25 BEST Israel Cruises 2024 Prices + Itineraries: Cruises to Israel on Cruise Critic

Table Of Content

• Royal Caribbean Scrubs Middle East Cruises on Rhapsody of the Seas
• Night 141 Night World CruiseDetails
• Hike Canaveral Seashore’s Klondike Beach: A 13-mile trek along wild Florida coastline
• Celebrity, Holland America Line and Celestyal Drastically Alter Itineraries
• Night 120 Night Viking World JourneysDetails
• MSC Cruises Cancels Israel Visits Into January 2024
• Night Med, Israel & Egypt CruiseDetails

Windstar Cruises, which had planned to inaugurate a full season of Middle East cruises on the 312-passenger Star Legend from November 2023 into April 2024, now has the ship headed to the Mediterranean for the winter season instead. "One of the main strengths and differentiators in our industry is our ability to reposition our assets, which is what we've done with the heightened tensions in the Middle East," CEO Harry Sommer said on the call. "The safety and well-being of our guests and crew members are without a doubt our number one priority." Royal Caribbean had already cancelled a few sailings from Israel, as well as visits to the country on other ships. All cruise lines are carefully monitoring the situation for further developments, and will make itinerary adjustments as needed to keep guests and crew members safe as they enjoy oceangoing getaways.

Royal Caribbean Scrubs Middle East Cruises on Rhapsody of the Seas

At Norwegian, the cancellations so far have included a call at Ashdod on Sunday that had been scheduled for the 2,394-passenger Norwegian Gem and calls later this week in both Ashdod and Haifa scheduled for the 2,402-passenger Norwegian Jade. Given that stops in Alexandria, Egypt, are often paired with stops in Israel on Eastern Mediterranean sailings — the two countries share a border — it's likely we'll see more Egypt calls canceled as part of retrenchment from Israel calls. A growing number of cruise lines are canceling upcoming calls in Israel as fighting between Israeli and Hamas forces continues.

Night 141 Night World CruiseDetails

Red Sea Attacks and Ongoing War Lead to More Canceled Cruises in Middle East - Cruise Critic

Red Sea Attacks and Ongoing War Lead to More Canceled Cruises in Middle East.

Posted: Wed, 18 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

"Future calls are being reviewed and we will update guests accordingly," the spokesperson said. "The safety of our guests and crew is always our upmost (sic) priority and in an evolving situation such as this we will modify our itineraries as needed." Cruisers are wondering if crew vaccinations were also a factor in canceling these voyages. CrewCenter reported that some of Odyssey's crew were set to be vaccinated in Haifa on May 7 but that the appointments were canceled. Rumors today seem to indicate that some crew may have been vaccinated while in Limassol while everyone else that still requires immunization will get the vaccine when the ship returns to Florida. If the war lingers or widens, passengers can expect more itinerary changes, including to the multi-month world cruise itineraries embarking this winter.

Hike Canaveral Seashore’s Klondike Beach: A 13-mile trek along wild Florida coastline

The Switzerland-based brand canceled a Thursday call at Haifa scheduled for its 2,550-passenger MSC Musica. An Oct. 16 call at Haifa scheduled for a second ship, the 2,087-passenger MSC Sinfonia, was also canceled. At this time, Royal Caribbean has given no indication that those cruises are being cancelled or modified. If booked guests want to rebook another sailing on a different ship, Royal Caribbean will waive non-refundable deposit change fees; however, they'll be responsible for paying the difference in cruise fare, taxes, fees, and gratuities, if applicable. Royal Caribbean announced yesterday that, due to escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine, Odyssey of the Seas' season sailing out of Israel had been canceled. This brand-new 4,198-passenger ship was slated to sail from Haifa from June through October with a fully vaccinated crew.

In a further amendment to its sailing itineraries, Oceania Cruises’ Sirena, scheduled for a three-day stay in Israel during its October 14 cruise, will now spend a day at sea, followed by calls to Santorini, Heraklion, and Mykonos, Greece. In an additional update on October 12, Royal Caribbean announced it had cancelled cruises for Rhapsody of the Seas for the October 9, 13, 18, 23 and 27 sailings, as well as the November 1 and 6 cruises. “Due to the current Israel and Gaza Strip conflict, we will not be calling ports in Israel as originally planned.

Night 120 Night Viking World JourneysDetails

Cruise companies can make changes to itineraries for a number of reasons, including bad weather, technical issues and safety concerns. Flights are usually booked separately and Ms Roy said they would be subject to the airline's own terms and conditions, which could leave passengers in a sticky situation. "If a passenger has booked a cruise with a cruise line that doesn't … [do business] in Australia, they won't have any rights under Australian law, and their rights would just be determined by whichever country's law applies to the booking," she said. Victoria Roy, a lawyer specialising in travel and cruise contracts, said a customer's right to compensation came down to the booking terms and conditions of each individual cruise company. If those options don't suit, passengers are entitled to "receive a full refund with no cancellation fee".

Under airline terms and conditions passengers may not be able to get a full refund but might be eligible for a credit or to change their date of travel. It's unclear if Royal Caribbean passengers from the cancelled or amended ships are being offered compensation. Itinerary changes as a result of the conflict are also being felt in other geographic areas, too. Passengers aboard Norwegian Epic were notified that their November itinerary would drop ports in Israel – but also the Greek ports of Rhodes and Patmos. Affected departures include Celestyal's "Three Continents" voyages sailing aboard Celestyal Journey on October 21, 28; November 4, 11, 18, and 25, 2023.

Geneva-based MSC Cruises canceled Israel port calls into April and as a result is pulling two ships out of the region that were to cruise in the Middle East. The 3,223-passenger MSC Orchestra, scheduled to sail the Red Sea, will instead do seven-night sailings in the Mediterranean between December 16, 2023, and April 19, 2024. The cruises will visit Valencia, Spain; Sardinia; Civitavecchia (the port used to access Rome), Italy; Livorno, Italy; Marseille, France; and Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Meanwhile, the 2,646-passenger MSC Sinfonia’s Haifa-focused winter schedule from November 12, 2023, to April 15, 2024, has been canceled. The 6,334-passenger MSC Virtuosa, for instance, is skipping port calls in Aqaba, Jordan, and Safaga, Egypt, on an 18-night sailing from Barcelona to Dubai in November.

For those who made their Jewel of the Seas reservation with a Future Cruise Credit and opt to cancel will have their original certificate reinstated, with any new funds paid above the certificate amount refunded. Last week during their Q3 earnings call, Royal Caribbean Group said that the canceled 2023 sailings to Israel will negatively impact their earnings for the year by three cents a share. Indeed, the ship was in Limassol, Cypress, on Saturday to transfer approximately 50 crewmembers -- who didn't have U.S. visas -- to sister ship Anthem of the Seas, which is slated to head to the U.K. Previously set to offer several itineraries departing from Israel between mid-August and late-October, the Jewel of the Seas is now scheduled to offer Canada & New England cruises departing from Boston. Some cruise lines, such as Oceania, are opting to spend more time in Mediterranean destinations, such as Santorini, Greece. These awe-inspiring cruises offer diverse itineraries that will bring you to historic sites in both Israel and other eastern Mediterranean destinations.

Thousands of Americans stranded in Israel evacuated by cruise ship - New York Post

Thousands of Americans stranded in Israel evacuated by cruise ship.

Posted: Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

MSC Cruises, which maintains a strong presence in the Arabian Gulf with cruises aboard MSC Opera, also told Cruise Critic in an email that those voyages – which operate far removed geographically from the current conflict – would continue as planned. Royal Caribbean has canceled the entire Middle East season aboard its Rhapsody of the Seas, which is now being used for humanitarian aid in the region since it was previously operating sailings out of Haifa. A Windstar spokesperson told Cruise Critic, “Windstar staff are contacting all booked guests with an offer to move their sailing to a 2024 date. Other destination options being offered aboard Windstar’s ships are Caribbean, Tahiti, Costa Rica and Panama. Some brands, like Princess, are re-routing ships away from the conflict areas and opting to travel around the horn of Africa.

The affected ships, which include Costa Cruises' Costa Toscana and Costa Deliziosa; Princess Cruises' Island Princess; and AIDA Cruises' AIDAbella, AIDAblu, and AIDAprima, along with P&O Cruises' Arcadia. Queen Mary 2 will maintain its existing itinerary until after its call in Colombo, Sri Lanka. At that point, the ship's itinerary will sail south along the east coast of Africa before rounding the horn and coming up the western coast of the continent.

Finally, Royal Caribbean will refund any paid portion of the cruise fare, including non-refundable deposits, if they decide to cancel. According to Cruise Industry News independent research, at least six cruise vessels have now had their itineraries cancelled due to the armed conflicts in the area. Because tense situations can always change at the last minute, cruise lines must stay vigilant about new developments to keep all travelers safe.

Celestyal Cruises, which maintains a presence in the region, said late Monday evening it would suspend calls to Israel on its sailings until the end of November. “We were on tour of Galilee region at Jordan River when we were all recalled to the ship,” writes CNSJ on Cruise Critic’s Holland America Line message boards. Three days in Holy Land has become three hours…obviously this is beyond HALs control.

The third and final itinerary departs from Boston on October 13 and will visit Sydney, Nova Scotia; Saint John (Bay of Fundy), New Brunswick; and Portland, Maine.

On the river cruise side, Viking canceled some pre- and post-cruise Jerusalem extensions of its 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids cruise-tours on the Nile River. “We will continue to evaluate conditions in the days and weeks to come,” the company said in a statement, adding, “All of our departures in Egypt are operating as scheduled. Windstar Cruises canceled its entire five-month Middle East season for the 312-passenger Star Legend. Now the ship is headed instead to the western Mediterranean where, beginning in December, it will do a rare winter season of 16 seven-night sailings between Barcelona and Rome (from the port of Civitavecchia). The cruises will visit Livorno, Italy (for Florence and Pisa), and Marseille, France, with overnights in Nice, Barcelona, and Rome (Civitavecchia) into April 2024. The small ship line has curated the itineraries to include Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Rome, New Year’s in Barcelona, and Valentine’s Day in Nice.

The winter schedule for MSC Sinfonia was also canceled from November 2023 to April 2024. Itineraries for MSC Virtuosa, MSC Opera, MSC Splendida and MSC Armonia have been modified. In a conference call Wednesday to discuss third-quarter earnings, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings President and CEO Harry Sommer said all calls to Israel were canceled for the rest of 2023 when the Israel-Hamas conflict began to escalate. Anthem of the Seas’s trip in October is a 15-day, one-way sailing from Italy to Dubai that was previously scheduled to stop in Ashdod in Israel. The trips on Voyager of the Seas that are affected are the line’s 7-day, round-trip Israel Egypt Cruises, according to CruiseMapper. “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.