so confused on what to do now

[mrp4352]

Working in the transportation industry - I know my Company will go out of the way to ensure our Customers, Employees and physical assets are safe. I feel sure DCL is monitoring the situation and they will pull the plug on the cruise if security concerns arise as they did with the Mexican Rivera cruises several years ago and Adventures by Disney to Egypt. I realize that bad things can still happen, but they could happen here just as easily as there. I trust in my Company and in DCL to do the best they can to protect their guests and crew. Ultimately you have to decide what risk you are comfortable taking on.

 

[DLgal]

I get how you feel. I might not travel to Europe this summer if I had had a trip planned. My parents just booked a British Isles cruise for next month and they are still going, but they are 70, and this is on their bucket list, so if something happens, oh well, they are old and lived a good life. However, I am still young. We have young kids...so I wouldn't go to Europe RIGHT NOW. In the future, hopefully.

By the way, this newer warning IS actually based on specific, credible threats. I have some insider info regarding that. I encourage anyone traveling there this summer to enroll in the State Dept STEP program. In addition, write down the locations and phone numbers of the nearest Embassies where you will be.

OP, I think a more pertinent question might be which itinerary do you want to do more?

 

[wilkeliza]

I get how you feel. I might not travel to Europe this summer if I had had a trip planned. My parents just booked a British Isles cruise for next month and they are still going, but they are 70, and this is on their bucket list, so if something happens, oh well, they are old and lived a good life. However, I am still young. We have young kids...so I wouldn't go to Europe RIGHT NOW. In the future, hopefully.

By the way, this newer warning IS actually based on specific, credible threats. I have some insider info regarding that. I encourage anyone traveling there this summer to enroll in the State Dept STEP program. In addition, write down the locations and phone numbers of the nearest Embassies where you will be.

OP, I think a more pertinent question might be which itinerary do you want to do more?

SO your insider information different then what the federal government has put out and now we are suppose to believe that our government is lying to us?

 

[CurtisB]

We traveled to France on our own this past February and absolutely loved it. We had zero safety concerns. We would go back immediately if we could.

 

[AquaDame]

SO your insider information different then what the federal government has put out and now we are suppose to believe that our government is lying to us?

Withholding information isn't the same as lying - I'm hoping if it is as credible as DLgal says that they release more info to us, but doing so could change the threat into a complete blindside. Its a balance of keeping people safe and keeping the threat where we "know" it will be so it can be mitigated. Interesting, but I'm still not changing a thing regardless.

 

[M<3'sMickey]

I live in New York, about 25 miles outside of NYC. I also live not far from Indian Point (a nuclear power plant) that they always say has the potential to be a target for attack. I have plans to go down to NYC on Saturday. My sister went to school and worked there for over 4 years. Many family members worked down there for years. My sister lovingly refers to NYC as the terrorist capital of the world - you're always hearing the alert is high for down there. But it doesn't stop me from going. You can't just stop living your life and doing things that you want to do because there's a potential that something could happen. There's a potential I could get shot at work because I teach in a questionable neighborhood but I have to go to work everyday unfortunately!

I guess my point is go and enjoy your cruise because what happens if you decide not to go and nothing happens and then you can't ever find a good time to go again? Or the price goes up and it's just out of your budget? There are no guarantees in life so have a good time while you can!

 

[wilkeliza]

Withholding information isn't the same as lying - I'm hoping if it is as credible as DLgal says that they release more info to us, but doing so could change the threat into a complete blindside. Its a balance of keeping people safe and keeping the threat where we "know" it will be so it can be mitigated. Interesting, but I'm still not changing a thing regardless.

It appears to be the same alert the issued for the holidays and last summer as well so it just seems like it isn't a with holding of information but rather a general warning due to heighten travel season. I would imagine they would do more then just a travel warning if there was a credible threat that they are monitoring similar to what they issue when there is known political unrest or terrorist cells active. I compared the Europe warning to say Syria and they are vastly different in the language of threat and warning of travel. What it says about travel to Syria is what I would expect if there is a credible threat.

 

[DLgal]

SO your insider information different then what the federal government has put out and now we are suppose to believe that our government is lying to us?

Did you actually read the travel warning?

They are not lying to anyone. The warning is very clear as to what the concerns are and why the warning is in place.

The government is never going to give the public details about specific, credible threats.

I am married to someone that has access to extremely high level classified information. He can't talk to me about ANY of it. However, he can drop hints and make vague, general statements that clue me into what he knows. Things are not good in many countries in Europe right now. The potential for attacks is broad and very high.

Everyone needs to make decisions based on their own risk tolerance.

 

[MUN]

I get how you feel. I might not travel to Europe this summer if I had had a trip planned. My parents just booked a British Isles cruise for next month and they are still going, but they are 70, and this is on their bucket list, so if something happens, oh well, they are old and lived a good life. However, I am still young. We have young kids...so I wouldn't go to Europe RIGHT NOW. In the future, hopefully.

Please share with us if you know when something is supposed to go down. Oh, and the where would be helpful as well.

Thanks!

 

[quickcat]

I can't help you out about what cruise- I definitely have some type of "change" disease because I change our cruise around all the time! But, just wanted to say congratulations on the end to cancer treatments! What a great thing to have happen!!

 

[DLgal]

It is also worth noting that the State Department will likely NEVER flat out say "Don't go to Europe." There are political and economic consequences for doing something like that...

Please share with us if you know when something is supposed to go down. Oh, and the where would be helpful as well.

Thanks!

There is no need for sarcasm. That is just rude.

 

[wilkeliza]

Did you actually read the travel warning?

They are not lying to anyone. The warning is very clear as to what the concerns are and why the warning is in place.

The government is never going to give the public details about specific, credible threats.

I am married to someone that has access to extremely high level classified information. He can't talk to me about ANY of it. However, he can drop hints and make vague, general statements that clue me into what he knows. Things are not good in many countries in Europe right now. The potential for attacks is broad and very high.

Everyone needs to make decisions based on their own risk tolerance.

Yes I did. It said due to the pattern of activity in Europe they are issuing the warning. It did not say anything about known credible threats. Saying there is a known credible threat gives out 0 information and is different to me then saying based on the previous pattern of terrorist activity. Heck that pattern would mean maybe no one should come to North America because we've had just as many incidents.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Did you actually read the travel warning?

They are not lying to anyone. The warning is very clear as to what the concerns are and why the warning is in place.

The government is never going to give the public details about specific, credible threats.

I am married to someone that has access to extremely high level classified information. He can't talk to me about ANY of it. However, he can drop hints and make vague, general statements that clue me into what he knows. Things are not good in many countries in Europe right now. The potential for attacks is broad and very high.

Everyone needs to make decisions based on their own risk tolerance.

So either you know nothing and have an active imagination or your DH is violating rules and may get arrested for that

They say in the warning that people need to be alert because of summer crowds. Warning expires September. The most worrisome part is that it has come to their attention that the terrorists have the ability to plan and carry out attacks in those places. Terrorists are not getting into those countries illegally, which means they ALSO have the ability to attack any soft target in the us. All they've got to do is find someone not on a watch list and buy them a ticket. People act like there's some kind of barrier keeping these threats out of the US. There is not. NYC (or Vegas, or any city) is just as tempting and easy of a target as Paris.

I really don't think the state department puts out "we have no info, this is just a general advisory" when there are credible threats. Look at the SD advisories for places where there are credible threats. Yikes. One of the issues that makes this difficult is that Europe is a big place. Traveling alone to London or Paris? No problem. Traveling alone to Instanbul? Look at Instanbul section for the SD. The risk ISN'T the same everywhere. If you look at America, a general advisory is pretty useless. Even a general advisory for one state is pretty useless. Tenderloin in SF does not have the same risk factor as Santa Monica. WDW does not have the same risk factor as Orlando. You're way more likely to be hit by a stroller or eaten by an alligator at WDW

 

[RedSox68]

Bottom line: no one is getting out of life alive. Personally I'd rather live every moment to the fullest and see and experience all I can than live in fear and only see the inside of my apartment because I was too worried about "the sky is falling" cries to do anything.

THIS! Well put. I have had more people tell me they would never travel outside the U.S. now -- and yet we have way more going on here of late. Once it hit our home turf on 9/11, I figured we were pretty much even keel with travelling outside the country. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen. Once I am through security at the airport and waiting to board -- I'm on vacation! I don't look around and wonder if someone is going to open fire or the plane is going to blow up -- if I did (like you said), I'd never leave my front door because it can happen here in a heartbeat on a shopping run or getting gas or dining out, etc.!

 

[DLgal]

So either you know nothing and have an active imagination or your DH is violating rules and may get arrested for that



I really don't think the state department puts out "we have no info, this is just a general advisory" when there are credible threats. Look at the SD advisories for places where there are credible threats. Yikes. One of the issues that makes this difficult is that Europe is a big place.

To your first point...neither. My husband has never said anything he wasn't allowed to say. Ever. But I am allowed to ask whatever questions I want, and when I get specific, he tends to answer "I don't know anything about that," and I know exactly what that means.

To your second point, this particular "alert" IS an upgrade from the general "caution" that was in place for Europe previously. They change the language based on intel that they have.

Perhaps I should have been more clear. There is an increase in INTEL which indicates that attacks are highly likely in the coming weeks and months.

 

[Westcoastwild]

To your first point...neither. My husband has never said anything he wasn't allowed to say. Ever. But I am allowed to ask whatever questions I want, and when I get specific, he tends to answer "I don't know anything about that," and I know exactly what that means.

To your second point, this particular "alert" IS an upgrade from the general "caution" that was in place for Europe previously. They change the language based on intel that they have.

Perhaps I should have been more clear. There is an increase in INTEL which indicates that attacks are highly likely in the coming weeks and months.

"I don't know anything about that" could mean anything. If it means something specific to the two of you, then he IS violating the rules. If you're asking that specific of a question, I don't really think that's fair to him but whatever you want to do.

The intel is a fair point. But intel doesn't necessarily amount to anything either. They don't know about specific places or plans- they're essentially chasing rumors. How does one base a trip on rumors?

It would be like the alligator incident all over again. To say don't take your toddlers to WDW because they could be killed by gators is, while based on intel/fact, pretty much useless. To say "avoid letting your kid wade in the dark in Florida waters because of alligators" is a reasonable thing to base plans on.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Does anyone have a link to the advisory? Did I miss it in the thread somewhere?

 

[wilkeliza]

Does anyone have a link to the advisory? Did I miss it in the thread somewhere?

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/Europe.html

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We leave for Europe in two weeks for a Viking cruise. I signed up for STEP with the gov't and have been getting all these warnings since day one of registering this trip. Yesterday, I even got four emails from different countries. It is definitely alarming to read them but at the same time I have to tell myself that it could happen anywhere, even in the States. We don't have plans to cancel our trip. With all that said. Everyone is different and they need to do what is best for them. Just because we aren't cancelling doesn't mean our decision is right for you.

Editing to add the link to STEP. https://step.state.gov/step/

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I just got my fifth email from a different country. Here is what this one says:

Security Message for U.S. Citizens: European Travel Alert

CopenhagenACS to you (Bcc)show details

The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the continued threat of terrorist attacks throughout Europe. This Travel Alert expires on September 1, 2017.


Recent, widely-reported incidents in France, Russia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom demonstrate that the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS or Da’esh), al-Qa’ida, and their affiliates have the ability to plan and execute terrorist attacks in Europe. While local governments continue counterterrorism operations, the Department nevertheless remains concerned about the potential for future terrorist attacks. U.S. citizens should always be alert to the possibility that terrorist sympathizers or self-radicalized extremists may conduct attacks with little or no warning.


Extremists continue to focus on tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities as viable targets. In addition, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, high-profile events, educational institutions, airports, and other soft targets remain priority locations for possible attacks. U.S. citizens should exercise additional vigilance in these and similar locations, in particular during the upcoming summer travel season when large crowds may be common.


Terrorists persist in employing a variety of tactics, including firearms, explosives, using vehicles as ramming devices, and sharp-edged weapons that are difficult to detect prior to an attack.


If you are traveling between countries in Europe, please check the website of the U.S. embassy or consulate in your destination city for any recent security messages. Review security information from local officials, who are responsible for the safety and security of all visitors to their host country. U.S. citizens should also:


· Follow the instructions of local authorities. Monitor media and local information sources and factor updated information into personal travel plans and activities.

· Be prepared for additional security screening and unexpected disruptions.

· Stay in touch with your family members and ensure they know how to reach you in the event of an emergency.

· Have an emergency plan of action ready.

· Register in our Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).


We continue to work closely with our European partners and allies on the threat from international terrorism. Information is routinely shared between the United States and our key partners to disrupt terrorist plotting, identify and take action against potential operatives, and strengthen our defenses against potential threats.


For further information:


· See the Department of State's travel website for the Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and Country Specific Information.

· Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.

· Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

· Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.