Wednesday, January 17, 2024
The cruise industry is progressively staying away from the Red Sea, much like the tanker and LNG carrier segments do. A lot of cruise companies are canceling trips well in advance. This change is partly due to the unique travel requirements for passengers, in addition to the broader challenge of rerouting vessels in the face of security concerns.
A division of the Royal Caribbean Group, Silversea Cruises, was one of the first to modify its itinerary in reaction to these security concerns. As part of a program that ran until June before returning to the Mediterranean, its ship, Silver Moon (weighing 40,700 gross tons), was initially navigating the Red Sea on its way to Dubai, India, and the Far East. Notwithstanding the fact that the passengers were already in Jordan, the company was forced to abruptly alter a week-long cruise from Jordan to Oman last week. With the amended schedule, the ship remained in the northern Red Sea.
Through a letter, Silver Moon Captain Luigi Rutigliano notified passengers that the ship would not be making its scheduled arrival in Aqaba, Jordan, because of the heightened tensions in the region as a result of recent military actions. After calling into Safaga, Egypt, the ship continued north through the Suez Canal, eventually disembarking passengers in Piraeus, Greece, rather than calling it a day at the end of the cruise in Jordan.
In a statement to The Maritime Executive, Silversea Cruises said that future Silver Moon trips between Muscat and Dubai and Dubai and Mumbai would be canceled. Although the ship’s itinerary for the Mumbai to Singapore leg will not be revealed, the cruise line intends to proceed as planned. With Malta as its next destination on its AIS signal, the ship left Greece and headed west across the Mediterranean, implying a detour around the west coast of Africa.
Aside from the operational difficulties and the cancellation of a month’s worth of travel for a ship that can hold up to 600 guests, Silversea is providing impacted passengers with a 20 percent reduction on future cruise credits and reimbursement for their airfare and other out-of-pocket expenses.
MSC Cruises, a division of MSC Group that has been rerouting its container ships, has also announced the cancellation of three repositioning cruises scheduled to take place in April through the Suez Canal. Potentially affecting up to 11,600 passengers, these cancellations affect the MSC Splendida, MSC Opera, and MSC Virtuosa. The lack of viable alternate routes has prompted the company to return these ships to the Mediterranean empty.
The cruise industry will continue to face challenges as long as the security situation remains unstable, especially when world cruises come to an end in the spring and ships start to sail from Asia and the Middle East to Europe. For instance, Silversea’s Silver Spirit is slated to leave Cape Town in February, arrive in Dubai in March, and then travel to Piraeus. Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Mariner, Holland America Line, Costa, and Cunard are also among those with scheduled passages through the Red Sea in the upcoming months.
The safety of both the crew and the passengers is these cruise lines’ top priority. Cruise companies are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to make any necessary itinerary changes to ensure safety due to the ongoing security concerns in the Red Sea region. This cautious approach reflects the cruise industry’s commitment to prioritizing safety while navigating the complexities of global travel in uncertain times. These cruise lines are demonstrating their flexibility in responding to changing security scenarios and their commitment to offering safe travel experiences by rerouting and canceling trips as necessary.
Tags: Cruise, cruise lines, MSC, red sea, Silversea
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
