Crystal Cruises reroutes Turkey voyages amidst security concerns

Crystal Cruises is rerouting two of its upcoming voyages set to call in Turkish ports in response to ongoing security concerns for travel within Istanbul.

The cruise line has revised itineraries for Crystal Symphony’s April 24 and May 1 sailings, which were previously planned to include visits to Istanbul and Kuşadasi. The new itinierary has replaced those ports with Greek destinations.

Turkish ports of call scheduled for April and November aboard Crystal’s new luxury yacht, Crystal Esprit, will also be changed, though the new itineraries have yet to be finalized.

Effective immediately, the voyages will reflect the following itinerary changes (changed destinations in bold):

• April 24 (7 days) – Athens/Piraeus, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, *Souda Bay/Chaina, Navplion (overnight), Hydra and Athens/Piraeus (overnight), Greece.
• May 1 (12 days) – Athens/Piraeus (overnight), Patmos, Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini, Navplion and Argostolios, Greece; Crotone, Sorrento and Rome/Civitavecchia, Italy.

The April 24 sailing will also boast the distinction of being one of the Crystal’s few voyages to focus solely in Greece.  For both sailings, pre-reserved Crystal Adventures will automatically be canceled, while the line is in the process of developing a host of new excursions ashore, which will be available in the online guest check-in/priority check-in and planning center (PCPC) at crystalcruises.com.