Kusadasi, Turrkey: Princess Cruise, safe?

[Cruiserkenn]

5 hours ago, flamomo said:

I'd say you can rest assured that Princess would not reserve a berth in a port that was known to be unsafe, and would cancel the stop there if it becomes unsafe. The ship itself is worth millions of dollars, which they're not going to risk, and the safety and wellbeing the passengers and the crew is of primary importance to them.

I will add that a chance to visit Ephesus would be a huge deciding factor for me. It was the most awesome tour I have ever done. The ruins are beyond amazing, and I'd LOVE to go back.

Wow!  Amazing that it was your most awesome tour ever!  Thanks for the thought!

[jagsfan]

53 minutes ago, BarbinMich said:

We were there 3 years after that minibus bombing, but I'm pretty sure we were unaware of it.  I loved our cruise of the eastern Med on the Celebrity Galaxy.  From Civitavecchia RT we visited Mykonos, Rhodes, Santorini, overnight in Istanbul, Ephesus, Athens and Naples.  It was a magical itinerary and only our second time on a cruise in Europe.  Even back then I think there were security concerns in Istanbul but we encountered no problems.  Back then we hadn't heard much about Erdogan but he was in the position he still holds today.  I don't know if any cruises still stop in Rhodes.  After all the white/blue buildings in Greece, it was nice to visit what seemed more like a mainland European place, at least architecture-wise, although just off the coast of Turkey.

Corfu is like that, too. European look, the typical blue and white Greek Island architecture. 

Besides visiting Ephesus and Istanbul, cruising the Dardanelles and passing Gallipoli was like a dream I never expected to become real. 

[Velvetwater]

 

I have known many Brits resume their holidaying in Turkey in recent times. It has always been a popular spot for UK holidaymakers. It is a stunning place...I really would recommend it if you avoid the resorty places.

 

My friend also lives in Istanbul and has for the last 4 years. He feels safe and some of his tastes and views are quite against what Turkey stands for.

[iancal]

We have been to Turkey a number of times.  It is one of our favourite countries.

 

Safe?  We feel just as safe in Istanbul, Kusadasi, or Antalya as we do in Miami or LA.

[navybankerteacher]

13 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We have stopped several times at Kusadasi during cruises and enjoyed it every time.

In the secured terminal area there are a good selection of leather and jewelry shops.

UK EU mobile contracts do not apply here so phone and internet costs are high.

In the terminal compound all the crew use an internet café which is upstairs in a building selling electronic goods.

We have used the phones here for a nominal charge and there are several Skype computers that crew or passengers can use.

Outside the terminal there are a couple of big bazaar's selling clothes,shoes,watches jewelry etc.

Haggle hard and you can get good prices.

There are tours to Ephesus too.

 

I do not think the port area bazaars and internet connections are what make Kudadasi one of the best ports anywhere.  If you do not go to Ephesus, you might just enjoy a safe, inexpensive day ashore - like an afternoon at Walmart.

 

Back on topic:  any port (particularly one in the eastern Mediterranean can be found unsafe - particularly with Isis shattered and Turkey going through upheaval - but you can rely upon the line being aware of CURRENT conditions. - and must contemplate the chance of cancellation of a port call if conditions warrant.

[navybankerteacher]

This thread reminds me of my 1996 cruise on Marco Polo - after three days in istanbul, we sailed slowly past Gallipoli, stopped at Kanakalle to visit the ruins of Homer’s Troy, then stopped at Santorini and Mykonos (the only ship in at both ports),, Kusadassi for Ephesus, then Heraklion in Crete to see the Minoan excavations, and finally Rhodes - for the  palace of the Grand Masters of the Knights of St. John - and ending with tywo days in Athens —- the best cruise/trip ever —- - hopefully to be repeated.

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I do not think the port area bazaars and internet connections are what make Kudadasi one of the best ports anywhere.  If you do not go to Ephesus, you might just enjoy a safe, inexpensive day ashore - like an afternoon at Walmart.

 

Back on topic:  any port (particularly one in the eastern Mediterranean can be found unsafe - particularly with Isis shattered and Turkey going through upheaval - but you can rely upon the line being aware of CURRENT conditions. - and must contemplate the chance of cancellation of a port call if conditions warrant.

We always found Kusadasi very safe when docking there and Ephesus as others have said is a wonderful experience.

As always you have to follow Foreign Office advice regarding risk and thankfully Kusadasi is deemed safe to visit.

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by grapau27

[MicCanberra]

On ‎4‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 8:19 AM, Cruiserkenn said:

According to the website, Princess has a couple of Med cruises coming up in November, 2020.

Both of these two cruises have stops in Kusadasi, Turkey.  Will these cruises be safe?  I would love to go.  They work great for my schedule.  But will Turkey be safe?  For those of you who have been here before, please let me know your thoughts.

 

Thanks!

We were there on a Celebrity ship in 2016, no issues with security or safety. We did a private tour to Ephesus, which was well worth visiting. There were 6 of us in a luxury seated van, for a reasonable cost close to 1/3 of the ship's tour. It was the number 1 tour guide on TripAdvisor.

[nybumpkin]

We went on Carnival Horizon in July 2016, Athens-Barcelona. Our port in Turkey originally was scheduled to be Izmir - but when the US started evacuating dependents from the nearby military base, the port was canceled and replaced with a day at sea. Several weeks later they replaced the day at sea with port in Kusadasi and we scheduled a private tour to Ephesus. The attempted coup happened on July 15, and we were scheduled to port in Kusadasi on July 20. We were in the airport in Montreal en route to Athens when we learned the port was canceled. We received a very nice note from our tour guide inviting us to book again when the situation allowed.  I hope we'll be able to take her up on the offer.

[simplyrubies]

If you are concerned about safety, I would recommend that you book an excursion through the ship and following the excursion, stay close to the port area. That can help minimize some of the risk, and is what we plan to do when we visit Ephesus as one of our travel companions is a bit uneasy about travelling to Turkey, particularly after she learned that Turkey is listed on the US State Department website as being Level 3: Reconsider Travel, though Ephesus is not near the Syria/Iraq border and we are only staying there for a day.  

Edited April 6, 2019 by simplyrubies

[cruisemom42]

On 4/4/2019 at 7:18 AM, majortom10 said:

There was a terrorist bomb attack in Kusadasi in 2005 when a mini bus carrying locals and tourists to Ladies Beach exploded and that is why for a number of years cruise companies stopped calling there.

 

Wikipedia is not always a reliable source of information. At best the above is only partially true.

 

My 2006 Princess cruise called at Kusadasi and I visited Ephesus for the first time then. Princess is a very mainstream line and would not have been a trailblazer with regard to visiting this port if other lines were not also going there. 

 

Since that initial visit (which stunned me with the amount of Roman and Greek ruins in Turkey) I have been back no less than five times, including once on an independent land trip in Turkey. I've also visited Istanbul four times. 

 

It's been sad over the past couple of years to see the Turkish ports disappear from itineraries, as IMO most of the places visited have never posed any serious risk to tourists with exception to Istanbul a couple of years ago when there were a few tourist-targeted instances. But Kusadasi is a town built almost entirely on tourism and I'm sure they have suffered a lot when the ships stopped calling there.

 

I have a 2020 itinerary booked with Celebrity that visits Kusadasi, and I can't wait to visit again.

[AF-1]

Cruisemom42,  I agree I have been to this port three times; most recent in May 2015.  I would go back in a New York Minute.  I love all the history. Everytime I go, I see something I missed on previous visits; and I have done private and ship tours

[whogo]

The political arrests of journalists and others is of greater concern to me in Turkey than the chance of terrorism. I'm not sure I want to reward the current regime with my tourist dollars.

 

I am checking airfare prices to Istanbul and cruise prices and may let my desire to visit the country overrule my conscience.

Edited April 6, 2019 by whogo

[cruisemom42]

34 minutes ago, whogo said:

The political arrests of journalists and others is of greater concern to me in Turkey than the chance of terrorism. I'm not sure I want to reward the current regime with my tourist dollars.

 

I am checking airfare prices to Istanbul and cruise prices and may let my desire to visit the country overrule my conscience.

 

As a traveler I often think about these same things, but I have found that the majority of the time one has to separate the "people" from the "government" and often it is the "people", who may or may not agree with governmental policies, that are disproportionately hit by decreases in tourism. 

 

I may not agree with the government's policies in quite a few places where I've visited, but I also feel like I have met many terrific people who live in those countries. And perhaps by visiting and talking to them, I am also helping to dispel the misconceptions that in some nations are spread about Americans.

[slidergirl]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

As a traveler I often think about these same things, but I have found that the majority of the time one has to separate the "people" from the "government" and often it is the "people", who may or may not agree with governmental policies, that are disproportionately hit by decreases in tourism. 

 

I may not agree with the government's policies in quite a few places where I've visited, but I also feel like I have met many terrific people who live in those countries. And perhaps by visiting and talking to them, I am also helping to dispel the misconceptions that in some nations are spread about Americans.

 

Agree totally.  If we worried about the "government" to the exclusion of the "people",  there wouldn't be too many places to visit.  Canada would be out (I hear too many friends complain about the current government), USA would be out, Haiti and the private islands there would be out, Spain would be out, Great Britain would be out...  I believe in "people to people" travel.  By traveling and meeting/talking to locals,  we can definitely help dispel the beliefs that we are defined by our leaders.

[dolittle]

On ‎4‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 8:37 PM, Cruiserkenn said:

Thanks, everyone, for all of your great thoughts.  I am looking forward to visiting Ephesus!

Ephesus is amazing one thing that really hit me was the real roman road that is still there. We were lucky enough to go to both (Istanbul ) in 2009 before the changes in Turkey.

[MicCanberra]

11 hours ago, slidergirl said:

 

Agree totally.  If we worried about the "government" to the exclusion of the "people",  there wouldn't be too many places to visit.  Canada would be out (I hear too many friends complain about the current government), USA would be out, Haiti and the private islands there would be out, Spain would be out, Great Britain would be out...  I believe in "people to people" travel.  By traveling and meeting/talking to locals,  we can definitely help dispel the beliefs that we are defined by our leaders.

Governments may be bad but countries without them are much worse.

[whogo]

On 4/6/2019 at 9:51 AM, whogo said:

The political arrests of journalists and others is of greater concern to me in Turkey than the chance of terrorism.

One of the points that I was trying to make here is that I am more at risk of false arrest in Turkey than terrorist attack. Odds are in my favor, I will probably visit Turkey, but I sure wish I'd gone a few years ago.

[Velvetwater]

I think holiday makers in Europe who are used to seeing lots of holiday deals for Turkey and knowing lots of people who have been make it appear more normal. It's sort of close to us as well. Last year I can remember seeing Turkey package deals for £290pp including flights and hotel for a week.

 

When you live in the US and see American news stories on it it can appear a different place entirely.

 

TBH if you are in two minds about Turkey a cruise is probably a perfect choice as you can visit then go back to the ship and feel secure on board.

 

On side note, Turkish food is some of the tastiest in the world in my opinion.

[iancal]

We have been to countries such as Turkey, Greece, Thailand, and France when the TV news and indeed State warnings were all about danger and desperation.  In the first three instances we communicated with expats who were in those areas.  They recounted very different and far less dramatic situations.  So we went.   The locals were spot on.  CNN coverage and State warnings were grossly overblown.

 

We actually benefited from traveling at that time.  We are fairly spontaneous travelers. It was much easier and less expensive to find higher end accommodation, fewer crowds, and never a problem getting a seat in a restaurant when we wanted it.

[whogo]

I see in the news today that an Egyptian man was jailed because of a false attempted abduction claim in West Virginia. In other news, the jury is seated in the trial of the Minnesota policeman who shot an Australian for jogging. I will quit worrying about Turkey.

[MicCanberra]

49 minutes ago, whogo said:

I see in the news today that an Egyptian man was jailed because of a false attempted abduction claim in West Virginia. In other news, the jury is seated in the trial of the Minnesota policeman who shot an Australian for jogging. I will quit worrying about Turkey.

Stuff like this happens everywhere and can happen anywhere. People should know that while some places are definitely more dangerous than others, there is risk associated with ant place, even home.

[LynnTTT]

Whatever you do, don’t go to Turkey or Egypt or any other country where there’s has been unrest at any Time in the past. Instead, go to a nice safe country western concert in Las Vegas, or maybe a nightclub in Florida or your local high school. 

 

 

[iancal]

.....or visit a shopping center in Arizona.

 

Do people really think that America is much safer than some other countries that are often mentioned?  I suspect that those living in other countries may not share that view in it’s entirety.

Edited April 18, 2019 by iancal

[celebrity]

On 4/3/2019 at 6:40 PM, canadarocks said:

Bucket list visit for my husband. We've booked a Holland America 2020 cruise that goes to Kusadasi & then to Istanbul overnight. Hoping everything stays peaceful, as we cancelled one cruise a few years ago based upon the unrest in the region.

You will absolutely love it!!! I would return in a heart beat. Make sure you visit the Terrace Houses ( there’s an additional fee) when you visit Ephesus.