Royal Caribbean To Skip Israel Stops Due To Ongoing Conflict

Royal Caribbean is the latest cruise line to remove Israel from its 2024 itineraries. The decision comes after an armed conflict between Hamas and Israeli military forces broke out on October 7, 2023. This has led to extensive strikes against civilians in the Gaza Strip, leading to a ground invasion of the Palestinian territory. A number of cruise lines had Israel listed as a stop on their itineraries. Now, several have removed the country from their itineraries to add a safer port due to the ongoing conflict in the region.

Royal Caribbean drops Israel from 2024 itineraries

As noted by Reuters, Royal Caribbean International officials addressed an email to travel agents. The email explained that itineraries having a scheduled stop in Israel would be modified to add safer destinations. Moreover, the cruise line is modifying itineraries through October 2024. The reasoning for the move was to avoid the ongoing conflict in the region, as it is hard to know when this will be over.

Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty made a statement last week to the effect that only approximately 1.5 percent of the cruise line’s scheduled sailings are impacted by the Hamas/Israel war. It was also advised that ships previously scheduled to sail to Israel in 2024 are being moved to handle cruises out of Boston, Massachusetts. Liberty said:

We don’t know how long this conflict is going to go on for, which could very much inform where the consumer wants to go next year.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings drops Israel from itineraries

Earlier in October, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings reported amendments to a number of its 2024 itineraries. In each, stops in Israel were canceled due to the ongoing conflict. The cruise line said that Oceania Cruises sailing to Israel would make port stops in cities like Trieste, Italy instead.

Windstar Cruises postpones inaugural Middle East season

However, Norwegian wasn’t the first cruise line to alter its itineraries in the Middle East due to the ongoing war. Cruise Mapper reported on October 20 that Windstar Cruises had also decided to cancel its much-anticipated inaugural season in the Middle East. The season was scheduled to start in November this year, but due to the ongoing conflict, this had to be canceled.

Windstar had planned to homeport Star Legend in Dubai, UAE for a series of sailing starting in late November. Meanwhile, the season was to extend through April 2024, but due to the conflict, the cruise line postponed the season.

MSC Cruises replaces Red Sea itineraries

Meanwhile, MSC Cruises also reacted to the conflict between Israel and Gaza. The cruise line is replacing its Red Sea itineraries on MSC Orchestra this winter. Instead, the cruise line is offering a new Mediterranean itinerary to avoid the conflict. The sailing itinerary runs from December 16, 2023, through April 19, 2024.