Turkey Travel Warning issued March 29, 2016

[Cruise Junky]

News in Uk are reporting of camps being set up at Piraeus Port. The asylum seekers are being sent back to Turkey from the port. Hope it doesn't get violent as we have an overnight.

I just hope the cruise lines don't react. A lot of it is media hype

 

There has been a refugee camp in Piraeus for a while now.

[MicCanberra]

There has been a refugee camp in Piraeus for a while now.

 

Yes, one of the reasons why we are doing a ship's tour there. The other is the 4 other Cruise ships (over 10,000 pax) in port at the same time.

[Cruise Junky]

Yes, one of the reasons why we are doing a ship's tour there. The other is the 4 other Cruise ships (over 10,000 pax) in port at the same time.

 

I think that port can take 9. It's massive. We're doing the express bus to the Acropolis for €4 return :)

[Aussie One]

What you have said about RCCL's and Celebrity's decision not to call in at Bali is quite correct - it was because of the threat of terrorism. I remember reading the same post. Which makes Celebrity's failure to cancel calls in Istanbul and possibly Kusadasi as well all the more surprising. There have been actual terrorist events in Istanbul and the Australian Government also has issued a "reconsider your need" to travel to Istanbul warning. All that Celebrity have done to date is to cancel the overnight stay in Istanbul on the cruise I am currently booked on. But we are disembarking there and the following cruise is embarking there. How is it safe to disembark or embark a few thousand passengers in Istanbul given the current warnings?

It is a real problem for us as we booked nearly 12 months ago and are due to fly home from there. We cannot change our airfares without financial penalty. I don't know whether to cancel the cruise or not. I just wish Celebrity would bite the bullet and cancel the calls in Turkey or at least tell us what is happening. :eek:

 

We will be embarking on the same day i have just paid my final payment Celebrity are still advertising and selling this cruise. Sandra don't spoil your cruise worrying about this Aussie

[Jackie12]

I would rather the ship go to another port than stop in Ephesus with all the wanings. I'm sure most travelers would not feel comfortable about sightseeing there or even shopping at the marketplace......Would rather we stopped at another port or island in Greece, like Rhodes, etc.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I would rather the ship go to another port than stop in Ephesus with all the wanings. I'm sure most travelers would not feel comfortable about sightseeing there or even shopping at the marketplace......Would rather we stopped at another port or island in Greece, like Rhodes, etc.

 

Don't assume that "most travelers" feel the way you do. I'm really looking forward to our second visit to Ephesus -- and glad to see that Celebrity is still adding shore excursion options to that stop, since it implies they don't intend to cancel it.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I wish Celebrity would update it's website with the latest itineraries!!

[MicCanberra]

I would rather the ship go to another port than stop in Ephesus with all the wanings. I'm sure most travelers would not feel comfortable about sightseeing there or even shopping at the marketplace......Would rather we stopped at another port or island in Greece, like Rhodes, etc.

 

Depends on the cruise and the people, nearly everyone on our roll call wants our cruise to remain going there.:D

[MicCanberra]

Don't assume that "most travelers" feel the way you do. I'm really looking forward to our second visit to Ephesus -- and glad to see that Celebrity is still adding shore excursion options to that stop, since it implies they don't intend to cancel it.

 

That was my impression as well.:D

[Beanb41]

Our cruise on the Constellation sailing out of Rome on 15th April was scheduled to overnight in Istanbul but we are now going to Ephesus, Rhodes, and overnighting in Athens instead. It means the loss of a sea day but a very good alternative in lieu of the Istanbul troubles. Had we been embarking or disembarking in Istanbul as some Constellation cruises are still planning to do, and in light of the travel advisories issued by our government I think I would be making a call on my travel insurance policy.

[SandraA]

Our cruise on the Constellation sailing out of Rome on 15th April was scheduled to overnight in Istanbul but we are now going to Ephesus, Rhodes, and overnighting in Athens instead. It means the loss of a sea day but a very good alternative in lieu of the Istanbul troubles. Had we been embarking or disembarking in Istanbul as some Constellation cruises are still planning to do, and in light of the travel advisories issued by our government I think I would be making a call on my travel insurance policy.

 

I'm not sure whether most travel insurance policies would cover this. Some exclude terrorism related matters. I shall have to locate the PDF and check the terms of ours.

[Beanb41]

I'm not sure whether most travel insurance policies would cover this. Some exclude terrorism related matters. I shall have to locate the PDF and check the terms of ours.

 

Our insurance policy covers us up to $NZ100,000 for terrorism related activities.

They will not cover us however if we ignore any travel advisories issued by our government ie regarding Turkey we would have no insurance if we went to Istanbul or Ankara or Southern Turkey near the Syrian border as our government has advised against going to those places. Because the travel advisory came out after we booked the travel insurance we would be covered for cancellation fees if we pulled out of the cruise had it still been going to Istanbul. Small print on insurance policies is important

Edited April 6, 2016 by Beanb41

[bigeck]

There has been a refugee camp in Piraeus for a while now.

 

I know. Yesterday on the news it was saying about overcrowding and a lot of disruption.

[Von & John]

Depends on the cruise and the people, nearly everyone on our roll call wants our cruise to remain going there.:D

 

Well stated Mic - we certainly are hoping to visit Kusadasi on the 04/27 trip.

 

In 2011 we were on another Mediterranean Cruise - which was supposed to go to Egypt. Unfortunately for us the Arab Spring Uprising in Egypt happened the day before our arrival in Egypt. Our ship did an abrupt turn North & we headed to Istanbul instead. For an unplanned 2-Day visit it was pretty great. The most challenging part of it was - we were truly looking forward to the warmth & sun of Cairo/Alexandria. We arrived in Istanbul in the the snow :)

 

We'd love to visit Kusadasi - but will be happy with our trip regardless. Only 2 1/2 weeks until we depart Alaska... On to the fun in the sun!!

[SandraA]

Our insurance policy covers us up to $NZ100,000 for terrorism related activities.

They will not cover us however if we ignore any travel advisories issued by our government ie regarding Turkey we would have no insurance if we went to Istanbul or Ankara or Southern Turkey near the Syrian border as our government has advised against going to those places. Because the travel advisory came out after we booked the travel insurance we would be covered for cancellation fees if we pulled out of the cruise had it still been going to Istanbul. Small print on insurance policies is important

 

Thanks for this Beanbb41. Definitely worth checking. I hope ours will be similar - we bought an expensive one so should be ok. :confused:

[happy trailer]

I've been sitting on this for a couple of hours, debating whether or not to post it.

In the end, I felt it would be irresponsible of me to withhold this information. I know I'll be criticized, scolded, and I'm weary of all that which is why I was hesitating to post, but our news is highlighting the story, and calling it an unusual occurrence. I'll post this on a few relevant threads, and you might want to post it on others. Hopefully, hopefully all will stay quiet, but I think it is important to be informed.

 

Please note: I am not scaremongering. I am not telling you not to go to Turkey. I am not telling you not to complain if your port stops in Turkey are cancelled. If you read the entire article (I've only copied part of it below), you will see that even with all the alerts after the most recent terror attack, and Israel telling its citizens to get out of the country, over 100,000 Israelis were still planning to visit Turkey at the end of this month.

 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-tells-its-nationals-in-turkey-get-out-now/

 

Israel tells its nationals in Turkey: Get out now

 

Counter-Terrorism Bureau cites ‘real and immediate’ threat of terror attacks, following Istanbul bombing, Turkish intel on IS plots targeting Jews.

 

April 8, 2016

 

Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued in a rare statement Friday night repeating a recent travel warning calling on Israelis to avoid visiting Turkey, and urging those currently there to leave as soon as possible.

 

“Following a situational assessment, we are reiterating and sharpening the high level of threat in Turkey,” a statement from the bureau said.

 

"Real and immediate terror threats remain throughout the country,” the statement continued, urging Israelis in Turkey to “avoid crowded tourist areas, follow instructions of local authorities and get out as soon as possible.”

 

"There are immediate risks of attacks being carried out in the country, and we stress the threat applies to all tourism sites in Turkey,” Israel‘s counter terrorism bureau said in a statement.

Edited April 8, 2016 by happy trailer

[Beanb41]

I have no hesitation in accepting the Israeli stance. The terrorism in Turkey is Muslim generated and the USA and Israel are not the most preferred peoples of Muslim terrorists. Hence like all travel advisories issued by one's government they should be heeded. We are but humble tourists and don't have access to information that one's Country's security services have. That said I hope Celebrity don't cancel our trip to Kusadasi in two weeks time

[teriwinkle]

What you guys are missing is the passengers disembarking and embarking Istanbul. What would Celbrity do with these passengers . What port could they change for them Aussie

This is our situation with our cruise on the Constellation which embarks in Istanbul Oct 21 stops in Israel, Turkey, and Greece, disembarking in Rome. We've already paid in full for the cruise/air/hotel/transfers package. We'll have insurance, but are so hoping this trip doesn't get canceled. Our last cruise planned for this itinerary several years ago (which included Egypt as well) ended up being canceled by MSC. We ended up on a TA crossing from Hamburg on QM2 instead, which was a wonderful trip, but we're still trying to get the bucket-list Israel itinerary. Husband is very very skeptical about flying into Istanbul on Turkish Air. I'm not worried at all, which may be unwise on my part. Our son is also going and he's fine with it. So far.

[Beanb41]

This is our situation with our cruise on the Constellation which embarks in Istanbul Oct 21 stops in Israel, Turkey, and Greece, disembarking in Rome. We've already paid in full for the cruise/air/hotel/transfers package. We'll have insurance, but are so hoping this trip doesn't get canceled. Our last cruise planned for this itinerary several years ago (which included Egypt as well) ended up being canceled by MSC. We ended up on a TA crossing from Hamburg on QM2 instead, which was a wonderful trip, but we're still trying to get the bucket-list Israel itinerary. Husband is very very skeptical about flying into Istanbul on Turkish Air. I'm not worried at all, which may be unwise on my part. Our son is also going and he's fine with it. So far.

 

have you checked the fine print on your travel insurance policy to check if you are covered in event of a mishap whilst in or around Istanbul. I checked mine and because my Govt has issued a no go travel advisory for Istanbul I would not be covered for anything

[cowspanker]

Here's the Australian Govt caution map - as you can see the risky areas are a long way away. I hope our itinerary does not change but personally I'm happy either way.

 

 

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[stipmom]

Cowspanker, . Thanks for the map.

U.S. Warning also includes Izmir peninsula which is closer unless Izmir peninsula is something other than the city of Izmir and its surrounding area.

[R&M1000]

Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens: Credible Threats to Public Squares and Docks in Istanbul and Antalya

April 9, 2016

 

The U.S. Mission in Turkey would like to inform U.S. citizens that there are credible threats to tourist areas, in particular to public squares and docks in Istanbul and Antalya. Please exercise extreme caution if you are in the vicinity of such areas.

 

http://istanbul.usconsulate.gov/sm_040916.html

[DYKWIA]

Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens: Credible Threats to Public Squares and Docks in Istanbul and Antalya

April 9, 2016

 

The U.S. Mission in Turkey would like to inform U.S. citizens that there are credible threats to tourist areas, in particular to public squares and docks in Istanbul and Antalya. Please exercise extreme caution if you are in the vicinity of such areas.

 

http://istanbul.usconsulate.gov/sm_040916.html

 

Well if that isn't a clincher for Celebrity to make a decision re Istanbul I'm not sure what is!

[Higgy64]

But it still doesn't say it's a no-go area.

 

It says to exercise extreme caution and listen to the news.

[norwegianwood57]

How much clearer than, "credible threat" does it have to get?

 

Do you really need it spelled out with exact words?

 

DONT go there.