Cancellation of Alexandria, Egypt as well as Israel on Moon cruise 10th December

[mancunian]

When looking at My Silversea yesterday evening I noted Egypt as well as Israel is deleted from our cruise, though we have not yet been officially notified.

 

The three nights have been replaced by Antalya, Heraklion and Nauplion.  We have never been to Nauplion, it is many years since Antalya where we visited on a cruise for a day and we have been to Heraklion many times so will probably stay on board there.  Quite happy with this, because although Israel and  Egypt were reasons for booking this cruise originally things unfortunately change rapidly in the world these days, and no itinerary is safe.

 

I thought others on thIs cruise may not have picked this info up yet.

[claudiaYVR]

Nauplion (or Nafplio) is a gorgeous island with a strong Venetian influence that you can still see as you walk through its streets. It is possibly my favourite of the Greek islands and I think you will enjoy it.

[scseas]

The June 20 Moon to Israel and Egypt stops were cancelled. Of course, this is understandable given the circumstances. However, I am surprised they made this call so early. The four nights in these countries out of 11 nights total for the voyage were by far the highlight. I am imagining that a lot of people will cancel the trip. I am considering it as well. I am guessing that silversea does not do any type of compensation for substituting these attractive ports, even if they were the highlight of the trip. 

 

They did add Santorini. However, we are spending four nights in Santorini post cruise as that is an island that you really can’t visit in eight hours.

[jollyjones]

4 hours ago, claudiaYVR said:

Nauplion (or Nafplio) is a gorgeous island with a strong Venetian influence that you can still see as you walk through its streets. It is possibly my favourite of the Greek islands and I think you will enjoy it.

I wonder which island you mean?

Nauplion is indeed a gorgeous town on the mainland of the Peloponnese.

 

Alexandria is no loss, IMO the OP has ended up with an itinerary better than the original. 
 

 

[scseas]

Alexandria is the port where you can do the pyramids, so that is a big disappointment. 

 

Here are the original ports (new ones are below). This is a very different trip now.

hu, Jun 20, 2024	ATHENS (PIRAEUS)	--	7:00 pm
Fri, Jun 21, 2024	AGHIOS NIKOLAOS, CRETE	9:00 am	6:00 pm
Sat, Jun 22, 2024	BODRUM	8:00 am	11:00 pm
Sun, Jun 23, 2024	RHODES	8:00 am	5:00 pm
Mon, Jun 24, 2024	PAPHOS	9:00 am	6:00 pm
Tue, Jun 25, 2024	HAIFA (NAZARETH)	7:00 am	11:00 pm
Wed, Jun 26, 2024	ASHDOD (JERUSALEM)	8:00 am	--
Thu, Jun 27, 2024	ASHDOD (JERUSALEM)	--	2:00 pm
Fri, Jun 28, 2024	ALEXANDRIA	8:00 am	--
Sat, Jun 29, 2024	ALEXANDRIA	--	6:00 pm
Sun, Jun 30, 2024	DAY AT SEA	--	--
Mon, Jul 01, 2024	ATHENS (PIRAEUS)

 

Here are the new ones:

20-Jun-24	Thu	PIRAEUS (Athens)	Greece		19:00
21-Jun-24	Fri	Monemvasia	Greece	8:00	18:00
22-Jun-24	Sat	Aghios Nikolaos, Crete	Greece	8:00	18:00
23-Jun-24	Sun	Rhodes	Greece	8:00	23:00
24-Jun-24	Mon	Patmos	Greece	8:00	23:00
25-Jun-24	Tue	Bodrum	Turkey	8:00	19:00
26-Jun-24	Wed	Kusadasi	Turkey	8:00	23:00
27-Jun-24	Thu	Day at Sea	At sea
28-Jun-24	Fri	Souda Bay, Crete	Greece	8:00	19:00
29-Jun-24	Sat	Santorini	Greece	8:00	22:00
30-Jun-24	Sun	Syros	Greece	8:00	18:00
1-Jul-24	Mon	PIRAEUS (Athens)	Greece	7:00

 

[TLCOhio]

11 hours ago, mancunian said:

When looking at My Silversea yesterday evening I noted Egypt as well as Israel is deleted from our cruise, though we have not yet been officially notified.

We have never been to Nauplion.  Quite happy with this, because although Israel and  Egypt were reasons for booking this cruise originally things unfortunately change rapidly in the world these days, and no itinerary is safe.   I thought others on thIs cruise may not have picked this info up yet.

 

Appreciate this posting by our UK friend and the other follow-ups for what is evolving and becoming uncertain for these Middle East sailings.  

 

Too bad about the stops for Israel being scrubbed.  Seeing and experiencing Jerusalem, as we did in late 2018, is amazing for its unique history, fascinating culture and architecture, etc., etc.  

 

But what about for the Silver Moon sailing down the Suez Canal, doing Luxor and southern Jordan, etc.??

 

In late December and January, the Silver Moon has a large number of stops in these Middle East ports for Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE?  Could an enlarged war there impact these various Silver Moon ports and transit?

 

For us, we are scheduled to board the Silver Moon on Feb. 11, 2024, in Mumbai after this ship navigates all over these various Middle East ports.  Will be following with interest in the coming weeks.   

 

Per jolly jones, agree about "Nauplion is indeed a gorgeous town on the mainland of the Peloponnese."    Agree about the charm, history and character there in Nafplion.  Plus, many nearby interesting options from that port.  This includes for the Mycene ruins that go back 2700 years from their spectacular empire.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

From late 2018, see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East. Now at 22,092 views.  Connect at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/

 

For Nafplion, below are a couple of options and potentials consider.  This includes looking down upon Nafplion from the historic Palamidi military fortress that overlooks the town and its harbor.  This fortress is on the crest of a 216-metre high hill.  It was built by the Venetians during their second occupation of the area (1686-1715).::

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!)

 

 

 

Nearby is also Epidaurus, the famed outdoor theater with super great acoustics on the Peloponnesian Peninsula.  Their local prosperity enabled Epidaurus to construct civic monuments including this huge theater that had dramatic performances, ceremonial programs, etc.  It was designed in the 4th century BC. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21 rows.:

 

 

[applefan75]

2 hours ago, jollyjones said:

I wonder which island you mean?

Nauplion is indeed a gorgeous town on the mainland of the Peloponnese.

 

Alexandria is no loss, IMO the OP has ended up with an itinerary better than the original. 
 

 

Alexandria is huge loss for myself on this trip.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I saw this coming. Don’t understand why all the Turkey ports remain. 

[scseas]

I'm not sure why Egypt is out. Alexandria is no where near Gaza. Also, while the situation in Israel is really bad now, I would've waited another month to see how things unfold. This region is always prone to conflict and there will be much bigger problems if the situation is not dramatically improved by this summer. The June 20 Moon voyage looks pretty full now, so I would think Silversea would wait a little longer to cancel the marquee ports of Ashdod, Haifa and Alexandria which were overnight ports and replace theme with a hodgepodge of more Greek islands. 

[jpalbny]

3 hours ago, jollyjones said:

I wonder which island you mean?

 

Maybe they mean that the Peloponnese is technically an island, now that the Corinth Canal separates it from the mainland?

 

*ducks and covers* Just teasing, Jolly. I know it's still part of the Greek mainland, even though they dug that canal.

[claudiaYVR]

4 hours ago, jollyjones said:

I wonder which island you mean?

Nauplion is indeed a gorgeous town on the mainland of the Peloponnese.

 

Alexandria is no loss, IMO the OP has ended up with an itinerary better than the original. 
 

 

My bad. Not an island. Favourite Greek port stop then 😁

[mancunian]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I saw this coming. Don’t understand why all the Turkey ports remain. 

I am puzzled why you would say this.   Turkey is a beautiful country.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Ephesus, the most touristy place in Turkey, was just closed for three days for “National mourning”.  As an American I wouldn’t feel safe anywhere in Turkey. 

[jpalbny]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

As an American I wouldn’t feel safe anywhere in Turkey.

 

Sad, and a big change from when we have visited. We've done a bunch of drives through Turkey on our own and always felt safe.

 

Years ago, we were driving around the back roads of Cappadocia in a rental car, and we saw a police checkpoint ahead. They stopped the car ahead of us and made the occupants get out, and seemingly gave them a hard time. We were worried, but when it was our turn they waved us through quickly because we were Americans, and sent us on our way with kind words, thanking us for visiting.

 

I've always found the people of Turkey to be warm and welcoming; would be disappointing if that has changed. But the world has become a different place I guess.

[Liquid Amber]

7 hours ago, scseas said:

I'm not sure why Egypt is out. Alexandria is no where near Gaza. Also, while the situation in Israel is really bad now, I would've waited another month to see how things unfold. This region is always prone to conflict and there will be much bigger problems if the situation is not dramatically improved by this summer. The June 20 Moon voyage looks pretty full now, so I would think Silversea would wait a little longer to cancel the marquee ports of Ashdod, Haifa and Alexandria which were overnight ports and replace theme with a hodgepodge of more Greek islands. 

Two tourist and guide shot dead about 5/6 days ago in Alexandria, maybe this was a consideration?

[zqtchas]

 Maybe 2 aircraft carrier groups lounging about in the area has something to do with it.

Edited October 21, 2023 by zqtchas

[fdnycruiser]

We were originally on the Moon for a b2b in late January/ early February going to Luxor twice through the suez and eventually ending In Mumbai. Luxor was dropped from the itinerary several months ago, and we booked the Nova instead and are now onboard for 32 days. This was the 3rd time on 3 different cruise lines that Egypt was canceled and the reason we booked.  As much as we love the Middle East, we wouldn’t want to be going there now. 

[Lois R]

43 minutes ago, fdnycruiser said:

We were originally on the Moon for a b2b in late January/ early February going to Luxor twice through the suez and eventually ending In Mumbai. Luxor was dropped from the itinerary several months ago, and we booked the Nova instead and are now onboard for 32 days. This was the 3rd time on 3 different cruise lines that Egypt was canceled and the reason we booked.  As much as we love the Middle East, we wouldn’t want to be going there now. 

Good morning----hope you are loving Nova😀

[Easterncommand]

21 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

But what about for the Silver Moon sailing down the Suez Canal, doing Luxor and southern Jordan, etc.??

Hi,

We are on the Moon for the Suez transit in December, and have been informed that Alexandria has been substituted however the stops in Safaga, Sharm and into Aqaba are still going ahead. That is not to say that if things deteriorated even more that these are not cancelled at a later date. This cruise was booked solely for the Suez transit as we had to cancel our planned Panama Canal cruise. We have done the Greek islands to death do not wish to sail them again. Fingers crossed that no further changes are made.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Easterncommand
Spelling

[Randyk47]

We did the Rome (Civitaveccha) to Dubai itinerary on the Spirit a few years ago.  Even back then it was an off and on situation for my wife who is a senior manager in the US Department of Defense.   Her travel, even personal travel, has to be approved for certain parts of the world including Israel, most of North African, and the Persian Gulf states.  Right now she is in Poland on official travel and told me this morning she’d received a long cautionary message to be careful and that specifically cancelled all official and personal travel to Israel, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf states pending further review.  Stuff happens.   

[wren2]

I embark the Spirit on October 29. According to Silversea as of yesterday we are still calling in at Sharm el Sheikh, Safaga in Egypt and Aqaba, Jordan. Wonder if when I embark, the ports will have changed?

[Randyk47]

10 minutes ago, wren2 said:

I embark the Spirit on October 29. According to Silversea as of yesterday we are still calling in at Sharm el Sheikh, Safaga in Egypt and Aqaba, Jordan. Wonder if when I embark, the ports will have changed?

I hope and pray for some speedy and reasonable solution but if it explodes and other states in the area get involved then I would expect changes will be made.   

[fdnycruiser]

15 hours ago, Lois R said:

Good morning----hope you are loving Nova😀

Yes, we’re loving the Nova and wonderful crew. See you here soon !

[crusinbanjo]

On 10/20/2023 at 5:36 PM, scseas said:

I'm not sure why Egypt is out. Alexandria is no where near Gaza. Also, while the situation in Israel is really bad now, I would've waited another month to see how things unfold. This region is always prone to conflict and there will be much bigger problems if the situation is not dramatically improved by this summer. The June 20 Moon voyage looks pretty full now, so I would think Silversea would wait a little longer to cancel the marquee ports of Ashdod, Haifa and Alexandria which were overnight ports and replace theme with a hodgepodge of more Greek islands. 

Alexandria, just after the Oct 7 attack in Israel, experienced an attack on a bus load of tourists by a policeman.  Although this looks like an isolated case, with all that is going on in the larger area, I think the cruise lines are being very cautious.

[scseas]

1 hour ago, crusinbanjo said:

Alexandria, just after the Oct 7 attack in Israel, experienced an attack on a bus load of tourists by a policeman.  Although this looks like an isolated case, with all that is going on in the larger area, I think the cruise lines are being very cautious.

It’s crazy to think that one deranged person, acting in isolation, would cause Silverseas to cancel this port. I refunded my trip yesterday as without Israel and Egypt, and any overnight ports now, this voyage turned into an island hopping boat. We’re going to pick up another line to check out Greece and then do Egypt and possibly Israel on our own afterwards. I understand that traveling to these countries independently gives us more flexibility because we’re only planning for ourselves. However, I’m still surprised SS cancelled these ports so early. Interestingly, it looks like this April voyage is still planning on Egypt and Israel, so I wonder what’s really going on: https://www.silversea.com/destinations/mediterranean-cruise/rhodes-to-athens-piraeus-sl240401s10.html