Israel dropped for the rest of 2011 by Costa

[Capricruiser]

Ruth, I don't know from whom Motib is getting his information (maybe from hi own travel agency) but it's all old. I checked the Costa website this morning for Eastern Mediterranean sailings for April and May 2011 and none of them, including the Pacifica, Mediterranea, or Allegra, now have calls scheduled for Haifa and Ashdod. Just like the press release states, the itineraries have been modified and no longer have calls at those Israeli ports.

Regardless of where he is getting his info, I would believe what Costa is telling us and not what a local tour guide is pulling out of his hat. The travel agency professionals in Israel may be trying to avoid panic but they're not telling the truth.

[Marian Paroo]

The travel agency professionals in Israel may be trying to avoid panic but they're not telling the truth.

 

Well, from where I sit, there doesn't seem to be anything special about the current situation.

 

But I only live here.

 

:cool:

[GeoffW]

Since Costa have not done a full list of affected cruises yet, I been digging about on their website....

 

Due to Haifa & Ashdod being dropped, the following Pacifica itineraries appear to apply...

 

March 24, April 4, 15, 26, September 12, 23, October 4, 15, 26, November 6, 17 2011 departures..

 

Civitavecchia

Savona

At sea

Katakolon

At sea

Limassol

Rhodes

Marmaris

Izmir

Piraeus

At sea

Civitavecchia

 

The next cruise by Pacifica, on March 13, does not appear to have been affected...maybe a schedule issue, but not sure (ie the alternates need more time to get ready for a ship her size).

 

Allegra is due into Ashdod on her repositioning to Venice from Sharm, at the moment it remains unchanged. No other ships have been updated as yet.

 

I'm booked on the March 13th Pacifica cruise and I can confirm that they have cancelled our pre-booking for the excursions in Israel - no communication, no reason - just cancelled.

 

From this, I would think that the itinerary you specified above is going to apply to the Mar 13th sailing too.

 

What I'm really angry about is all this has been done without even telling us! The reason we booked the cruise was to visit Egypt and Israel, and now we find that we will probably be visiting "standard" mediterranean ports - which we've already visited.

 

When they cancelled the Egypt stop, they didn't tell us about that either! But when I contacted them, they said we couldn't cancel without penalty becuase they had only changed one port, but now half the itinerary has been changed, surely we are due for some sort fo compensation? We would NEVER have booked the cruise if the itinerary on offer now was promoted.

 

This will be the last time I ever sail with Costa - their Customer Service sucks...

[sidari]

GeoffW ... we booked a xmas cruise for this year which was 5 nights, we had an E mail via Costa from our TA telling us that Costa had added a 6th night, changed the Itinery around and added Libya on xmas day! we were told we could cancel if we wanted to with no penalty.Luckily my other half had booked off an extra days holiday which meant we could still go but i cannot see them going to Libya.

[Capricruiser]

I'd agree with GoeffW that Costa (and all the other cruise lines that dropped Egypt, Tunisia, and now Israel) could have sent an email directly to the customers already booked for those cruises. Compensation, no, because that's clear in the contract that where there's civil unrest, violence or threat of violence, it's in the best interest of passenger safety to cancel port calls. However Costa besides putting out a press release to the world could have tried also a softer approach directly to their customers.

[G.M.T.]

Typical Costa.:mad:

 

Costa is great at sea but is totally unreal on land.

 

Ron

[bodget]

I'd agree with GoeffW that Costa (and all the other cruise lines that dropped Egypt, Tunisia, and now Israel) could have sent an email directly to the customers already booked for those cruises. Compensation, no, because that's clear in the contract that where there's civil unrest, violence or threat of violence, it's in the best interest of passenger safety to cancel port calls. However Costa besides putting out a press release to the world could have tried also a softer approach directly to their customers.

We've already been told theres no threat in israel so there should be a good reason given or they've broken their own t & c's

[Goldryder]

As annoying & confusing as it is for those booked on the cruises, this decision will not have been made lightly by any means.

 

The Italian government may have had a hand in this decision, and since Costa is an Itlaian line, then they would have to obey any requests by their government. Obviously something has happened to force the line to pull out so suddenly...whether it be a security issue, a berthing issue or whatever.

 

Essentially no cruise line can ignore any chance of a problem, no matter how small, how insignificant it may seem to us as passengers/customers.

 

They will not have done this on a whim. The situation with Arab countries always impacts Israel in one way or another....there is alot of stuff behind the scenes that we will probably never know about or understand. Ports are dropped for a million of reasons, some obvious and others not so. Its a shame for those anticipating visitis to these ports but that is cruising (and all holiday types really) a situation can change at a moments notice & what ever this was caused by caught Costa out very quickly & they have acted in the best way they know how. I seriously doubt they are happy about doing it, but it looks like they had no choice in the matter.

[Goldryder]

If anyone has any doubts about this NOT happening with other cruise lines....not so.

 

Carnival have dropped San Juan off Freedom & Liberty cruises without any email notification to booked cruisers on thos ships this year.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1375524

 

As much as it would be nice to receive notification, it is highly unlikely. The media outlets generally get the information first, hence why I started this thread. Not blowing my own trumpet, but I might suggest that had I not posted the cancellation of Haifa & Ashdod on here (and elsewhere on the net) then there would be several shiploads who would have boarded their cruise without any knowledge of the changes.

 

The same scenario has happened on the Carnival board with San Juan being dropped....those cruisers found out by chance by reading about it online...only getting it confirmed when they accessed their cruise personalisers or contacted their PVP at Carnival.

 

After working in the tourism industry for close on 15 years, I am used to these problems, I also know how hard (read nigh on impossible) to contact thousands of people regarding changes to itineraries, hotels, flights etc.

 

On the Carnival thread linked above, Host Mach hits the nail squarely on the head when he states...

 

And the more people understand that the less we'll see folks getting wrapped around the axle demanding compensation for missing ports.

 

A cruise ship simply should not be considered as transportation to a specific port...

 

Of all the types of travel available, cruising is the most fragile when it comes to being able to stay on a planned itinerary...so many things can & do go wrong that can stuff everything up and 99% of the time, the cruise line are completely powerless to do anything.

[acer67]

As this cruise is billed as a Holy Land cruise, I feel Costa needs to step up to the plate and do the right thing since two major key ports have been dropped now. This is a huge disappointment to many people and there seems to be no way out for the customer. Even my trip cancellation insurance is a complete scam. I will have the option to cancel my trip 48 hours before I travel if the Canadian government still has a travel warning in effect for Isreal in April. This leaves us no time to rebook or reschedule our flights, childcare, etc. As this is in celebration of our 20th anniversary, we decided to spend the money (which does not grow on trees) and booked this trip as it was the biggest bang for our buck. I was totally bummed when Egypt got dropped but today I am really upset after hearing that Isreal is now dropped. I can't afford to lose the money spent and am not sure that I want to travel to an area that is full of warships and possible refugees fleeing. Costa, you need to do the right thing!

[Goldryder]

As this cruise is billed as a Holy Land cruise, I feel Costa needs to step up to the plate and do the right thing since two major key ports have been dropped now. This is a huge disappointment to many people and there seems to be no way out for the customer. Even my trip cancellation insurance is a complete scam. I will have the option to cancel my trip 48 hours before I travel if the Canadian government still has a travel warning in effect for Isreal in April. This leaves us no time to rebook or reschedule our flights, childcare, etc. As this is in celebration of our 20th anniversary, we decided to spend the money (which does not grow on trees) and booked this trip as it was the biggest bang for our buck. I was totally bummed when Egypt got dropped but today I am really upset after hearing that Isreal is now dropped. I can't afford to lose the money spent and am not sure that I want to travel to an area that is full of warships and possible refugees fleeing. Costa, you need to do the right thing!

 

 

What would you prefer....Costa keep the ship at sea on those days or cancel all the cruises completely?

 

What is your interpretation of 'do the right thing'?

 

Port calls get cancelled every day of the week across every cruise line....sadly it is something that goes with cruising. Never, ever book a cruise in order to go to a specific port, there are just too many variables that can & do get in the way.

 

If you want to do a specific Holy Land tour, then you'll be better off spending a higher amount of money and doing a landbased one...Exodus do some good ones, but they are more expensive than a cruise.

 

You pays your money & you take your chances. Nowt anyone can do about it...cruise lines do not cancel a port just cos they fancy doing it or to make people cross...they do it cos they have either been advised to do so by a government, a port authority, the weather, a mechanical breakdown and many other things besides.

 

They do not do it for fun or to be spoil sports.

[acer67]

I understand all this and am not looking for a fight. Just feel like I am not being given any choice in this at all and because of how volatile the situation is in this area right now, I do not feel that it should be the Costa's customers that have to take the hit. I would be happy with compensation for another Costa cruise destination. I am new to all this and am not a world traveller so I guess I am learning my lesson about cruising the hard way. :confused:

[starjumpr]

I understand all this and am not looking for a fight. Just feel like I am not being given any choice in this at all and because of how volatile the situation is in this area right now, I do not feel that it should be the Costa's customers that have to take the hit. I would be happy with compensation for another Costa cruise destination. I am new to all this and am not a world traveller so I guess I am learning my lesson about cruising the hard way. :confused:

 

I feel exactly how you feel. Especially when I saw that a Greek cruise is so much more less expensive then the Holy Land Cruise we were supposed to go on in April.

 

BTW I believe Carnival owns Costa. And Carnival may be canceling ports BUT none of the other lines NOT owned by Carnival are...

[sidari]

Apart from our xmas Costa cruise we also have an RCI cruise booked in May which should have been going to Egypt,that was cancelled and 2 days in Istanbul were substituted which we personally think will be better than Egypt. If any of you get the chance watch a Sky 1 programme called "an idiot abroad" it may just change your thoughts of visiting Egypt !! :eek:

 

It is better to know beforehand that a port has been changed than find out while you are at sea and end up with a sea day you would prefer not to have! we had that problem on our Ruby Princess cruise at Grand Cayman when having anchored off the Island the port authority there refused to allow us to land,their reason was the sea was too rough! though we have video that proves othrewise and even the Captain questioned their reasons.

 

So i guess it is better to know beforehand with other ports in place than sea days! after all it is not just the ports that make a cruise its the people on it and yourselves ..... :)

[CtheW0rld]

I understand all this and am not looking for a fight. Just feel like I am not being given any choice in this at all and because of how volatile the situation is in this area right now, I do not feel that it should be the Costa's customers that have to take the hit. I would be happy with compensation for another Costa cruise destination. I am new to all this and am not a world traveller so I guess I am learning my lesson about cruising the hard way. :confused:

 

unfortunately, yes, you are learning a lesson about cruising. cruiselines have an iron-clad contract. they can take your money and not even leave the dock, basically.

 

i don't think it is fair. the new itineraries don't even come close to being as interesting as the old. you should have the option to cancel without penalty.

[Eyris]

 

It is better to know beforehand that a port has been changed than find out while you are at sea and end up with a sea day you would prefer not to have! we had that problem on our Ruby Princess cruise at Grand Cayman when having anchored off the Island the port authority there refused to allow us to land,their reason was the sea was too rough! though we have video that proves othrewise and even the Captain questioned their reasons.

 

So i guess it is better to know beforehand with other ports in place than sea days! after all it is not just the ports that make a cruise its the people on it and yourselves ..... :)

 

I totally agree. I was actually pretty happy they we got three ports in place of two on the April 4th sailing of the Pacifica. I feel like I'm the only one left who's going to actually enjoy the cruise at this point!

[davidlocky]

We are travelling on the 24th April, and whilst not happy with Costa's communication, was last night looking forward to the new stops, even though we've visited all 3 before.

 

Another passenger has posted on our roll call that it's been changed back to stop at Ashod & Hafia, which has been confirmed by the travel agent.

 

When I log into to our cruise sure enough it's changed back, but according to the website none of the April one's have as yet! Heading for my TA this lunchtime to find out what's going on, but seen as they didn't know about the last two changes not expecting much info. Thank goodness for the forums or we won't find anything out!

 

First time we've used Costa and this TA but on this performance could well be the last! Travelled on Artemis (P&O) last year and they missed an island due to engine problems, they wrote and told us and gave £200 OBC each.

[Capricruiser]

Your post is a bit confusing because you say 24 April while your cruise calendar says 24 March. Anyway, you're right that the March Pacific cruise is going to Israel but the April and beyond are still showing the modified itinerary. Is Costa going to do an about-face? Who knows...

[nezbleu]

standard reply was as below...

some confusion on my part is - costa in italy has decided as precautionary.....its out of costas control???? surely some conradiction in terms. force majure doesnt apply if your head office decides it!!! any legal bods out there??

 

this is bog standard reply as i know of one other cruiser who has had exact same...

 

"Regarding the Pacifica 15th April we can confirm that the ship will no longer be calling at Haifa and Ashdod, and instead will be calling at Limassol, Rhodes and Marmaris. We apologise for any inconvenience or upset this may cause, however Costa in Italy have taken the decision to remove Israel from the itinerary due to the unrest in the area as a precautionary measure. There is always the possibility of those ports of call being added back on to this itinerary, but for now we have this new itinerary confirmed and are in the process of advising all affected passengers.

Costa is not offering any form of compensation monetary or otherwise as we do reserve the right to amend any itinerary as per our 2011 booking terms and conditions. We are very sorry that you are unhappy with this change of itinerary but this is out of Costas control."

[davidlocky]

Your post is a bit confusing because you say 24 April while your cruise calendar says 24 March. Anyway, you're right that the March Pacific cruise is going to Israel but the April and beyond are still showing the modified itinerary. Is Costa going to do an about-face? Who knows...

 

Sorry, my typing error, it is 24 March we are travelling, very sorry for the confusion.

[sidari]

Capricruiser ... if it is anything like the water issue you had who knows? one ships refuses water while others give it .... :confused:

[jurol]

"...There is always the possibility of those ports of call being added back on to this itinerary, but for now we have this new itinerary confirmed and are in the process of advising all affected passengers."

 

I wonder how long it will take them to advise all affected passengers? I've heard nothing except via this forum and fellow passengers. I called my TA yesterday and she called Costa's Australian suppliers. They had not been informed of the changes to Pacifica's itinerary - so if Costa isn't even informing their own overseas suppliers, I'm not holding my breath for their email to me. Pretty poor service, though!

[laviajera]

I called Costa after receiving the e-mail and a phone message that the 2 stops in Israel were changed to ports I had never heard of and would have never picked. After asking several times the reason for canceling the 2 stops in Israel I was first told that Costa did not feel it was safe. When I mentioned that I understood their reason for cancelling Egypt but not Israel since there is nothing in the news regarding Israel, I was told by the Costa representative that several passengers had expressed their concern about going to the area. I don't feel they gave me a solid reason and will continue to inquire about it. The main 2 reasons we were taking this cruise was to go to Egypt and Israel and now I am so dissapointed and frustrated that both stops were cancelled and I am spending so much money on a cruise I would not have picked if the iterinary included the stops that Costa now picked for us. In addition, the custumer service was very poor and a $200 discount is offered, but for a next cruise within 18 months, instead of offering it for this one. As if one could afford taking a cruise like this every year.

[nezbleu]

:eek:

so i've just had same reply as above poster

they must be sending out directives from head office...

reply is.......

"""""""We fully understand how removing Israel from your itinerary is upsetting and we would like to forward you the statement recently issued from Costa Cruises in Italy with regards to this.

 

Since the beginning of the crisis that hit some North Africa and Middle East countries, many Guests have expressed their choice to cancel their booking for the cruises which include Israel within their itinerary, signalling a big concern and uncertainty in term of consumer confidence. Given this situation the Company regretfully had to cancel its scheduled calls to Israel until Fall 2011 so to meet the several requests received from its Guests. We truly understand the disappointment of those who wanted to visit Israel but the pressing requests for reassurance raised by a great number of our Guests forced us to take a decision aimed to guarantee their full serenity. We have already confirmed all scheduled calls in Israel for our 2012 season and we are confident our cruises in Israel will continue to be successful and appreciated as they have always been.

 

Costa Cruises does reserve the right to amend itineraries at any time providing that the embarking and disembarking ports do not change. We are extremely dissapointed to have had to remove Israel and do hope all passengers will still have an enjoyable experience onboard.

 

Many thanks and kind regard""""""

 

so its customers fault?? so why would you book a cruise to israel - its had 62 years of troubles - and its not got anything going on at moment - so why would customers not want to go at moment??? seems like a crock to me.. bs..total bs!!

[nezbleu]

maybe this has something to do with it!!

carnival posts a bleaker profit warning!!!!

:confused:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=13113516