Tension increasing in Middle East

[kruisey]

Today oil fields in Saudi Arabia attacked set on fire by Iranian drones.Our ship Sapphire sets sail through the area where oil tankers have been attacked in November.I have just been looking at the map.Should we still feel safe as this problem in the Middle East seems to be escalating? 

[Colo Cruiser]

58 minutes ago, kruisey said:

Today oil fields in Saudi Arabia attacked set on fire by Iranian drones.Our ship Sapphire sets sail through the area where oil tankers have been attacked in November.I have just been looking at the map.Should we still feel safe as this problem in the Middle East seems to be escalating? 

Princess adjusts cruise itineraries accordingly. 

These happenings are not going away.

If you are worried about being attacked it will probably disrupt the coming back new part.

[kruisey]

I have read the decisions are made by the Maritime Insurance .If they feel it will be unsafe they usually stop the cruise.For me this cruise is one of a lifetime for my  being over 80 and one I have always had on my bucket list to see the Middle East.Loved the book and movie about Lawrence of Arabia..I also have never really seen all of Europe ,Gibraltar,Rhodes so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will still be deemed safe.

Edited September 14, 2019 by kruisey
Correction

[Steelers36]

I have read that cruise ships are escorted in certain areas.  We have an upcoming plan which is likely similar to yours for Fall 2020 on Regal.  I might be more concerned about certain ports than when travelling on the ship.  But no sense in worrying about it this far away.  We will be en route during the 2020 US election and no way to predict if any further turmoil will occur in the Middle East or perhaps things will be more peaceful.  The UAE is hosting a World Expo in 2020, so I expect there to be excellent security for that event. 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2019 by steelers36

[dog]

Princess will give you notice if they feel it is unsafe and change your ports. I was on the Star Princess between the protests and revolution in Egypt in the spring of 2011,

They gave us notice in March, I believe, that they were replacing Egypt with Malta.

Then just prior to the cruise they reverted back to Egypt. It all worked out for us.

 

My advice, do not worry now. And do not book any independent excursions asking for non refundable deposits, in case there are port changes.

Edited September 14, 2019 by dog

[kruisey]

I have booked about 3 independent excursions but in Europe not in that area reason being I cannot climb steps onto coaches and Princess will only allow Wheelchairs not strollers on their wheelchair trips had no choice.I was not going to stay on board and miss all the fun😊 .Otherwise booking in Middle East  independently I might have been hoisted  on to a camel and carried to a Sheiks harem.(Chance would be a fine thing)😉  

Edited September 14, 2019 by kruisey

[MotownVoice]

I’ve come to the place in my life where cruising, on a strictly recreational experience level, is the coolest thing I’ve done in my life.  If I died while doing it, it would be least meaningless way to go out, short of having all of my children and grand children standing around me telling me how instrumental I was in making them the people they are (which is now an impossibility).  So I’ve resolved that once I book a cruise, I can’t spend a moment about what could go dangerously wrong.  

 

I mean, you saw thousands of people knowing full well the worst hurricane since Katrina was approaching and they went anyway because missing the cruise was the greater of the two evils.

 

So, of course stay informed.   But live your life to the fullest no matter who tries to stop you from doing it.

[Colo Cruiser]

3 hours ago, kruisey said:

I have read the decisions are made by the Maritime Insurance .If they feel it will be unsafe they usually stop the cruise.For me this cruise is one of a lifetime for my  being over 80 and one I have always had on my bucket list to see the Middle East.Loved the book and movie about Lawrence of Arabia..I also have never really seen all of Europe ,Gibraltar,Rhodes so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will still be deemed safe.

This is not done by any insurance company..........

The decision is made by Princess/Carnival Corp in tandem with worldwide security alerts and other mitigating factors. You or I would have no control over these issues.

I suggest you stop reading/watching the news and go with the flow.

Princess will advise you of any changes etc.

[franktown]

I have a neighbor whose mother lives in the Norway.  The mother had a Mississippi River cruise booked this summer that she cancelled because of all the gun violence in the America.  They were even warned by their embassy about precautions they should take when travelling to US.  She tried to explain to her mother that these were isolated incidents.  If you worry about all the things going on in the world you would never step out of your house.

[kruisey]

I love sitting in sunshine on my balcony reading and nodding off.I wonder if we will be allowed on the Suez ?

[janina]

Since tensions are on the rise again in this area of the World I agree with not booking any excursions with vendors where you pay ahead.  In doing so it would be one less headache to deal with. This part of the World is not for me had enough with Egypt, but I hope everything goes well on your cruise😀

[Colo Cruiser]

3 minutes ago, kruisey said:

I love sitting in sunshine on my balcony reading and nodding off.I wonder if we will be allowed on the Suez ?

Why not?

[ell52]

4 hours ago, kruisey said:

I have read the decisions are made by the Maritime Insurance .If they feel it will be unsafe they usually stop the cruise.For me this cruise is one of a lifetime for my  being over 80 and one I have always had on my bucket list to see the Middle East.Loved the book and movie about Lawrence of Arabia..I also have never really seen all of Europe ,Gibraltar,Rhodes so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will still be deemed safe.

 

I feel your pain. We're so grateful that we got to Cairo, Greece, and Istanbul in 2006. But even then, our tour to Cairo from Alexandria had armed escorts.  Hope you're able to go - fantastic history and sights. 

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, kruisey said:

I have read the decisions are made by the Maritime Insurance .If they feel it will be unsafe they usually stop the cruise.For me this cruise is one of a lifetime for my  being over 80 and one I have always had on my bucket list to see the Middle East.Loved the book and movie about Lawrence of Arabia..I also have never really seen all of Europe ,Gibraltar,Rhodes so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will still be deemed safe.

P&O have already pulled Oceana from her winter Emirates itinerary.

Iran and UAE seem to be on friendly terms so hopefully your departure from Dubai will go ahead.

The Mediterranean ports are wonderful so hope you get the opportunity to see them.

We took Paulines mam with us on 6 cruises in her 80s and her last one was on P&O Ventura for her 90th birthday.

Graham

[kruisey]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

P&O have already pulled Oceana from her winter Emirates itinerary.

Iran and UAE seem to be on friendly terms so hopefully your departure from Dubai will go ahead.

The Mediterranean ports are wonderful so hope you get the opportunity to see them.

We took Paulines mam with us on 6 cruises in her 80s and her last one was on P&O Ventura for her 90th birthday.

Graham

Wow how wonderful for you to take her Graham..I am really looking forward to this adventure 37 days except for France and Portugal all new to me. Plus if we have a good head chef on board and CD .Good grub and great good for laugh entertainment on days at sea days will just suite me

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, kruisey said:

Wow how wonderful for you to take her Graham..I am really looking forward to this adventure 37 days except for France and Portugal all new to me. Plus if we have a good head chef on board and CD .Good grub and great good for laugh entertainment on days at sea days will just suite me

Sounds brilliant.

I hope everything goes to plan and you have a fantastic time.

[Go-Bucks!]

10 hours ago, kruisey said:

Today oil fields in Saudi Arabia attacked set on fire by Iranian drones.Our ship Sapphire sets sail through the area where oil tankers have been attacked in November.I have just been looking at the map.Should we still feel safe as this problem in the Middle East seems to be escalating? 

 

While on the Oceania world cruise, we were in Fujairah, UAE and Dubai, UAE on May 12 &13. In Fujairah I was sitting in my cabin when I heard a "boom" and the room shook back and forth. Turned out that it was a reverberation from when Iran attacked 2 Saudi Arabian ships in our port. Then the next day, while I was touring in Dubai, Iran attacked another ship in our port. God protected all of us.

 

But we did have alot of security measures...former Navy Seals were onboard for 2 weeks, had water cannons on promenade deck, we did piracy drills, kept the ship dark at night and they put a dummy up high on the aft end of the ship that looked like a security guy. I'm sure Princess will institute security measures too.

 

We also had armed guards on our tour buses in Jordan and Egypt, as well as extra security vehicles with us. 

 

I was nervous, like you, at first but realized that my safety is in God's hands so I relaxed and enjoyed the Middle East...it was beautiful and an awesome experience! So glad I went there...hope you will too.

 

BTW, I'm not sure why you wouldn't think that you could sit on your balcony through the Suez Canal, but of course you can! It's calm, quiet and frequently very narrow then widens out. 

 

[Laurie S.]

I spent two weeks in Egypt last month.  Absolutely no problems and the people were very friendly and welcoming.  

[caribill]

14 hours ago, dog said:

Princess will give you notice if they feel it is unsafe and change your ports. I was on the Star Princess between the protests and revolution in Egypt in the spring of 2011,

They gave us notice in March, I believe, that they were replacing Egypt with Malta.

Then just prior to the cruise they reverted back to Egypt. It all worked out for us.

 

We were also on that cruise. Many people cancelled (it was just before final payment time) when Egypt was replaced with Malta and an extra day in Istanbul. Although Egypt was the main reason we had booked the cruise, the new itinerary also appealed to us.

 

When they reverted to the original itinerary, we were happy. However, there were a number of people who had booked the cruise with the changed itinerary and did not want to go to Egypt. Since it was now way past final payment time, they had to keep the cruise unless they had cancel for any reason insurance.

 

The ship did sail with about 600 less passengers than normal.

 

And there were zero security problems in Egypt.

[dog]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

We were also on that cruise. Many people cancelled (it was just before final payment time) when Egypt was replaced with Malta and an extra day in Istanbul. Although Egypt was the main reason we had booked the cruise, the new itinerary also appealed to us.

 

When they reverted to the original itinerary, we were happy. However, there were a number of people who had booked the cruise with the changed itinerary and did not want to go to Egypt. Since it was now way past final payment time, they had to keep the cruise unless they had cancel for any reason insurance.

 

The ship did sail with about 600 less passengers than normal.

 

And there were zero security problems in Egypt.

 

I remember getting an offer to stay on board for the next cruise after that one for a very low fare.

Also, we had a private excursion for 2 of us with our own driver & guide for 2 days. Overnight in hotel beside Giza pyramids. Lots of security at hotel. The only time we felt unsafe was back in Alexandria, in a parking lot. Men started throwing huge potted trees, plants at cars. Our guide got us out of there right away. Many  we spoke to on the ship were ill afterwards re:food in Egypt. I'm glad we went. Someone on our roll call booked a non refundable excursion in Malta, so lost his money, I believe.

[kruisey]

We are not stopping at Egyptian Ports .We are stopping United Arab Eremites and Jordon.

In this big World of ours no matter what country there are always the few that are rebel rouses .Most of us are nice folks  whatever nationality .Thank Goodness.😊.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, kruisey said:

We are not stopping at Egyptian Ports .We are stopping United Arab Eremites and Jordon.

In this big World of ours no matter what country there are always the few that are rebel rouses .Most of us are nice folks  whatever nationality .Thank Goodness.😊.

We have same ports in 2020.  Plus, we are looking at continuing overland from Petra by private car to Amman and then flying ahead to Dubai, skipping six sea days to have more time in Dubai.

[kruisey]

9 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

We have same ports in 2020.  Plus, we are looking at continuing overland from Petra by private car to Amman and then flying ahead to Dubai, skipping six sea days to have more time in Dubai.

I have heard Dubai is a fun place we are also stopping there.

[casofilia]

@kruisey

 

Today oil fields in Saudi Arabia attacked set on fire by Iranian drones

 

Are you sure of that?   The general feeling was that it was the Houthi.   Blaming the Iranians without proof will only inflame the Strait of Hormuz situation.

[Go-Bucks!]

9 hours ago, kruisey said:

I have heard Dubai is a fun place we are also stopping there.

VERY fun...wish I'd had a week there.