Kusadasi

[britneyangel]

I just read this in the news about a suicide bombing in Kusadasi http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/07/16/turkey.blast.ap/index.html

I was wondering if this would prevent any of you from visiting this port. Some tourists were killed in the blast. I will be visiting this port in August, and have to admit this makes me somewhat nervous. I know many people have visited or are passing though London soon and have made the stand to carry on with plans. I was just wondering what anyone visiting this port might feel since there has been trouble in Turkey before and I believe cruise ships did not dock there for a while.

[Goodfriend]

Aftering being on a Med cruise over 9/11 and experiencing how cruise ships handle changes of ports when necessary, I have no concern. We are on Galaxy 9/26 sailing and I know that if there is any concern, Celebrity will arrange to have us visit another port. On the RCCL cruise in 2001, we were supposed to go to Morrocco but they gave us an extra day in Malaga Spain instead. They handled it beautifully.

[cdncruiser]

To answer your question - NO I would not want to let it stop me from traveling. That said I am NOT booked right now and I can't be sure how I would feel after reading the article. We were there, in the square in Kusadasi in June .... and the article says they had a bomb in April? We had no idea. If I had known ... I don't think I would have let it scare me off. I would have trusted the cruise line to keep me as safe as they can in these days.

Last year when Turkey was having internal problems, Royal Caribbean substituted Malta instead of the stop in Turkey. The cruise lines will NOT put you in any danger so be assured that they are monitoring the situation very closely and will make changes when they need to. If our governments (US and Canada) deem the country a no-go, the cruise lines immediately stop going there. I'll be sorry if they do though, Kusadasi was a fun day and those that travelled to Ephesis said it was the most impressive area. Laurey

[ijkh]

According to the cruise cal there were no ships in port today in Kusadasi. The next American ship due is the Grand Princess later in the week. We will watch and see. I for one plan to continue on with our travel plans in Kusadasi and feel secure on Princess. I do hope they will be using good security though.

[uk1]

I'm puzzled at the response to this.

 

Most people on the cruises get on pre-arranged tours where no one can get on the bus unless they are on the cruise. This attack appears to be a "public" service. Most people on cruises wouldn't be exposed. However, ....... there's danger everywhere. We have to push on.

 

I'm in Kusadasi exactly four weeks (and one day) from today - and I'm looking forward to it. There's as much chance as being blown up the day before and the day after - and even more getting run over in Istanbul the day before that.

 

We must stop discussing this and giving air to the terrorists. Either carry on - or stay at home, but let's *please* not give terrorists the currency of fear.

 

Jeff

[ClaudiaF]

There is a wonderful new website......

http://Http://www.werenotafraid.com

[mek]

We were there last month on the Brilliance and had a wonderful time. Everyone was very nice to us, so I would not hesitate to go back.

[britneyangel]

Thank you for your responses. I do feel better after reading them and don't intend for these terrorist attacks to deter me. I am really looking forward to visiting Ephesus and trust that the cruise line will be watching the situation closely.

[dsawyer]

Many people nowadays do not go on organized tours in many ports through the cruiselines. We save megabucks by doing the sights on our own or by using private tour guides. Public transportation in the ports is a means of exploring the sights on our own. The situation in Kusadasi could put a stop to some of our more adventurous activities while cruising and that would be a shame.

 

I agree, however, we should not let the terrorists even have a glimpse of hope that they might be scaring us off.

[KruzinAl]

We're sailing on Galaxy 09/26 and have booked a private guide from Istanbul to do Istanbul and Ephesus. We also hope that Celebrity doesn't cancel the TUrk ports. My friend took this same E. Med cruise last fall, and because of unrest and Turkey and the Iraq invasion, they cancelled the Turk stops. Turkey borders Iraq. I think they stopped in Malta and another Greek Island. We'll just have to wait.

A poster noted that most people book the cruise ship tours, though many do, many of us adventurous types book on our own, save lots of $, don't get packed into buses and often see more, where the tour buses can't go. You can just find many references on this Europe board

Many of you know this, but with the cruise ship buses, they stop at all the tourist traps, cameo factories, glass blowing, gold factories, leather factories and rug dealers. I think Celeb gets kickbacks from these folks, something like the casino bus trips. They can be interesting, but if you ask a local or private guide, they will take you to the best place. One good thing about the bus stops, is the clean restrooms, hard to find in Europe.

Al

[clvali]

I agree with Nejat. We traveled to Egypt two weeks after 9-11. The people were so nice and all expressed their sorrow about our tradgety. Go to Turkey and Negat gave our group a wonderful experience in both Turkey ports. He loves his country and is so knowledgable.

clvali

[Queenk2]

We are going on the Galaxy July 25th. We also have private tours set up in both Istanbul and Ephesus. I hope Celebrity doesn't change the ports. I am so looking forward to this.I called Capt. Club yesterday and so far it hasn't changed..we keep watching!

[STEFY14]

I watched the itinerary of the Galaxy in www,celebrityatsea.com that Kusadasi is still scheduled as port of call.

Have someone news about skipping or not Kusadasi by Galaxy or we are listening only rumors?

[Ladysmith_Que]

I have been to Turkey only twice (last time in Istanbul was just after the earthquakes...we felt a tremor) but can't wait to return. Violence can occur anywhere (as recent events have shown) but this is not an internal issue...it is global so, go and enjoy. Cheers, Bruce