What is the Princess WC doing about the suez canal situation?

[Eli_6]

Is the spring WC still going through the Suez Canal with all the trouble with terrorists attacking ships?  Is it still stopping in Jordan?  Anyone on the ship know?  I notice they are still selling segments for that portion of the cruise, but at a very reduced rate.  

[Rick&Jeannie]

I would *guess* that the absolute final itinerary may still be in flux.  We've all heard stories of itineraries changing on the fly...I'm sure they are looking closely at the situation and will communicate at some point in the future.

[hsmom]

The other night the Andi, the CD, listed the Suez Canal as part of the itinerary. There was a noticeable reaction from the crowd in the theater. We are on the Island now.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I'm sure that this *is* what the itinerary is for right now.  Plenty of time for changes to be made, I would think. (Just guessing, though!)

[cruisinsince75]

This whole thing about the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea brings back memories of the Somali pirate attacks back in the mid 2000's.  I remember the 2005 attack on the Seabourn Pride.  We had been on the sister ship, the Legend.  On our Azamara Quest cruise our CD, Tony Markey recalled that day as CD on that ship.  What the captain and his crew did to keep them from boarding the ship was truly remarkable.  Using water cannons and ear piercing technology to drive them away.  

https://www.google.com/search?q=pirates+attack+cruise+ship+2005&sca_esv=25e166837710fba2&sca_upv=1&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1047US1047&sxsrf=ACQVn08zmDW2en7azij8npjG1GwopdXQBg%3A1704844838420&ei=Jt6dZbKmGfOUwbkP3tSJwA4&ved=0ahUKEwiy0fb3wdGDAxVzSjABHV5qAugQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=pirates+attack+cruise+ship+2005&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiH3BpcmF0ZXMgYXR0YWNrIGNydWlzZSBzaGlwIDIwMDUyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUjkJlDDCljyF3ABeAGQAQCYAX2gAbQDqgEDMi4yuAEDyAEA-AEBwgIKEAAYRxjWBBiwA8ICChAjGIAEGIoFGCfCAgUQABiABMICCxAAGIAEGIoFGIYD4gMEGAAgQYgGAZAGCA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:39757744,vid:1SsY7nEuJDs,st:0

[TRLD]

Pretty much all of the cruise lines follow the same practice.

 

They do not announce changes until they absolutely have to. After all there is always the possibility that they will not have too.

 

There are a wide range of possibilities, including having the passengers and non essential crew get off before the war zone, fly them to a port after the war zone, take the ship through without passengers and minimal staffing. Then pick up the crew and passengers. 

 

Another line took a smaller cruise ship without passengers through the zone.

 

I would not expect any plans to be established and/or communicated until date of the passage through the area to be pretty much at hand.

 

CCL has war zone coverage on its ships according to SEC filing, though that coverage can be withdrawn with a 3 day advance notice. If withdrawn it can be renegotiated at a higher price.

 

Would not expect then to take passenger through unless things calm down a bit. But I could see them taking an empty ship through with appropriate escort.

[Tranquility Base]

16 hours ago, TRLD said:

Another line took a smaller cruise ship without passengers through the zone.

Which line was that and when ?

[DCThunder]

16 hours ago, TRLD said:

They do not announce changes until they absolutely have to. After all there is always the possibility that they will not have too.

What you said is undoubtedly true, but the port calls in Haifa and Ashod have already been stricken from the itinerary.  This is an understandable and prudent action, but it was taken over a year before the sailing of the Dubai>Rome leg of the WC. 

[TRLD]

58 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

Which line was that and when ?

It was mentioned over on the HAL board

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2979334-red-sea-troubles/?do=getNewComment

 

It was the Silversea Silver Moon. A new 600 passenger ship. It went through without any passengers. 

[CruisingFox27]

We sailed through the Suez in mid-November, but our port calls to Egypt and Jordan were cancelled. We had a heavy military presence on board, far more so than we've seen when sailing in that region before. As things are currently, I wouldn't want to be sailing there now

 

MSC Poesia started her WC on 5th Jan, they were due in Malta today, then Rhodes, Cyprus and to traverse Suez 16th Jan. They've been to Alicante and Malaga instead, currently sailing on the West Coast of Africa, just off Morocco. So, definitely no Suez.

 

Edited January 11 by CruisingFox27

[Eli_6]

Any updates?  I guess Poesia is going around Africa.

[worldtraveller]

We know some people on the WC; as of Thursday they haven't been told of any changes.  However they can only book shore excursions through Australia.

[CruisingFox27]

17 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Any updates?  I guess Poesia is going around Africa.

Yes,  stopped at  Namibia and now enroute to Durban.

 

The situation is worsening in the Red Sea area, spring journeys through the Suez do not look very likely. We're booked for April '25 and I'm starting to doubt that happening. 

[Clek]

On 1/27/2024 at 5:31 AM, worldtraveller said:

We know some people on the WC; as of Thursday they haven't been told of any changes.  However they can only book shore excursions through Australia.

We can only book tours for the segment we are currently sailing. This segment ends in Sydney so that's as far as we can book. It was the same during our first segment from FLL to LA. Booking excursions is different once you are aboard and sailing. 

[Eli_6]

On 1/27/2024 at 12:51 PM, CruisingFox27 said:

Yes,  stopped at  Namibia and now enroute to Durban.

 

The situation is worsening in the Red Sea area, spring journeys through the Suez do not look very likely. We're booked for April '25 and I'm starting to doubt that happening. 

So, what ports are they skipping to make up for the extra time it is taking to sail around Africa?

[CruisingFox27]

10 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

So, what ports are they skipping to make up for the extra time it is taking to sail around Africa?

 

The itinerary is considerably changed, they aren't just skipping ports, originally they were going to Egypt, Saudi and Jordan, then as above, they were going to Cyprus and Malta, replaced with Malaga and Alicante. Presumably they'll now do SA, Mauritius and Madagascar etc before crossing over to South America as scheduled.

 

Costa have just cancelled their March 9th repositioning sailing from Dubai to Italy, MSC had already cancelled the Virtuosa sailing from Dubai to the Med/UK for April.

 

Whatever the Island Princess does, it isn't going to be sailing through the Suez Canal to return to Europe. After Singapore and Malaysia they could sail over to Mauritius, South Africa and return via the West Coast of Africa. That's just a guess on my part, but something along those lines would make sense.

Edited January 29 by CruisingFox27

[Eli_6]

3 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

 

The itinerary is considerably changed, they aren't just skipping ports, originally they were going to Egypt, Saudi and Jordan, then as above, they were going to Cyprus and Malta, replaced with Malaga and Alicante. Presumably they'll now do SA, Mauritius and Madagascar etc before crossing over to South America as scheduled.

 

Costa have just cancelled their March 9th repositioning sailing from Dubai to Italy, MSC had already cancelled the Virtuosa sailing from Dubai to the Med/UK for April.

 

Whatever the Island Princess does, it isn't going to be sailing through the Suez Canal to return to Europe. After Singapore and Malaysia they could sail over to Mauritius, South Africa and return via the West Coast of Africa. That's just a guess on my part, but something along those lines would make sense.

It goes Sydney, Brisbane, Airlie Beach, Bali, Singapore, Phuket, Sri. Lanka, Salalah, Aqaba (Jordan), Suez Canal, Israel (obviously not going), Crete, Naples, and Rome.

 

So do you think they would head down to the Africa after Sri Lanka? I am anxious to hear what the route will be as I am on this 36-day leg next year (2025).  I am starting to wonder if I should plan an alternative trip. They have some nice ones on Oceania and Azamara that just stick to East Asia.  I did Princess because of my kids and wanting to see the middle east, but that's more and more sounding like it will be out. 

[CruisingFox27]

22 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

It goes Sydney, Brisbane, Airlie Beach, Bali, Singapore, Phuket, Sri. Lanka, Salalah, Aqaba (Jordan), Suez Canal, Israel (obviously not going), Crete, Naples, and Rome.

 

So do you think they would head down to the Africa after Sri Lanka? I am anxious to hear what the route will be as I am on this 36-day leg next year (2025).  I am starting to wonder if I should plan an alternative trip. They have some nice ones on Oceania and Azamara that just stick to East Asia.  I did Princess because of my kids and wanting to see the middle east, but that's more and more sounding like it will be out. 

 

It's purely guess work and speculation from me there on itinerary, but Island Princess isn't going Aqaba or through the Suez Canal. To me, it wouldn't make sense to head as far north as Dubai or Oman if they have to circumvent the west coast of Africa, in terms of the time required to do so. And, they could substitute some east med ports for the west med ones. Fortunately, I'm not doing the planning. I suspect the route planners for all the cruise lines are very stressed right now.

 

It's a lottery for 2025, we are booked on a Dubai to Paris repositioning in April, we were looking to incorporate Aqaba and the Egypt ports we missed in Nov '23 but how long this mess is going to go on for 🤷‍♀️

[DCThunder]

I'd say if you want to cruise in the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden for the next while, you'll need to enlist in the US or Royal Navies.   

[PescadoAmarillo]

Princess announced an itinerary change for the WC.

 

https://www.cnn.com/travel/red-sea-tensions-disrupting-cruises/index.html

[DCThunder]

37 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Princess announced an itinerary change for the WC.

 

https://www.cnn.com/travel/red-sea-tensions-disrupting-cruises/index.html

There's a thread over on the HAL boards about the re-routing of their 2024 WC as well:

 

 HAL reschedules the GWV to avoid the Red Sea - Holland America Line - Cruise Critic Community

 

[azbirdmom]

I didn't see this thread yesterday when I posted this on another thread about itinerary changes.  

 

 Carnival corp adjusted schedules for any trip that transited the Red Sea through the Spring (understandable under the circumstances).  But it's resulting in huge changes to itineraries.  For example, this is what someone posted re: the current world cruise on the Island:

 

 

These are the ports eliminated:  Burnie, Adelaide, Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

 

The Coral Princess World Cruise that departs in April will likely be affected too.

 

CCL is also expecting to take an earnings hit as a result of the itinerary changes https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/carnival-warns-annual-earnings-hit-due-red-sea-disruptions-2024-01-30/

 

 

 

[EDVM96]

51 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

These are the ports eliminated:  Burnie, Adelaide, Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

They miss Singapore as well. And continuing, they will mis Salalah (Oman) and Aqaba (Jordan), too.

 

This is sad, so many extra sea days and only very few replacement ports.

However, this must be a logistical nightmare for Princess.

 

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, EDVM96 said:

They miss Singapore as well. And continuing, they will mis Salalah (Oman) and Aqaba (Jordan), too.

 

This is sad, so many extra sea days and only very few replacement ports.

However, this must be a logistical nightmare for Princess.

 

 

The person that I got that from was only on until Dubai and yes, she missed Singapore.  I pasted the original itinerary below for the segment indicated in the letter.  Princess hasn't updated their website yet so all the original itineraries are still out there.  Clearly lots of other missed ports for those staying on beyond that like Jordan and other ports in the Med.  Agree it is sad on many levels - for the passengers and for the world in general to have so much upheaval.

 

[Waynetor]

My wife and I cancelled this cruise just before final payment.  Sure glad we did.