Red Sea Tensions Continue to Impact Cruises
With escalating tensions in the Red Sea due to the Israel-Palestine conflict, passing through the Suez Canal is now no longer considered safe for ships.
Multiple cruise lines, including Azamara, Carnival, MSC, AIDA and, most recently, Virgin Voyages, have since announced changes to their itineraries to ensure the safety of their passengers and crew.
Hijackings and attacks
Houthi militants near Yemen have attempted over 30 attacks and hijackings since November 19th, according to Reuters. They have used helicopters, drone strikes, and even anti-ship missiles to target international shipping in the Red Sea.
Despite retaliatory strikes in Yemen from the United States, the United Kingdom, and their allies, attacks continue to happen to this day.
Understandably, cruise ships are now avoiding the area altogether. This primarily affects repositioning voyages, which will be extended to now sail around the African coast instead of through the Canal.
Virgin Voyages
Virgin Voyages announced a re-routing of Resilient Lady's repositioning voyage on February 8th, saying:
The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one 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.
Multiple Virgin Voyages sailings are affected:
- Sydney to Singapore Crossing (March 27th)
- Singapore to Dubai Crossing (April 11th)
- Dubai to Athens Crossing (April 25th)
Passengers will be offered a full refund or rebooking on one of the new itineraries at no extra cost.
AIDA Cruises
AIDA Cruises has announced the cancellation of several repositioning voyages in Spring 2024. The three affected ships will remain empty, and sail to their summer destinations without any passengers on board.
The following sailings were fully canceled:
- Mauritius to Corfu (March 5th)
- Seychelles to Corfu (March 12th)
- Dubai to Hamburg (March 30th)
- Abu Dhabi to Hamburg (April 7th)
- Dubai to Mallorca (April 5th)
- Dubai to Mallorca (April 6th)
- Dubai to Mallorca (April 16th)
Passengers will be offered a free rebooking on one of the new itineraries, as well as a free travel voucher worth 10% of the original fare.
MSC Cruises
MSC Cruises has also canceled its repositioning voyages entirely. Their ships will sail empty around Africa to their homeports in Europe:
- Durban to Genoa (April 2024)
- Dubai to Genoa (April 2024)
- Dubai to Southampton (April 2024)
Passengers affected by the changes can move their cruise of a similar length of travel to an alternative ship and itinerary or request a full refund.
Carnival cruises
Carnival announced the "rerouting of its Red Sea transits" in a news release on January 30th, across 12 ships between their seven brands (which includes AIDA), but did not detail which exact sailings are affected.
Their release also mentions that their bookings are at an "all-time" high, seemingly not seeing any impact on booking trends due to the Red Sea situation.
Carnival and its brands will not have any Red Sea sailings until at least November 2024.
Will my cruise be canceled?
Some cruise lines, like Cunard, still offer cruises through the Suez Canal in April 2024 at the time of writing. Likely, these cruises will also be canceled or altered as the attacks are not likely to stop soon.
If you have previously booked a cruise that crosses the Suez Canal, we recommend keeping a close eye on any communications from your cruise line. They will reach out to you directly if a decision is made.