Equinox still visiting Turkey?

Does anyone know if the Celebrity Equinox 7th September 2016 cruise is still departing from Istanbul? In light of the recent turmoil in Istanbul we are wondering if CC will make a last minute decision to avoid Turkey altogether. We hope CC will give us enough time to rearrange our flights if this is the case.

As of last Friday--I asked my Travel Agent to validate the itinerary with her Celebrity contacts before making my final payment--Equinox is still scheduled to depart Istanbul at 9:00 PM on Wednesday, 7 September...

The itinerary for the prior Equinox cruise--which departs Athens on 25 August and ends in Istanbul on the morning of 7 September--has not been altered...

Barring a truly serious event, I do not anticipate that the ship's schedules will be altered at this juncture...

If you have not yet booked your airfare and have access to Celebrity's ChoiceAir program [it varies based upon home country; to my recall, it's available in The US and Canada], you might want to consider booking through them... If the ship's embarkation port changes, ChoiceAir will arrange to reroute you to the new origin city--in equivalent cabin class and at the same price--without change fees...

See you aboard!

We are on that same cruise and have booked our own air. I took the time to contact X on two separate occasions inquiring if they were going to cancel Istanbul. Both persons I spoke with said at the present time there were no plans to cancel.:)

We are on the Equinox sailing that disembarks in Istanbul on September 7th and received no notification that the disembarkation port is changing. At this point, I would say we are ending in Istanbul.

Now after today's attacks, we'll have to wait and see. We haven't booked our flights departing Istanbul yet as we're not sure if we will stay an extra day or leave immediately. No matter what, I will be booking the departing flight through Choice Air. In the event the disembarkation is moved at the last minute, Celebrity will have to help with the changes.

As of last Friday--I asked my Travel Agent to validate the itinerary with her Celebrity contacts before making my final payment--Equinox is still scheduled to depart Istanbul at 9:00 PM on Wednesday, 7 September...

 

The itinerary for the prior Equinox cruise--which departs Athens on 25 August and ends in Istanbul on the morning of 7 September--has not been altered...

 

Barring a truly serious event, I do not anticipate that the ship's schedules will be altered at this juncture...

 

If you have not yet booked your airfare and have access to Celebrity's ChoiceAir program [it varies based upon home country; to my recall, it's available in The US and Canada], you might want to consider booking through them... If the ship's embarkation port changes, ChoiceAir will arrange to reroute you to the new origin city--in equivalent cabin class and at the same price--without change fees...

 

See you aboard!

Is todays tragedy serious enough?

I think so....these folks will stop at NOTHING to kill whoever they can.

Is todays tragedy serious enough?

Good question. Dropping port stops in Turkey seems to be a no-brainer but for cruises starting or finishing in Istanbul it's a bit of a logistical nightmare for Celebrity. From a business point of view they would probably be inclined to sit back and see how the passengers react. A flood of cancellations might force their hand.

Realistically the threat is probably no worse than it was before this latest bombing but it's the perception of it that counts.

We are a family of three -after today's bombings in Istanbul we will be cancelling our cruise - unless CC alters the itinerary and avoids Turkey altogether. It's just not worth it.

Just went to the Celebrity website and saw this banner headline: "Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey - Advisory" -- but clicking on it brings up a notice about an overnight in Istanbul in 2015. I assume Celebrity is preparing a new announcement, but at the moment this is just another example of their IT failures.

UPDATE: Celebrity has changed the message to:

"Celebrity Cruises is aware of the bombing at Istanbul Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. We are monitoring the situation and considering modifications to upcoming sailings. As always, our decisions are driven by concern for the safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew members."

There is another thread discussing this that suggests that now moved to Athens. Apparently a berth has been booked as a back up for a while. Not sure how far into the year the change will go on for.

I think so....these folks will stop at NOTHING to kill whoever they can.

Agreed.

It is time Celeb and other lines got more creative with their itineraries. But of course then the terrorists will go after those. In the meantime, however, passengers can visit off the beaten track places. Smaller ships may accomplish that. The new "edge" ships, cant come too soon. They are smaller and may get into new ports.

Hate to be a chicken but wish they would make a change. Too much

They have cancelled Istanbul and will replace with Athens. On the X website

They have cancelled Istanbul and will replace with Athens. On the X website

Hers's the Celebrity travel alert:

http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard-celebrity/travel-alert

Looks like the Reflection's visit to Ephesus is still good to go. Guess it's just the Istabul port stops that have changed as of now.

We just got this email:

"

Dear Valued Guest:

As you may be aware, this past year there have been substantial security events in several major global cities, including the recent terror attack at the Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey.

After reviewing all of the available information and along with discussions with our Global Security team, Celebrity Cruises has decided to cancel all of its upcoming turnarounds in Istanbul, Turkey, and replaced them with Athens (Piraeus), Greece. This impacts the following sailings:

Celebrity Equinox: July 9, July 16, August 25 and September 7

Celebrity Constellation: October 10, October 21, November 2 and November 14

This decision was made with the safety of our guests and crew at the forefront of our minds and in an abundance of caution. We realize this may have an impact on your travel plans and our team is working now on available alternative arrangements from this new port of embark and debarkation.

We understand how important your vacation is and we did not take this decision lightly.

We greatly appreciate your patience as we work through the details. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, we look forward to welcoming you onboard.

"

I just received the following email from CC:

"Dear Valued Guest:

As you may be aware, this past year there have been substantial security events in several major global cities, including the recent terror attack at the Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey.

After reviewing all of the available information and along with discussions with our Global Security team, Celebrity Cruises has decided to cancel all of its upcoming turnarounds in Istanbul, Turkey, and replaced them with Athens (Piraeus), Greece. This impacts the following sailings:

Celebrity Equinox: July 9, July 16, August 25 and September 7

Celebrity Constellation: October 10, October 21, November 2 and November 14

This decision was made with the safety of our guests and crew at the forefront of our minds and in an abundance of caution. We realize this may have an impact on your travel plans and our team is working now on available alternative arrangements from this new port of embark and debarkation.

We understand how important your vacation is and we did not take this decision lightly.

We greatly appreciate your patience as we work through the details. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, we look forward to welcoming you onboard."

What a bummer for those that purchased independent air almost a year ago. :(

What a bummer for those that purchased independent air almost a year ago. :(

Yes! We are affected and we booked almost a year ago. Going to cost us at least $1000 to change our flights and Celebrity is only offering $250! And it is not like we could have booked through Choice Air as it isn't available from Australia. Our travel insurance is unlikely to be of any comfort either. Not happy. Still I would rather be out of pocket than disembarking in Istanbul. I just wish they had taken this decision a long time ago. It has caused a lot of people a lot of angst.

We heard yesterday that the cruise would be ending in Athens instead of Istanbul. A bit disappointing as we were planning to have a couple of days post cruise in the city.

Celebrity are offering to refund the cost of changing flights not arranged by them up to a sum of $250.

Terrorists win again I'm afraid.

Chatting with an friend last night who is on the Equinox next week. She said that after a couple of calls to Air Canada they agreed to allow the flights to change to Athens with no fees. There are 9 travelling in the group . Hooray for Air Canada for stepping up!!!

Yes! We are affected and we booked almost a year ago. Going to cost us at least $1000 to change our flights and Celebrity is only offering $250! And it is not like we could have booked through Choice Air as it isn't available from Australia. Our travel insurance is unlikely to be of any comfort either. Not happy. Still I would rather be out of pocket than disembarking in Istanbul. I just wish they had taken this decision a long time ago. It has caused a lot of people a lot of angst.

You have nothing to loose by contacting your airline and seeing if they will show some compassion in the circumstances...absolutely nothing to loose. Alternatively, rather than change flights totally there is also a possible alternative of still flying into Istanbul then getting a connecting flight added on to Athens, not ideal but may be cheaper.

Sincere best wishes, I hope you can manage to sort your flights.

Yes! We are affected and we booked almost a year ago. Going to cost us at least $1000 to change our flights and Celebrity is only offering $250! And it is not like we could have booked through Choice Air as it isn't available from Australia. Our travel insurance is unlikely to be of any comfort either. Not happy. Still I would rather be out of pocket than disembarking in Istanbul. I just wish they had taken this decision a long time ago. It has caused a lot of people a lot of angst.

Not knowing your flight dates but can you not just continue your journey by booking a flight from Istanbul to Athens if time allows. Or if you have a flight change en route book a flight from your flight change airport to Athens. I hope you can get something organised that won't be over expensive, your agent may have some ideas.

Official word on Celebrity's web site:

http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard-celebrity/travel-alert

After re-reading this verbiage, I think they are only switching beginning or ending a cruise from Istanbul to Athens but will still visit there as a port stop which seems really odd to me. Either you feel it's safe for passengers to be there or you don't. Hmmmm.