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Royal Caribbean planning to offer cruises to Turkey after two year hiatus

In:
19 Apr 2018

After canceling all stops in Turkey for the last two years, Royal Caribbean appears to be ready to once again offer sailings to Turkey in 2019.

Travel Market Report is reporting Royal Caribbean has made the decision to begin offering cruises that visit Turkey in late 2019.

After consulting with its safety and security program director, Royal Caribbean has deemed it safe to offer two sailings to Turkey.  Neither sailing is on sale yet.

The sailings will be two 12-day itineraries leaving on October 30 and November 12 out of Rome. Both will be on Royal’s Jewel of the Seas and both will feature stops in Ephesus and in Israel.

Royal Caribbean canceled all cruise stops in Turkey in 2017 and 2018 due to instability and "unpredictability" in the country that followed the attempted coup of 2016.

Vicki Freed, senior vice president of sales, trade services, and support, says Royal Caribbean is aiming to make Turkey a regular port of call in 2020.

Royal Caribbean cancels all cruise stops in Turkey in 2018

In:
18 Oct 2017

Royal Caribbean announced is cancelling all calls to Turkey for the 2018 cruise season in Europe.

Royal Caribbean made the decision, "due to the current unpredictability of Turkey, and taking our guests’ and crew members’ safety and wellbeing into account."  As a result, Royal Caribbean has decided to replace calls in Ephesus (Kusadasi) with alternate ports-of-call for the 2018 Europe season.

Instead, Jewel of the Seas will now call on Rhodes, Greece. Vision of the Seas will now call on Rhodes, Greece or Mykonos, Greece.

Any pre-paid Royal Caribbean shore excursions in Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey will be refunded to the original form of payment by the end of next week.

Royal Caribbean cancelled all its stops in Turkey in 2017 as well for similar reasoning.

Royal Caribbean cancels all cruise stops in Turkey in 2017

In:
18 Feb 2017

Royal Caribbean has decided to cancel all scheduled stops in Turkey for the 2017 cruise season, citing "unpredictability" in the country.

In a statement to travel agents, Royal Caribbean said that due to the current unpredictability of Turkey, and taking guests’ and crew members’ safety and wellbeing into account, Royal Caribbean has decided to replace our calls in Ephesus (Kusadasi) with alternate ports-of-call for the 2017 Europe season.

"We truly regret having to take this action and thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Any decision we make is made in an abundance of caution and safety, as your clients experience in our ports of call is always our utmost priority."

This will affect the following ships:

  • Brilliance of the Seas will now call on Mykonos, Greece.
  • Jewel of the Seas will now call on Rhodes, Greece.
  • Rhapsody of the Seas will now call on:
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • July 14th: Chania, Greece
    • October 7th: Mykonos, Greece

Guests that purchased a Royal Caribbean Shore Excursion for their day in Kusadasi, a full refund will be processed to the original form of payment within one week.

Royal Caribbean cruise ship to skip port stop in Turkey due to attempted coup

In:
17 Jul 2016

Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas will skip a scheduled port stop in Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey this week following the news of the attempted coup in the country.

Royal Caribbean issued a letter to guests, informing them that the scheduled stop in Ephesus on Wednesday, July 20, will be canceled.  Royal Caribbean is working to find an alternative port of call to replace the stop.

"Since we became aware of the incident, we have been in close contact with our Global Security Team in Miami, as well as our local contacts in Turkey.  After taking all of their intelligence and advice into consideration, we have decided to cancel all port calls to Turkey, including our scheduled call to Ephesus (Kusadasi) on Wednesday, July 20.  We are currently working to find an alternative port of call and will let you know as soon as one is confirmed.

We truly regret having to take this action, but feel it is in the best interest of all guests.  The safety and security of our guests and crew members is always foremost in our minds."

All shore excursions purchased through Royal Caribbean International will be refunded to the form of payment used.  

Thanks to Royal Caribbean Blog reader Jacob Holness for alerting us to this change.

Royal Caribbean warns cruisers Turkey of potential terrorist violence

In:
03 Aug 2010

Guests aboard the Splendour of the Seas received a letter in their cabins last week warning them to be extra careful if they were getting off the ship in Turkey to be extra careful because Turkey is experiencing "an increase in threats of terrorist actions" and "It is not recommended that guests travel alone, or visit any remote locations".  The warning was signed by the ship's Captain, Tommy Nyseter.

Splendour of the Seas distributed these letters at the port of Piraeus in Greece to a ship which had a majority of its cruising guests as Americans.  The letter hopes to warn its guests about potential risks found in the country that can be overlooked due Turkey's "warm and welcoming" residents.

The U.S. Department of State issued a warning to American tourists "to be alert to the potential for these types of incidents in urban and tourist areas" and Royal Caribbean's letter echoes the sentiment of this warning bu making in no uncertain terms a firm warning to be vigilant.

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