Thread: What will their Economic Woes mean for cruisers?

What will the economic woes in Greece mean for cruisers?

My feelings for quite a while have been that I would not book a cruise with either embarkation or disembarkation in Greece.

Having a port stop there would not bother me because I wouldn't have to get off the ship if there were strikes or riots in protest of their unfortunate economic situation.

Personally, I would not hesitate to visit Greece. The people are absolutely wonderful, the food is great, and the historical sites are not to be missed.

But saying you wouldn't visit Greece is like saying you wouldn't visit the entire U.S.A. Just because there's an earthquake in Los Angeles, doesn't mean you can't enjoy Washington, DC. Greece is no different. Just because they're may be an occasional problems in Athens, is no reason not to visit the amazing Greece Isles, which have not had any problems whatsoever.

We were actually in Athens during one of their protests and the cab driver laughed and said not to worry, he'll just go around it. Never had any problems and it did not affect our enjoyment of the historical sites we were visiting.

Right now we've got protestors in DC and in NY. It does not define these cities nor the country as a whole, so I hope people aren't staying away from the USA because they're afraid of what could happen.

totally agree with pete on this,and the islands are still a very special place for me.

The only reason I came back here when I did was to report what I had just read on AOL: "Eurozone" states are preparing contingency plans for a "Greek exit." The article explains Greeks are opposed to doing what needs to be done in Athens to stay in the eurozone if I understand it correctly. If Greece does leave the eurozone, cruisers will be affected this way: you have to buy new currency there. The euro helped cruisers who were sailing to Portugal, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, and Greece on Mediterranean cruises. Now they can only get that benefit if some miracle occurs in Athens.

If Greece does exit there will likely be a devaluation in their currency which means it will be less expensive for visitors.
They will want to encourage tourism as a source of revenue, therefore they will do all they can to make it safe.

The wider concern though is they will plunge Europe (and the world) into another recession.

I feel sorry for the Greeks, their government cooked the books so they could join the Euro even though they were not ready. Eveyone in the Eurozone knew this but turned a blind eye and hoped things would be ok. Something needs to done to help Greece out of the mess it's in and right now there is no sign of that happening.

Tourism is about the only way Greece makes any money these days so they need all the visitors they can get.