Cruise Lines Start to Cancel Itineraries in the Middle East

What Does This Mean For Cruises to the Middle East in 2023-2024?

Haifa (Photo:Phish Photography/Shutterstock)

With the conflict continuing to escalate – and the increased possibility it could spread beyond the borders of Israel and the Gaza Strip – cruisers are starting to wonder what may become of their cruises to the region in the coming months.

Itinerary changes as a result of the conflict are also being felt in other geographic areas, too. Passengers aboard Norwegian Epic were notified that their November itinerary would drop ports in Israel – but also the Greek ports of Rhodes and Patmos.

“Why cancel non-Israeli ports that were already scheduled?” writes PhilRSchultz. “That seems odd.”

In the meantime, other lines are operating on a business-as-usual basis. Viking notes its river cruise departures along the Nile in Egypt are still proceeding as planned, with the cancellation of select overland extensions to Jerusalem.

“All of our departures in Egypt are operating as scheduled. Our top priority is the safety and wellbeing of our guests, crew and partners on the ground; should additional extension cancellations become necessary, impacted guests and their Travel Advisors will be contacted directly by Viking Customer Relations.”

MSC Cruises, which maintains a strong presence in the Arabian Gulf with cruises aboard MSC Opera, also told Cruise Critic in an email that those voyages – which operate far removed geographically from the current conflict – would continue as planned.

Some passengers booked on itineraries in the region, however, are making alternate plans.

“The region is very volatile at the best of times,” writes RJHNorthyorks. “We were due to visit Israel, Egypt and Jordan next April but spoke to TA this afternoon about cancelling.

Cruise Critic will update this story with more information as it becomes available.