Turkey/Israel 2016

[worldtravellerrus]

I know its a year away and a lot can happen in the mean time but if the political situation continues in Turkey and Israel, could Celebrity change the entire cruise?

Has this ever happened to anyone?

[dabear]

I know its a year away and a lot can happen in the mean time but if the political situation continues in Turkey and Israel, could Celebrity change the entire cruise?

Has this ever happened to anyone?

 

yes, it just happened to us on the 10/23/15 cruise on Connie. X cancelled 3 days in Israel one day b 4 the cruise and 1 day overnight in Istanbul. Instead we stopped at 3 Greek Islands and an overnight in Athens.

[I&J Cruisers]

Happened to us also the summer of 2014 I think. Not much you can do about it. Very disappointing.

 

 

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[TLCOhio]

In my opinion -- and I realize offers will differ -- Celebrity is being overcautious in cancelling Istanbul. Many other lines continue to make calls there. As to predicting the future, it's not possible. If there are continuing "events" (almost all of which do not target tourists and mostly in areas tourists can easily avoid), then I suppose Celebrity will continue to avoid Istanbul. If Istanbul is important to you, why not consider one of the other lines that stop there?

 

On another CC Board, there is a posting about Celebrity deciding to skip Istanbul. Sad to hear that Celebrity is now skipping Istanbul. Above is one of the responses by a very experienced traveler and poster for these areas. I agree with the super-smart cruisemom42 that Celebrity is being very, very cautious. Maybe too much??!! It is hard to predict the future. For us, our Athens, Greek Isles and Turkish Coast first cruise finished in Istanbul and we had two full days there. It was super wonderful!! Below is one of my favorite visuals for this historic and charming city.

 

Clearly after the Russian airline incident over Egypt, things are getting more questionable in this area of the world. Let's hope for the best!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 206,278 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

Here was our first view of Istanbul in June 2006 from our just-docking cruise ship as we smelled the sweet blend of this historic Turkish city. YES, you could really smell how “special” is this unique city with so much culture, charm and interest! Istanbul has such a wide variety of history, culture, architecture, people, food, charm, etc. It’s the total experience here that is so amazing.:

 

[DYKWIA]

There were some cruises that featured the Ukraine that got changed either last year or the year before

[HokiePoq]

Came looking for the other thread and couldn't find it....not sure what other board it would be on??

The Israel cancelation on this year's cruise was the final straw in our decision to cancel our October 2016 land tour/cruise. Our land tour was prior to the cruise and included several days in Ankara where some serious problems have occurred of late. I might have hung in if we'd just booked the cruise but no stops in Israel and perhaps no overnight in Istanbul made it too risky to pay a premium cost and gamble on actually seeing the places we booked to see. We've already been to the Greek Isles. That land tour has been on my bucket list for some time and I'd looked forward to returning to Israel. Someone suggested a land tour to visit there and we may do that in the future.

[chemmo]

Looking at Autumn cruises on the UK website this cruise is cheaper now than others. If I am not mistaken it was one of the dearest.

 

I guess many will cancel because of the uncertainty, others will hang on in hope...

 

I guess if you are booked on it and remain booked on it you need to have the philosophy that you are going on a Greek island cruise and then just be delighted if you get your real cruise!

[DYKWIA]

Looking at Autumn cruises on the UK website this cruise is cheaper now than others. If I am not mistaken it was one of the dearest.

 

I guess many will cancel because of the uncertainty, others will hang on in hope...

 

I guess if you are booked on it and remain booked on it you need to have the philosophy that you are going on a Greek island cruise and then just be delighted if you get your real cruise!

 

We would love to do this itinerary but, after this year's events and what looks like a political situation in the whole region that will not get better any time soon, there is no way we book this.

[cruisemom42]

On another CC Board, there is a posting about Celebrity deciding to skip Istanbul. Sad to hear that Celebrity is now skipping Istanbul. Above is one of the responses by a very experienced traveler and poster for these areas. I agree with the super-smart cruisemom42 that Celebrity is being very, very cautious. Maybe too much??!! It is hard to predict the future. For us, our Athens, Greek Isles and Turkish Coast first cruise finished in Istanbul and we had two full days there. It was super wonderful!! Below is one of my favorite visuals for this historic and charming city.

 

 

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Thanks Terry for the nice compliment. It is indeed a difficult period, and as we both have said, Celebrity seems to be taking the most conservative approach of the cruiselines I've followed.

 

Came looking for the other thread and couldn't find it....not sure what other board it would be on??

The Israel cancelation on this year's cruise was the final straw in our decision to cancel our October 2016 land tour/cruise. Our land tour was prior to the cruise and included several days in Ankara where some serious problems have occurred of late. I might have hung in if we'd just booked the cruise but no stops in Israel and perhaps no overnight in Istanbul made it too risky to pay a premium cost and gamble on actually seeing the places we booked to see. We've already been to the Greek Isles. That land tour has been on my bucket list for some time and I'd looked forward to returning to Israel. Someone suggested a land tour to visit there and we may do that in the future.

 

If you are asking about the thread mentioned by Terry, it is on the Mediterranean Ports forum, here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2277576

 

I do highly recommend a land trip -- to both Israel and Turkey. There is much to see there that cannot be done in a day or two.

[fla742]

There is no way that I would book a cruise to that part of the world.

 

If you want to see Istanbul and Israel you should book a land tour. Cruise lines have the right to change itineraries without penalty and in fact, they do it - particularly Celebrity.

[Karynanne]

We have a cruise on Reflection in Oct. 2016, that has ports in Turkey. If the itinerary is changed, due to political issues, we'll be fine with that decision. We've done this same cruise last year.

 

We'll be with friends, so whatever occurs, we'll have fun and enjoy the ship.

 

Karyn