5 Tips For Cruising The Mediterranean During Protests And Strikes

Mediterranean cruises are among the most popular itineraries, and it’s not uncommon for travelers to book sailings up to a year in advance. This makes it impossible to predict what the geopolitical environment will be like when it’s finally time to board.

Over the past several weeks, media coverage of demonstrations, strikes and fierce overtourism sentiments has understandably rattled some travelers, including veteran cruise enthusiasts.

Euronews and other news outlets reported clashes sweeping across major European capitals as well as smaller cities. The range of pressing social and economic issues includes concerns over pensions, high rents, fuel prices, education, corruption, and opposition to the war.

Unrest has spread to popular tourist destinations in France (including Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, and Nice), Spain (Madrid), Portugal (Lisbon and Porto) and Italy (Milan, Rome, Turin and Florence). In some cases, sporadic looting followed legitimate protests.

Mediterranean Cruising: Be Alert, Not Alarmed

If you’ve booked a Mediterranean cruise, you may wonder whether and how these disruptions could affect your trip and what precautions to take to stay safe.

“Cruisers should be alert, not alarmed,” says Carrie Pasquarello, CEO and co-founder of Global Secure Resources, Inc.in an email.

Here are five tips for Mediterranean cruisers to stay safe and feel secure:

1) Stay Alert

If your itinerary changes, your travel agent will likely let you know proactively. But don’t hesitate to call your airline or cruise line directly to allay any concerns about itinerary changes or disruptions.

Also important: Stay up to date on changing conditions and travel advisories in the destinations you’ll be visiting.

“Cruisers should take demonstrations seriously, but I would assess the specific itinerary rather than treat the entire Mediterranean as one risk category,” Brian Rooney, founder of GetCruiseInfo, says in an email. “The embarkation city, individual ports and dates matter much more than a general headline about unrest across Europe.”

The U.S. Department of State issues country-specific travel risk advisories. Publications like The Local (an English-language news site) publish regularly updated calendars of upcoming strikes in France, Spain, Germany and several other European countries. While some demonstrations are organized spontaneously on social media, many strikes are known about in advance.

Once you’re aboard, the ship’s daily newsletter or the shore excursion desk will alert you to any concerns at various ports.

2) Register With STEP

The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) sends out alerts from relevant U.S. embassies or consulates on security issues, demonstrations and severe weather.

Enroll before you leave home and provide the dates and destinations of your international travel.

3) Review Your Travel Insurance Coverage

Chris Valdez, senior director of operations at Squaremouth says that travelers have been reaching out to the insurance comparison site with questions about the situation in Europe, particularly whether travel insurance would cover emergency evacuation or trip interruption if conditions escalate.

“Some travel insurance policies may cover certain civil-unrest-related disruptions, such as qualifying evacuation or trip interruption expenses,” Valdez says in an email. “However, simply feeling uncomfortable traveling because of demonstrations generally isn’t a covered reason for cancellation.”

“Timing is also a crucial consideration,” she adds. “Because travel insurance is meant to protect you from unforeseen events, and because the current unrest is already public knowledge, it’s likely too late for travelers to buy a policy now that would cover losses related to these ongoing events.”

She explains one add-on is the exception: Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage, which you must buy within a time-sensitive window (typically 14-21 days after your initial trip deposit). Unfortunately, that window has closed for most cruisers.

4) Try To Be Flexible

“Blocked roads, interrupted transportation and changes to shore excursions can affect a cruise even when passengers never encounter a demonstration themselves,” says Rooney.

While you may miss one port of call, you may find other unexpected opportunities (e.g., discovering a port that’s as interesting as the one you missed or finding an onboard activity you may have otherwise skipped)

Rooney points out that getting safely and reliably between the airport, hotel and ship deserves as much attention as the port visits. If public transportation strikes are planned, it may be prudent to book a private driver.

5) Be Smart

Avoid large crowds or significant police activity. It’s better to be safe than to capture a photo of a demonstration for a social media post or to send to a friend back home.

Global Secure Resources’ Pasquarello stresses the importance of staying vigilant of your surroundings.

So…Should You Cancel Your Mediterranean Cruise?

You may need to change your travel itinerary or shore excursions, but try not to let these changes interfere with your enjoyment of the cruise. Take advantage of an extra sea day or two and enjoy the creature comforts of your ship.

For an added level of protection, book shore excursions offered by your cruise line rather than private ones that are non-refundable and probably can’t be cancelled due to strikes and demonstrations.

One clear advantage of cruising is that, while you’re on board, the captain can usually change ports to address serious safety concerns or adverse sea conditions.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com