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Turkish Ports


Techno123
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Well Viking cruise line seems to be the most recent to cave in re the Turkish ports. As far as I can see Seabourn are still holding out. Perhaps they will see how the early season cruises go and maybe I should book a flight home from Athens as well as Istanbul just in case :p

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How is Viking handling it for their passengers? Are you on one of the Eastern Med itineraries that has a lot of stops in Turkey, or just a couple?

 

We had an overnight scheduled in Bangkok a few year ago at a time when there was a lot of civil unrest there. Watched as several cruise lines (including Crystal) pulled out and expected SB to be next. But they stuck with it and needless to say our visit was absolutely fine. Different scenario to yours because it was mid cruise, not the port we were flying home from and the situation in Thailand was very different to what's been going on in Turkey. But it was still rather unsettling.

 

You mentioned those notorious ;) Regent deals for UK bookings in another thread. I've heard about them when reading the Regent boards but have never actually seen one on the Regent website. Are you signed up for their emails and if so is that how you get notified which cruises have the special prices, or should I just keep an eye on the website? We're very happy with SB but wouldn't mind trying Regent too.

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Hi - yes we are on a Venice to Istanbul in July with 3 Turkish ports as well as docking in Istanbul. To be honest, it would be much less hassle if they leave things as they are but looking at the reduction in price for the 7 night sections I would think many of our cousins across the pond are not wanting to take the risk.

With regards to Regent, sign up for the regular e-mails. R are quite expensive without the discounts but we got our Baltic cruise for half the original price ( it did go back up though) so we booked the concierge level to stay overnight in Copenhagen with the extra cost being the equivalent of the cost of the hotel plus then getting the extra perks of concierge level. They also let you have cash back to buy your own flights if you don't want to fly from London (though only enough for Easyjet 😁) Ships are bigger so not quite the Seabourn experience but very very good. The free/included tours were OK but apart from St Petersberg or if it is a city some distance from the port, I prefer to do our own thing as it can be a bit cattle market like! Also they are including Internet from this year so again another little bonus.

We felt very spoilt for any other cruise line after taking our first cruise with Seabourn so are hoping we are not disappointed second time around (I'm sure we won't be) just the balcony smoking worrying me as it is either getting more prevalent or more people are moaning about it!

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Oh, and if you do decide to dip your toe into R waters, there is a referral system but it is different to the Seabourn one. You have to be actually referred by someone sailing on the same cruise as you before you book. You could find someone on the roll call to do that I'm sure.

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I hope you are right dalliowner. We didn't have any problems last time but I suppose it is the luck of the draw.

 

I 'accidentally' clicked on a smoking thread on (I think) an Allure of the Seas thread. OMG talk about vicious! Smoking is banned on balconies and you would think that those people who reported neighbours for smoking were cold war spies who should be shot at dawn!

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Thanks very much for the information about Regent, very helpful. Still not sure we'd take the leap from SB but one day we may be tempted, especially as they offer some credit for sorting out your own flights.

 

Smokers on the balcony affected our first SB cruise a few years ago. I've written about it a few times here at CC so won't go into all the details again but they were actually directly below us, so it was their smoke drifiting up (and accompanying horrible cough in between cigarettes) that was problematic. We'd moved to SB from Silversea where smoking wasn't permitted on the balconies, but people still did it on a couple of cruises. We've not really experienced much of a problem with smoking onboard since.

 

As for the Turkish ports I guess it depends on how stable the situation is in Turkey over the next month or two. They have lots of Turkish ports in their itineraries this summer so it could turn out to be a logistical headache if they make changes!

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Well Viking cruise line seems to be the most recent to cave in re the Turkish ports. As far as I can see Seabourn are still holding out. Perhaps they will see how the early season cruises go and maybe I should book a flight home from Athens as well as Istanbul just in case :p

 

Hopefully they will keep holding out because we're on the cruise right after yours and really don't want to be messing about changing our flight out at the last minute. Apart from that, we actually want to go to Turkey!

 

My go-to site for figuring out who's going where, cruisetimetables, shows there are still a few lines going to Turkey this year, clicking up Istanbul shows a couple of ships a week, Cunard, Silversea and the first Seabourn of the season in just over a week, on May 7th. I hope at this point it's too hard to change the embarkation/debarkation date visits and they will stick to the plan.

 

They sure had to discount those segments though, I hope they got enough bookings from that to leave it alone now.

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I'm about to board the Odyssey in Istanbul this Saturday and am in Istanbul right now. It's a beautiful city and the last I heard from Seaborn, a few weeks ago, they're closely monitoring the situation in Turkey but clearly, we are a go as of now, as we are departing in 3 days. Just keep sending good vibes to this beautiful city and its good people for peace and serenity here!

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Thank you for your post and so glad you are enjoying Istanbul. We love the city and were there last fall before a trip to Cappadocia. We are on the June 4 cruise out of Istanbul so we will be very interested if you can provide further reports about boarding etc. Hope you have a great cruise..

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Thank you for your post and so glad you are enjoying Istanbul. We love the city and were there last fall before a trip to Cappadocia. We are on the June 4 cruise out of Istanbul so we will be very interested if you can provide further reports about boarding etc. Hope you have a great cruise..

 

+1 on the request for any information about boarding in Istanbul. Since the dock is currently undergoing extensive renovation and I'm expecting security to be a little tighter than it was the last time we went through Istanbul port, a report from someone who's done it would be most helpful.

 

Have a great cruise, all of you, we're some weeks behind you all.

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Embarkation was easy as pie. Just need to print your ePass along with passport. All in, took about 15 minutes.

Did you spend any time in Istanbul or go straight airport to cruise port? If so, what was your comfort level? (We're on the cruise that arrives there in early July and plan a few days touring). Thanks!

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I got to Istanbul 3 days before boarding the Odyssey. I was completely comfortable (and a solo female traveling on my own, at that). I also met a lot of other people who traveled to Istanbul, including a member of Australian military intelligence who was traveling on her own too. If she thought it was ok to go, we should too. The city is still full of life and every day business, there is nothing different, except perhaps the underlying memory and worry of recent events and the fear that it will effect the businesses there. We had a lecturer on the boat just yesterday who reported that business was down for some businesses by 70%. Just be vigilant and alert and enjoy the city.

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Thank you so much ch for the update. We board unless than a month and are looking forward to a few precise days opinion one of our favorite cites.So sad to hear the level of tourism is substantially down. But unfortunately nit surprising given recent events and Erdogan's policies.

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You got that predictive text on Chairsin? :D

This is what has worried me all along. By not going to Turkey (and Egypt) we are, by default, destroying the livelihoods of the local people so, 'who they gonna call?' Well it won't be Ghostbusters unfortunately! :(

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We are so glad everyone is keeping their hopes high that there will be no changes to visits Turkish Ports.It is a sad predicament that fear is keeping travellers away from a country of such hospitable and welcoming citizens. Please could any Australians reading this thread advise if a Turkish visa is required for Cruise only transits at Turkish Ports. We are not flying in or out of Istanbul. Keep the good vibes going for Turkey their citizens deserve our support.

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We landed in Istanbul last Saturday, the 7th, I think. We then went down to Gallipoli and had a lovely 2 day trip there. Not many visitors, but Turks. We are now in Istanbul for 5 days and it is wonderful. Staying in Sultanhamet . Clearly visitors are down quite far and it is easy to get around walking. Did have short dispute with a taxi driver, but had my way and shouted back!

 

Visited several Seabourn ports with no problems and loved them all. Turkish folks are still generous and kind. If you get lost in Grand Bazaar, they will kindly walk with you to the exit!

 

Water is drinkable and local food is fabulous!

 

We heartily recommend it!

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  • 1 month later...

I agree that its a good thing Seabourn have held out thus far, Turkey is indeed a marvellous destination and we were looking forward to our cruise to Istanbul in October. However in light of the recent events at the airport in Istanbul I do think that some kind of statement from Seabourn as to their policy is called for. Nothing has been forthcoming from them and I think we deserve more. We would be sad to lose out on this cruise but would feel a lot happier if Seabourn decided to play it safe and divert from Istanbul, at least for the immediate future. At present we have been left in limbo. I don't think that this is an event they can just expect to ignore. Sadly, I think we will be playing it safe and cancelling.

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I imagine their largest concern is handling arrangements for the cruises in progress or eminently departing. It takes some time to rearrange embarkation and disembarkation ports so I'd expect an announcement once they can square away the most immediate issues.

Edited by jenidallas
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Yes, I can understand that, it's just a bit hard to be patient when you feel in limbo. I am sure that they do have their hands full. The trouble is that Our 3 month deadline in which to cancel is approaching fast and sadly, in the absence of any further information from Seabourn, we may just have to play it safe and cancel. So disappointed as I love the Turkish ports. I know that Regent has moved some embarkations/disembarkations to Malta, so was wondering whether that - or back to Athens might be an option if Istanbul is dropped.

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