Cruise lines with scheduled calls in Israel are changing their
itineraries after Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, launched a
surprise attack on Israel over the weekend. The fighting quickly
escalated to retaliatory attacks in the Gaza Strip.
About a dozen cruise lines were scheduled to call in Israel over the
next month. While several lines said they are closely monitoring the
situation since fighting broke out Saturday morning, several have begun
altering itineraries.
On an 11-day sailing from Rome to Istanbul that departed 1 October, the Norwegian Gem
did not call in Ashdod, Israel, on 8 October. The ship instead spent
the day at sea before continuing its originally scheduled call to
Limassol, Cypress, on 9 October.
The Norwegian Jade, which departed 8 October on a
roundtrip cruise from Athens, has canceled calls at Israeli ports Ashdod
and Haifa on 11 October and 12 October. Instead, the ship will visit
Turkish ports Bodrum and Marmaris on 10 and 11 October. It will spend a
day at sea on 12 October.
The Oceania Nautica, which was on an 11-day sailing
from Haifa to Rome that began 6 October, was still in Haifa the day
fighting broke out. The ship departed Israel on Saturday, nixing its
scheduled call in Ashdod. All guests and crew were accounted for.
The Oct. 14 sailing of the Oceania Sirena from
Athens to Istanbul was scheduled to spend three days in Israel – two in
Haifa and one in Ashdod. The ship will now spend those days in
Santorini, Heraklion and Mykonos, Greece.
The Oceania Marina's 1 November itinerary includes
two days in Israel. The line is in the process of reviewing its
itinerary options for those days.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has amended the Seven Seas Voyager's
3 and 15 October itineraries. The Voyager's call at Haifa on 14 and 15
October has been cancelled and the ship will instead sail to Istanbul,
where the sailing will conclude.
The ship's 15 October itinerary will begin in Istanbul instead of
Haifa. The ship's calls to Ashdod on 16 and 17 October will be cancelled
and the ship will instead sail directly to Cairo and arrive on 18
October to resume its previously scheduled itinerary.
Celestyal said it will temporarily suspend calls in
Israel until the end of November. "On the advice of our internal teams
and the relevant authorities, we have decided to temporarily remove
Israel from our Three Continents itinerary until the end of November
this year," said CEO Chris Theophilides.
Royal Caribbean International has canceled cruises on Rhapsody of the Seas
due to the events in Israel. The line has canceled its four-day 9
October Greek Cyprus sailing and its five-day 13 October Greek Isles
cruise. Both were to depart from Haifa.
The Odyssey of the Seas is replacing calls to Haifa
on its Holy Lands cruise with calls in Greek isles Crete and Rhodes and
Bodrum, Turkiye. The impacted sailings, which both sail from Rome,
include a 13-day 2 October cruise and a 12-day 15 October sailing.
The Celebrity Apex is replacing Israel and Egypt
visits on 10-day sailings departing 6 October and 16 October. It is
instead calling at Greek islands Santorini, Mykonos and Rhodes and
Bodrum, Turkiye.
This is a developing story.
Source: Travel Weekly