Middle East

[Sued]

We are booked on March 15 Silver Spirit with stops in a number of ports throughout the Middle East.  Had our TA call SS this morning and they said no change As yet...would likely skip ports if issue.  Seems odd to me that they would venture into the area just now.   Perhaps I am just a bit paranoid....Has anyone had experience similar to this and how SS handled? 
 

[wripro]

If the Middle East ports on your itinerary are important to you I would cancel as its seems the area is becoming more volatile every day. So if Silversea changes its ports in the interest of safety (which it certainly will and should do) you could be left going to a lot of places you have no interest in.

[Sued]

Thank you.  I am hoping they do something a little more pro active in advance as to what ports will change.  Or offer a swap to another cruise.  Shall see.  It is sold out also.

[milepig]

This is a tough one. I’d trust Silversea to do what’s right, but the whole middle of that itin is really Persian Gulf heavy with no obvious substitutes. Seems like a bit of a risk. 

[nowornever]

I seriously doubt the risk managers/insurance people would allow them to do anything off the charts crazy.  Agree that if there are ports on this itinerary that are make or break, you should take a good look at your travel insurance for an escape clause.  It's probably not worth loosing sleep over since there are so many beautiful & relatively safe places in this world to see without fretting over a particular itinerary. 

 

I don't see where you are living, sued,  but have you checked the usual places for "threat alerts?"  In the US it's the State Dept. website but if you're not in the US, probably your own Foreign Office website.  You can sign up for alerts & you might be able to use the information in case you need to plead your case to Silversea or the travel insurance co. should you decide to cancel. 

 

Good luck with the decision...not easy is it?  Let us know.

[Unibok]

Hi, Sued, I am on the same cruise (B2B, Mumbai to Athens), wondering the same. Please continue to post updates as you learn more. I am not inclined to cancel, as I booked it as a slow and fascinating way to get from Asia to Greece. It'll still be slow and fascinating whichever ports we visit, but I am quite in love with this itinerary. Fingers crossed that sanity and peace will prevail.

[geekgirl23]

We are on the Dubai to Athens sailing (right after Sued's trip; the second leg of Unibok's trip) and have been wondering the same while also a bit concerned. The good news is that there is still a good amount of time until we depart, and a lot can happen (and hopefully it's for the better!). As others have said, I can't imagine that Silversea would put the passengers or crew in harm's way, so I feel some level of comfort in that.

[milepig]

13 hours ago, milepig said:

This is a tough one. I’d trust Silversea to do what’s right, but the whole middle of that itin is really Persian Gulf heavy with no obvious substitutes. Seems like a bit of a risk. 

 

I should qualify that my use of the word "risk" here was less about personal safety and more about risk of losing out on the ports you booked the cruise for if the itinerary is changed in a major way.

[Sued]

Thanks for the responses.  I think the sound advise that SS will do the right thing is right.  We are actually on both legs as a combined tour.  Will give it a couple more weeks to see what evolves.  This really was a special itinerary....but a number of ports I suspect would have to be altered.  Shall see.  I will update with any news we get.