Change of Destinations/Ports-Terrorism

[Parrot Mom]

We are hoping to book a t/a cruise at a travel show with Celebrity in January.. All three of their ships that will be based in Barcelona and the itinerary as of now includes two or three ports in Morocco (depending on the ship).. There has been some discussion as to whether it may be safe for tourists in this country.. I am not afraid of machine guns and guards...but I would be very disappointed to book one of their ships this coming January and then find out at the last minute they are not going to Morocco.... by then it would be too late to re-book on another ship or another line.. What steps can I take in dealing with this possibility.

[frugal one]

There are numerous reasons why a port is changed/cancelled. Not only terrorist threats.

 

For example: We missed Costa Maya in Mexico due to large waves. The cruise ship boats were slamming into the docks while trying to dock. The port authority decided it was in the best interest of the docks to cancel all attempts that day. Alas... I had been very excited to take a private tour with Ivan & David to the Chacchoban Ruins and stop at the spider monkey refuge.

 

Bummer. But that's the part of being on a cruise ship that is a matter of attitude. Either I could be angry/disappointed/etc. or I could suck it up and enjoy the sea day. I enjoyed my sea day.

 

That being said... if an excursion or event was MORE IMPORTANT than the cruise, I would NOT take the cruise. Instead I would book a land trip.

 

Good luck!

[Arubalisa]

What if my itinerary is changed?

Subject: Itineraries

In the event of strikes, lockouts, riots, weather conditions, mechanical difficulties or for any other reason whatsoever, we may, at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled sailing or port of call and may, but is not obliged to, substitute another vessel or port of call, and shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever to guests by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement, deviation or substitution. We shall not be responsible for any failure to adhere to the arrival and departure times published in this website for any of its ports of call.

 

Celebrity Cruises Cruise/CruiseTour Ticket Contract

[TenerifeSharon]

Have a look a bit further down at the thread entitled "Dec. 2007 Trans-Millie new itinerary" and you will see that Morocco has already been cancelled from several of the TAs. There are several reasons or possible reasons and you may want to check with X if Morocco has been cancelled from all TAs (or check the X website yourself to find out).

[Arubalisa]

May or may not have something to do with it...

 

Consular Information Sheet Morocco States:

 

Americans planning travel to Morocco should read

Worldwide Caution Public Announcement available on the State Department web site

 

"Public Announcements are a means to disseminate information about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term and/or trans-national conditions posing significant risks to the security of American travelers."

[alohavictoria]

FYI not all of the ships on the TA's are going to Morocco. I posted yesterday that X changed the Millie TA for 12/07. She will not stop in Morocco at all now. My TA called me on Saturday and I checked the web site and they have updated the itinieray. Cruise lines as we know can change itineraries at any time. At least in this instance everyone is finding out wat ahead of time. It looks like the other 2 ships are still slotted to go, but I'd keep an eye out on the itinerary if I were you. One of RCCL ships also changed their TA itinerary that no longer includes Morocco.