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Safe to take a princess holy land cruise in 2013

Safe to take a princess holy land cruise in 2013

Old Nov 13th, 2012, 03:00 PM
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Safe to take a princess holy land cruise in 2013

We were scheduled to take one that went to israel and egypt in 2011 but our stops were canceld due to the Arab spring. I know there is no way to know what will happen, but would you book to go back and try again? what do you think are the chances of port cancelations again
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Old Nov 13th, 2012, 03:38 PM
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I am cautiousand would not book any trip that went to any middle eastern country, except maybe Turkey. Who knows what will happen or when. The risk is always high.
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Old Nov 13th, 2012, 03:52 PM
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Last yr. we went on a holy land cruise on Celebrity. B4 going Alexandria was cancelled 2/2 the politics there and so Haifa was added in addition to the already scheduled Ashdod stop. Then Ashdod was cancelled the night B4 we were to port due to rocket attacks from Gaza so we went straight to Haifa and spent our 4 days in Israel from there. Any regrets? Not a chance! We had 4 memorable days touring with great private guides and what I learned and did will last a lifetime.

You could say we got lucky in that we did get to see this fantastic country. However no one can predict what will happen if you go there. If for some reason Israel had to be cancelled it would be a terrible loss butnI am sure any cruise line would try to substitute other ports so it would not be a total loss. I think you have to decide to try it or not and basically take a risk.

OTOH traveling anywhere has its risks. Just last mo. our return to Chicago from Madrid was delayed by the hurricane. These days sometimes port stops in Athens have to be cancelled by demonstrations there due to the unstable economic situation. I would say go. Try to see the holy land and take out travel insurance for this and for any trip. You chances are good but there are no absolute guarantees. JM2C.
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Old Nov 13th, 2012, 05:00 PM
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#Larry, I know you still have to get back to Egypt as your ports were cancelled. If you are going to book a Nile river cruise, let me know when and see if the timing would work.

#Lifeisanadventure, as life is an adevnture (no pun intended , you roll the dice. You take chances. We took the Holyland cruise through Princess in 2010, one year ealrier than Larry, we made all the stops and was by and large trouble free, relatively speaking.

2 days after we left Acropolis (Athens), there was a big demonstration at Acropolis and then it became a riot; the first of many of the Greek austerity program protest. Timing couldn't be better for us.

We would have loved to spend 4 days in Isreal instead of just 2 as there are so much more to see; but we wouldn't trade my 2 days in Egypt for 2 extra days of Isreal, not just yet.

We are planning to take another Holyland cruise in 2 to 3 years time, similar itinary, but will visit places that we missed, or an extended visit to places that we think we need to spend more time to explore.

And that's why crusiing is such a wodnerful way to travel. It's a travel smapler. If you like a certain cruise itinary, go back again and sample something else. We have cruised through Cozumel many times but yet barely spend enough time on the island so we keep going back, crusiing through Cozumel. We are planning to return to many of the places that we have visited, once we have checked off a few other places.

My suggestion is book it. If it get cancelled, enjoy the adjusted itinary and rebook it some time later. Is Egypt safe? For tourists? At least 80% safe as they know tourists drive the economic engine and the governemnt (even the Muslim Brothers who are in power) knew that. They just reopen some previously closed exhibits in Giza. They are finishing the new Ciaro museum, to be open in less than 2 years.

As to the chance of cancellation? Anything could happen. I'll say your chance is better now than a year ago. The current "trouble" spot would be Syria (for Isreal), and you shouldn't be anywhere near it anyway.
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Old Nov 14th, 2012, 05:15 AM
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You are right! We will book it and hope for the best!
Thanks
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Old Nov 14th, 2012, 02:12 PM
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#Lifeisanadebture: That's the spirit! If you are booking with Princess, I hope you are on the Pacific Princess (smaller ship) as were were on that ship for our Holyland cruise in 2010 and it was wonderful. We started in Athens and ended in Rome. We spent a few days pre-cruise touring around Athens and a few day post-cruise at Rome. The other ports were
Pathmos, Santorini, Ephesus, Israel (2 days), Egypt (2 days) and Naples

Here is a link to our trip report here in Fodors. Feel free to ask questions.
http://www.fodors.com/community/crui...in-october.cfm

Good luck and have a wonderful time!
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Old Nov 15th, 2012, 02:05 AM
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Yeah its safe. you can go through it.
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Old Nov 16th, 2012, 05:00 PM
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Sad to say that as of today all Holyland cruises will in all likelihood be cancelled because of the imminent threat of war. Second, we were on the Pacific Princess... and Doug maynot like my comments and it maybe erased, but I had high hopes for what I thought would be a jewel of a ship..NOT.. it was dirty, the buffet area crowed, and disgusting and my husband had to ask that the tables be cleaned several times.. At the upstairs buffet for coffee you had to go on the aft deck (really). Passengers tend to take up tables during meal times just for reading. In the morning in the MDR many repeat passengers were heard to complain about the breakfast service.. It did not feel like a happy ship. It was an Amazon cruise and I am sure a friend that we were on the ship with posted a devastating review. Unless the ship has been refurbished the ship was plain outright dirty and aged looking.
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Old Nov 16th, 2012, 10:55 PM
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Hi ParrotMom, I remembered your post about your Amazon cruise and you didn't quite like it. When was that? We were on the Pacific Princess Oct 2010 and absolutely loved it. Food great, service wonderful, staff friendly. Fellow passenger nice. Smaller ship, intimate setting, decent size cabin, one of the better cruise experience we had!

The ship's decror was not classic Princess style as it was purchased from the defunct Renaissance Cruise. (It was their R-3.) It was an older neo-classic style with lots of "wood" all over, and definietly not "modern" looking with the chrome and all. That probably expalined the "aged" look. I don't recall the buffet area being crowded but we typically have breakfast at the dining room most days. We thought the ship was clean and well maintained.

With the Holyland cruise, there were so much going on that not too many people were lounging around. Typically we came back from an excursion, have dinner, maybe catch a show and go to bed. Up early next morning and get off the ship for another excursion.

The entertainment venues are not comparable to the megaships as the venues are smaller, and less choice, but we didn't find it lacking as there were always enough things to do. The ship do not offer any time dining (which we liked) as there was only one dining room (plus the extra fee Sabatini).
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Old Nov 17th, 2012, 05:27 AM
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Hi Eschew-our cruise was Manaus to Ft. Lauderdale in April 2009. No, I knew it was an older classic ship and was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I didn't come away with the same positive feelings regarding my fellow passengers. They brooked no critisim of their beloved Princess. When I relayed the name to my Princess friends they all know one particular woman who I swear is paid by Princess and is the most obnoxious woman my friends now agree. As for entertainment one night we had a local folkloric group, much different and authentic than the usual. The comments overheard from my fellow passengers was that 'why couldn't they speak english"..in talking about the Director of the troupe, an older Braziian woman. she talked about the dancers and how many of them were children of her first group. Eschew we did enjoy the entertainment on the ship as we did on all our many cruises, some entertainment better than others with the worst being on a Soltice. After experiencing "anytime dining" on our last Celebrity we had made the decision that we like the set seatings. We did dine one evening at Sabatini, but I became ill and had to return to my cabin sad to say.
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Old Nov 17th, 2012, 05:29 AM
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Part-2...I would love to cruise again, but the single supplement is a killer.. I am contemplating a special Alaskan cruise next summer, but it will depend on finances... I really don't want to share a cabin.
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Old Nov 18th, 2012, 02:26 PM
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ParrotMom, I remember your comment about a particular obnoxious fellow passenger. I doubt it anyone will want to pay her to be their spokesperson ... LOL

I came across people like that all the time, in our travel, at work etc. I usually just ignore them and tune them out.

On the bright side, they could be great source of "entertainment". Nothing better than laughing at the ignorance of someone who is so egocentric, and yet, lacks the very basics of social skills. Or someone who is so snobbish and is a big show off, but in reality, there is nothing to show.

Have you ever try to play a game of "out-snob" a snob? It is highly entertaining but you might need a bit of preparation and props. Make sure the people around you know what you are doing though. You don't want them to think you are a snob ...

Maybe you will find a family member who would love to go cruise with you? With the passing of ParrotPop, it must have put a damper on things for your travel. We are "cultivating" our adult children and their "better half" to cruise with us. And hopefully, when the time comes, we may still have travel companion.
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