Royal Caribbean cruise ship to skip port stop in Turkey due to attempted coup

In:
17 Jul 2016
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas will skip a scheduled port stop in Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey this week following the news of the attempted coup in the country.

Royal Caribbean issued a letter to guests, informing them that the scheduled stop in Ephesus on Wednesday, July 20, will be canceled.  Royal Caribbean is working to find an alternative port of call to replace the stop.

"Since we became aware of the incident, we have been in close contact with our Global Security Team in Miami, as well as our local contacts in Turkey.  After taking all of their intelligence and advice into consideration, we have decided to cancel all port calls to Turkey, including our scheduled call to Ephesus (Kusadasi) on Wednesday, July 20.  We are currently working to find an alternative port of call and will let you know as soon as one is confirmed.

We truly regret having to take this action, but feel it is in the best interest of all guests.  The safety and security of our guests and crew members is always foremost in our minds."

All shore excursions purchased through Royal Caribbean International will be refunded to the form of payment used.  

Thanks to Royal Caribbean Blog reader Jacob Holness for alerting us to this change.


Matt started Royal Caribbean Blog in 2010 as a place to share his passion for all things Royal Caribbean with readers. He oversees all the writers at Royal Caribbean Blog, and writes a great deal of content on a daily basis.  He has become one of the foremost experts on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Over the years, he has reached Pinnacle Club status with Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program.

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