Cruise lines halt calls amid deadly Israel-Hamas conflict
Ilaria Grasso MacolaA number of cruise lines have halted calls in Israel following attacks by Hamas militants at the weekend and a subsequent Israel counter-offensive in Gaza and the West Bank.
MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celestyal and Oceania Cruises have all either made amendments to active sailings, altered imminent departures and/or pledged to monitor the situation and act accordingly if the conflict necessitates further changes.
It comes after Hamas militants launched a major offensive on Saturday morning (7 October), which has been met with an equally deadly Israeli counter-offensive, with the renewal of conflict already having claimed hundreds of lives and displaced many more.
Several airlines, including easyJet and Wizz Air, have suspended flights to the country following the Foreign Office’s decision to advise against all but essential travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Israel’s government tourist office has issued advice and guidance for the UK travel trade should any agents or businesses have clients in the region, or imminent departures.
A Clia spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with all who are impacted by the attacks on Israel. As always, the safety and security of guests, crew and the communities we visit are of the utmost importance for Clia and its members.
"Our cruise line members are closely monitoring the situation and adjusting itineraries as needed in the best interest of passengers and crew. We urge travellers who are considering or have current plans to sail to the region to check directly with their cruise line or travel agent for the current status of their sailings."
A number of lines have now confirmed changes to their programmes, particularly where they had scheduled calls in Israel. Here is all the latest from those lines.
Celestyal
Celestyal has amended its Three Continents itinerary until the end of November to avoid Israel, with departures on 21 and 28 October, as well as 4, 11, 18 and 25 November affected. The itinerary will call in Athens, Cyprus and Port Said, but Ashdod – Israel’s largest port city – will not be served.
“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 Celestyal chief executive Chris Theophilides on Tuesday (10 October).
“Our teams will be working alongside our travel agent partners to contact affected customers to advise them of the updates to their itineraries and the additional provisions that have been made to ensure their continued enjoyment.”
MSC Cruises
MSC Cruises, meanwhile, will no longer call in the Israeli city of Haifa, with MSC Musica’s call in the city on Thursday (12 October) no longer set to go ahead. The ship will instead sail to Limassol, skipping a call in Kusadasi in Turkey, before heading to Antalya on 12 October before continuing its planned itinerary.
MSC Musica’s calls in Haifa on 19 and 26 October will be replaced by Rhodes, while the planned 2 November call in the city will be replaced by a stop in Marmaris.
Elsewhere, MSC Sinfonia’s planned halt in Haifa on 16 October will be replaced with a call in Bodrum. In a statement, MSC said all future calls were being reviewed, adding it would update guests accordingly.
"The safety of our guests and crew is always our upmost priority and in an evolving situation such as this we will modify our itineraries as needed," said MSC.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line is another line making amendments to its operations in the region. Norwegian Gem’s call in Ashdod on Sunday (8 October) was cancelled, with the ship spending the day at sea. The ship continued on its planned itinerary the following day when it headed to Limassol.
Norwegian Jade, meanwhile, will no longer call in Ashdod (11 October) and Haifa (12 October). It will instead head to Marmaris on 11 October and spend 12 October at seas. Guests have been notified. "We are closely monitoring the situation in Israel," said an NCL spokesperson. "As always, the safety and security of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our top priority.
"We have strict safety protocols in place and cooperate with local authorities regarding security matters at the destinations our ships visit. We also have the flexibility to alter our itineraries as needed to avoid areas of concern."
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean has amended several sailings as a result of the crisis. “Our global security team is closely watching the evolving situation in Israel," said a spokesperson. "For the safety and security of our guests, we're adjusting several itineraries in the area. Impacted guests are being notified directly."
Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises said it was assessing the impact. "The safety and security of our guests and crew is always our number one priority and we are currently reviewing itinerary options to replace scheduled calls in Israel," said a spokesperson for the line.
Silversea
A Silversea spokesperson said: "Our global security team is closely watching the evolving situation in Israel. For the safety and security of our guests, we're adjusting one itinerary in the area. Impacted guests will be notified directly."
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