A number of upcoming European cruises have been cancelled as ships remain stalled in the Arabian Gulf amid the ongoing Iran-US war.
Celestyal Cruises has cancelled its 20 and 23 March Aegean Sea sailings and is finalising arrangements for the ship’s repositioning to the Mediterranean ahead of the summer season. Guests booked on the Greece cruises have the option of either a full refund or a future cruise credit. Meanwhile, Celestyal Journey’s next scheduled cruise leaves on 4 April for Greece, Italy and Croatia.
MSC Cruises' remaining three cruises scheduled for this winter season from Dubai across 14-28 March are now cancelled, as has Aroya Cruises for its remaining Arabian Gulf season.
TUI, which operates the still stuck Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5, has cancelled cruises up to and including 16 March for the former, and 12 March for the latter.
Highly complex repatriation operation
Meanwhile, affected cruise lines have in the past week worked on repatriation measures.
TUI sent its own fleet as well as worked with Qatar Airways to fly some 1,800 guests back on special flights, which began from 7 March.
As of 6 March, MSC Cruises worked with Emirates and Fly Dubai to schedule commercial flights for over 1,500 guests who were on board MSC Euribia in Dubai, including seven flights that departed the region that same day. Guests have been repatriated to a range of destinations, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain, the United States and Brazil.
“I am immensely proud of how the whole company is coming together with this highly complex repatriation operation,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises.
“We still have some guests on the ship, but we are working hard to secure their safe passage from the region.”
Meanwhile all guests on Celestyal Discovery have disembarked in Dubai, followed by Celestyal Journey in Doha. The cruise line has indicated immediate readiness to sail, following local authorities' guidance.