Possible 2013 trouble?

[carpenta]

We just canceled our DCL Med cruise for next June because of the cost of airfare and logistic problems. We decided to stick close to home and booked the Southwest Splendour( I know "Cowboys and Canyons") for June 2013. Does anyone think that ABD will take another look at its' tours that travel to areas that now are experiencing unrest in its' societies? It will be interesting especially since tonight the embessies of the U.S. were stormed.

 

[glassslipper2004]

We just booked an August 2013 Med cruise and my husband had the same concern - what if there is unrest abroad that affects the areas we are traveling to, or even just disrupts things generally? I can't imagine Spain and Italy being disrupted enough to interfere with the cruise, but I suppose anything could happen. So we are looking into cruise insurance - but the first policy I read specifically excluded "unrest" and similar situation.

 

[sayhello]

Oh, wow! I hadn't heard about the storming of the US embassies in Egypt and Libya! Crazy times. I guess that's always a possibility, but it's a bigger possibility these days! I'm kind of glad 2013's trip is the Spirit of America. Hopefully things will be better in 2014...

glassslipper has it right. You have to be very careful if you buy trip insurance for something like unrest in your destination. A lot of policies don't cover things like that, or acts of war. And those that do cover it have very specific conditions for that coverage. If you buy your policy after a problem starts in an area, you probably won't be covered there. I always suggest calling the insurance company to find out exactly what they do & don't cover in this kind of situation.

carpenta, you're going to love Southwest Splendors! Pretty amazing "consolation prize"!!

Sayhello

 

[LSmith]

The Canadian government has issued a travel warning against non-essential travel to many places in Egypt, including Cairo for a year and a half. It's completely unstable since Jan/11.

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=79000

You couldn't give me a free trip there. It may be many years until the political climate stabilizes.

 

[sayhello]

The Canadian government has issued a travel warning against non-essential travel to many places in Egypt, including Cairo for a year and a half. It's completely unstable since Jan/11.

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=79000

You couldn't give me a free trip there. It may be many years until the political climate stabilizes.

Yes, and now that they've murdered the US Ambassador to Libya & some of his aides, I wouldn't go near there, either! (Not that I'd likely have gone there before this!)

Sayhello

 

[LSmith]

Yes, and now that they've murdered the US Ambassador to Libya & some of his aides, I wouldn't go near there, either! (Not that I'd likely have gone there before this!)

Sayhello

Yeah, Libya is not nor has ever been on my bucket list.

 

[carpenta]

In 2010 we did the DCL Med. cruise and stopped in Tunis, Tunisia. We did an excursion to the Bardo Museum and Grand Bazzar. I have to say that it was nice to see the history behind each stop. But in traveling the streets to travel to each site it was very depressing seeing all the adults roaming around and poverty of many. A quite different society indeed. Women were second class in society and that was quite evident. It is too bad that in Roman times this area was the Roman "bread basket". You did have the feeling of a society full of rage and it was my impression that the "western" ways were not welcome. I just wonder withj Egypt also starting to erupt if all the western tour companies will reconsider it's future plans?

 

[LSmith]

In 2010 we did the DCL Med. cruise and stopped in Tunis, Tunisia. We did an excursion to the Bardo Museum and Grand Bazzar. I have to say that it was nice to see the history behind each stop. But in traveling the streets to travel to each site it was very depressing seeing all the adults roaming around and poverty of many. A quite different society indeed. Women were second class in society and that was quite evident. It is too bad that in Roman times this area was the Roman "bread basket". You did have the feeling of a society full of rage and it was my impression that the "western" ways were not welcome. I just wonder withj Egypt also starting to erupt if all the western tour companies will reconsider it's future plans?

We travelled to Egypt about three weeks before the crap hit the fan. It was Christmas. We noticed that the people were very unsettled and I tell you we felt unsettled for the two and a half days we were there. That was with a great tour company and staying in a five star hotel with five star restaurants.

I, along with my family, was stricken by the horrific poverty that we encountered at every turn. The treatment of children and the animals at the pyramids was not something I will soon forget. The police, which were a dime a dozen didn't look like they could fight their way out of a wet paper bag. We actually wondered if there were bullets in their guns. They were constantly asking for money to let us take a picture. Everyone looked either sad, nervous or ready to explode.

We honestly had no idea that Egypt was that third world, which is of course no fault but our own. I have been to every continent but Antarctica, mostly with my kids but this is the first time we didn't feel safe, even though absolutely nothing bad happened to us.

Another shocking thing was that some the most famous and stunning artifacts in the world were housed in a third world museum, the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. People were sitting on thousands of year old statues, kids jumping all over the museum items and there is no proper lighting or temperature control to keep anything safe. The King Tut exhibit, which was phenomenal, was the only place that they even tried to keep properly. Very sad and shocking.

The Egyptians we encountered were nervous, desperate and there was certainly an edge. Perhaps they knew what what was in store for the near future since it was just weeks later that they overthrew their government. Unfortunately, it has not been smooth sailing. They have a long road ahead of them.

 

[carpenta]

I can relate to that feeling of unease when in the local crowded areas. Although I was not THAT disturbed my wife was upset of all the forceful approaching on the streets trying to sell you items.Plus our daughter has blonde hair and many locals would come up behind her and quickly flip a small portion of her hair on the back of her head. I learned after that is a local belief that it is a way to bring oneself good luck. Our daughter did not seem to mind but my wife was upset. No need for an international incident in my opinion. But you look at what is going on and wonder what is the answer? I would not even know where to begin to help. But agree of the massive corruption that seems to undermine all the society. And then this history of man that is in these countries that is in dire need to be preserved. In Lybia they are "hiding" all the Roman statues and artifacts that do not meet the local religious morals.

 

[LSmith]

I can relate to that feeling of unease when in the local crowded areas. Although I was not THAT disturbed my wife was upset of all the forceful approaching on the streets trying to sell you items.Plus our daughter has blonde hair and many locals would come up behind her and quickly flip a small portion of her hair on the back of her head. I learned after that is a local belief that it is a way to bring oneself good luck. Our daughter did not seem to mind but my wife was upset. No need for an international incident in my opinion. But you look at what is going on and wonder what is the answer? I would not even know where to begin to help. But agree of the massive corruption that seems to undermine all the society. And then this history of man that is in these countries that is in dire need to be preserved. In Lybia they are "hiding" all the Roman statues and artifacts that do not meet the local religious morals.

Well, that kind of thing, we see in China. My kids are half Chinese with light/medium hair so they are also an attraction. So am I as I have very dark (ahem, now) curly hair with extremely pale skin so they were staring hard at me trying to see the relation. The Chinese people touch and take photos and stare. I'm not sure my kids ever notice that but I'm a bit a germaphobe so I don't like the actual touching but you do get used to it.

In Egypt, we weren't such stand outs compared to some of the tourists who had bare arms and were wearing shorts and sandals. Not appropriate in that society. Our guide actually told one lady that she had to put on pants.

Unfortunately the corruption is huge in third world countries because they are a desperate people. They don't get paid enough to feed their families so the tourists are definitely bait. Can't blame them. We would act the same way under the circumstances, no doubt.

There were incidents that I witnessed in Egypt that I haven't in China, thank goodness.

I really have no desire to put my family in harms way. When we travel I want at least the police to be somewhat honest and the government be somewhat stable. I want to think that the host country where I am travelling to will want to get me out of their country safely if things go awry. I also want to think that my government has some clout with the country I am in to get me out, if need be. This certainly isn't the case with Egypt and I am glad we were six weeks off the overthrow.

I always said I would never go back to Egypt but maybe someday in the distant future, it will be a safe place to visit and then, yes, I will try again.

 

[carpenta]

I do understand and we do try to respect the local customs when it comes to dress...to a point. No burkas for the women but repectful attire is appropriate. When we travel to Quebec we do try to use our "pigeon french" to at least say hello etc. but at least Canadians don't have a bulls eye on their backs as Americans IMHO. Travel for us to those third world areas at least shows my child how lucky she has it to live in a first world area of the world. One thing that we have seen that is universal is that kids do have a way of getting along no matter where they come from.

 

[sayhello]

I feel almost embarrassed that we were so insulated on the ABD on my Med Cruise, that I never saw or felt any of what you're describing in Tunisia. The only "uncomfortable" part was how aggressive some of the vendors were when we briefly visited one of the markets. And it wasn't that bad. We went directly to a fort, had a brief tour & wandered & took pictures, then spent a little time in the market next door, and then were whisked away to a Berber village where I felt totally welcome and safe. I loved our stop in Tunisia

When I read about the experiences other people had outside the ABD bubble, I'm amazed. But I guess I really shouldn't be.

Sayhello

 

[abdgeek]

We just canceled our DCL Med cruise for next June because of the cost of airfare and logistic problems. We decided to stick close to home and booked the Southwest Splendour( I know "Cowboys and Canyons") for June 2013. Does anyone think that ABD will take another look at its' tours that travel to areas that now are experiencing unrest in its' societies? It will be interesting especially since tonight the embessies of the U.S. were stormed.

I don't ever worry about my safety when I am on a Disney trip because I know that Disney takes customer safety very seriously. They will not hesitate to cancel a trip or modify a cruise if certain ports are no longer safe for their guests.

I did the DCL Mexican Riviera in April 2012 and we were notified about a year out that they were canceling the port of Matazlan because it was not safe for guests. Instead, we spent two days in Cabo. My step-mother sailed earlier in the year on a different cruise line and they didn't cancel that port for them. Needless to say, she said she didn't feel too safe when she was there.

After I made my reservation for ABD Greece for July, I got concerned when I saw the events happening on tv. When I called ABD they told me not to worry, if it was not safe they would cancel the trip and either put us on another trip or refund our money. They also told me that Disney has a whole division that is responsible for monitoring what is happening in the areas that guests will visit. When I got to Greece everything was fine and the people mentioned that the riot had only been one day and only in Syntagma Square(which I saw while I was there). They also said that outsiders were the ones being destructive, not the residents.

While we were in Greece, there were a lot of reports about Greece leaving the Eurozone. I asked my taxi drive this question when he took me to the airport. He told me that Greece(nor any other country) will never leave the Eurozone because it will destabilize its value. He said Germany has all the money and is investing in other countries to keep them stable.

On my 2011 DCL Mediterranean Cruise, the port of Palma was canceled once we got on the ship because they were planning a transportation strike. We found out the day before we were supposed to dock there, but I think DCL knew ahead of time because they had excursions already available for us to book. Those of us who were with ABD got a $300 room credit(I think it was pp but I was traveling solo) for the inconvenience.

I always get trip insurance just in case. Luckily, I haven't had to use it. Others have said that ABD has canceled trips due to unsafe conditions and have been great working with people to either reschedule them on another trip, change their flights, or refund their money.

As for Egypt, its been on my list for several years but I am still waiting for things to calm down and for the date I want not to be canceled. I don't know what I will think of Egypt when I get there, but I know ABD won't go if it isn't safe.

DCL didn't cruise to the Med in 2012 like people thought they would. My thought is that they didn't sail there because things weren't stable.

 

[LSmith]

Canada just closed its embassy in Cairo temporarily due the the mounting tensions and proximity to the US embassy.

It will be interesting to see if the ABD October trip will still go ahead.

 

[carpenta]

There has been talk in Egypt that some extremists want to destroy the pyramids. They are destroying the Christian and Jewish headstones in the military cemetaries in Libyia on going. Don't forget that some destroyed the age old Buda statue that even Marco Polo wrote about in his travels to China. Diplomats? they don't need no stinkin' diplomats.......

 

[ford91exploder]

It's more than talk, Pyramids are 'haram' or un-Islamic and the government is working on ways to destroy them.

What we are seeing in the ME is the flareup of political Islam, Where a self described clerical class stirs up the underclass who have no realistic prospects for jobs or bettering their lives due to the endemic corruption with a 'pure' form of islam and sets them raging through the streets.

This happens whenever the world powers are perceived to be weak, The last great outburst of Political Islam was after WW I. It was only sucessfully suppressed by both Kamal Ataturk and the British Mandate,

The irony of course is it was stirred up by none other than T.E Lawrence better known as 'Lawrence of Arabia' stirring up the tribes to attack German interests.

And of course the US started the current mess unintentionally by arming the muhajadeen in a proxy war with the Soviet Union.

The question of course now who is going to put the Djinn back in the bottle
and this Djinn is not as friendly as Genie!.

There has been talk in Egypt that some extremists want to destroy the pyramids. They are destroying the Christian and Jewish headstones in the military cemetaries in Libyia on going. Don't forget that some destroyed the age old Buda statue that even Marco Polo wrote about in his travels to China. Diplomats? they don't need no stinkin' diplomats.......

 

[sayhello]

I'm just going to step in here before things run off into a direction they shouldn't go.

This is a forum dedicated to Adventures by Disney. We give a lot of latitude here to talking about travel in general and guided tours in specific. I really don't want to see a discussion of how the unrest in other parts of the world might affect our travel devolve into political arguments. So please, can we not get into the politics of the area? I'd really appreciate it!

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

I'm just going to step in here before things run off into a direction they shouldn't go.

This is a forum dedicated to Adventures by Disney. We give a lot of latitude here to talking about travel in general and guided tours in specific. I really don't want to see a discussion of how the unrest in other parts of the world might affect our travel devolve into political arguments. So please, can we not get into the politics of the area? I'd really appreciate it!

Sayhello

Yes we did go off on a tangent. I wonder if ABD will try different more friendly areas such as Scandanavia, Iceland,Latvia, Estonia, and the Eastern European countries, etc. if they pull out of areas in turmoil?Coming back from a tour from Budapest thru Prague and those areas are such beautiful,historic countries that welcome westerners with open arms. The peoples were some of the friendliest we have met on our travels. Let's face it ABD gives you a pretty plush tour digs and a first world tour would be easier to sell to extended families than other "back pack" excursions offered by others.

 

[Calfan]

Yes we did go off on a tangent. I wonder if ABD will try different more friendly areas such as Scandanavia, Iceland,Latvia, Estonia, and the Eastern European countries, etc. if they pull out of areas in turmoil?Coming back from a tour from Budapest thru Prague and those areas are such beautiful,historic countries that welcome westerners with open arms. The peoples were some of the friendliest we have met on our travels. Let's face it ABD gives you a pretty plush tour digs and a first world tour would be easier to sell to extended families than other "back pack" excursions offered by others.

Since I am losing hope that DCL will go back to the Baltics, I would love the opportunity to do Scandinavia and the Baltics with ABD. Also just wanted to note that we were on one of the June 2011 Med cruises with DCL. Our itinerary originally called for us to go to Tunis, Tunisia, but that port was replaced with Palermo, Sicily when the unrest began. Once Tunisia was eliminated I never felt unsafe in the Med (Spain, Italy and France). Like other posters have said, I trust Disney to make a switch if an area is not safe. I am not booked on one of the 2013 Med cruises (doing the Scotland ABD instead and hoping for the Baltics or Med from DCL in 2014), but if I were booked, I can honestly say that the current unrest in the Middle East would not cause me to consider cancelling the Med.

 

[carpenta]

Since I am losing hope that DCL will go back to the Baltics, I would love the opportunity to do Scandinavia and the Baltics with ABD. Also just wanted to note that we were on one of the June 2011 Med cruises with DCL. Our itinerary originally called for us to go to Tunis, Tunisia, but that port was replaced with Palermo, Sicily when the unrest began. Once Tunisia was eliminated I never felt unsafe in the Med (Spain, Italy and France). Like other posters have said, I trust Disney to make a switch if an area is not safe. I am not booked on one of the 2013 Med cruises (doing the Scotland ABD instead and hoping for the Baltics or Med from DCL in 2014), but if I were booked, I can honestly say that the current unrest in the Middle East would not cause me to consider cancelling the Med.

We did the DCL Med cruise in 2007 and stopped in Palermo. We loved it and wish to return to Sicily someday. Also they stopped on Sardinia that year and it was also wonderful. We did the Med. in 2010 with DCL and stopped in Tunisia and we heard ALOT of complaints by the passengers. Yes we loved all the European stops and never felt any threats. Barcelona we walked all over and used their subway and bus systems and it was excellent. We are looking at RCL cruise in the Med. for 2014 (we cruised with them in 2009 and it was a great cruise also) but the pricing has not come out yet. This spring we are booked on the Cowboys and canyons and looking foward thanks to Sayhello's review. Depending on what is to come in the med. area we may just look to do another ABD trip and Yellowstone trip now is on the top of my daughter's list.