The cruise industry is seeing another changed itinerary amid ongoing tensions in the Red Sea region and Houthi rebel attacks on shipping in the area.
Repositioning sailings will sail empty
Three “Grand Voyage” so-called repositioning sailings in April. These cruises will be cancelled as the ships will now sail without passengers. The affected cruises are a 24-night sailing of the MSC Splendida from Durban to Genoa; a 21-night MSC Opera cruise from Dubai to Genoa and a 23-night MSC Virtuosa sailing from Dubai to Southampton.
“The three ships will transfer directly to Europe without any passengers on board and avoid transiting through the Red Sea. Instead, they will sail around the west coast of Africa with no ports of call on their journeys to their respective European homeports for the summer 2024 season,” the cruise line said.
All affected passengers are in the process of being offered a full refund, a free rebooking on a similar Grand Voyage in the future, or a different choice of sailing, with the price difference either reimbursed or to be made up by the passenger.
Houthi attacks
The Houthi rebel attacks have been taking place since the Hamas-Israel war began in October. Said to be in solidarity with Palestine, they have used a range of tactics from drones to hijackings on both commercial and naval vessels supposedly associated with Israeli interests.
The safety of passengers and crew is the number one priority and as there was no viable alternative itinerary, the company has regrettably had to cancel the voyages
MSC Cruises
Canary Islands will host winter 2024-25 cruises
As well as cancelling the three repositioning sailings in April, MSC Cruises is making changes to its winter 2024-25 season. Instead of implementing its scheduled Red Sea cruises, the company has announced its MSC Opera will operate in the Canary Islands between November 2024 and March 2025.
Voyagers will be able to visit six ports of call over the course of a seven-night cruise, from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria; Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura; Funchal, Madeira, Portugal; Santa Cruz de la Palma, La Palma; and Arrecife, Lanzarote.
The cruise line is predicting high demand for the new itinerary. The division’s vice-president of international sales, Antonio Paradiso, who is also managing director of MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys, UK & Ireland, predicted high demand for the new proposition: “We know this sailing will be popular among all European guests, especially those from the UK and Ireland,” he said, “which is why itineraries are now on sale.”
The latest MSC news follows announced changes to Royal Caribbean’s nine-month Serenade of the Seas “ultimate World Cruise”, which is putting a choice between “epic” African adventures to passengers and asking them to vote on their preferred option – an interactive approach the cruise line says matches the adventurous spirit of its customers.
