La Goulette / Tunis safe?

[Alex71]

We'll be taking a Western Mediterranean cruise with MSC in just over two weeks with one of the ports being La Goulette.

 

With the recent news coming out of Arab countries including Tunesia, would it be safe to leave the ship? We have two kids who are 7 and 5.

 

Our plan was to take a cab tour to Carthago and Sidi Bou Said.

 

Any insights would be much appreciated.

[cruisemom42]

Some ships are cancelling stops in Northern Africa, including Tunisia in the next week or two. MSC might do the same.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4989

 

If the ship does make the scheduled stop in Tunisia, the best thing to do is keep up to date on the news. Most Americans might hesitate to strike off on their own, given the anti-American mood at the moment. Only you can determine how comfortable you feel with the situation.

 

Would you consider taking one of the ship's excursions? I generally avoid them at all costs but in this situation....

[sandbox]

Very unlikely we will be calling there Tuesday..

 

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/reports-protesters-try-storm-uk-embassy-121642087.html

[Daisyloo]

I don't think any of the cruiselines will be going to any of those "hotspots". They don't want to put their expensive ships or their passengers at risk. If they did go there, I would not want to get off the ship - who knows what those radical nutjobs over there might get up to. :eek: Better safe than sorry, especially with kids.

[Hlitner]

IMHO the answer is NO! I say this having recently (April) spend some time in Tunisia. As frequent international travelers we understand that every country and place has their issues with safety and crime. However, when the government and police of a country refuse to provide adequate security, and sometimes even seem to support riots and violence, we do not think it's worth the risk to visit. Besides, we are starting to have strong feeling that we should not be spending our money to support the economies of countries that do their best to make us feel unwelcome.

 

Hank

[Alex71]

Thanks, everyone. Hopefully, we'll skip La Goulette, Sardinia would be a nice alternative. If not, we'll just stay on the ship. In any case we won't do any touring.

[Kinofdc]

At this juncture, it's immaterial whether Tunis is safe to visit or not, we simply refuse to visit any nation whose citizens have been burning the US flag in public.

 

Besides, as of Friday the 14th, the State Department has ordered the departure of all family members and non-essential U.S. government personnel from posts in Sudan and Tunisia. It has also issued travel warnings for both countries.

[KirkNC]

I am pretty sure you will miss it which is a shame as it can be a great stop. Those burning flags do not always represent the majority, after all some in the US do the same.

[rich_cathybrock]

There was a lot of buzz when the news broke about the homicides and attack on the US Embassy in Libya and elsewhere, triggering subsequent State Department warnings in Tunisia and causing several ships scheduled to call there and in Egypt to be rerouted earlier this week.

 

To date, there is nothing on HAL's site to date regarding this problem and as of today, our scheduled call at Tunis still appears on the itinerary. I know others on our roll call already indicated they have canceled their HAL sponsored shore excursion, and I will, even if the port is not canceled, because I am not eager enough to see the place to put myself in harm's way.

 

I wonder if they are working backwards from current date on and if that is why there has been no update, but it seems to me that if pax safety is paramount they would have posted something on their home page or on the advisory section (still the '09 Fuel Supplement notice and nothing more) by now.

 

Has anyone else with Tunisia scheduled for the next few weeks received notice of any changes from your respective lines as of yet?

[Hlitner]

At this juncture, it's immaterial whether Tunis is safe to visit or not, we simply refuse to visit any nation whose citizens have been burning the US flag in public.

 

Besides, as of Friday the 14th, the State Department has ordered the departure of all family members and non-essential U.S. government personnel from posts in Sudan and Tunisia. It has also issued travel warnings for both countries.

 

As a vet (of the Vietnam War) I share your sentiment about the flag...but if you want to apply that standard we would have to leave our own country :(

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

Here is a link to the current State Department warning on Tunesia. It is very clear in advising Amerians to not travel to this country at the current time.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5775.html

 

As long as this warning stays in effect, it is unlikely that any major cruise line will call at this country.

 

Hank

[Alex71]

MSC is still going and has a different ship in La Goulette almost every day. They posted the following on the MSC forum: "At this time MSC Cruises is monitoring the situation occurring Tunisia; however our operations to visit this port are still running as normal."

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1707447

 

It seems that American lines and their European subsidiaries are skipping Tunesia at this point, whereas others are still going.

 

Anyway, in that part of the world a little something can spark another outbreak of violence at any time, so what seems a stable, safe situation may change very quickly. With two little kids, we can't take any chances and are definitely leaning towards staying on the ship.

 

Other Mediterranean countries need our money too, so we'll spend it there. ;-)

Edited September 20, 2012 by Alex71

[Sea42]

Has anyone else with Tunisia scheduled for the next few weeks received notice of any changes from your respective lines as of yet?

 

We are scheduled to visit La Goulette on Oct 2nd on the Noordam and we have not heard anything from HAL one way or the other as to whether we will be stopping there. If nothing happens in the next two weeks I would think we are going to be going there. We have a tour scheduled with a private guide and we will be going if the ship docks.

This summer I have visited Chicago and NYC. Both have had shootings and stabbings on and around their public transportation. You don't have to travel far to be at risk.

[iluvbkk]

Although I do believe that when it's your time to go you will go, but I don't think you can compare NYC and Chicago to what you might encounter in a Muslim country. I have been in Egypt twice over the past few years, and Tunisia,(as well as Indonesia and Malaysia, UAR, etc) and have noticed a marked disdain for all things American. My ship calls on Tunis in November and I am watching to see how things develop and what the cruise line will do. When I was in Egypt a couple of years ago, the government was still doing what it could to keep you safe. I doubt that would hold true today..in any case, I wouldn't want to chance a tour and put myself in harm's way...ditto with Tunis. I can understand people's reluctance to lose Tunis and Carthage as a stop...it is something to see but you surely don't want it to be the last thing you see.

[cruisemom42]

Although I do believe that when it's your time to go you will go, but I don't think you can compare NYC and Chicago to what you might encounter in a Muslim country. I have been in Egypt twice over the past few years, and Tunisia,(as well as Indonesia and Malaysia, UAR, etc) and have noticed a marked disdain for all things American. My ship calls on Tunis in November and I am watching to see how things develop and what the cruise line will do. When I was in Egypt a couple of years ago, the government was still doing what it could to keep you safe. I doubt that would hold true today..in any case, I wouldn't want to chance a tour and put myself in harm's way...ditto with Tunis. I can understand people's reluctance to lose Tunis and Carthage as a stop...it is something to see but you surely don't want it to be the last thing you see.

 

I guess we each have our own viewpoints on this issue.

 

I've been to Egypt 4 times since 2006 (latest was in late 2011, just before the "Arab Spring" revolutions began). I've also (within the last two years) been to Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

 

I called at La Goulette Tunisia on a cruise at the end of last year, 2012, after the revolution in that country had settled. I felt everywhere the optimism of the people in that country and how they felt that a yoke had been lifted with the toppling of the old regime. The people I spoke to were engaged in thinking of a better future for that country and what it would entail -- jobs, infrastructure, health care. I certainly did not notice any disdain for America or Americans in that country. If anything, I worried that the tone was perhaps TOO optimistic; that things could go sour if the new regime couldn't make good on all the hopes and plans that were being laid out.

 

In other countries, yes, I have noticed some disagreement (I wouldn't say disdain, at least certainly not to a traveler's face) with American ideas and politics. However, this is true in European as well as Middle Eastern countries, and in most places it seems to be somewhat better than it was a few years ago.

 

Finally, people in other countries seem to understand that they can disagree with a country's policies/politics while still liking their people. They do this far better than many Americans seem to be able to do. Perhaps it is due to the fact that most other countries are smaller than the USA, and people travel between countries (and are exposed to differences in philosophy, politics, and religion) more frequently and from a younger age.

 

I'm still hoping that we make our scheduled port calls in Tunisia in early November aboard a British line. If the current situation doesn't deteriorate, I have no qualms about participating in tours at La Goulette and Sousse. (They are ship tours, not private tours, as they are included in the cost of the cruise.)

 

Certainly one should do whatever they think best in the situation. If you feel unsafe, then of course you should stay on board ship. I have only ever done that in one port -- Jamaica, where I felt far less safe than any other place I've traveled!

Edited September 21, 2012 by cruisemom42

[Sea42]

Apparently, for us, it no longer matters. HAL has just canceled our Oct 2nd visit to Tunis. We will be going to Cagliari, instead

[iluvbkk]

My feeling is that the "Arab Spring" is a different situation than what seems to be happening now. These uprisings are US specific rather than what the uprisings were concerned with in 2011. Yes, we surely will choose to stay onboard should we dock there which was our plan anyway since we had already been there twice. While there are certainly many of their countrymen who are not participating in these protests, for their own safety, they remain more on the silent side .

[cruisemom42]

Apparently, for us, it no longer matters. HAL has just canceled our Oct 2nd visit to Tunis. We will be going to Cagliari, instead

 

Sorry to hear that. I'm sure the major cruiselines that are US-based or that carry a significant percentage of American passengers are under pressure not to call in Tunisia while there is such a strong US State Department travel advisory in effect.

[Sea42]

Sorry to hear that. I'm sure the major cruiselines that are US-based or that carry a significant percentage of American passengers are under pressure not to call in Tunisia while there is such a strong US State Department travel advisory in effect.

I am disappointed as I was looking forward to our day there. But it is understandable and it gives me a reason to go back someday :D

[rich_cathybrock]

Just wondering - we sail on the Prinsendam on Oct 17th and have a call in Tunisia scheduled for 10-28. I still have a reserved Shorex w/HAL since I wasn't too comfortable with doing the site on my own before the recent flare-up over there. Any idea whether ships are continuing to cancel or have resumed visits there in spite of the US State Dept. warnings?

[cruisemom42]

Just wondering - we sail on the Prinsendam on Oct 17th and have a call in Tunisia scheduled for 10-28. I still have a reserved Shorex w/HAL since I wasn't too comfortable with doing the site on my own before the recent flare-up over there. Any idea whether ships are continuing to cancel or have resumed visits there in spite of the US State Dept. warnings?

 

I'm monitoring this for my parents (who are on your Prinsendam cruise) and also for myself, on Swan Hellenic about a week later.

 

On the Celebrity boards someone announced that Azamara cancelled a scheduled port stop at La Goulette on September 25th. That is the most recent thing I have heard.

 

Until the US tones down their travel warning re: Tunisia, I have doubts that the major carriers with a high percentage of US passengers will stop there. I still have hopes for my cruise, as the UK foreign office has no significant warnings for Tunisia.

[Hlitner]

We have been watching the interactive AIS maps on a daily basis. AIS is a worldwide system that lets a user track all shipping (including cruise ships) in real time. In other words, I can see exactly where any cruise ship is located at this moment or..I can look at a part of the world (such as Tunesia) and see if there are any ships docked or near the ports and those ships intentions. For the past 10 days the only mass market cruise ships we have seen go into Tunesia (all ports) were operated by MSC. They also are still getting some ferry service (mostly French ships) from Europe. But it appears that just about all other shipping is giving Tunesia a wide berth. We have also noticed very little traffic going into Alexandria but are not sure if this is just do to scheduling or if ships are avoiding the port. At this very moment we can see the Mariner of the Seas cruising at 19 knots towards Alexandria (they are due to dock in a few hours) so it appears that RCI is going to dock at that port unless they change their plans in the next few hours.

 

The thing about the AIS system is that it truly shows all commercial (and some private) shipping in the world and is based on what is really happening...not rumors, conjecture, etc.

 

Hank

Edited September 29, 2012 by Hlitner

[rich_cathybrock]

The tips are invaluable. Nothing beats AIS - going to watch a little myself now, just to start dreaming since we are only 2 weeks out from flying. I can't help wonderring where we will end up at this point.

 

Whatever the port, another cruise is right around the corner, and Cruisemom, we are the Brocks, and are in SY27 if your folks need us for any reason when aboard.

 

Cheers!

[Hlitner]

Just checked and Mariner of the Seas is 12 nm from Alexandria and still heading in that direction at 19 knots. Looks like there are no cruise ships going to Tunesia today.

Hank

Edited September 30, 2012 by Hlitner

[rich_cathybrock]

I guess the good news is that for now a few ships are still calling in Egypt. We were there in 2007 and I have wanted to visit again for an overnight, but am waiting until things settle down there.

 

Best!

Cathy