Istanbul

With the latest bombings at the Istanbul airport, I wonder what WS will do with their cruises that are Athens to Istanbul and return. I suspect many people who are booked on those cruises will cancel.

With all the warnings about Turkey, I am very surprised that they have not proactively modified the cruises.

So sad. Istanbul is one of my absolute favorite cities.

My guess is that they will replace Istanbul with Athens for the summer. Not sure what other options they have, really when you consider ship speed, distance, etc. I guess the port of Athens would have to have berths available, but having been to Piraeus I don't think that will be an issue.

All flights from the US to Turkey have been suspended at this time. Many cruise lines have already removed Turkey from their itineraries. Wind Star will need to act quickly and decisively on this.

Remember that Delta airlines stopped their flights into Istanbul some time ago. If you look, many cruises took Istanbul off their list some time ago.

When you say "act quickly" do you mean like they did with the Pride? JK.

I believe that most insurance policies will not allow you to cancel for "threat of terrorism" unless the policy is "cancel for any reason". This will make it especially difficult for many who are booked on itineraries that include Istanbul in the coming weeks or months.

I believe that most insurance policies will not allow you to cancel for "threat of terrorism" unless the policy is "cancel for any reason". This will make it especially difficult for many who are booked on itineraries that include Istanbul in the coming weeks or months.

There is not a threat of terrorism. There has been actual terrorism in Istanbul (don't know what else you would call 3 suicide bombers). Different policies have different requirements regarding terrorism. Some say 30 days before departure and others are more restrictive.

You are correct that there was terrorism in Istanbul. Each policy will be different, and travelers will need to assess the risk as well as their individual coverage. It is a very sad state of affairs...

All flights from the US to Turkey have been suspended at this time. Many cruise lines have already removed Turkey from their itineraries. Wind Star will need to act quickly and decisively on this.

Already old news. The TK flight from ORD is in the air about 30 minutes delayed.

That having been said, I'd reconsider IST at this moment, a change from my stance a week ago. Very sad, IST is a very special place, my heart breaks for them.

I will not allow these godless murderers to dictate my life. They will continue to kill in different cities in the attempt to stop all travel. Paris, Brussels, New York, Orlando, Santa Barbara, where else? Meanwhile 91 souls A DAY are killed by handguns in the U.S. We have lost 30,000 people in the last year. I will continue to travel wherever and whenever I choose or "they" win. Can't wait for September and our next adventure.

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So I will weigh in as passenger booked for IST to ATH. I lean more in the way of SB44. I will not let extremists dictate my life. I will not let them instill fear and have cower. That said I am watching closely and may still cancel if the risk becomes to great.

So flights will resume to Turkey. And Turkey will not be walled off. I am already booked and will likely keep my booking. I have strong ties to the UK. My spouse is a UK citizen. I do have a travel insurance policy in the UK, that will cover me if their version of the state department issues a warning. Which probably will now.

Statistically speaking - I am more likely to die in a car crash than my trip to Turkey. I have not stopped driving yet.

If things quiet down and stay quiet - I will keep my plans. If this becomes a regular occurrence, I will cancel.

Istanbul cancelled - all IST to ATH and ATH to IST will now be roundtrip from ATH

Nep1984,

What is the source of that information?

Spoke to a Windstar rep.

Spoke to a Windstar rep.

Still showing on the website.

This news report from USA Today from 2 hours ago lists WS among the lines still using IST, but everything seems to be changing very quickly:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2016/06/29/istanbul-cruise-calls-canceled/86514446/

It is a shame that the terrorists win in this situation. Their goal is to disrupt tourism to Muslim countries so that the young that will lose their income will be more likely to join the Jihad.

Having said that, from an insurance standpoint, Windstar was put between a rock and a hard place. Other cruise lines pulled out of Istanbul early this year. If Windstar continued to sail, and an incident occurred either with the ship itself or with organized tours, they would open themselves up to significant lawsuits.

I have only been to Istanbul once and look forward to the day that I have an opportunity to return. I feel for the vast majority of the people of Turkey that are honest, hard working people that are being held hostage by a small minority.

I called Windstar also. They confirmed that they will do Athens to Athens. The sense I got was they are trying to iron out the details. At this point, I have faith and trust in Windstar and will give them to time to figure it out and not push them for premature answers.

The Points Guy just issued that all airlines going into Istanbul are offering changes with no charges some have dates where you have to change by 7/5, others it is open so I would call WS get a confirmation that the cruise is Athens/Athens then get right on the phone to the respective airlines. On this I would not dilly dally with either WS or the airline. Happy Sailing.

There is no news banner on the home page. However if you go to press and media there is this announcement:

http://www.windstarcruises.com/press-media/

TRAVEL ADVISORY – JUNE 29, 2016

Windstar Cancels All Visits to Ports in Turkey by MSY Wind Star in 2016

Replaces Turnaround Port Calls in Istanbul with Athens on 16 Cruises

then there is a link to a longer statement:

http://www.windstarcruises.com/press-media/travel-advisory-06292016/

Replaces Turnaround Port Calls in Istanbul with Athens on 16 Cruises

Windstar Cruises announces the revision of 16 cruises, replacing scheduled embarkation /disembarkation port calls in Istanbul, Turkey with the port of Athens (Piraeus), Greece. Additionally, scheduled mid-cruise ports of call in Kusadasi and Bodrum, Turkey are canceled on all 16 sailings and replaced with visits to Greece’s island of Kalymnos and seaport of Nafplio.

This decision is made out of abundance of caution and in light of recent attacks in Turkey including the attack at Istanbul’s Atatürk International Airport yesterday.

Windstar staff and employees are deeply saddened by the attacks in Istanbul and our thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives were lost and their loved ones. We offer our support and solidarity to our long-standing travel partners there, and to all travelers and people in the region.

The affected 7-day cruises aboard the 148-guest Wind Star sailing yacht will still operate in the region but instead will turn in the port of Athens (Piraeus) rather than in Istanbul. This revision affects 16 cruise departures originally scheduled to embark alternate Saturdays in Athens or Istanbul.

The first cancelled port call to Istanbul was scheduled for July 9. Guests sailing on the July 2 cruise will now disembark in Athens on July 9, and guests booked on the July 9 cruise departure will now board the ship in Athens, also disembarking there as originally scheduled on July 16.

The revised all-Greece 7-day itinerary will sail roundtrip from Athens keeping originally scheduled visits to Mykonos, Santorini and Rhodes, adding the Greek island of Kalymnos and seaport of Nafplio split by a day at sea. Cruises depart from Athens on 16 consecutive Saturdays from July 2 to Oct. 15, 2016.

Windstar is in the process of contacting all booked guests and their travel agents with details on cruise and travel itinerary changes and will assist with alterations to travel plans.

Guests booked on the affected sailings and/or their travel agents can click here to review alternate cruise travel options, and indicate and submit their preferences to Windstar Reservations.

They have an itinerary change form link in the document with excellent options.

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And here's the link to the page listing options:

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form?EQBCT=1779c2b11d2140bbbc279720fac832bc

Looks like you can keep the original itin, rebook, or cancel. If you cancel, the usual fees apply, but you get those back in the form of a future cruise credit.

To their credit, there is now a big red banner at the top of the home page.

It now appears that Windstar made a very timely decision on this. I hope for the Turkish people that this is resolved soon and without more bloodshed.

Amen. And France too.

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I was on Windstar's web site the other night and they have a travel advisory about exactly this subject.