Israel Next week Voyager

[HotelSnob1]

Confused a bit.  So where do we embark on the 15th - in Istanbul instead of Haifa? 
Thanks again for the update!👍

[LuxeCruiseGuySF]

Where did you hear about the new embarkation in Istanbul?  I'm a travel advisor with clients booked on the 10/15/2023 sailing and have received no word other than the letter posted above which didn't say much! Thanks, Josh

[Lonedaddy]

1 hour ago, SarahV2023 said:

Just advised we will be embarking in Istanbul on Oct 15th with the 14th at sea. 
And for those boarding they will be at sea2 days and then to Egypt from my understanding. 

Advised by ship?  Just curious if visa needed for istanbul

[LuxeCruiseGuySF]

4 minutes ago, Lonedaddy said:

Advised by ship?  Just curious if visa needed for istanbul

The last I heard, a visa is required for USA citizens for arrival at an airport in Turkey and you can get it here https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/

 

[SarahV2023]

Yes it was advised by the ship captain this evening. I am onboard now. I am also a Travel Advisor 

[SarahV2023]

Our internet service is very bad at the moment I’m sure Regent will reach out tomorrow once they are open to reschedule flights bookings etc 

Edited October 8, 2023 by SarahV2023

[melbox4]

Turkey and Egypt are not safe for Americans. I am very disappointed to read this. 

[HotelSnob1]

We are doing a wait & see. Regent may offer options for those who may want to do something that they are more comfortable with.  Anorher wait & see.  Again, thank you for keep us informed as we plan ahead. No word from Miami office yet.

[cruiseluv]

27 minutes ago, SarahV2023 said:

Yes it was advised by the ship captain this evening. I am onboard now. I am also a Travel Advisor 

I can’t believe ports in Egypt are part of the mix! Just today an Egyptian cop opened fire against Israeli tourists and killed 2. 

[cruiseluv]

25 minutes ago, melbox4 said:

Turkey and Egypt are not safe for Americans. I am very disappointed to read this. 

Agree 100%

[HotelSnob1]

Yes. That tragedy is in the news … we will see what options Regent may offer based on the region’s general instability at this point in time. 

[HotelSnob1]

And clients’ ability to get air to meet the ship at this late juncture.  

[minotaur]

This is showing on the Regent website (UK version anyway):

 

As a result of the tragic events which took place in Israel over the weekend our Custom Air Department will be closed on Monday and Tuesday , October 9th and 10th ,  as our air team is working diligently on rebooking guests both currently on the Voyager as well as those embarking on October 15th.    

If you are contacting the air team regarding the two Voyager sailings impacted, our air team is in the rebooking process and will be forwarding the new air schedules as soon as they are available.  Due to the number of guests impacted we are unable to take custom air requests.  We ask for your patience while we work through this process. 

 

[HotelSnob1]

Do they mention what port we are embarking on on the 15th?  We are doing our own air.  We are on US east coast. Thank you for this! 

[melbox4]

18 minutes ago, HotelSnob1 said:

And clients’ ability to get air to meet the ship at this late juncture.  

They need to offer cancellations too. In 5 days safety for Americans in other countries such as Turkey and Egypt could deteriorate. 

[Joanandjoe]

As I posted on the roll call for the 10/15 cruise, I  hope that Michael Moore or someone else from Regent management is reading this thread.  Regent will have a lot of unhappy customers, and will lose some of them, if they give us a choice of taking an unsafe itinerary (and an undesirable one even if it were safe) or forfeiting large sums of money. I wouldn't have signed up for Turkey to Egypt at any price, much less Regent prices.

[melbox4]

I just received a email from RSSC. They will not cancel or allow changes. That is a poor business decision!

[Joanandjoe]

The point is that some of us do not feel safe right now in Egypt or Turkey.  That's why we were planning to stay on the ship in Port Said rather than go to the pyramids.  Regent changed our original, magnificent 16 day cruise onto a much less desirable 10 day cruise.  Now this.  If Regent doesn't change its mind, and allow cancelations, we will cancel planned future cruises and avoid Regent.

[melbox4]

RSSC if you are reading this...If people were charged for custom flights to Israel RSSC should be refunding those charges as well.

 

[Lonedaddy]

23 minutes ago, melbox4 said:

RSSC if you are reading this...If people were charged for custom flights to Israel RSSC should be refunding those charges as well.

 

I can handle the change but I prefer to keep my flight to CDG and just have them change the connection to IST.  Would be easier that rebooking on the new date.  

 

Where is Jennifer Teagan when you need her?

Edited October 8, 2023 by Lonedaddy

[frantic36]

6 minutes ago, Joanandjoe said:

or canceling everything we've paid for the trip. 

Which I have already said I agree should be possible. 

 

I will leave you all to your discussion and hope you get resolution.

[ssm10]

I am astounded that Regent is not offering refund or at the very least cruise credit.  We feel like the region is very unstable and would not be able to enjoy ouselves.  Also, it is a high amount to pay to have sea days vs holy land tours.  We booked our own flight so that will be expensive and a nightmare to coordinate at this short notice.We will never cruise Regent again nor recommend them after their hard and fast no refund or credit letter and their lack of concern for safety.

[PhD-iva]

Would travel insurance cover a decision to cancel this cruise if Regent doesn’t want to cancel? Israel has declared war, perhaps that will help this situation to rise to a level that a reputable insurance company would recognize? Has anyone called their travel insurance company yet? I couldn’t imagine traveling to this area without being insured (under normal circumstances).

BTW, my Regent friends said their AAA contact said all of their clients have been evacuated from Egypt. Second or third hand info, but…….

[Pcardad]

5 minutes ago, ssm10 said:

I am astounded that Regent is not offering refund or at the very least cruise credit.  We feel like the region is very unstable and would not be able to enjoy ouselves.  Also, it is a high amount to pay to have sea days vs holy land tours.  We booked our own flight so that will be expensive and a nightmare to coordinate at this short notice.We will never cruise Regent again nor recommend them after their hard and fast no refund or credit letter and their lack of concern for safety.

Did you buy insurance?

[cruiseluv]

42 minutes ago, Joanandjoe said:

Frantic36-

 

I hope you were never unlucky enough to witness a shooting that took place 5 feet from you, as I was on an A train in NYC about 40 years ago.  I totally changed my daily commute to avoid the subway as much as possible.

 

If we feel unsafe in Turkey and Egypt, regardless of whether you feel safe there, we shouldn't have the choice of going where we feel unsafe or canceling everything we've paid for the trip.  BTW, even before the war in Israel, we decided to stay on the ship in Port Said rather than go with armed gusrds to the pyramids.  We thought Alexandria was safe; but, sadly, we were wrong.

 

(Oops, I'm repeating some points I already made, and adding some more.)

I don’t even know if that’s necessarily safe, the Achille Lauro comes to mind…