Concerns regarding terrorism in Europe.

[TravelerThom]

Yes there seems to be quite a few trying to convince me to travel to Turkey...works both ways,

 

BTW according to stats many Americans have cancelled their travel plans to Europe.

I haven't seen anyone try to convince you to go to Turkey. The relative safety of Turkey versus other places has certainly been discussed, but I don't think I or anyone else on this thread gives a damn whether you go to Turkey. Fear, while very real, is mostly irrational. You certainly should not go someplace that holds great fear for you, for you will not enjoy it. However, my perception is that you came to this thread and tried to convince the rest of us to join you in your gut reaction fear with essentially no statistical evidence to back it up, and then got upset when we didn't buy into your gut reaction. As a scientist I say "No thank you."

 

Interesting that in paragraph 2 you are now using "stats" - I thought you didn't believe in those:rolleyes: I haven't seen those numbers, but I have no reason to doubt that people are cancelling. A significant majority go by gut reaction and not facts and logic. When people cancel trips to South Africa because of what is happening 15,000 km away in Cairo (and they do), it is impossible to have a logical discussion with them.

[iancal]

People cancelling trips to places like Greece is good news for us.

 

We had five wonderful weeks there last Sept/Oct. Mostly French, Scandanavian, and Brits when we were there.

 

We enjoyed it so much so that we plan to return again this fall. Fewer tourists on the islands, prices down can only be good for us. The trick is to pick which islands to visit. This is not very difficult if one has access to a map and some accurate news.

 

We will no doubt stop somewhere else in Europe on the way home. Paris, perhaps Berlin or London. Maybe Istanbul depending on the air that we buy. Absolutely no issue for us.

Edited January 19, 2016 by iancal

[moniquet]

I haven't seen anyone try to convince you to go to Turkey. The relative safety of Turkey versus other places has certainly been discussed, but I don't think I or anyone else on this thread gives a damn whether you go to Turkey. Fear, while very real, is mostly irrational. You certainly should not go someplace that holds great fear for you, for you will not enjoy it. However, my perception is that you came to this thread and tried to convince the rest of us to join you in your gut reaction fear with essentially no statistical evidence to back it up, and then got upset when we didn't buy into your gut reaction. As a scientist I say "No thank you."

 

Interesting that in paragraph 2 you are now using "stats" - I thought you didn't believe in those:rolleyes: I haven't seen those numbers, but I have no reason to doubt that people are cancelling. A significant majority go by gut reaction and not facts and logic. When people cancel trips to South Africa because of what is happening 15,000 km away in Cairo (and they do), it is impossible to have a logical discussion with them.

 

I am not at all 'upset'. It's a forum FGS.:D I think you should go back and read it all again. I have the opinion it's not safe, others the opposite. Works both ways....and what has S.Africa got to do with Europe:confused:

 

Perhaps we Europeans should stay away from the USA according to all your stats on here and go to Turkey. Ha ha.

Edited January 19, 2016 by moniquet

[TravelerThom]

...I have the opinion it's not safe, others the opposite...

The rational contributors to this thread realize that no place is totally safe, but look at facts when deciding on plans. You make up stuff ("tourism has crashed in Egypt and Tunisia. I think the figure in Egypt is 80% down.") and when presented with FACTS choose to ignore them ("Don't care which ridiculous stats you come out with"). Logic and facts are totally lost on you.

[Extra Kim]

Don't feed the troll.

[moniquet]

I give in, you are all correct. faced with all the statistics I shall tell all my friends not to travel to the USA and the. Caribbean but book Turkey instead:D

[iancal]

Not certain about the Caribbean, but statistically speaking you would be correct about the US.

[Hlitner]

We will not get caught up in the drama and personal attack issues. However, having been to over 100 countries and done extensive international travel (on our own) for over forty years we have learned to ignore statistics. If we listened to all the travel "statisticians" and daily hysteria we probably would not have visited 95 of those 100+ countries :). And by the way, we are in Mexico now (where we live part of the year) where we actually feel safer than in most places inside the USA. Go figure.

 

Hank

[griffy116]

We would never have visited Turkey and would have missed out on what became our favorite port. We felt safe and we met some of the nicest, kindest people in Turkey. We felt so fortunate to have been able to have visited there and would go again.

[SPacificbound]

This thread was started in January 2015, and here we are now in January 2016.

 

It has long outlived whatever usefulness it may have once had, and has now been reduced to a squabble.

[sail7seas]

Oh my word..... How very awful.

 

I just heard on news about a school shooting in Saskatchewan, Canada.

If I heard correctly there are sadly at least two dead. I didn't hear if any injured.

 

My thoughts go out to all impacted by this.

 

Here is a link:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/22/la-loche-canada-school-shooting-lockdown-saskatchewans

 

 

We aren't sure to be safe anywhere. Sigh.....

 

 

 

Edited January 22, 2016 by sail7seas

[moniquet]

This thread was started in January 2015, and here we are now in January 2016.

 

It has long outlived whatever usefulness it may have once had, and has now been reduced to a squabble.

 

Still very relevant, perhaps more so.

 

Most cruise lines are giving Turkey a miss this year. Quite right too.

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=6769

[John Bull]

Still very relevant, perhaps more so.

 

Most cruise lines are giving Turkey a miss this year. Quite right too.

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=6769

 

Agreed that the age of this thread is irrelevant given the atrocity in Istanbul.

 

But Celebrity had cancelled overnites in Istanbul long before then, due to berthing limitations caused by repairs/improvements at the cruise port. They are not "giving Turkey a miss".

 

And it's clear from the link you posted that most cruise lines, especially the mass-market ones, are not giving Turkey a miss.

Only Crystal (just four cruises), Disney (just one cruise), MSC, Azamara (2 cruises) and the NCL group. So the only major cancellations are NCL's.

 

The reason given by Azamara - "due to low guest demand and interest" - is significant. Passengers' perceptions of danger, rather than the actual dangers.

And reduced demand just might be mirrored later in the year for other US lines, due to many Americans being generally more risk-averse and (dare I say it? ;)) less savvy about Europe.

NB that's "most" Americans, by no means all Americans - as is clear from postings on this thread. :)

 

"Quite right too" depends on a person's personal views.

I think it best that we simply agree to differ on that. ;)

 

JB :)

Edited January 27, 2016 by John Bull

[iancal]

Less savvy. Absolutely. We keep meeting some who have absolutely no knowledge of geography outside of the map of their country. And some not even that.

 

It sometimes makes us question if they ever look at world maps in school or read newspapers in schools that cover world events. It is very noticeable-most especially when we travel in and around the U.S.

Edited January 27, 2016 by iancal

[slidergirl]

Right now, I would give a pass to visiting the amazing National Parks area in Southern Utah due to it being the home of the aggressive domestic terrorists masquerading as Patriots under the "leadership" of the Bundy Brothers (currently terrorizing and occupying a national wildlife refuge in Oregon). That is their territory and one never knows when one will insult one of them and end up at the wrong end of a gun. However, I would not tell anyone to avoid Utah altogether because of some action hundreds of miles away in a corner of the state.

 

I feel the same way about Europe in general, and Turkey in particular. Just because we are warned to stay away from one area of a country does not mean we need to avoid the country in it's entirety.

[iancal]

Will it be safe for us to spend a few days on the beach in Newport, Oregon in the spring or should we cancel because of the Bundy Bros and the armed occupation of one of the Oregon National Forests?

Edited January 27, 2016 by iancal

[6rugrats]

Will it be safe for us to spend a few days on the beach in Newport, Oregon in the spring or should we cancel because of the Bundy Bros and the armed occupation of one of the Oregon National Forests?

 

Well, as their numbers have been decreased by one, and an additional eight are in jail, perhaps it's a bit safer.

[paul929207]

Yes, most of the Clown Militia is in jail or the morgue.

[SPacificbound]

Still very relevant, perhaps more so.

 

Most cruise lines are giving Turkey a miss this year. Quite right too.

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=6769

 

The squabbling among posters is why I commented.

 

Further ahead on the thread it is noted that those living outside the US may have doubts about coming here. The US certainly has more than it's share of headlines.

 

I agree with iamcal, it seems some need to study a world map.

Edited January 28, 2016 by SPacificbound

[moniquet]

Hmm. Bit more scaremongering.

 

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-01-29/world-news/ISIS-s-next-target-could-be-cruise-ships-in-the-Mediterranean-6736152539

[Hlitner]

Will it be safe for us to spend a few days on the beach in Newport, Oregon in the spring or should we cancel because of the Bundy Bros and the armed occupation of one of the Oregon National Forests?

 

We would be totally afraid of Oregon and California (remember San Bernadino) so will soon be off to 30 European ports including Turkey (so far). And at the moment we feel much safer here in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (our winter home) then we would in the USA.

 

Hank :D

Edited January 29, 2016 by Hlitner

[sail7seas]

Travel safely and enjoy. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We would be totally afraid of Oregon and California (remember San Bernadino) so will soon be off to 30 European ports including Turkey (so far). And at the moment we feel much safer here in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (our winter home) then we would in the USA.

 

Hank :D

 

 

I so agree with you.

If we were able to take those long flights -- we would be booking European cruises in a heart beat. Thankfully we toured all over Europe and did many Baltic and Med cruises.

Enjoy your cruise.

[Hlitner]

I so agree with you.

If we were able to take those long flights -- we would be booking European cruises in a heart beat. Thankfully we toured all over Europe and did many Baltic and Med cruises.

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Ahhhh, but we are not taking any long flights other then a short hop to Florida. Our cruise is round trip from Ft Lauderdale (you are probably aware of the particular cruise which is the Prinsendam's Grand Med), The last time we took this cruise DW and joked that the ambulances could back up to the ship, unload the passengers, and then pick them up on our return. The group on that particular cruise (it was 62 days) was pretty old (only a handful under 60) but it did turn out to be a pretty active crowd with fewer scooters then we see on short Celebrity cruises.

 

Hank

[need2cruisesoon]

Seems like both Stockholm and Dover will be filled with excitement this summer.

Should have waited to book my British isles cruise this year instead of last.

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3423968/Mobs-hundreds-masked-men-rampage-Stockholm-central-station-beating-refugee-children.html

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3424299/Neo-****-gangs-daub-swastikas-BLOOD-protest-descends-violent-clashes-police-anti-fascists.html

 

Photo: UK Daily Mail

Edited January 30, 2016 by need2cruisesoon