SB abandoning Turkey??

[Hlitner]

I noticed that Encore itineraries for next summer have been revamped to eliminate Turkey ports.  The ship is being redeployed with Dubrovnik replacing Istanbul for several embarkations.

 

Hank

[markham]

I checked our 4 Aug cruise on Encore and see no changes on the Seabourn site. What particular cruises have been changed? What itineraries do you expect will be changed?

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[RetiredandTravel]

I see multiple trips that include Turkey.  Maybe those trips also included Israel?

 

 

[curmudgeon98]

All of August still seems to have a number of Turkish ports, as well as some  in late July.  Of course, if they are really moving things, those may still be in process of being reworked. 

 

It might be that it's Istanbul as an embarkation port that they are getting away from; comments on the new terminal there (Galataport?) haven't been great. 

[RetiredandTravel]

There are multiple trips in 2025 that go to Istanbul.

 

 

[2SailingNomads]

We just got a notice yesterday that a trip on the Encore next August has removed Kusadasi and now making a call to Nydri, Greece.

Edited December 15, 2023 by 2SailingNomads
Typo

[Vineyard View]

Next April, on 4/21 departure, Izmir has been changed to Corfu. We had no issue with that tbh. 

[Hlitner]

Our cruise was supposed to embark from Istanbul on Aug 25.  We have received email notice from SB that the embarkation is changed from Istanbul to Dubrovnik and they have also dropped two other Turkey ports.  SB also indicated a link to a reimbursement form for those that will need to deal with change fees.  
 

We do not know if this is just about that one cruise or is an indication that Turkey is a no no.  We also have a spring 2024 Oceania cruise that has dropped ports in Turkey.

 

Hank

 

[markandjie]

That's a fascinating development. I wonder if this is driven by insurance and a reassessment of Turkey, either because of the ongoing conflict or perhaps something to do with Erdogan's reelection.

 

Ephesus is in Turkey and is one of our all time highlights. Love Istanbul. Sad if it's becoming a no go. 

[curmudgeon98]

I suspect this may be driven by customer perceptions as much as the actual local situation.  People may just be a bit less inclined to stick with cruises that are on the edge of their comfort zone as final payment date comes up.  It doesn't have to be an explicit fear for their safety, just a concern that there may be more hassles and less enjoyment than originally expected.  I expect the marketing people understand this pretty well.

 

For myself, for example, I wouldn't choose currently to take a cruise that goes through the Red Sea and past Yemen.  Sailing the Suez Canal just isn't that big of a priority to me.  Which makes for an interesting challenge for the 2024 world cruises of various lines.  Turkey doesn't fall into that level of concern, of course, but I'm sure some people get similar vibes about it between Erdogan and the general ME issues. 

[kahuna21]

On 12/15/2023 at 1:52 PM, 2SailingNomads said:

We just got a notice yesterday that a trip on the Encore next August has removed Kusadasi and now making a call to Nydri, Greece.

Very sorry about that. Our Oct 2023 cruise went  to both of those ports. Kusadasi / Ephesus was wonderful. Nydri was nothing. Lefkada itself is apparently beautiful, but the good places are very far from Nydri. 

[jjs217]

I saw this morning on the news Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have suspended Red Sea shipping for the time being.  

[2SailingNomads]

14 hours ago, kahuna21 said:

Very sorry about that. Our Oct 2023 cruise went  to both of those ports. Kusadasi / Ephesus was wonderful. Nydri was nothing. Lefkada itself is apparently beautiful, but the good places are very far from Nydri. 

We were in Kusadasi years ago on a Seabourn cruise and had a private tour that took us to Ephesus and multiple other must-see sites.  Unfortunately the heavens opened up late in the afternoon and they had to cancel the Ephesus concert. 

[tv24]

We are on the 2024 Grand Voyage with includes multiple ports in Turkey, none of which have been cancelled, yet.  However 2 ports in Israel were cancelled a while ago.

[wcc19]

For our cruise in May on Encore, the original debarkation port was Istanbul.  That was one reason we booked it as we wanted to visit that city.

A month ago they changed the itinerary so we are now debarking in Athens.  Very disappointing.

[kej1]

The good news is it is a relatively short flight from Athens to Istanbul!  I think about 1 1/2 hours.  It’s worth a visit but too bad the cruise changed.  I’ve been a number of times by land and it’s one of my favorite cities to visit!  

[wine-wine-wine]

No change (yet) for October 2025 21-Day Treasures Of The Adriatic & Ephesus