Turkey

[morechances]

I was hoping that if our 8Aug cruise changes the itinerary to all EU ports, that Celebrity might throw in some OBC to cover the added tax. Seems fair since many people might actually only book cruises in which there is no VAT! I would assume that Celebrity will decide on port changes sooner than later.

 

Perhaps just a pipe dream about Celebrity covering the VAT!

 

It would be nice. But Celebrity has no control over the VAT as it is a government enforced decision.

[cef4usc]

I am on the August 8th sailing and like many others would love for X to change the itinerary to include additional Greece and Italy ports BUT I am told we are going to Turkey unless something changes dramatically. Not thrilled with this decision but I will tell an ironic story. I contacted a private tour operator today about doing a tour of Ephesus and expressed my concern about my safety and the operator said "you and our entire tourist industry are worried about your safety but your cruise ship for some reason is not worried and coming to Turkey and we will do everything possible to make you as safe as possible". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when the tour operator said this. :(:confused::eek:

 

Now on the flip side Turkey was the part of the cruise I was most looking forward when originally booked and I understand why some passengers are so passionate about going. I have a hunch that X Reflection does end up in Turkey and many passengers like me elect not to get off the ship. Kind of a waste but if something goes wrong I will never look back and say "I wish I got off the ship" and if nothing goes wrong my biggest repercussion will be I missed Turkey and have to go back. As I tell my kids -- SAFETY FIRST!

[Cakeyandbeano]

Strange that they're still going this year yet the cruise I'm just about to book for next year has had Turkish ports changed & when we spoke to Future cruises rep she said they wouldn't be going to Turkey for the foreseeable future

[Lindy028]

I am on the August 8th sailing and like many others would love for X to change the itinerary to include additional Greece and Italy ports BUT I am told we are going to Turkey unless something changes dramatically. Not thrilled with this decision but I will tell an ironic story. I contacted a private tour operator today about doing a tour of Ephesus and expressed my concern about my safety and the operator said "you and our entire tourist industry are worried about your safety but your cruise ship for some reason is not worried and coming to Turkey and we will do everything possible to make you as safe as possible". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when the tour operator said this. :(:confused::eek:

 

Now on the flip side Turkey was the part of the cruise I was most looking forward when originally booked and I understand why some passengers are so passionate about going. I have a hunch that X Reflection does end up in Turkey and many passengers like me elect not to get off the ship. Kind of a waste but if something goes wrong I will never look back and say "I wish I got off the ship" and if nothing goes wrong my biggest repercussion will be I missed Turkey and have to go back. As I tell my kids -- SAFETY FIRST!

 

This is what we have been told from a friend who has a contact in Turkey who works in the tourist industry. They desperately want tourists to keep going to Turkey but are massively concerned about security, and are shocked that so many companies are still going to the Turkish resorts. They fear it is only a matter of time before an attack. I am astounded that X have decided to keep the Turkish ports. We are on a Reflection cruise in a couple of weeks and we were hoping they would change the ports, however to now hear that they are keeping them is a shock.

Our first Celebrity Cruise, not very impressed so far!

[jael001]

I've got an X excursion booked for Ephesus in a couple of weeks but thinking I'll cancel that and stay on board. It's one of my bucket list places but I'd rather try again in a few years when hopefully the country will be safer and more stable.

[cococruiser]

Our family will be staying on board. Very surprised & disappointed that our itinerary has not been changed.

 

 

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[bonedoc7]

I've got an X excursion booked for Ephesus in a couple of weeks but thinking I'll cancel that and stay on board. It's one of my bucket list places but I'd rather try again in a few years when hopefully the country will be safer and more stable.

 

We canceled our X excursion for Ephesus a couple of weeks back, after the attempted coup. We may rebook once on the ship if we decide that we are comfortable. I always book the excursions ahead of time so we avoid being disappointed that a particular excursion sells out. I decided to cancel for a number of reasons, firstly at the time, i really thought that the cruise line would change the itinerary. We also figured that if celebrity decides to maintain the Turkish ports, theres no way these excursions will sell out and may even be offered at a discount to try to entice guests. We have so much OBC that we can use, so if we feel comfortable we will use that to rebook. See you soon! Only 10 days left!!

[jael001]

We canceled our X excursion for Ephesus a couple of weeks back, after the attempted coup. We may rebook once on the ship if we decide that we are comfortable. I always book the excursions ahead of time so we avoid being disappointed that a particular excursion sells out. I decided to cancel for a number of reasons, firstly at the time, i really thought that the cruise line would change the itinerary. We also figured that if celebrity decides to maintain the Turkish ports, theres no way these excursions will sell out and may even be offered at a discount to try to entice guests. We have so much OBC that we can use, so if we feel comfortable we will use that to rebook. See you soon! Only 10 days left!!

 

That's a good idea. I'd pre-booked as I wanted to do the small group excursion. I will cancel, I just want to get my docs first because anything I do online seems to mess up their system, which is why I dont have my docs yet and their system is showing I still owe money when it's been confirmed to me several times that I don't and am fully paid up.

[Deedah56]

What is VAT?

[Tangocherie]

What is VAT?

 

 

Value added tax. Similar to our GST.

[villauk]

What is VAT?

 

What is a 'Value-Added Tax - VAT'

A value-added tax (VAT) is a type of consumption tax that is placed on a product whenever value is added at a stage of production and at final sale. VAT is most often used in the European Union. The amount of VAT that the user pays is the cost of the product, less any of the costs of materials used in the product that have already been taxed.

 

For example, when a television is built by a company in Europe, the manufacturer is charged VAT on all of the supplies it purchases to produce the television. Once the television reaches the shelf, the consumer who purchases it must pay the applicable VAT.

 

 

Basically a tax ;). If you still have Turkey on your itinerary (and X intend, at this present time, to continue visiting Turkey during August and onwards), then you have no need to worry about it :).