From Israel/Egypt to Greek Isles

[wilmingtech]

JUST A PSA for anyone wanting to cruise to Israel.

We are booked on the 11 day Israel/Egypt cruise in March of 2025 and just got notified that it was changed to a Greek Isle Cruise.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruises?search=departurePort:ATH|startDate:2025-03-01~2025-03-31

Looks like this might end up being the way for all of 2025 at this point.

 

New itinerary:

Date	Port of Call	Arrive	Depart
Fri	Athens (Piraeus), Greece		5:00 PM
Sat	Thessaloniki, Greece	10:30 AM
Sun	Thessaloniki, Greece		2:00 PM
Mon	Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey	9:00 AM	10:00 PM
Tue	At Sea
Wed	Limassol, Cyprus	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
Thu	At Sea
Fri	Rhodes, Greece	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
Sat	Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
Sun	Athens (Piraeus), Greece	7:00 AM
Mon	Athens (Piraeus), Greece		DEBARK

[hcat]

No surprise! 

Canal transit not safe..

[wilmingtech]

The original cruise had no Canal transit.  It was Athens > Haifa > Jerusalem (Overnight)> Alexandria (Overnight)> Ephesus>Athens

 

But I totally understand the changes considering what is going on. I am a little surprised the decision is being made over a year out but it's probably easier to make port arrangements now than waiting until 6 months out.  I'm assuming at this point all 2025 Israel cruises will be changed.

 

I'm really just wondering if the pricing for this cruise will drop now that its a Greek Isle cruise.

Edited February 7 by wilmingtech

[Pushka]

It will certainly change whether people decide to cancel as this is a completely different cruise and likely one people have already completed. We were very lucky to have cruised through the Red Sea and Suez Canal transit, Israel, Egypt and Jordan just over six months ago. Hard to believe it's changed so much. There's no comparison. 

[hcat]

too bad.. no canal transit a big plus but it's just not  safe.. the alt itin is very nice but  just not the same!

[mahasamatman]

4 hours ago, Pushka said:

likely one people have already completed.

 

I would never make that assumption.

[Pushka]

2 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

 

I would never make that assumption.

It's just an assumption. Thats all. 🤷‍♀️

[villauk]

13 hours ago, wilmingtech said:

I'm really just wondering if the pricing for this cruise will drop now that its a Greek Isle cruise.

 

They did this year when the itineraries were changed, but that was at a far later date to fill the ship. Perhaps that’s why X has decided to do it earlier this year: keep the prices higher rather than having to discount so heavily at a later date? We shall see. From a personal point of view, it would be nice for the prices to be comparable with the Caribbean pricing as it is Greece in closed season.

[patty1955]

22 hours ago, wilmingtech said:

JUST A PSA for anyone wanting to cruise to Israel.

We are booked on the 11 day Israel/Egypt cruise in March of 2025 and just got notified that it was changed to a Greek Isle Cruise.

 

Were you offered any compensation or the option to cancel and get a refund? We're booked on the same cruise in 2026. It's a long way off so probably not affected but I'm curious.

[lexmiller]

The only "for sure" way to see Egypt is by booking a land tour or booking a Nile River cruise.  Ocean cruise ships are not going there for the foreseeable future due to the activity in that part of the Med.  And to see Israel as a tourist would seem impossible period for who knows how long due to the unfortunate strife in the region.  So if you really want to go to Egypt, booking an ocean voyage is extremely iffy - be ready to be disappointed.  We were booked on the Oct 16, 2023 cruise out of Athens which was supposed to have gone to Egypt and Israel, but became a Greek Isles cruise due to the Hamas attacks - substitute ports were Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Crete, Cyprus, and Bodrum in Turkey.  Someone above mentioned a reduction in price for the complete change of plan but there was no reduction, no credit, no recompense whatsoever.  

[lorimay]

Our September 2024 cruise on this same itinerary was changed in December (2023). We were offered the opportunity to keep the cruise and get a $200 credit ($400 for retreat), move deposit to another cruise, or cancel for a full refund.

 

We booked the same basic itinerary for 2025. If they change it again we will just cancel.

[villauk]

1 minute ago, lexmiller said:

Someone above mentioned a reduction in price for the complete change of plan but there was no reduction, no credit, no recompense whatsoever.  

 

The prices were reduced over here for the current winter season redeployment of Infinty. I’m not referring to those already booked on the Egypt & Israel cruises, I think on my sailing they were offered OBC, but the prices for the new itineraries were heavily discounted. The insides started at approx £440pp and balconies were £699 for the 10 night sailings.

[indy406]

Many months ago, we booked the April 15 sailing out of Athens for the Israel/Egypt cruise and then came the tragedy of the war. No surprise the itinerary was changed to Greek Isles. Celebrity offered us a free cancellation with all deposits returned in cash or $200 OBC if we stuck with the April 15 sailing. Unfortunately, we had non-refundable air tickets to/from Athens on dates coinciding with the ship schedule so we decided what the heck, stay with the cruise and, hey, maybe it'll be OK. So that's what we're doing. 

[kwokpot]

3 hours ago, indy406 said:

Unfortunately, we had non-refundable air tickets to/from Athens on dates coinciding with the ship schedule so we decided what the heck, stay with the cruise and, hey, maybe it'll be OK. So that's what we're doing. 

I'm curious what airline and fare you booked that doesn't allow cancellations. Almost all major airlines now allow one to cancel a flight and receive future flight credit usually good for 1 year. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

4 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I'm curious what airline and fare you booked that doesn't allow cancellations. Almost all major airlines now allow one to cancel a flight and receive future flight credit usually good for 1 year. 

Could be a Canadian airline 😉

You have pay extra to get a fair with a change , 

This is Air Canada price in CAD 

[wilmingtech]

On 2/8/2024 at 10:14 AM, patty1955 said:

Were you offered any compensation or the option to cancel and get a refund? We're booked on the same cruise in 2026. It's a long way off so probably not affected but I'm curious.

100$ of OBC per room.  We were almost 10 months out from final payment.  We ended up canceling, not because the itinerary but life stuff had changed and it would have been challenging to make it work.  Plus we figured the prices of these cruises will drop as all the Israel/Egypt cruises are now Greek isles.  So if we want to jump on at a later date we might get a better deal.

Edited February 23 by wilmingtech

[GonzoWCS]

It Happens...

 

Cheers

[di T]

On 2/8/2024 at 9:42 AM, villauk said:

 

They did this year when the itineraries were changed, but that was at a far later date to fill the ship. Perhaps that’s why X has decided to do it earlier this year: keep the prices higher rather than having to discount so heavily at a later date? We shall see. From a personal point of view, it would be nice for the prices to be comparable with the Caribbean pricing as it is Greece in closed season.

We will do a b2b in just over a week to the Greek islands which was originally the holy land and Alexandria.Price went down on the cruises a lot but couldn’t get a price drop even before final payment I booked with a Uk company as a package. I’m not sure if I made the right decision to keep the alternative cruises, in March and closed season, but we have been lucky to have sailed both itineraries before.Be nice to escape this cold weather.

[di T]

On 2/13/2024 at 8:36 PM, kwokpot said:

I'm curious what airline and fare you booked that doesn't allow cancellations. Almost all major airlines now allow one to cancel a flight and receive future flight credit usually good for 1 year. 

Not so much in the UK, I’ve been caught out a couple of times with cancelled cruises and airlines would not allow change without a considerable fee.

[villauk]

1 hour ago, di T said:

We will do a b2b in just over a week to the Greek islands which was originally the holy land and Alexandria.Price went down on the cruises a lot but couldn’t get a price drop even before final payment I booked with a Uk company as a package. I’m not sure if I made the right decision to keep the alternative cruises, in March and closed season, but we have been lucky to have sailed both itineraries before.Be nice to escape this cold weather.

 

You’ll have to let us know what it’s like when you board as we’re on your second leg 👍. We’re still not received our flight details from X yet; apparently, 10 days prior to sailing, they inform us of the locator number etc.🤞🏻.

[villauk]

@di T What have your first impressions been of Infinity? Have you noticed any of the recent upgrades to the ship? 

[Rick&Jeannie]

We were due to have sailed on the Infinity last month on an Israel/Egypt cruise.  We canceled before final payment after all of the fighting started.  Thank goodness for refundable deposit/insurance.  We have now shifted over to a Japan itinerary on the Millennium later this year.

[di T]

On 3/5/2024 at 11:46 AM, villauk said:

@di T What have your first impressions been of Infinity? Have you noticed any of the recent upgrades to the ship? 

 

On 3/5/2024 at 11:46 AM, villauk said:

@di T What have your first impressions been of Infinity? Have you noticed any of the recent upgrades to the ship? 

Well it’s our first time on this ship so can’t say much about upgrades, still got the shower curtain lol! But we have sailed many time on the same class so easy to navigate, staff are great as always, old menus are back so better than Reflection in September 2023. 
Having a good time though the weather would of been warmer with the original itinerary, have booked two cruises while onboard for next year so that speaks for itself.I am sure you will enjoy the next cruise we are sailing 2/3rds full so nice! Dianne

[villauk]

2 minutes ago, di T said:

 

Well it’s our first time on this ship so can’t say much about upgrades, still got the shower curtain lol! But we have sailed many time on the same class so easy to navigate, staff are great as always, old menus are back so better than Reflection in September 2023. 
Having a good time though the weather would of been warmer with the original itinerary, have booked two cruises while onboard for next year so that speaks for itself.I am sure you will enjoy the next cruise we are sailing 2/3rds full so nice! Dianne

 

Glad you are having a super time. I do hope it’s only 2/3rds full when we join you next week 🤞🏻. We’re definitely looking forward to some R&R.

[MrsMod]

We are also on this cruise next week….we too are hoping it will just be two thirds full!  🤞 Just pondering what to take clothes wise…..decisions, decisions on whether it’s going to be sunny! 😎