MSC Cruises Cancels Turkish Ports of Call

MSC Cruises has become the second cruise line in as many weeks to cancel ports of call to Turkey because of security concerns. MSC announced today that planned calls to Istanbul and Izmir will be replaced with stops in Greece ports because of “growing concerns by guests as a result of the recent tragic events in Istanbul.”

Weekly calls on sailings out of Venice on MSC Magnifica starting on March 26 will not stop in the Turkish cities and will instead stop in Athens and Mykonos, two of its more popular ports. The changes will continue “until further notice.”

Last week, Crystal Cruises announced that it will skip two upcoming calls in Turkish ports because of “ongoing security concerns for travel within Istanbul.” Crystal CEO and president Edie Rodriguez said the changes were made in an effort to allow cruisers to continue with their sailings “without the added worry of security in a particular destination.”

Istanbul has been the site of several terror attacks, including one this month that killed 10 German tourists in the tourist center of the city.