With the ongoing regional turmoil surrounding the Israel-Hamas
war,
multiple cruise companies are announcing deployment changes in and around the
Red Sea.
Following are updates from Virgin Voyages, Carnival Corporation
brands, Crystal and MSC Cruises.
Carnival Corporation
Carnival Corporation is working
to relocate 12 ships across seven of its brands that were initially set to navigate the Red Sea through May
2024. The decision was made in close consultation with international security
experts and government authorities.
“Carnival Corporation & plc is committed to the safety and
well-being of its guests and crew, and has been actively monitoring the
situation in the Red Sea and surrounding region,” the company said in a
statement.
Despite the regional turmoil, Carnival has not recorded an impact
on overall booking trends, and its brands are not scheduled to return to the
Red Sea until November 2024.
Crystal
As of February 16, 2024, Crystal has decided to cancel its March 27 to April 13 sailing from Mumbai to Piraeus (Athens) onboard Crystal Symphony. The luxury line will also reroute several segments of its 2024 World Cruise on Crystal Serenity, both to avoid the Red Sea at this time.
“In light of the current situation in the Red Sea, Crystal
remains committed to prioritizing the safety and well-being of our guests and
crew,” the line said in a statement. “We are in the process of notifying all impacted guests. We greatly appreciate our guests and crew for their understanding and patience during this process.”
Any impacted clients will be notified immediately once a final
decision has been made. Crystal is considering possibly rebooking passengers
amid securing crew member visas and travel plans, as well as provisioning the ships. The line promises
that any necessary adjustments will be handled thoughtfully.
Crystal will direct the ships to prevent any adverse trickledown
to operations, and is especially trying to avoid impacting Crystal Serenity’s arrival
in Miami by June 8, 2024, for its world cruise.
“We thank guests and crew for their understanding during this
process,” added the line.
MSC Cruises
Meanwhile, MSC Cruises is
cancelling three of its repositioning Grand Voyages scheduled from South Africa
and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Europe in April, citing “ongoing attacks
on merchant vessels in the Red Sea.”
Specifically, a 24-night MSC Splendida sailing from Durban,
South Africa, to Genoa, Italy; a 21-night MSC Opera cruise from Dubai, UAE,
to Genoa; and a 23-night MSC Virtuosa voyage from Dubai to Southampton, U.K.,
have been canceled.
“The safety of passengers and crew is MSC Cruises’ No. 1 priority,” the line has
stated. “The company attempted to find suitable alternative itineraries, but
ultimately found no viable options and regrettably had to cancel the voyages.”
The trio of vessels will avoid transiting the Red Sea and instead
head directly to Europe for their summer 2024 homeports, without any passengers
onboard and without stopping at any ports of call around the west coast of
Africa.
Clients booked on the three canceled cruises have been or are
currently being contacted directly or via their travel agents to
complimentarily transfer their reservation to a future Grand Voyage of
comparable duration. Guests can also choose to rebook on any other voyage in
the company’s
international network, applying either a partial refund or extra payment
covering the difference in cost between the original and new reservation, or
get a full refund without a cancellation fee.
Virgin Voyages
In a statement, Virgin Voyages
shared, “The safety of our passengers and crew is our No. 1 priority. Like many
other cruise brands, we have been watching the current conflict in the Middle
East closely, connecting regularly with global security experts to consider the
impacts to the repositioning voyages planned for Resilient Lady in 2024. We
remain concerned about potential escalations in this part of the world over the
next 12 months and the risk that this presents for safe passage through the
region. As a result, we have been left with no choice but to make changes to
Resilient Lady's repositioning voyage taking place on March 27.”
As such, the line will navigate away from its planned Australia
to Athens repositioning next month, and instead, Resilient Lady will embark in Sydney for a cruise along the African coast, visiting Eden and Fremantle (Perth) in Australia,
Port Louis (Mauritius Islands), Durban and Cape Town (South Africa), Walvis Bay
(Namibia), Praia (Cape Verde), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain), Casablanca
(Morocco), Barcelona (Spain), Valletta (Malta) and Santorini and Piraeus
(Athens) in Greece.
Clients originally booked on the three previously scheduled legs
will be guaranteed passage on the updated voyages at no extra cost with a price
protection commitment in place. Alternatively, they can opt to receive a Future
Voyage Credit based on their paid balance, or a full refund. What’s more,
Virgin will protect travel advisor commissions.
“We know that based on our conversations with passengers and
travel partners, they understand the complex geopolitical challenges that have
arisen, making this change necessary,” the line added.
Virgin is also conducting a full review of other
geographically comparable repositioning sailings and linked voyages, in case
any further updates are required. Should this occur, an announcement will be
made in the coming weeks, to minimize further vacation disruptions.
