Strikes & riots in Athens ~

[Martita B.]

The Odyssey will be in Athens Sat. ~as the city is experiencing riots and transportation is down, airport is closed , etc.I'm keeping my finger's crossed as to the strike being over by Sat.

I talked to Miss A this morning as she's waiting to embark Sat. she related to me the riots are in front of her hotel and the hotel guests are not allowed to go out of the hotel. She went down to the Lobby this morning but the gas fumes were so bad she had to go back up to her room. She added, a Seabourn Rep. is planning to meet her and other guests tomorrow (Thurs.) if the street rioting isn't a problem and she can manage to get to the downtown hotel. Miss A.'s spirits are UP and her only request to me, "e-mail Captain Geir-Arne and tell him to send me some help!" We chuckled!

Fingers Xed as to guests embarking Sat. having no problems!

Martita B.

[Chairsin]

Yes it is quite disheartening to see pictures of the protest on the Acropolis.I imagine it is putting a damper on precuise sightseeing.I also wonder what kind of problems Seabourn and their passengers have been having in Bangkok lately.

[Roxburgh]

Yes, very unfortunate. Hopefully the Piraeus isn't affected too badly and the cruisers can get down there and onto the ship.

[marp109]

Fingers crossed, toes crossed, anything else that can cross. Just got off the phone with Seabourn in FL and left all my contact info. We're leaving tomorrow, arriving Friday for pre-cruise touring and doing our own flights/hotel. The threads on TA have been reassuring but definitely pretty disconcerting when people are dying. Have not heard that our flight is cancelled and if necessary will hunker down in our hotel room until time to board the ship. The ruins of Epheseus will just have to stand in for the acropolis and parthenon if that's how it plays out. This is our first SB trip and from what I've read on these boards since I booked I trust they will take good care of us. We just have to be able get to the ship!

[Roxburgh]

Fingers crossed, toes crossed, anything else that can cross. Just got off the phone with Seabourn in FL and left all my contact info. We're leaving tomorrow, arriving Friday for pre-cruise touring and doing our own flights/hotel. The threads on TA have been reassuring but definitely pretty disconcerting when people are dying. Have not heard that our flight is cancelled and if necessary will hunker down in our hotel room until time to board the ship. The ruins of Epheseus will just have to stand in for the acropolis and parthenon if that's how it plays out. This is our first SB trip and from what I've read on these boards since I booked I trust they will take good care of us. We just have to be able get to the ship!

 

For what its worth, I think Ephesus is just as interesting as the Acropolis and certainly less crowded.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

the riots have caused me to alter my travel plans of staying in Athens post-cruise and instead will hop off the Odyssey and on to a ferry to an island- hav'nt decided which one just yet, but I am not going to risk a stay in Athens even if my cruise is two months out- I would rather not spend the pre-cruise anticipation period worrying about being stuck in a hotel room. I truly hope that all Seabourn passengers can embark this Saturday.

[patseacruiser]

My friend is on a different cruise line and stuck right in Athens now. Can't leave the ship because of the rioting and the ship can't leave either. She went in early to sightsee and that's not happening. Plus she has no luggage and it can't be delivered to the port anyway. It's a mess.

[Grace Smith]

the riots have caused me to alter my travel plans of staying in Athens post-cruise and instead will hop off the Odyssey and on to a ferry to an island- hav'nt decided which one just yet, but I am not going to risk a stay in Athens even if my cruise is two months out- I would rather not spend the pre-cruise anticipation period worrying about being stuck in a hotel room. I truly hope that all Seabourn passengers can embark this Saturday.

 

Great plan!

We'll be getting off the day you'll be getting on.

You'll recognize me, I'll be the one kicking and screaming and clutching the railing.

Am I naive to hope that this will be over by then????

If they are not letting ships leave the port, will Seabourn even attempt to dock there?

 

Martita!

Everyone I'm sure sends their best to Miss A. I can't imagine being pent up in a Hotel Room with rioting right outside the door. She's such a good sport. So graceful under pressure. I'll be watching your posts until I know that she is safe!

On another note, is Captain Geir-Arne on for the Summer?

Do you know the other cast of characters? Maitre D, Hot Man, CD etc?

[Roxburgh]

Great plan!

We'll be getting off the day you'll be getting on.

You'll recognize me, I'll be the one kicking and screaming and clutching the railing.

Am I naive to hope that this will be over by then????

If they are not letting ships leave the port, will Seabourn even attempt to dock there?

 

Martita!

Everyone I'm sure sends their best to Miss A. I can't imagine being pent up in a Hotel Room with rioting right outside the door. She's such a good sport. So graceful under pressure. I'll be watching your posts until I know that she is safe!

On another note, is Captain Geir-Arne on for the Summer?

Do you know the other cast of characters? Maitre D, Hot Man, CD etc?

 

 

Hopefully it will be over by then. At some point the rioters and strikers are going to realize that their country is broke and that the rest of the EU will not give them any money unless they make the cuts.

[cruiseyguy]

Unless the Greek Gov't can put a lid on this very quickly things could spiral out of control nation-wide. Tourism is the cornerstone of the Greek economy & these riots are the equivalent of workers in other countries blowing up their factories.

[Martita B.]

For those passengers flying into Athens you may want to go to the Grande Bretagne Hotel ~ a Seabourn Rep. is suppose to be available.

On Sat., May 8th both the Odyssey and Holland America's, Westerdam will be docked in Athens. Today 2 MSC ships calling on Athens.

Hopefully the strike will be resolved by Sat. ~~~

MB

[JaneBP]

>"I'll be the one kicking and screaming and clutching the railing."

 

You have it wrong, clutching is not enough. Brink some heavy chain link and tie yourself to the railing. Then hope Seabourn crew can't find the wire cutters.

[lord of the seas]

Hopefully it will be over by then. At some point the rioters and strikers are going to realize that their country is broke and that the rest of the EU will not give them any money unless they make the cuts.

 

The Greeks have only themselves to blame.

If you sit on your xxse all of your life and contribute nothing to the economy, then you will eventually end up broke.

If only they had paid thier taxes.:rolleyes:

[Martita B.]

Looks like no peace in sight for Athens ~~street fighting still strong in the downtown area.

Hopefully by Sat. it will calm down ~

What a dern shame!

MB

[Roxburgh]

Looks like no peace in sight for Athens ~~street fighting still strong in the downtown area.

Hopefully by Sat. it will calm down ~

What a dern shame!

MB

 

They have to sleep sometime :)

 

Unless they are rioting in shifts :eek:

[cruiseyguy]

Economically, its only just begun. At least Americans can expect a favorable Euro rate for Summer travels although they might not be able to get off the ship to enjoy it.

[Chairsin]

Yes, the Euro's fall is the one bright spot -- if we go to Rome this fall Sailor Boy may just be able to buy a pair of Tods!

 

Seriously, I franakly think this rioting is not short term . The system in Greece is so entranched that people will not take to change without a fight. Interesting article in the NY Times a few days ago about how few people in Greece pay taxes. For example in one area of Athen only a few hundred people checked the box that said they had a swimming pool. When they sent up a helicopter to do an aerial survey they found over a 1,ooo pools!

[wripro]

Thank God for the Brits. How else would the rest of us know how inferior we all are!!!

[marp109]

I'm having breakfast in the Psirri region of Athens and NOTHING is going on, really! I'm. a retired home ec teacher from US Last night we had dinner within view of acropolis and then walked all way up Ermou street to parliament in symtagna square where we watched changing of guard and then walked back down to O&B hotel where we're staying. Lots of police in more populated areas but very, very peaceful.

We board the ship this afternoon but off to acropolis this AM. Got my custom sandals from "poet sandalmaker"yesterday so comfy feet. weather good, people very friendly.

go for it

[lincslady]

Thank God for the Brits. How else would the rest of us know how inferior we all are!!!

 

 

May I and most of the rest of the Brits disassociate us from the comments made on this board by the great Lord of the Seas. He speaks only for himself.

[lincslady]

Thank God for the Brits. How else would the rest of us know how inferior we all are!!!

 

 

May I and most of the rest of the Brits disassociate ourselves from the comments made on this board by the great Lord of the Seas. He speaks only for himself.

[lord of the seas]

Everyone on the boards speaks for themselves,that's the beauty of it.Lots of different views.

 

Lincksy,have you asked "Most of the rest of the Brits" if you can be their mouthpiece?

a new Prime Minister has not been decided on yet. :rolleyes:

[Seabourn-nail]

Thank you very much! Do you know how much Holland has to contribute to this Greek situation? And maybe later to the other countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland etc.? Not funny....

Marja

[johnnycruise]

I'm having breakfast in the Psirri region of Athens and NOTHING is going on, really! I'm. a retired home ec teacher from US Last night we had dinner within view of acropolis and then walked all way up Ermou street to parliament in symtagna square where we watched changing of guard and then walked back down to O&B hotel where we're staying. Lots of police in more populated areas but very, very peaceful.

We board the ship this afternoon but off to acropolis this AM. Got my custom sandals from "poet sandalmaker"yesterday so comfy feet. weather good, people very friendly.

go for it

 

Thanks for the update.

 

Happy Mother's Day everyone.

 

johnny

[TLCOhio]

A new strike has been announced for Greece on June. Check this link for more details:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1212979

 

Lots has also been happening with the slide downward for currency values in Europe. The euro has dropped from $1.43 on Dec. 31, 2009 to less than $1.20 late yesterday.

 

The Wall Street Journal showed late yesterday the pound at $1.448 and the euro dropping to $1.197. For cruisers this summer, maybe this is good news, but we've already paid for most of costs in advance when the value of the euro, pound and dollar were much different. As the pound and euro moved down in the past six months, what you can buy in those countries have improved. This is an advantage for using your credit card versus buying too much European currency ahead with higher conversion charges. I'm glad I didn't buy a bunch of Europe currencies three months ago. We'll use mostly the credit card and ATM's in Denmark and Norway.

 

From Bloomberg News/Business Week today, they have this headline: "Euro Tumbles on Debt-Crisis Concern, Touching Lowest Since 2006" with these highlights: "The euro tumbled for a second week against the dollar, falling to its lowest level in more than four years as concern that Europe’s debt crisis is spreading pushed investors to the safest currencies. Europe’s shared currency plunged below $1.20 for the first time since March 2006."

 

From the Daily Mail in London, they have this headline: "Euro falls to four-year low against the dollar" with these highlights: "The euro today fell to a new four-year low against the dollar when French Prime Minister Francois Fillon spooked the markets after suggesting the weakening euro was 'good news'. Mr Fillon said he was not concerned by the current level of the euro and that he saw only 'good news' in parity between the euro and the dollar. Fears over European banks, poor results from the US jobs market and talk of a 'Greek-style' debt crisis in Hungary drove down global stocks and sent the euro tumbling."

 

From the Washington Post this morning, they have this headline: "German businesses could steer the country out of the eurozone" with these highlights: "With the euro fighting a crisis that continues to push its value lower, that question about the willingness of German taxpayers and businesses to stand behind economically weaker nations with which they share the euro as a currency could determine whether the continent's decade-old monetary union survives its recent shock or begins to tatter." Lots of interesting history, details and background in this story.

 

Full Stories:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-05/euro-tumbles-on-debt-crisis-concern-touching-lowest-since-2006.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/04/AR2010060404815.html?hpid=topnews

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1284174/Euro-frailty-good-news-says-French-PM.html

 

Added reactions on how low things will go and/or other ideas and suggestions? THANKS! Terry in Ohio