Higgy64

My understanding on Istanbul was that the port was being worked on and the larger ships had nowhere to dock.

I wear Tux on Formal/Chic nights because frankly, I dress for me and my wife and don't care what anyone else thinks. The only comment I've had about what I'm wearing at any time was on the Reflection in August when, on chic night and wearing my Tux, a man came over to me and said "It's nice to see that some of us have made an effort"...

But, but, but, you both gave the same bottom line your $$ and same share holders.

They win 2 times now. Why?

Celebrity will be treated as a seperate company within RCCI with a separate CEO and board structure. As such they will have their own Sales, Growth and Profit targets which will be different, possibly, to the other companies in the Group (RCI and Azamara). The CEO and board will be accountable to the Shareholders for achieving their targets so any drop in Celebrities performance will impact their own career/reward/employment status.

The decisions they make drive their Companies numbers and they won't want to see them be negatively impacted. The market (shareholders) will have been given indications in the RCCI annual reports of the financial plans of all companies in the group. They wont see revenue dropping in Celebrity as a good thing as they would expect all companies to hit their targets.

- you can take Sodas bought at the bar back to the room. I don't know if they

are already opened at the bar for you though

- There is a minibar in the room, but the drinks in it are not free even if you have a soda package. However, you can ask your Room Steward to empty the minibar when you arrive and then use it to store your own drinks

- Any drinks you order on room service are not free, even if you have asoda package.

BUT..... you can bring as much soda on board as you want. I've heard of people checking in cases of soda at embarkation that are delivered to their room with the luggage.

^^ Good spot on the date - I'd missed that. But assume there's no later article or it would have been referenced instead ?

Interesting article. If you click through to the cruise line rescheduling page there's a huge disparity between what Cruise lines are doing, some avoiding Turkey altogether, others just Istanbul, others not changing and staying as normal.

Good article. HAL went to Kusadisi instead of Istanbul whilst others avoided.

This later report from the same source suggests ships are returning to Kusadisi now

http://kusadasipost.com/en/haber_400_the-eurodam-docks-in-kusadasi.html

For context, the crackdown affected around 1% of the military - so not really a huge gap.

While I was on hold I was reading a CNN article that in Istanbul "Thousands attend anti-coup rally organized by main opposition party"

That's good to hear - people from both sides of the political divide coming together to show solidarity for the elected Government.

Concur ;).

 

It's becoming a regular occurrence for us :D. You're not by any chance visiting Asia this Christmas are you :rolleyes: :D? Only perhaps I ought to start getting my back-up plans ready for that cruise too :p.

You are safe to make plans - I'm in the UK at Xmas :)

thanks

Genuine question.

I'm not from a tipping culture either, although often do tip in restaurants where no service charge has been added and we've had good service.

We don't "palm" a tip to the waiter/waitress - we hand it over on the plate or whatever we're using. Why is it necessary to "palm" a tip to someone, it sounds almost like your worried others might see, or that what you're doing is somehow underhand, or that you're entering into some sort of "secret" arrangement between you and the wait staff ?

I don't get it - what's the reason behind it ?

I suspect that Celebrity will leave any decision right up to the last moment.

Cancelling would cause them grief and cost them money. The situation in Turkey right now (terrorism aside - but that can happen anywhere at any time) appears to be relatively stable (I've used relative as Turkey has a tumultuous past, and there are no jets over Istanbul :) !!). The elements of the military, and their supporters, that tried to overthrow the democratically elected Government are in prison and the Government has voted by a big majority to establish a state of emergency for 3 months so that they are able to, for example, detain prisoners for longer than the constitutional laws allow them to ordinarily. Don't get me wrong, I'm no a fan of Erdogan and I think Erdogan he's using this to further his own ends and drive a different agenda but...I'm only going there for two days on holiday - it's not like I live there or have any vested interest in the country other than two small coastal ports on two specific days of the year. Of course, I care about what happens to the people of Turkey and their wonderful country but there's not much I can do other than worry - which doesn't help anyone.

The first time I visited Turkey was for 2 weeks, coincidentally in Kusadisi. Unknown to me at the time the country was in a state of Emergency following another failed coup (this one lasted from September 1980 to November 2002 !!). Did I notice anything odd ? Did I feel at all unsafe ? Where there uprisings and violence and disorder on the streets ? No. In fact Kusadisi looked exactly the same as it did when I visited last year on a Cruise. I expect it will be no different this time round either.

However, I respect the fact that different countries are issuing different travel advisories and that will affect other peoples insurance situation, I also respect that other people have different levels of risk and comfort.

I've visited Turkey before, if we don't go again on this cruise it's not the end of the world. But my opinion is that Celebrity won't tell us until we are either on the way (like last year VillaUK !!), or on the ship due to the reasons above. Whichever way they decide to go we can be assured that the decision won't be taken lightly and will be made in the light of far more local information than us keyboard jockeys who are getting our information from possibly-biased press sources and our own fertile imaginations - mine included :)

Equinox is not in Europe next year. Celebrity have announced that it will be in the Carribean all year, however, many TA websites and brochures are yet to catch up.

Obviously... It was just a report from someone who is there right now.

Had contact today from a friend who is currently on holiday in a coastal resort in Turkey and is having a great time with his wife and kids. His view is that there are more Turkish flags around, the TV is full of coup news but otherwise everything is as normal.

Presumably you won't go to the US either then ?

If Turkey put the Death Penalty back into their laws then they will never be admitted to the EU (which is one of their aims). So, they might do it, but there will be severe repercussions for their European integration plans.

6000 soldiers is just over 1% of their forces...probably less than the UK lost when they reduced the Armed Forces budget.

8000 police is around 2%....probably less than our new PM cut from the UK police force during recent austerity cuts.

I'm sure the Cruise lines will take the best decision they can on the information they have to hand. But numbers need to be put into context to be meaningful....I learnt that after all the scaremongering our own Government put about recently during our EU referendum :)

I am hoping that, on our upcoming cruise, we visit Turkey.

Erdogan appears to have shut down his opposition swiftly. The coup was staged by a small part of the military and opposed by the Turkish population, so is unlikely to be repeated in the near future in my opinion. Even if it were, the chances of unrest on the scale of that seen in Istanbul and Ankara out in Kusadisi and Bodrum are slim.

The UK Foreign Office are not advising people to reconsider travel, nor are they advising not to travel to Turkey, other than the area near to Syria for obvious reasons.

As for terrorist attacks - they can happen anywhere, at any time and statistically you're more likely to be run down crossing the road.

Of course, all this is just my opinion - and others will disagree.

My initial response was "in the moment"--specifically meant for an earlier poster who was of the impression that Erdogan was already in Germany-- and was based upon early, widely circulated news reports here as to his vacation spot and as to his next step...

Mine was similarly intended for a poster who was under an impression that was based upon early news reports... Touché..

Current UK Foreign office advice on Turkey.

The situation in Turkey appears to be calming following an attempted coup overnight on 15-16 July. The security environment, however, remains potentially volatile. Following earlier disruption, flights to and from airports in Turkey are returning to normal, although some disruption remains and you should check with your airline or tour operator before travelling. You may need to turn up at the airport earlier than normal to get through the additional security checks in place.

If you are in Turkey, please follow the advice of the authorities, closely monitor travel advice and contact your airline or tour operator.

In Ankara and Istanbul we advise you to avoid public places, in particular demonstrations, and remain vigilant. Take sensible precautions if you are in the vicinity of any military or security forces. Roadblocks are in place in some areas.

The coastal resorts do not appear to be significantly affected at present. You should check with your airline or tour operator before travelling to the airport. Continue to exercise vigilance in resort areas.

Erdogan is vacationing in the Black Sea area...

 

It's been reported that he's seeking political asylum in Germany...

Not quite. He was in Marmaris and is now back in Istanbul

Let's not forget Turkey has a history of such events, most recently in 1985 and 1997, so whilst it's a dreadful thing that yet more people have lost their lives it's not a new thing for the country.

I'm sure the cruise companies will do what they feel is the right thing based on the intelligence they have (which is probably far more extensive than we have through our normal news channels).

Indeed. What is happening now makes our worries about our vacations pale into insignificance. Thoughts and prayers with the Turkish people.

I believe Celebrity, Princess, Holland and Cunard have all cancelled Turkey ports for the next two months.

Not so, we're still going to Kusadisi and Bodrum on Reflection in 3 weeks time. Or at least we were until tonight. Worrying times, thoughts are with the Turkish people for a bloodless coup and a hope that they get what they want from this.