laughing husky Posted March 18, 2015 #1 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Perhaps the company knows a bit about the security for their passengers. I would never mind if a ship changed its itinerary for the safety of its passengers...Although I, too, always wanted to go there, guess this is not a good time. Tunisia on edge after first major attack since Arab Spring There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the brazen attack on Tunisia’s national museum that killed at least 22 people, including about 17 tourists, but Tunisia — the birthplace of the Arab Spring revolutionary movement — has been struggling to quell a recent rise in attacks from Islamist extremists. Rita Katz of the SITE Intelligence Group said that Islamic State Twitter accounts are applauding the attack on the Bardo museum and putting out “calls for Tunisians to ‘follow their brothers.’” Our nation is in danger. We will be merciless in the defense of our country. Prime Minister Habib Essid Two gunmen were killed, and a manhunt was on for at two or three others, after Kalashnikov-wielding militants opened fire on a tourist group as they were disembarking from a bus Wednesday. Polish, Italian, German and Spanish tourists were among the dead, and about 50 others were wounded. The attack on such a high-profile target is a blow for the small North African country, which relies heavily on European tourism and has largely avoided major militant violence since its 2011 uprising to oust autocrat former President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. But several Islamist militant groups have emerged in Tunisia since the uprising. An army offensive against the extremists has been under way since 2012, but the campaign has failed to eliminate them. Mar 18th, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yukongold Posted March 18, 2015 #2 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Perhaps the company knows a bit about the security for their passengers. I would never mind if a ship changed its itinerary for the safety of its passengers...Although I, too, always wanted to go there, guess this is not a good time. Tunisia on edge after first major attack since Arab Spring There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the brazen attack on Tunisia’s national museum that killed at least 22 people, including about 17 tourists, but Tunisia — the birthplace of the Arab Spring revolutionary movement — has been struggling to quell a recent rise in attacks from Islamist extremists. Rita Katz of the SITE Intelligence Group said that Islamic State Twitter accounts are applauding the attack on the Bardo museum and putting out “calls for Tunisians to ‘follow their brothers.’” Our nation is in danger. We will be merciless in the defense of our country. Prime Minister Habib Essid Two gunmen were killed, and a manhunt was on for at two or three others, after Kalashnikov-wielding militants opened fire on a tourist group as they were disembarking from a bus Wednesday. Polish, Italian, German and Spanish tourists were among the dead, and about 50 others were wounded. The attack on such a high-profile target is a blow for the small North African country, which relies heavily on European tourism and has largely avoided major militant violence since its 2011 uprising to oust autocrat former President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. But several Islamist militant groups have emerged in Tunisia since the uprising. An army offensive against the extremists has been under way since 2012, but the campaign has failed to eliminate them. Mar 18th, 2015 There were preliminary reports that two cruise ships were in Tunis - Costa and MSC. Don't know the validity of those early reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro Flyer Posted March 18, 2015 #3 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I've been following this tragedy all day but haven't learned whether the victims were on a MSC or Costa tour. My thoughts & prayers are for the victims & their families suffering with this senseless tragedy. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cruise Junky Posted March 18, 2015 #4 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I've been following this tragedy all day but haven't learned whether the victims were on a MSC or Costa tour. My thoughts & prayers are for the victims & their families suffering with this senseless tragedy. :( The Daily Mail has pictures of the Costa tour bus with bullet holes in the windshield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5waldos Posted March 18, 2015 #5 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Reports from Costa just now (about 15 minutes ago on Costa tweet) say that 14 passengers have not yet returned to the ship- and it is midnight there. Very frightening news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEtue Posted March 18, 2015 #6 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Just caught this on the news :( My cabin mate and I were considering Princess for our next Med cruise in 2016 but eliminated it because we didn't want to go to Tunis. I wonder if Princess will change their itinerary in light of this attack. Just horrible news and prayers for their families..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baggal Posted March 18, 2015 #7 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Some new reports say that the tour buses were targeted. Pretty sure that Tunis will no longer be a port of call for any of the major cruise lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted March 18, 2015 #8 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Very sad, our Med cruise is supposed to stop there too. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted March 18, 2015 #9 Share Posted March 18, 2015 We were scheduled to be on the Ocean Princess calling on Tunisia last October. We canceled for health reasons, but Princess canceled the call in Tunisia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunsetbeachgal Posted March 18, 2015 #10 Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) We have visited Tunisia twice, the last time on the Ocean Princess which turned out to be right before the Arab Spring. We enjoyed visiting the ruins at Carthage, the American Cemetary and a cute little town I forgot the name of with nice shops and restaurants. But we have both been saying for the last several months as violent extremists commit unspeakable acts, that we felt that sometime very soon we expected that tourists would be targeted. so very sad.. Edited March 18, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrivesLikeMario Posted March 19, 2015 #11 Share Posted March 19, 2015 We have visited Tunisia twice, the last time on the Ocean Princess which turned out to be right before the Arab Spring. We enjoyed visiting the ruins at Carthage, the American Cemetary and a cute little town I forgot the name of with nice shops and restaurants. But we have both been saying for the last several months as violent extremists commit unspeakable acts, that we felt that sometime very soon we expected that tourists would be targeted. so very sad.. Me too!! It was a once-in-a-lifetime port stop for us! It was so other-worldly pulling into that Play-dough green bay with the minarets, the call to prayer and the camels waiting for us. What a great experience! I'm so sorry others will miss it. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KruzPrincess Posted March 19, 2015 #12 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I've been following this tragedy all day but haven't learned whether the victims were on a MSC or Costa tour. My thoughts & prayers are for the victims & their families suffering with this senseless tragedy. :( I was reading about it on Facebook and someone posted who said they were on one of the ships. The person said there were injuries and, at least, one death. Then, I saw another report that said there were several cruise passengers missing. Not sure what is true, but I'm sure it will take time to sort this out. So very scary. My thoughts and prayers are with these people as they struggle through this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5waldos Posted March 19, 2015 #13 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Costa tweets says that they haveleft theport with 13 passengers still not onboard. Not a good sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrongwaywatson Posted March 19, 2015 #14 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Latest reports have 14 reported missing from Costa http://cruisefever.net/0318-14-cruise-passengers-missing-after-attack-in-tunis/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrrsamrovk Posted March 19, 2015 #15 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I wonder if Princess will change their itinerary in light of this attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribill Posted March 19, 2015 #16 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I wonder if Princess will change their itinerary in light of this attack. 100% certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare azbirdmom Posted March 19, 2015 #17 Share Posted March 19, 2015 MSC has confirmed passenger deaths: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6256 Horrifying news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cruise Junky Posted March 19, 2015 #18 Share Posted March 19, 2015 MSC has confirmed passenger deaths: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6256 Horrifying news. Ugh...just horrible and sadly I think we'll hear about more deaths from Costa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted March 19, 2015 #19 Share Posted March 19, 2015 How heartbreaking. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notentirelynormal Posted March 19, 2015 #20 Share Posted March 19, 2015 How sad. Brings tears to the eyes. We were there a few years ago and I can't say I felt "comfortable" there. I didn't like the grabbing and aggressive actions of the locals and not a place I would ever choose to return. The hour lecture on the Muslim culture and how it worked didn't help. The more the guide spoke the less I wanted to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal Cruiser78 Posted March 19, 2015 #21 Share Posted March 19, 2015 :(. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted March 19, 2015 #22 Share Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) So sorry for those passengers.... Very tragic. Edited March 19, 2015 by Coral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorset Cruiser Posted March 19, 2015 #23 Share Posted March 19, 2015 We have visited Tunisia twice, the last time on the Ocean Princess which turned out to be right before the Arab Spring. We enjoyed visiting the ruins at Carthage, the American Cemetary and a cute little town I forgot the name of with nice shops and restaurants. But we have both been saying for the last several months as violent extremists commit unspeakable acts, that we felt that sometime very soon we expected that tourists would be targeted. so very sad.. Perhaps it was Sidi Bou Said? We called into Tunisia on a cruise a few years ago (before the Arab Spring uprising) and enjoyed it very much. The people we met were lovely and very proud of their country. From Paris, to Sydney, to The Netherlands and now Tunisia, nowhere is safe from these terrorists Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timetravler Posted March 19, 2015 #24 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Very sad that it looks like all who are dead were tourists. I am sure Princess will not be going there any time soon. I was once on a Caribbean cruise that was suppose to go to St. Kitts. But the day before arrival a tourist bus from another cruise line was hijacked and ALL of the passengers were robbed. So Princess refused to take us there and we went to Antiqua instead. I was very glad Princess did this. The cruise line tour bus that was robbed only cancelled that particular tour. I'm pretty sure it was Royal Caribbean if my memory serves me right. Anyways after the robber was caught a few days later Princess started going back to St. Kitts on the next cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwnc1959 Posted March 19, 2015 #25 Share Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) Just read this on BBC News Online: "Two cruise companies - MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises - said they were suspending stopovers in Tunis." I imagine that it's only a matter of time before most all of the others do the same. :cool: Edited March 19, 2015 by dmwnc1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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