the 4 PS ARE available, but only 2 more NS. I doubt we as first time HAL cruisers would get upgraded anyway and that is NOT my main concern.

I know I could still have fun and really want to go, it's just hard to justify I guess when my original purpose was the "see" the Holy Land.

What about Turkey? Is it not also volatile? Just not sure with Egypt and Israel maybe "out" where else we could go for 10 nights???

Thanks so much for your opinions and please keep them coming. This would be my first time to travel internationally and I guess I am just a little "scared". But, I do want to go!

[pris993]

We have cruised the holy land a number of times on Princess, Celebrity, HAL, Cunard and NCL. We were there on NCL in April, our ports for Eygpt were dropped before the cruise, similar to your cruise and the price of the cruise was reduced. This is not unusal when there is unrest.

 

We are also booked on Celebrity for October 2014. We take changes in ports for these cruises in stride consequently.

 

There is no way I would want the cruise line to go to Egypt given current unrest. For some that will be a big disappointment.

 

Once one accepts no Egypt... it is possible to have a fantastic cruise to Israel, Turkey, Greece and Italian ports which are common on these itineraries. We have visited Istanbul, Cyprus and Crete as well when Egypt was dropped.

 

So I suggest you go and enjoy yourself, knowing that the cruise line will not put passengers in harms way.

[chrispb]

I'd go too. Two large travel companies in UK are now stopping holidays to Egypt but are currently still sending tourists to Sharm el Sheik on the Red Sea. Germany has stopped their tourists this week and I'm guessing UK may follow suit shortly, although the problems in other parts don't usually affect Sharm.

 

Israel is a "must do" in my book, and as another poster says, the ship won't call if things turn volatile. Turkey is another wonderful country which is well worth visiting, plenty of Europeans are currently there and enjoying themselves in one of the many resorts.

 

Go and enjoy.

[cruisemom42]

The Egypt ports have been cancelled. Presumably you are still willing to go as long as there aren't further cancellations?

 

There's not a reason at the moment to think that the Israel stops will be cancelled, so far as I know. What's happening in Egypt is a civil matter and it is not likely to involve Israel or other places in the region.

 

Turkey isn't what I'd call "volatile". They had some large protests in a few cities a couple of months ago. Since then, there have been a few, smaller protests but not much altercation. In Istanbul, the "hot spot" for these protests is not anywhere near where you, as a tourist would spend time (in the old city) nor are they very near to the port. Kusadasi, if you are going there for Ephesus, is the epitome of a tourist-focused town and you should not expect to meet with ANY problems there.

 

Could you be a bit more specific about what exactly you are concerned about?

[Mumsysailor]

Personally, I would go. I trust HAL not to take us anywhere that is not safe. If it's particularly the Holy Land that you want to see, that's Isreal, but other ports in the surrounding area are beautiful and well worth the visit. HAL have already removed the current risk. If HAL cancels the cruise then you'll get a full refund and for the other bits your insurance should kick in and you might find a last minute deal for your dates to enjoy a different vacation.

 

Mumsy.

[luv2cruise391]

You are all making me feel better:) - so far anyway. Now to convince the husband as I am traveling with 3 other ladies and one elderly gentleman.

Yes, I am ok with not going to Egypt, but I am really hoping Israel stops stay included. I guess by volatile I just mean threats of terrorists and anger directed towards Americans in general.

This is our current itinerary:

Kusadasi, Turkey (Ephesus)

Irkalion (Crete)

Limassol, Cyprus

Ashod (Jerusalem) Israel

Haifa, Israel

Antalya, Turkey

Rhodes, Greece

I have already registered with State Dept about our trip and given passport and other info, dates, etc.

I am not sure if this is the same as the STEP program mentioned earlier???

Thanks again and please keep the opinions coming!

Other than Istanbul, what other ports MIGHT be substituted if we did not go to Israel or is it a general consensus that will not happen?

[Cruising-along]

In 2011 we booked a Holy Land cruise with Celebrity. The stops in Egypt were canceled, and I was very upset, and thought about canceling. We had been to Egypt before, but our family traveling with us had never been. We were all very disappointed. In our case they doubled our time in Israel from 2 days to 4.

 

It turned out to be an amazing cruise, and I'm SO glad we didn't cancel. Besides, we had so many big drops in price, that we ended up paying HALF what the original price had been. So many people did cancel, and we benefited from that. :)

[cruisemom42]

You are all making me feel better:) - so far anyway. Now to convince the husband as I am traveling with 3 other ladies and one elderly gentleman.

Yes, I am ok with not going to Egypt, but I am really hoping Israel stops stay included. I guess by volatile I just mean threats of terrorists and anger directed towards Americans in general.

This is our current itinerary:

Kusadasi, Turkey (Ephesus)

Irkalion (Crete)

Limassol, Cyprus

Ashod (Jerusalem) Israel

Haifa, Israel

Antalya, Turkey

Rhodes, Greece

I have already registered with State Dept about our trip and given passport and other info, dates, etc.

I am not sure if this is the same as the STEP program mentioned earlier???

Thanks again and please keep the opinions coming!

Other than Istanbul, what other ports MIGHT be substituted if we did not go to Israel or is it a general consensus that will not happen?

 

There is little reason to believe there will be any terrorist attacks in Turkey. It is not a hotbed of terrorism. Turkey is a secular state, a NATO member, and is doing quite well economically. The protests that recently occurred had nothing to do with the US or Westerners. Turks are concerned about their current government becoming more conservative.

 

As to Israel, even if there were any Palestinian activity (remote likelihood that is always there), chances are HAL might cancel Ashdod and instead spend 2 days (or even 3 days since Egypt is cancelled) at Haifa. Israel is very compact, so you wouldn't miss anything by doing this, you'd just have a longer drive to, say, Jerusalem.

 

There's really no telling where they might re-route you if this becomes necessary. It all depends on the availability of alternate ports and how they fit in with the rest of your itinerary -- obviously the ship cannot go way out of its way to include a port, because that might mean they wouldn't make the next port on schedule.

[Swelldame]

DH and were in a similar situation a few months ago. The cruise I had booked was a very expensive, all-inclusive from Istanbul to Dubai. All the Holy Land bucket-list stops I've dreamed of my entire life. DH was "meh" about the whole thing. LOL

 

Anyway, about a month before final payment, everything "blew up". Riots in Taksim Square (where the pre-cruise hotel was), riots in Egypt, issues on the Syria/Israel border, riots in Cypress... I wasn't concerned with safety, knowing the cruise line wouldn't stop in dangerous ports. However, I was looking at the possibility of spending upwards of $30k to end up floating around on a boat in the heat for 3 weeks, seeing ports I didn't care about enough to book in the first place. No thanks!

 

DH insisted on a Plan B. That turned out to be the following cruise on the same ship, boarding in Dubai and ending in Singapore. A fine alternative, although still clearly 2nd choice. I'll just have to cross my fingers with the rest of the world that things straighten themselves out enough to be stable in my lifetime, and I'll be able to afford the trip if and when that ever happens.

 

I guess what I'm saying is: really analyze what the appeal of this cruise is for you. You don't seem to disappointed about losing Egypt which was a biggie for me, so if the itinerary still suits you, go for it. If you're still getting what you want out of the ship and itinerary, why not? And, as mentioned before, you just might get a great price drop or upgrade with the low booking numbers.

[OlsSalt]

The recent protest in Istanbul were over the possible loss of a major public open space for a high rise building complex. These were more environmental protests than anything else, There is political unhappiness with the current president, but Turkey has earned a good reputation for stable government transitions since their emergence from the Ottoman Empire last century.

 

The Kurds in the far easter reaches of this country remain unhappy with their loss of territorial autonomy and have been known to strike out from time to time to make their grievances known. But this is not the same volatile mix that now afflicts all parts of poor Egypt. Turkey is a key emerging economic powerhouse and there is little sentiment its residents want to disrupt this.

 

All countries in this part of the world have stressors unique to their history and geography so it helps to read up before going so you can best understand what flash points to watch out for when planning trips in this part of the world. It indeed has had a very rocky history compared to the relative stability of North America.

 

We are now tackling understanding the 1000 year history of Byzantium which created Constantinople in the year 400CE, so nothing in this part of the world exists in a vacuum that is for sure.

[kazu]

OP, you have gotten some good advice here. Haifa and Ashdod are incredible and if the ship ends up spending more time in these ports then you are even better off:D

 

Egypt has been cancelled so many times that DH and I have basically decided that if we book a cruise with it on the itinerary we won't expect to go. Right now we are avoiding it.

 

In any case, your other ports are very nice.

 

the ship will not take you anywhere where they feel it is too risky so any decision not to go to a port will be in your best interest.

 

Israel is a must in our book. We were amazed when we went and it was a cruise we will never forget.

 

I'd recommend going for sure - but you have to do what is right for all of you. There are still a lot of amazing things to see - and you will be amazed:D

[Typhoon1]

I would still go on the trip as long as Egypt is out of the picture. I would be more worried if they planned on the Egyptian stops.

 

Who knows what the future will hold. Go on the cruise and enjoy yourselves.

[pris993]

You are all making me feel better:) - so far anyway. Now to convince the husband as I am traveling with 3 other ladies and one elderly gentleman.

Yes, I am ok with not going to Egypt, but I am really hoping Israel stops stay included. I guess by volatile I just mean threats of terrorists and anger directed towards Americans in general.

This is our current itinerary:

Kusadasi, Turkey (Ephesus)

Irkalion (Crete)

Limassol, Cyprus

Ashod (Jerusalem) Israel

Haifa, Israel

Antalya, Turkey

Rhodes, Greece

I have already registered with State Dept about our trip and given passport and other info, dates, etc.

I am not sure if this is the same as the STEP program mentioned earlier???

Thanks again and please keep the opinions coming!

Other than Istanbul, what other ports MIGHT be substituted if we did not go to Israel or is it a general consensus that will not happen?

 

These are exciting ports to visit. We have done all of them before and some several times. Very enjoyable cruise.

[Scrapnana]

Unfortunately, the Holy Land is always volatile, Who know when Egypt will calm down. I would go ahead with the cruise because your other ports are very interesting.

[wander]

OP I totally understand your concern, but I would go as planned, as many others have said. Of course you are concerned about your safety, but believe me, cruise lines are concerned not only about your safety but that of the crew AND the ship itself. They DO NOT want to risk any of those things. Then there is the insurance angle. I was on a cruise scheduled to go through the Suez Canal a month after 9/11. Our cruise was entirely different but even more interesting for many of us than the original itinerary, plus we got some money back and the option of an extended cruise (over one week longer) for no extra cost for those who could take the extended time to cruise. On board at a meeting someone asked the Captain what went into the decision to re-direct the cruise. He said that there were not much to think about as the insurance company for the cruise line said they would not cover anything IF the line (not HAL) decided to go through the Canal at that time.

[zoomer1956]

Sit back and enjoy the ride (cruise). The ports you will be visiting are amazing. Even without Egypt, you will have a great cruise.

[Copper10-8]

Go!

[whogo]

Go!

Should a Holland America employee encourage someone to sail Holland America on this forum?

[Copper10-8]

Should a Holland America employee encourage someone to sail Holland America on this forum?

 

What do you think?

[cccole]

Should a Holland America employee encourage someone to sail Holland America on this forum?

 

I agree with Copper 10-8 who has been a valued member of these boards since I joined. Not only are his posts valued by other members but he seems to have the ability to give his opinion without making personal attacks on the OP or other posters.

 

I hope OP decides to give it a GO and enjoy the ports that will be included. JMO Cherie

[startwin]

I would go, it sounds like a great cruise even without Egypt.

[mamaofami]

I agree with Copper.GO. Hal will not take you anywhere that's not safe. Israel is a must see, a bucket list place.