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Will Celebrity cancel Turkey ports for 2024

cricketlover

By cricketlover,
in Celebrity Cruises

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cricketlover

cricketlover

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We are loyal Celebrity cruisers but have always wanted to visit Istanbul. Oceania had a cruise with stops  to Istanbul and Kusadasi in April 2024 which was ideal for us. We received an e-mail from Oceania yesterday and they have cancelled the stops in Turkey.

I’ve checked on cruise boards and they have also cancelled Turkey as far as November 2024.

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bikerunner

bikerunner

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2 minutes ago, cricketlover said:

We are loyal Celebrity cruisers but have always wanted to visit Istanbul. Oceania had a cruise with stops  to Istanbul and Kusadasi in April 2024 which was ideal for us. We received an e-mail from Oceania yesterday and they have cancelled the stops in Turkey.

I’ve checked on cruise boards and they have also cancelled Turkey as far as November 2024.

Safety of passengers/crew comes first.  If the risk assessment with continuing issues in the various regions I can see it happening.  A lot is placed on the pull of the insurance carriers of the fleet also.  If they decide that to travel to this region and raise costs/premiums for the vessels, cruise lines, as much as they do pass on these costs to passengers there reaches a point where it just is not realistic anymore.  

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prmssk "Live from...." Rare

prmssk

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It looks like Celebrity has removed Kusadasi from their Feb-April 2024 Infinity cruises.  Istanbul still is currently listed on some late April itineraries.  

 

Personally, I think any travel to that part of the world over the next couple years is going to be uncertain.  Cruise lines are trying to guess how far the conflict in Israel will spread, how it will affect safety in other countries, what insurance companies will do, and whether passengers will feel safe enough to book these itineraries.  I don't envy their position.

 

We had a cruise on another line that embarked in Israel and had Egypt and Turkey ports scheduled for October 2024 that we just cancelled.  We weren't interested in it turning into a Greek Isles cruise which I think is very possible.

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hcat "Live from...." Rare

hcat

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Safety concerns must  come first.

Area  is unpredictable right now but cruiselines must plan far ahead.

 

Although Turkey is in NATO, its Pres has  taken sides in the mideast situation..

 

Our neigbbors here in US, are Turkish &

have rels in Istanbul.  They have recently postponed a land visit.  

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bbtondo "Live from...." Rare

bbtondo

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Just checked my cruise for Sept 2024.  Turkey is off the itinerary.  I am happy with this, because I didn't want to go to Turkey anyway.  Any guesses what Celebrity will replace that stop with?  Another sea day?  

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Markanddonna

Markanddonna

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I was in both Kusadasi and Istanbul last Nov-Dec. Personally, I consider going to Kusadasi as relatively safe and easy to navigate. Istanbul, on the other hand, was quite the disaster. We had never been there, so we arranged for a private guide with a small group from the ship in a van. The Blue Mosque was being renovated, and we were told it wasn't worth the wait. Others who visited that day agreed- it wasn't worth it. Hagia Sophia had very long lines, and people paid to cut in or just did. I have to say that visiting it was worth the wait and irritation. 

 

The Grand Bazaar may be worth it if you really want to buy something, but it really is a confusing maze of shops. Glad I went so that I could say I was there. The Topaki Palace was also worth it but very controlled. The Hippodrome was really just a park with a few pillars. If you've ever been to the one in Caesarea Maritima in Israel, you would be disappointed.

 

The biggest problem was the traffic back to the port. It was an absolute gridlock. The crew later told us it is like that all the time (confirmed by locals), and they all use the tram to visit. After sitting in the van with no movement anywhere, our group decided to leave the van and just walk to the ship. It was a struggle for some who were not used to the required fast pace that was necessary. Ultimately, we had plenty of time, but of course weren't confident that the ship would indeed leave late. The buses from the ship excursions sat in that traffic for hours, and of course, the ship ended up leaving quite late. 

 

Istanbul really is quite lovely but not without danger. One of our ladies was assaulted by some young men who thought she would be easy prey. She fought them off, and they scattered- they just wanted her purse, which they didn't get. This happened when the guide allowed people to walk to Hagia Sophia on their own after lunch. 

 

So, I'm not a big fan of Istanbul. If you ever get to go there, do your homework and know what you are getting into. Take the tram!  It goes right to the main sites, which are close to one another. There are some tours where the guide meets you at the ship, and you go with them on the tram.

 

Kusadasi, on the other hand, is fabulous only because you can go to Ephesus.

Edited by Markanddonna
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hcat "Live from...." Rare

hcat

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On 11/3/2023 at 9:37 AM, NMTraveller said:

I personally would not want to cruise to someplace that is siding with Iran ...

just recalled their ambassador to Israeli so maybe not a good/ safe time to visit by land or sea

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xamsx

xamsx

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We had Middle East, Israel, Egypt cruises booked on Regent and just canceled. The travel agent asked, “Are you sure?” 😒  I am certain it was a decent commission lost, but I doubt we are the first to decide not to chance it. 
 

I have always wanted to do that itinerary, but do not see things getting better in that neck of the woods in the next few years. 

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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9 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

The crew later told us it is like that all the time (confirmed by locals), and they all use the tram to visit. After sitting in the van with no movement anywhere, our group decided to leave the van and just walk to the ship. It was a struggle for some who were not used to the required fast pace

In have taken the tram and walked. A person who is mobile can walk. Can take the tram and walk to most major sites. Istanbul is one of my favorite ports, I been a few times. The tram is cheap and easy. Took the subway too. Tram and subway stops near the cruise terminal.  We even took the tram in the evening, there was even a Shake Shack downtown, tram and walking are safe but that said given the currrent situation and Turkey's governemt position  it makes sense for the cruise lines to anticipate there might be anti American sentiment and cancel because they had to pause cruises there a few  years ago before restarting. I would guess that they were getting cancelations too.

Edited by Charles4515
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zitsky

zitsky

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I want to present a different picture.  We just went to Istanbul in early summer.  Two gay men.  We weren’t harassed.  Didn’t get stuck in traffic.  Didn’t talk to anyone about politics.

 

I’ve wanted to see the Hagia Sophia since I was a teenager.  It smelled like feet.

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acrane

acrane

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If you use Find a Cruise on the website to do a search, all the sailings that are supposed to go to Kusadasi now have "missing port content" in the results, but if you click through to the itinerary, you do still see Kusadasi. Also, if you try to search for just Kusadasi, it finds no results. This doesn't appear to be the case for Istanbul.

 

It makes me nervous that something's up, but hopefully I'm wrong.

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cruisemom42 Great Review Rare

cruisemom42

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I was just in Istanbul on October 21 and earlier (on BTB cruises) for an overnight just a couple of days after the initial Hamas attacks. Aside from being terribly crowded, I noted nothing negative about the visit. But of course as time goes by and attitudes coalesce and harden, things may become tricky there. 

 

13 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

The Hippodrome was really just a park with a few pillars. If you've ever been to the one in Caesarea Maritima in Israel, you would be disappointed.

 

I've been to both and I was not disappointed by the Hippodrome in Istanbul. I walk through it every time I am there and marvel at the remaining monuments from the spina. As well, I have walked all the way to the end where you can still see the substructures. It's quite impressive.

 

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zitsky

zitsky

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Other than Turkey supporting Iran and Russia (and Hamas?), I don’t see a reason to avoid Turkey.  It’s not like Americans are being kidnapped there.

 

Did we all tell people to not come to the USA whenever a party is in power that we don’t like?  I hear from time to time travel alerts about the USA.

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