Holy Land Cruise cancellation

[finnkle]

I am looking at potentially booking a Holy Land cruise for Oct 2014 but with the obvious problems in Egypt and often Israel, how does the cancellation policy work after final payment or even before payment without paying a penalty?

 

Say they have to change the itinerary because of something going on in that country, do we have the right to refuse and get our money back? I don't want to go all the way over there to not be able to go to Egypt or Israel as that is the main reason for the trip.

 

Hoping for someones insight!

[cruisestitch]

The cruise lines have the right to change any itinerary for any reason and you really have no recourse. If it is before final payment, you can of course cancel, but by then you may have non-refundable airline tickets. After final payment, well, you are pretty well stuck with the itinerary you get. Changes happen all the time for all sorts of reasons -- from strikes, to civil unrest, to weather, to high seas which don't allow for tendering, to mechanical trouble. If you read the contract you see that you can't really do anything about it. They will refund any port charges if you miss a port, but they will do their best to substitute another port or re-arrange the itinerary if possible

[Turtles06]

I am looking at potentially booking a Holy Land cruise for Oct 2014 but with the obvious problems in Egypt and often Israel, how does the cancellation policy work after final payment or even before payment without paying a penalty?

 

Say they have to change the itinerary because of something going on in that country, do we have the right to refuse and get our money back? I don't want to go all the way over there to not be able to go to Egypt or Israel as that is the main reason for the trip.

 

Hoping for someones insight!

 

I once read some wise words on another thread, pertinent to the bolded sentence above: if there is someplace on land that you absolutely, positively want to visit and you are going to plan a trip around it, don't make it a cruise. Too many variables.

 

Re your cancellation question: you can cancel prior to final payment without penalty. For the penalties after that, you'll need to check Celebrity's cancellation policy.

 

Cruise lines can and do cancel ports for lots of reasons (weather included); you can't use a change in ports after final payment to get a refund.

 

PS: Obviously, I was typing when the comment above was posted (hence some redundancy in my comment.)

Edited July 12, 2013 by Turtles06

[Presto2]

Not sure if this helps ------ we booked a Holy Land Cruise in 2011 with the Silhouette. We didn't know what we would we would get.

 

As a result, instead of Egypt we got an extra day in Israel ---------- Nazareth and Galilee -------- and Ephesus.

 

We should have had 2 days in Egypt -------------- did we miss Egypt ---------- not one bit. It was the cruise of a lifetime.

 

I think that, at the time, anyone not happy with change got the option to change to booked another holiday

 

My advice is to do your homework ----

[Texed]

We just got back from our Holy Land/Egypt/Med cruise July 3rd. We got to go to Israel and Egypt. It was a wonderful trip. We got out the day before the protests started in Egypt. ;)

[Suzy Smith]

We have had itinerary changes on several cruises, including 2011 Holy Land when the Egypt stops were cancelled and different ports substituted. The cruise just before ours also had to miss out Ashdod in Israel and we knew it was possible that we would not be able to stop there either.

 

There is never a guarantee that you will get to a particular port and sometimes itinerary changes happen when you are actually on the cruise. If the main reason for your trip is to see Egypt and Israel and you would be disappointed if the itinerary was changed, then a cruise may not be your best choice, particularly at the moment when events in that part of the world are so unpredictable.

Edited July 12, 2013 by Suzy Smith
spelling

[jacketwatch]

As others have said there are no guarantees. We booked the Connie for the holy land which included Egypt at the time but that got cancelled B4 we went and Haifa was added instead so now we had 4 days in Israel with Ashdod already on the docket for two days. Then Ashdod got cancelled the night B4 we were to port there 2/2 rocket attacks from Gaza so we had to spend all 4 days from Haifa and you know what? It was the best port excursions of our lives. We even got to see quite a few Israeli Merkava super tanks headed to the Ashdod area. No one can say what will happened so either go, roll the dice or skip it all together. Good luck!!

[constantcruiser]

Some types of travel insurance will refund your trip price if the U.S. State Dept. issues an advisory against Americans traveling to that destination. Not sure how this would work for a cruise, though; because even if a specific port was cancelled due to civil unrest, the ship would still go somewhere.

[MVPinBoynton]

We just got back from our Holy Land/Egypt/Med cruise July 3rd. We got to go to Israel and Egypt. It was a wonderful trip. We got out the day before the protests started in Egypt. ;)

 

I am so happy you got to see Egypt Ed. We were so grateful we had gone a few years ago before all the mess started. It was one of those places I had dreamed of going all my life. We still need to make it to Israel though. I guess we have at least one more Med cruise we need to book.

[Texed]

I am so happy you got to see Egypt Ed. We were so grateful we had gone a few years ago before all the mess started. It was one of those places I had dreamed of going all my life. We still need to make it to Israel though. I guess we have at least one more Med cruise we need to book.

 

Mike,

We had read your review about Egypt. It was very helpful, even though it cost me money. Jacquie "HAD" to have one of the hieroglyphic cartouches. :rolleyes:

Maybe we can meet up again sometime in Florida. :)

[happy cruzer]

I once read some wise words on another thread, pertinent to the bolded sentence above: if there is someplace on land that you absolutely, positively want to visit and you are going to plan a trip around it, don't make it a cruise. Too many variables.

 

Re your cancellation question: you can cancel prior to final payment without penalty. For the penalties after that, you'll need to check Celebrity's cancellation policy.

 

Cruise lines can and do cancel ports for lots of reasons (weather included); you can't use a change in ports after final payment to get a refund.

 

PS: Obviously, I was typing when the comment above was posted (hence some redundancy in my comment.)

 

If the main point is to tour a certain port or your cruise is ruined, then go on a land tour. You see many disappointed cruisers when ports are missed, those that were be married at a particular port. See friends or relatives at a port, etc. if visiting a port is the most important then don't rely on the ship to get you there. Wind, tide, storms, protests, etc. can affect the ports....

 

We cancelled a New Zealand cruise because I realized if the weather did not coorperate I would not enjoy the trip. Will do it later as a land trip with more time and options to allow for bad weather.

[MVPinBoynton]

Mike,

 

We had read your review about Egypt. It was very helpful, even though it cost me money. Jacquie "HAD" to have one of the hieroglyphic cartouches. :rolleyes:

 

Maybe we can meet up again sometime in Florida. :)

 

Sorry about causing you to drain your bank account on the cartouche.:D But there is no better souvenir. At least I am sure Jacquie feels that way. Let me know when you are coming down for a cruise. We would love see you guys again.

[rhoot]

Not sure if this helps ------ we booked a Holy Land Cruise in 2011 with the Silhouette. We didn't know what we would we would get.

 

As a result, instead of Egypt we got an extra day in Israel ---------- Nazareth and Galilee -------- and Ephesus.

 

We should have had 2 days in Egypt -------------- did we miss Egypt ---------- not one bit. It was the cruise of a lifetime.---

 

We too made the Holy Land trip on the Silhouette in September 2011. We signed on later because 1) the price was reduced due to people cancelling out because Egypt was scuttled and 2) we saw that in exchange for the Egyptian ports, we gained four days in Israel, two days in the north and two in the south.. We found two other couples on our Roll Call and the six of us hired a private guide to take us all over the country. Because Israel is so small, he met us at the respective ports each day and we travelled everywhere. Now I will say, on the cruise before ours, the captain chose to skip one Israeli port due to some sort of unrest, but it did not affect any of the land excursions from the ship. So, take your chances but some wonderful adventures may await you when you do!

[harz99]

If anybody really wants to visit Egypt with the tensions around nowadays, flying in and taking a Nile river cruise may well be a better idea, or a Lake Nasser cruise, or both even.

 

However if you do go, the one place that will probably be unreachable is the Egyptian Museum in Cairo as it adjoins Tahrir Square, the centre for all the unrest.

[Lynnees]

If anybody really wants to visit Egypt with the tensions around nowadays, flying in and taking a Nile river cruise may well be a better idea, or a Lake Nasser cruise, or both even.

 

However if you do go, the one place that will probably be unreachable is the Egyptian Museum in Cairo as it adjoins Tahrir Square, the centre for all the unrest.

 

Nile river cruises are also being cancelled at the moment by some companies, at least right through until October 13. They just aren't scheduling longer than that.

[Boo's Mom]

I am looking at potentially booking a Holy Land cruise for Oct 2014 but with the obvious problems in Egypt and often Israel, how does the cancellation policy work after final payment or even before payment without paying a penalty?

 

Say they have to change the itinerary because of something going on in that country, do we have the right to refuse and get our money back? I don't want to go all the way over there to not be able to go to Egypt or Israel as that is the main reason for the trip.

 

Hoping for someones insight!

 

I am looking at this Oct 2014 cruise also. There are two ports days in Egypt. I have almost no hope that the ship will be disembarking in Egypt, but what are the other options?

 

Here are the ports:

Istanbul, Turkey;

Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey;

Haifa, Israel;

Jerusalem (Ashdod), Israel;

Port Said, Egypt;

Alexandria, Egypt;

Naples, Italy;

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

 

Anyone have any thoughts? Of course you do. This is Cruise Critic! ;)

Thanks!!

[Honeybearhollow]

We just got back from our Holy Land/Egypt/Med cruise July 3rd. We got to go to Israel and Egypt. It was a wonderful trip. We got out the day before the protests started in Egypt. ;)

 

 

MMMM-That was cutting it close! :eek: Glad it worked out for you.:) Egypt has been on my bucket list for years. We had a cruise booked for Feb but cancelled when Egypt was removed from the itinerary. I am so hoping things settle down and we will eventually be able to go.

[4774Papa]

If anybody really wants to visit Egypt with the tensions around nowadays, flying in and taking a Nile river cruise may well be a better idea, or a Lake Nasser cruise, or both even.

 

However if you do go, the one place that will probably be unreachable is the Egyptian Museum in Cairo as it adjoins Tahrir Square, the centre for all the unrest.

Egypt is in virtual civil war and with no end in sight.

[richstowe]

OP, are you the sort who can go with the flow? If the possibility of ports being dropped and added , often at the last minute, is an issue for you, avoid a "Holy Land" cruise.

 

We booked our RC Mariner cruise around the final payment date. They had already canceled the Egyptian stops so this was not an issue for us.

The price was great and Israel was fantastic. I'm not sure what replaced Egypt but there was a sea day on either side of visiting Israel.

 

BTW - You are sure to get lots of "helpful" comments from friends and family informing you of all the risks of your cruise. We got them and ignored them.;)

 

One more comment - All cruise lines stress safety above all else. If there is an issue, the Captain will avoid the area. You can count on it!

Edited August 25, 2013 by richstowe

[floridatravelersforlife]

I traveled to Israel for 20 years on business, in all states of emergency, and it took me another 5 years after that to gauge if it was ok to take my DW there and Egypt. We did have a wonderful trip in 2009.

 

I consider myself a very experienced traveler to the regions.

 

Egypt is a crap game. If you go, don't expect any help from the any law enforcement authority in case of trouble. And bring plenty of bribe money.

 

Israel is safe. Yet be aware that Damascus is 60 miles from Haifa. IF Syria gets out of control who knows.

 

I was in Israel during the days Sadam invaded Kuwait. I was concerned but felt safe. Israel has it all together when it comes to defending their homeland.

 

So to answer the OP's question, only a shorter time horizon will uncover the appeal of traveling to the region.

 

Both countries are wonderful destinations.

[travelplus]

I am an adventure traveler and I know that the cruiselines can modify their itineraries. I am all for being safe on a cruise.

 

If a cruiseline changes our upcoming Trans Atlantic Itinerary so be it. We are on the ship to explore new destinations and the itinerary is just that something that is flexible. Just like planning a European trip a Castle could be closed so half the fun is coming up with a last minute change.

 

Why do people get so fed up when a port is missed and substituted for another one? You could plan to come back to ports you have always wanted to see on a land based vacation.

 

Cruising is a great way to get your feet wet and if you like the place you saw you could always come back providing your finances allow you to visit it.

 

People who complain about not seeing the exact port should stay home.

 

You were already made aware of the itinerary subject to changes.

[Jane2357]

THE most moving and memorable trip of my life was my trip through Israel - a land trip. While I love cruising - some things are just best off a ship. If this is a trip of a lifetime for you - I suggest you take a land vacation.

[skt4cruise]

Love this thread, posted only to save it, thank you all!!!

We are going to HL & Egypt in 2014 & 2015.

[I-Cruiser]

I am looking at this Oct 2014 cruise also. There are two ports days in Egypt. I have almost no hope that the ship will be disembarking in Egypt' date=' but what are the other options?

 

Here are the ports:

Istanbul, Turkey;

Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey;

Haifa, Israel;

Jerusalem (Ashdod), Israel;

Port Said, Egypt;

Alexandria, Egypt;

Naples, Italy;

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

 

Anyone have any thoughts? Of course you do. This is Cruise Critic! ;)

Thanks!![/quote']

 

Connie October 25 2014, right?? We are booked on this cruise together with 4 friends of ours.

The ports are all lovely and I particular like the overnight in Istanbul.

Knowing fully well that unrest might flair up again in Egypt and Israel at anytime my attitude is that if we get to go to visit those countries then great. If not I am confident Celebrity will find some good substitute ports.

The only negative is that it makes arranging private tours a bit of a pain.

[skt4cruise]

I was worried as well until I found this thread and its so true, if Egypt is shutout then more days in Israel will be wonderful! I would prefer it since we've been 2 times to Egypt and with the current concerns no doubt we would be in constant worry.

 

I can never have too many days in Istanbul (we are not scheduled there in 14) but any of the ports around there are going to be so interesting. I am going to recommend this thread to our roll call, thanks to all.

sandie:D