Mediterranean Unrest

Sad events for sure.

 

I'm currently booked on the Explorer in October with stops in Greece and Egypt before disembarking in Israel. I have no plans to postpone, instead I am looking forward to the trip.

if you are visiting Egypt through Safaga port i guess this can help you

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2406824

When I was stationed in Germany in the 80's, there were some terrorist attacks there, in airports and various military facilities. Bottom line is that things are always happening in the world, and yes, some places are safer than others. We all need to do our due diligence and determine what our own personal comfort level is and make our choices accordingly.

Our last cruise that ended up in Haifa was one of our most amazing, but it was originally scheduled to disembark in Istanbul. Although I probably would have still gone to Istanbul this year, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as in the past. Regardless of the itinerary, I had a number of friends call me nuts for going to Europe right now. My reply was that I was statistically safer there than I would be in many US cities...

Some people will cancel or change their plans, and if they do, I understand. There are quite a few places I wouldn't want to visit right now. I'm hopeful that things will get better soon. Not too optimistic, but hopeful.

When I was stationed in Germany in the 80's, there were some terrorist attacks there, in airports and various military facilities. Bottom line is that things are always happening in the world, and yes, some places are safer than others. We all need to do our due diligence and determine what our own personal comfort level is and make our choices accordingly.

 

Our last cruise that ended up in Haifa was one of our most amazing, but it was originally scheduled to disembark in Istanbul. Although I probably would have still gone to Istanbul this year, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as in the past. Regardless of the itinerary, I had a number of friends call me nuts for going to Europe right now. My reply was that I was statistically safer there than I would be in many US cities...

 

Some people will cancel or change their plans, and if they do, I understand. There are quite a few places I wouldn't want to visit right now. I'm hopeful that things will get better soon. Not too optimistic, but hopeful.

Our cruise begins in Haifa (early November) and the first two weeks will be sailing around the Med. - mostly Italy and Greece. We have no concerns whatsoever - especially since the "tourist season" is over. Agree with you about not being optimistic about things improving in the foreseeable future but one can always hope.

P.S. Off topic. Think that you'll find this website related thread of interest. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2387744 For some reason, websites for cruise lines seem to present more challenges than other websites.

P.S. Off topic. Think that you'll find this website related thread of interest. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2387744 For some reason, websites for cruise lines seem to present more challenges than other websites.

:D Wow. Fifteen pages in a month, and some familiar names jumping in. I'll admit, it made me smile a bit...not quite the 'luxury experience', is it? Greener grass and all that.

Sorry for the little jaunt OT...we now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

Don't believe everything you see or read in the UK media or any other media for that matter. I am American and have lived in several states and cities in the United States my 52 years of life and have never seen a gun pulled out in public, I have never seen a person shot in public, I have never seen a stabbing in public, I have never seen a person killed in public, I have never been in a building or area evacuated because of a bomb or terrorist threat.

 

With that said, I would not hesitate to not visit the Mediterranean region because of propaganda driven media here in this country or any other country for that matter painting a picture of doom and gloom. Just my opinion.

I won't let threats keep me from going to the Med if I choose to go there. However, I must say that you've led a charmed life. I HAVE seen a gun pulled in public and used to shoot someone (on a subway in NYC about 40 years ago). I HAVE been in areas evacuated by bomb or terrorist threats, in NY, NJ, Belgium and, believe it or not, on a Regent cruise in Norway in 2014 (when all ports in the country were temporarily closed due to an ISIS terrorist threat). That hasn't stopped us from going into NYC or from continuing to vacation where we want to vacation; but it does mean that we're cautious all the time.

What may stop us from taking our fourth Med cruise is the intensity of the itineraries. We are considering a cruise from Venice to Athens on the Voyager next October that is in a new port each day, usually from 8am to 5 or 6 pm, with no sea days, and few excursions under 5 hours. We haven't decided whether that's a vacation or a marathon. If we get over the "too much activity" hurdle, we think that 2017 will be a good year for going to the Med, when so many other Americans are scared to go there.

It's like I tell people - there's a fine line between caution and paranoia. It amazes me how many people go through their lives totally oblivious to what's going on around them.

It's good to be cautious, it's not good to be paranoid. Bill's words of wisdom. :D

Joanandjoe, We are on that cruise plus its extension to Rome. Although we are experienced cruisers there were so many checkpoints in the 20 days that we couldn't resist: Split, Corfu, Mykonos, Patmos, Crete, Rhodes and Malta. Agree more sea days would be nice.

Onboard bar gossip on the recent Explorer maiden voyage was that there were over 100 cancellations after the Nice atrocity which occurred a week earlier. Some lucky and less spookable people were then offered a bargain last minute cruise.

I don't know if this is true (bar gossip isn't exactly reliable at the best of times) but we definitely noticed some new faces a few days into the trip.

Travel is an enriching experience. We will take the good with the bad. I will travel till the insurance carrier tells the cruise line to cancel the cruise. They know much more about what is truly going on than the news media, which will manipulate the news for their political purpose.