Wh2437

We who are joining later have heard nothing from HAL. I assume the itineray will remain as is to Singapore and instead of going to Sri Lanka will go to Maldives and south. I expect we should hear later today or tomorrow, but thanks for heads up. Glad I waited for visas to Sri Lanka and India.

An interesting Bill and Mary Ann blog on the Zeiderdam GWC24 cruise advises that when passengers asked during a meet and greet on the 25th of Jan they were told there would be an announcement within a week as to whether there will be an itinerary change. Passengers are betting on the Africa route. We board in Singapore on 23 March. We are not concerned about a Red Sea passage, knowing there is no way HAL will or can go if the situation remains unstable in April. Anyway, we prefer the African route. That said, it would be nice to know now so we can avoid unecessary Visas such as India. The African route as cruisers know is usually Sri Lanka, Maldives, Seychelles, Mombassa, Mozambique, Zanzibar etc. Never been, but would love to go that route. We have visited many ports in Med a change south would sure work for us.

We are joining the Zeiderdam in Singapore on 23 March for the final segment of the World Voyage. On our current itinerary, we reach the Red Sea in mid-April. Holland America is waiting to see if the situation in the Red Sea stabilizes and has not made a decision yet, but will have to return to Ft Lauderdale on their World Voyage via the Cape if the Red Sea remains unstable. At this point, it's anybody's guess. I have no idea how long HAL will wait to make the final decision. I would think it will have to be by Singapore because the next port is Columbo and after that, it's either north to Bombay or west to the east coast of Africa and south and around the Cape. We are happy to go with the flow either way. It's an adventure. What are your thoughts about how this will evolve?

The 2020 and 2025 GWC from Singapore West clearly show the alternative if the route through Suez is considered untenable in April. We board in Singapore on the final 49 day segment on 23 March. A decision must be made a month or so prior to Singapore and it will depend upon the war. We love an adventure and are excited about either the Suez transit or deviating south with visits to Mombassa, Mozambique, Zanzibar, Durban, Cape Town etc. Speculation about a cancellation is wrongheaded. There are many great ports to visit going south and ports visited will be about the same number as they would have been on the Med cruise. I cant speak to additional cost for HAL, but it should not be a game changer. They do the southern route around the Cape during the same month pretty much every other year. I am certain HAL will try to maintain the current itinerary, but passenger safety always comes first and they will do whatever is necessary when the time comes for a decision. Whatever that decision is we look forward to a fun cruise no matter which route we take.