Re: Earthquake, Tsunami and Egypt

Thank God for our good fortune! !  We were not affected by the earthquake and Tsunami which devastated Japan recently.  We visited Saigon, Vietnam at that time and then we were sailing in the South China Sea on our way to Singapore.  The seas were rough, but the captain assured us that it was normal for this location and had nothing to do with the terrible weather conditions affecting other parts of the world.   When I think of the disaster in Christchurch, New Zealand which happened less than a week after we left there and now this terrible Tsunami, not all that far away, I consider myself under the protection of a very powerful guardian angel ! ! ! !   I hope and pray that this will continue for the remainder of the tour.

Regarding our potential trip to Egypt, as far as we know now, it has been cancelled.  The following is a quote from a letter which we received from the captain:

“Unfortunately, political uncertainty still exists in Egypt with the resulting security concerns.  Consequently the U.S. Department of State’s Travel Warning issued on February 18, 2011, remains in place.  That travel warning states:

The U. S. Department of State continues to warn U.S.  citizens to defer non-essential travel to Egypt.  Due to continuing uncertainties regarding the restructuring of Egyptian government institutions, the security situation remains unsolved.

We delayed final decisions on your cruise itinerary as we waited to see whether the Travel Warning would be withdrawn.  That has not happened.  As a consequence and as your safety is our primary concern, the scheduled calls in Egypt are being replaced with calls  in Salalah, Oman, as well as Ashdod and Haifa, Israel.  Our itinerary of port calls for the impacted dates is as follows:

March 26     Muscat

March 28     Salalah, Oman

April 2          Aqaba, Jordan

April 4         Transit Suez Canal

April 5         Ashdod, Israel

April 6         Haifa, Israel

If the Travel Warning is withdrawn or revised prior to the time we were scheduled to be in Egypt,we will try to reinstate the original itinerary if at all possible to do so.”

 

Although I am very disappointed that we will not be visiting Egypt, I prefer to be safe than sorry.