No more Holy Land cruise in 2013

[Ricky Chan]

It looks like Celebrity has abandon sailing to Egypt and Israel, at least in 2013 anyway. Any thoughts?

Ricky

[chevrolet]

Is 2012 Suez canal still safe?

[Jade13]

Well, Azamara canceled Egypt on us 4 times, twice last year, this year and in 2013. I know it has to do with parent RCCL, but also the cruises are not selling.

There are a couple of Celebrity cruises scheduled to go to Egypt later this year. I wonder if they will cancel the ports?

[Orator]

Originally Posted by Jade13

Well, Azamara canceled Egypt on us 4 times, twice last year, this year and in 2013. I know it has to do with parent RCCL, but also the cruises are not selling.

There are a couple of Celebrity cruises scheduled to go to Egypt later this year. I wonder if they will cancel the ports?

Did Holy Land last season on CS. Egypt canceled, but did Israel. Substituted Athens and Marmaris. Scheduled on SIl Nov,2012, so we'll see what happens.

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by Orator

Did Holy Land last season on CS. Egypt canceled, but did Israel. Substituted Athens and Marmaris. Scheduled on SIl Nov,2012, so we'll see what happens.

Right, we had an extra day in Israel last year on Azamara. Then there was gunfire over Gaza so we docked in Haifa for 3 nights. Because of the distance we missed a lot we wanted to see on our day in Jerusalem. But, it was lucky we had a private guide because Azamara canceled their tours the first day when we ended up in Haifa instead of Ashdod.

Right now we are considering a land vacation to Egypt as the only sure way we will get there.

[johhnnyt]

Originally Posted by Ricky Chan

It looks like Celebrity has abandon sailing to Egypt and Israel, at least in 2013 anyway. Any thoughts?

Ricky

The risks aren't worth the revenue at this point. We did Holyland on Celebrity Equinox Oct 2010, and was really glad saw the pyramids, Israel, etc while we were able to. Hopefully for Egypts sake things start to stabilize, tourism is essentially the countries aconomy, so hopefully it returns soon.

[jacketwatch]

Originally Posted by Jade13

Right, we had an extra day in Israel last year on Azamara. Then there was gunfire over Gaza so we docked in Haifa for 3 nights. Because of the distance we missed a lot we wanted to see on our day in Jerusalem. But, it was lucky we had a private guide because Azamara canceled their tours the first day when we ended up in Haifa instead of Ashdod.

Right now we are considering a land vacation to Egypt as the only sure way we will get there.

was that in late Oct/early Nov? We were on the Connie which left IST. on Oct. 25 or something like that. We had to port in Haifa 4 days as we too missed Ashdod due to the Gaza attacks. Celebrity conducted their scheduled tours from Haifa. As we had private tours for the two days in Ashdod we were able to do them from Haifa but had to start much earlier and had to pay significantly more for all the extra gas as well.

[Desertbelle]

We have the Holylands booked on the Mariner of the Seas in October and I will be very sad if I don't see Egypt.

[Phxazzcruisers]

It is very sad. Our cruise to Egypt and Isareal was incredible. I am so happy we did it when we did. Egypt and the pyramids are really something to be seen as well as Israel and the Holy City. I pray and hope thing settle down there so we can return and others can see these sights and lands.

[curtdesilets]

They fired and arrested Zahi Hawass, the best tourist ambassador they ever had.

They elected the "Muslim Brotherhood" as a majority.

They ransacked and decided to let security lapse at the Egyptian Museum.

They have started to mutilate and/or cover many pharaonic statues/monuments.

They riot constantly.

They have lost at least 50% of their tourists (and now apparently Celebrity Cruises).

They are complete idiots, IMHO.

BTW, my wife and I have made 2 independent tours to Egypt, albeit in better times. It is a shame what has become of this once great civilization.

[SixOneTwo]

I would love to see experts from some of the world's top tourist locations convene to work with Egypt. Tourism ministers from Italy, France, Germany, the US, etc. could come together and advise the Egyptians on just what they are losing as a result of their instability. Then they could spend some time providing marketing tools and other real suggestions for attracting and delighting tourists.

I'm no foreign policy expert, but I think this would be foreign aid at its absolute best. No war, slavery or starvation involved. Everyone wins, including Egypt, the Egyptians and those of us who hope one day to see it's great sites.

[EithneMay]

Can you really blame them for pulling these itineraries?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[curtdesilets]

Originally Posted by SixOneTwo

I would love to see experts from some of the world's top tourist locations convene to work with Egypt. Tourism ministers from Italy, France, Germany, the US, etc. could come together and advise the Egyptians on just what they are losing as a result of their instability. Then they could spend some time providing marketing tools and other real suggestions for attracting and delighting tourists.

I'm no foreign policy expert, but I think this would be foreign aid at its absolute best. No war, slavery or starvation involved. Everyone wins, including Egypt, the Egyptians and those of us who hope one day to see it's great sites.

The Muslim Brotherhood and it's affiliates have no interest in bringing Western tourists and all of their "evil ways" into their land of "Islamic Purity". I'm being sarcastic gere, but it's true. Read some current stories about what is happening to their historic sites, and you'll understand what I'm talking about here.

We have lost the golden years of Egyptian Tourism, perhaps forever. And Celebrity knows that.

The Arab Spring is more like an Arab Setback.

[Olive1950]

I'm oh so glad that I traveled the world in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. It was far less violent back then.

[curtdesilets]

Originally Posted by Olive1950

I'm oh so glad that I traveled the world in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. It was far less violent back then.

And Less Crowded!

We went to Athens 2 summers ago, actually May which is not the height of their tourist season. It was insanely crowded, not what I remembered when I first went there in the late 1980's. All European Capitals have extreme traffic and congestion issues these days.

[Fblack]

Wait until the cruise lines read this new story.


5/23/2012:On Eve of Historic Egyptian Vote, Crime Wave Is the Main Topic

" CAIRO — Parts of the ring road encircling the capital are dangerous no-man’s lands, unsafe to drive on, by day or night. Kidnappings and bank robberies are common around the city. And women report sexual assaults by taxi drivers, even in broad daylight....On the eve of the vote to choose Egypt’s first president since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, this pervasive lawlessness is the biggest change in daily life since the revolution... Across the country, carjackers have grown so bold that they steal their victims’ cellphones and tell them to call to negotiate the return of the cars. ...Amani El Sharkawi, 25, an English teacher, recalled a cab ride that ended abruptly when her driver saw men with chains and weapons stopping cars on a deserted stretch ahead;...


...One evening about two months ago, Rena Effendi, 35, a photographer, entered a cab with a licensed driver in one of Cairo’s wealthiest neighborhoods — as she had done countless times without a thought before. But the driver diverted the car; locking the doors, he pulled a knife and tried to rape her. ...



http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/wo...ain-topic.html

[curtdesilets]

Originally Posted by curtdesilets

They fired and arrested Zahi Hawass, the best tourist ambassador they ever had.

They elected the "Muslim Brotherhood" as a majority.

They ransacked and decided to let security lapse at the Egyptian Museum.

They have started to mutilate and/or cover many pharaonic statues/monuments.

They riot constantly.

They have lost at least 50% of their tourists (and now apparently Celebrity Cruises).

They are complete idiots, IMHO.

BTW, my wife and I have made 2 independent tours to Egypt, albeit in better times. It is a shame what has become of this once great civilization.

Here's a recent story on the ENTIRE LACK of tourism at the Step Pyramid in Saqqara:

http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/at-...ists-1.1302246

Good luck winning that tourism back!

[curtdesilets]

Originally Posted by Fblack

Wait until the cruise lines read this new story.


5/23/2012:On Eve of Historic Egyptian Vote, Crime Wave Is the Main Topic

" CAIRO — Parts of the ring road encircling the capital are dangerous no-man’s lands, unsafe to drive on, by day or night. Kidnappings and bank robberies are common around the city. And women report sexual assaults by taxi drivers, even in broad daylight....On the eve of the vote to choose Egypt’s first president since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, this pervasive lawlessness is the biggest change in daily life since the revolution... Across the country, carjackers have grown so bold that they steal their victims’ cellphones and tell them to call to negotiate the return of the cars. ...Amani El Sharkawi, 25, an English teacher, recalled a cab ride that ended abruptly when her driver saw men with chains and weapons stopping cars on a deserted stretch ahead;...


...One evening about two months ago, Rena Effendi, 35, a photographer, entered a cab with a licensed driver in one of Cairo’s wealthiest neighborhoods — as she had done countless times without a thought before. But the driver diverted the car; locking the doors, he pulled a knife and tried to rape her. ...



http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/wo...ain-topic.html

The problems are myriad, but the other problem is that there are at least 3 entirely separate factions to this country: 1) Fundamentalist Muslims that want an orthodox Theocracy, 2) Secularists that don't, and 3) Coptic Christians Christians that are forever shunned by both.

Where Western Tourism, which was the crux of their economy, fits in is anybody's guess.

Also, this is where Lara Logan, the CBS reporter was raped. Egypt is lost!

[Fixit2010]

A friend of mine went to visit the pyramids via a car trip.
When they arrived they were told to "toot and come in".

[curtdesilets]

Originally Posted by Fixit2010

A friend of mine went to visit the pyramids via a car trip.
When they arrived they were told to "toot and come in".

We need more Pyramid humor IMHO. Those Egyptoligists are all so stuffy and serious all of the time.

But on a more serious note, I think somehow we need an international coalition like UNESCO to manage their historical sites. The "New Egypt" cannot do it.