Last week, just days before my Atlantis cruise ship was to depart Athens for ten days at sea, me and my fellow passengers were informed we were NOT stopping in Turkey as planned as the Turkish government suddenly refused to let us dock citing “moral standards” and “family values.”
CNN reached out to me to talk about how that all unraveled on Sunday. You can see the interview here.
The folks in charge at Atlantis cruises scrambled quickly and came up with two new destinations to replace the stop in Turkey – Alexandria, Egypt, and the isle of Crete.
Many of us quickly set up guided tours/excursions to go see the pyramids in Cairo. Even though it would be a long day – 3 hours drive there, several hours exploring, three hours back to ship – who doesn’t want to see the pyramids?
So most of us went to bed early last night to be up and sharp for our 7 am departures. But as my hubby and I were leaving our cabin, we found a one-page notice had been slipped under our door. Egypt has been cancelled.
Here’s the text of the letter – “Important Port of Call Update:”
“Early this morning, we were informed that Scarlet Lady has been denied entry into Egyptian waters, and, as a result, will no longer be able to call in Alexandria today.
“I know how much this visit meant to so many of you. We successfully sailed a similar itinerary last year without issue. So we were surprised by this unfortunate decision.
“Please know that both the Atlantis and Virgin Voyages teams worked tirelessly to make this call in Alexandria a possibility. This news came as a surprise to all of us, and we’re just as disappointed as you are.
“While nothing can replace the opportunity to experience Egypt, we’re already focused on making the most of the rest of our journey together. We are actively working to find an alternate port of call to enjoy and will provide and update later today.”
It’s worth noting no official reason was provided by the powers that be in Egypt.
In the company’s 36 year history, Atlantis had never had a ship denied entry to dock. And now it’s happened in two countries in one week.
That’s all the info we have at this time. I can only guess the recent headlines about our kerfuffle in Turkey have had a ripple effect to leaders in Egypt.
Trust and believe, me and my fellow passengers will be fine. As my fellow blogger Joe Jervis once wrote:
“They wish we were invisible. We’re not. Let’s dance.”
I’m off to grab an Aperol Spritz and a lounge chair on the pool deck. #Forward
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