Celestyal Cruises and MSC Cruises have suspended their remaining Arabian Gulf season due to ongoing regional conflict after previously announcing the cancellation of cruises that were to sail in early March.
Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha have invested heavily in modern terminals and marketing partnerships to build winter cruise business, but they now have to contend with inactive berths and stranded capacity. Industry observers say the sudden pause could dent near-term visitor numbers and spending, although the long-term outlook will depend on how quickly security conditions improve.
Cruise lines had also faced challenges in Mexico recently as they suspended sailing to the coastal city of Puerto Vallarta after violence erupted in Mexico.
Celestyal Cruises
Celestyal Journey and Celestyal Discovery’s sailings from Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been cancelled to cover the remaining four cruises for the season after suspending cruises in early March. Guests booked to depart from Doha on 7 and 14 March, and from Dubai on 9 and 16 March, will be offered full refunds or future cruise credits.
The decision effectively ends their deployment in the Gulf several weeks earlier than planned. The itineraries featured three- to seven-night “Desert Days” and “Iconic Arabia” cruises featuring calls in UAE, Qatar and Bahrain. This was only Celestyal’s second full season in the Gulf and part of an expanded two-ship deployment serving growing Gulf demand.
Both ships will reposition to Athens to begin their scheduled Eastern Mediterranean seasons which feature three- to seven-night itineraries which focus on the Greek Islands and ports in Turkey, Croatia and the wider Adriatic.
The ships’ return to Athens is pending safe passage of the ships via Straits of Hormuz.
Greek-owned Celestyal Cruises said that Celestyal Journey will house its passengers on the current itinerary in Doha, which was cancelled, until 7 March after which guests will have to disembark, while the Celestyal Discovery remains sealed off.
The ships’ crew are working with guests and travel advisors on flights, hotels and post-cruise arrangements.
MSC Cruises
Swiss-based MSC Cruises has also confirmed the suspension of operations for MSC Euribia, currently docked in Dubai. The line has cancelled all March sailings departing on 7, 14, 21 and 28 March. The line said all impacted guests have been contacted and full refunds have been offered.
With passengers still on board MSC Euribia in Dubai, the cruise line said it was working continuously with airline partners in the region, particularly Emirates and Etihad, to identify and secure return flights for its guests, as well as working on other solutions.
An MSC spokesperson said: “We are requesting priority for our guests from our partners. At present, airlines operating flights have indicated that they will follow an order of priority based on the original flight date. In order to speed up the repatriation, we are working on other options such as chartering flights from Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Muscat.
“We are in constant contact with local authorities, embassies and Foreign Offices to also support the safe return of our guests. The situation on board remains calm. We are providing guests with regular updates on the situation. They have full access to all onboard services and facilities, and we continue to provide a high standard of care, comfort and support.”
TUI Cruises
TUI Cruises has cancelled several upcoming voyages in the Middle East for both Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5. Mein Schiff 4 is currently docked in Abu Dhabi, while Mein Schiff 5 is docked in Qatar.
Guests currently onboard both vessels will be flown home, though the operation will take some time.
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