Emirates to Mediterranean cruise

[deirdrebarlow]

I am booked on this cruise in March 2024 which is supposed to sail the Red Sea to the Suez Canal.  In view of the current situation in this area, most other cruise lines have already changed/cancelled their itineraries.   I have contacted Fred Olsen but cannot get a definitive answer.   Has anyone else who is booked on this cruise heard from or contacted Fred Olsen?

[Coravel]

If it's not safe to go, FOCL won't take you there.  They always err on the side of caution.  It's a shame their information department is not forthcoming but it's always been thus.

[sleepingcat]

general discussion of this topic here

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2990451-cruises-transiting-the-suez-canal/

 

including info about which lines have already issued revised itineraries. Might give you an idea of what FOCL will do.  It looks likely though that once they issue a new route you would be able to cancel and rebook to something else, if you wished.

[tring]

 

54 minutes ago, sleepingcat said:

general discussion of this topic here

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2990451-cruises-transiting-the-suez-canal/

 

including info about which lines have already issued revised itineraries. Might give you an idea of what FOCL will do.  It looks likely though that once they issue a new route you would be able to cancel and rebook to something else, if you wished.

 

Fred has re arranged his cruise now, new itinerary given to passengers on board a day or so ago.  Hopefully the OP will have heard by now.  Not sure if anything new on the website yet, but yesterday morning cruises covering future sectors were marked as "please ring", which is what Fed does before editing his website. 

 

Edited February 10 by tring

[Coravel]

We were supposed to be going to Israel, Egypt and Algeria on the Bollette on February 25th but they soon changed it to Majorca and Croatia at the first sign of trouble.  Personally I like a bit of adventure but FOCL won't take risks and I don't blame them.  

Edited February 10 by Coravel

[twotravellersLondon]

On 2/6/2024 at 8:51 PM, deirdrebarlow said:

am booked on this cruise in March 2024 which is supposed to sail the Red Sea to the Suez Canal.

 

We were very sorry to hear that the Emirates to Mediterranean part of this world cruise on the Borealis world cruise seems to have been abandoned. 

 

We understand that passengers on-board the Borealis have been informed that when ship reaches Plunket in Thailand it will then miss out the entire Indian and Middle Eastern sections (Cochin Goa, Mumbai, Dubai, Khasab, Muscat) as well as Aqaba in Jordan, the Suze Canal, and the Mediterranean ports of Limassol, Rhodes, Heraklion, Valletta and Cartagena. 

 

Instead the Borealis will sail directly from Plunket in Thailand to Cape Town in South Africa. However, we're led to believe that the ship will have a short stop in Tenerife on the way back to the UK.

 

We're currently waiting for confirmation.

[tring]

1 hour ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

We were very sorry to hear that the Emirates to Mediterranean part of this world cruise on the Borealis world cruise seems to have been abandoned. 

 

We understand that passengers on-board the Borealis have been informed that when ship reaches Plunket in Thailand it will then miss out the entire Indian and Middle Eastern sections (Cochin Goa, Mumbai, Dubai, Khasab, Muscat) as well as Aqaba in Jordan, the Suze Canal, and the Mediterranean ports of Limassol, Rhodes, Heraklion, Valletta and Cartagena. 

 

Instead the Borealis will sail directly from Plunket in Thailand to Cape Town in South Africa. However, we're led to believe that the ship will have a short stop in Tenerife on the way back to the UK.

 

We're currently waiting for confirmation.

 

No idea where you saw that.  I saw a copy of the new itinerary posted a few days ago.  Yes, it shows them missing India and beyond, but calling into Mauritius, Durban, two days in Cape Town, Walvis Bay in Namibia and Mindelo before calling into Tenerife and arriving back in Southampton on the 17th April in time for the next cruise.  I do not know of any other cruise going through the Red Sea at present and I doubt anyone would have considered that as an option under the current circumstances.  Some changes had been made to the original itinerary before they left.

 

Indian visa and cost and any handling fees refunded and a small obc.  Also a future cruise credit of 30% of the fare paid for the whole world cruise, for those on the full cruise. Fred said in the letter that approximately one third of the proportion of whole cruise is affected.

 

I have no idea what is being done about the other segments or for people on them, but I would suspect Fred will be wanting to offer preferential places to those previously booked to go on, or who are on the ship at present.  So perhaps will take a little while for them to be advertised.  Changes were only announced a day or so before the weekend though, so something more may just happen tomorrow.

 

 

 

[twotravellersLondon]

On 2/6/2024 at 8:51 PM, deirdrebarlow said:

I am booked on this cruise in March 2024 which is supposed to sail the Red Sea to the Suez Canal.

 

The originally question is about the Emirates to Mediterranean part of this world cruise...

 

We're so sorry for so many people who were booked on it...  there is very little doubt that has already been abandoned due to the problems in the Middle East. 

 

It would have probably been helpful to many people to have sight of the "letter" which seems to have been posted... as there have now been multiple changes to the cruise... and there may well be more. Posts from "Elsewhere" are often subjective, sometime misinformed can be contradictory and, very sadly, sometimes tend to "spin" a particular line. We've seen one claim that, FOCL have kept passengers in "the dark." Even news from the outside world seems to be limited on the Borealis due to problems with the in-cabin plasma screens.

 

For instance, rather than "a future cruise credit of 30% of the fare paid for the whole world cruise, we've heard that FOCLs have offered some people "the paltry sum of £1,000 pp compensation in FO vouchers to be used within a year" depending on how much the trip cost in the first place. We've also heard that FOCLs have credited the value to excursions bought on the ship to onboard spend account... that's not gone down well in some cases!

 

On the "world cruise" some ports were lost due to a late itinerary change before the ship left, others have been missed on the way, facilities at some ports have been closed on arrival or shore time has been very limited... there are even hints of problems at the last couple of planned ports.

 

If we were in the position of having missed out on the Emirates to Mediterranean part of this world cruise, we would be watching with great interest exactly how FOCLs deals with the immense disappointment that must be felt by many passengers currently on-board and how the company compensates them and looks after them... before we committed to allowing FOCLs to hold onto our hard-earned cash. 

 

According to FOCL, Samantha Stimpson, the company's newly appointed CEO was due to have taken up the post "no later than February 1st 2024." So it will be good to see how she deals with such a truly upsetting situating for many passengers already on board and waiting to join.

 

Perhaps a more comprehensive picture will emerge in weeks to come. (Many people travelling with FOCLs are very reluctant to use the ship's Wi-Fi at £12 a day... even buying it in blocks of 14 days at a time, FOCLs would charge almost £1,000 for limited Wi-Fi access during this "world cruise.")

 

Please let us all know the full details of what's happening when you hear from FOCL. Real information from a reliable source will help so many people to make informed choices about future cruise decisions.  And... good luck with your future plans.

 

[tring]

As Fred has now made the decision on the new itinerary it seems better to to let the individuals concerned be told about changes themselves by Fred as that will include full details of any choices the individuals will have.  The only reason I have a bit more interest is because I know someone on the ship who I have been in touch with at times.  Your post had said they were sailing straight to Cape Town, and implied there was only one more port so imo that was best corrected in case someone is still waiting for notification of changes by post.  Samantha is in post now and reportedly has had been in involved in those decisions, in fact would seem very strange to me if she had not been.  We do wonder if it was her decision to delay bringing in the no smoking on balconies plan as well.

 

We had obc given for a cancelled excursion in December, but it was refundable obc. We had questioned that as we were on the drinks package and were told immediately that we could go straight to reception and have that given to us in cash, (or could do so at any time before the cruise ended), if we so wished.  That would have actually got us the refund quicker that it being put back in our cc.

 

They are travelling through the Pacific Ocean at present as it is longer than some wc's so will be a while before they even get to the changed section, unlike some Carnival brands, e.g  P&O which were changed earlier and had far fewer replacement ports.  Borealis was not due in Dubai until 26th March.

 

Indeed it is worrying for those booked to disembark/embark at future ports, we have been in that situation ourselves with other cruise lines when war/unrest has broken out and waiting to hear did seem a very long time indeed.  I do not deny that and I do indeed sympathise with anyone affected.  We have always taken out disruption insurance though, or our plans were  made either through an agent or in a way that we were taking on a risk which we were happy to take on.  It is best imo that any problems should be discussed with Fred at this stage and problems sorted by the individuals.  Fred has responsibilities to take passengers to the booked end point of their cruise, if the ship cannot go there.  Sadly itineraries do change and cruising does seem to be more affected due to world events, though events have always occurred. 

 

Edited February 12 by tring

[twotravellersLondon]

3 hours ago, tring said:

As Fred has now made the decision on the new itinerary it seems better to to let the individuals concerned be told about changes themselves by Fred

 

That's precisely why one of those individuals on this forum  has been encouraged to share that information... and also because...

 

Currently.... FOCLs are still advertising  Emirates To The Med Via The Suez Canal  S2406. on the Borealis on 26 Mar 2024 and promising that folk will, "Visit incredible destinations across Arabia, the Middle East and Med, See the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the contrasting highlights of Oman, Discover the ‘Lost City’ of Petra and sail Egypt’s Suez Canal."

 

3 hours ago, tring said:

Your post had said they were sailing straight to Cape Town

 

Our post did make it perfectly clear that we were waiting for confirmation... and we still are! "Led to believe." is an important caveat.

 

3 hours ago, tring said:

Samantha is in post now and reportedly has had been in involved in those decisions

 

It would be interesting for all to know where and by whom it was reported that, "Samantha is in post now and reportedly has had been in involved in those decisions." Her arrival in Ipswich HQ doesn't seem to have been announced by FOCL.

 

How FOCL deals with and looks after clients in cases where their cruises are disrupted, for whatever reason, is of special interest to many who are members of these forums. 

 

The ocean-cruise market hasn't, as yet, recovered from the effects of the pandemic, yet alone, reached the dizzying heights last predicted in 2019. Cruising is more expensive than it was and so many of us are more interested than ever in comparing the market, what's on offer and trying to find the deals that suits us best. The fact that so many people so kindly and generously share information on cruising and cruise-lines on these public forums is a great asset.

 

It would be really interesting and helpful for so many people to see a copy of the letter from FOCL to clients on the Borealis posted here and also a copy of the report that the new FOCL CEO, Samantha Stimpson, has had been in involved in those decisions.