Is Turkey open for ships sailing from Greece?
Does anyone know if Turkey and Greece have resolved their spat and if Turkey has opened ports to ships sailing from Greece? According to forum posts and an email I received from Windstar last summer, Treasures of the Aegean did not visit Kusadasi/Ephesus because of an ongoing political dispute. The Wind Star could not visit there so the Island of Milos was substituted for most, if not all of last summer's departures. Tauck has not made any changes to the 2022 itinerary, but unless the dispute is resolved we won't be going to Ephesus or having the magical dinner in front of the Library of Celsus.
Google is failing me and I haven't been able to determine the current status of this dispute. Does anyone have insight into or knowledge of this situation?
Comments
This is just what a I found
differences over suitable diplomatic paths to a substantial solution remained unresolved, and as of 2021 tensions remain.
AlanS, I hope they get it resolved. Kusadasi/Ephesus were the highlights of our trip from Istanbul to Athens. I wouldn't go on that trip without them.
Alan: I saw something about the Greek/Turkish tourist issues being resolved but I don’t remember where I saw it. We saw Ephesus on a trip that was supposed to go to Egypt. We went very early in the morning and departed just when it had become ‘crazy’. You definitely need to do Ephesus outside of the tourist landslide. I think dinner in front of the library would be spectacular.
I decided to try and get an answer from the horse's mouth so sent an email to Windstar. They responded right away -.
"Thank you for contacting Windstar Cruises. There was a time when we could not go to Ephesus, but currently it is part of the itinerary. We cannot guarantee what will happen in the future, but very much enjoy having that location available for our guests. If for some reason we are unable to go, we will likely do as we did last time and add a different amazing location to visit. Please let us know if there is anything else we may assist you with. Thank you for choosing Windstar Cruises. "
The time they could not go were last summer's restart departures and being "part of the itinerary" doesn't mean they will be actually able to stop at Ephesus, so it doesn't quite answer the question, but is a positive response. Since we are on the second departure in 2022, I guess there is nothing we can do either way, just keep our fingers crossed.
Wind Star is scheduled to return to the Med in mid April with the first Athens departure on 4 May.
AlanS - Check the following itinerary. It includes both Greece and Ephesus.
https://windstarcruises.com/cruise/overview/greece/athens-to-athens/ancient-wonders-of-greece-ephesus/?pkgid=260299
Yes, I was on the Windstar website, but being a skeptic . . . . last summer both the Tauck and Windstar websites also showed Kusadasi/Ephesus but didn't go.
FYI, your link goes to a different, 10 Day, cruise on Wind Surf that adds stops at Ermoupoli, Rhodes, and Crete which Tauck's Treasures doesn't include. I wish Treasures included those as well as starting (or ending) in Istanbul like the old version!
Windstar also has a 10 day Delphi & Meteora: Grecian Treasures Cruise Tour on the Wind Star which is like Tauck's Treasures but adds a two day land excursion to Meteora and Delphi. We are doing a pre-tour excursion to Delphi.