Suez Canal Cruise Asia Cruises

suez canal cruise

The surprise dawn attack on Saturday, October 7 has led to a declaration of war by Israel, and has escalated throughout Israel and the Gaza Strip. Each brand is offering affected cruisers a variety of compensation options, depending on the circumstances and whether their voyages are already underway. Originally scheduled to traverse the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the ship will now sail around the coast of Africa on its way to the Mediterranean. Royal Caribbean announced its 9-month world cruise would be re-routed around Africa as well.

Destinations, Ports

"The ship was originally scheduled to sail in the Middle East. We’ve postponed our launch in that region to begin in November 2024,” said Windstar Cruises President Christopher Prelog. On October 24, Windstar announced Star Legend would instead be deployed to the Mediterranean, offering cruises from Rome (Civitavecchia) to Barcelona or reverse between December 2023 and April 2024. Ports of call include Nice, Monte Carlo, Florence (Livorno) and Cannes on select voyages. Cruise lines have begun canceling itineraries scheduled to call on the Middle East as the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip escalates.

Crystal Cancels Middle East Cruise on Symphony; Reroutes World Cruise

Tolls' increase was due to the current oil and gas shipping market changes, with daily charter rates (increasing over 2021) +88% for crude oil tankers and +11% for LNG tankers. Suez Canal is a man-made, sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting Mediterranean Sea to Red Sea. After 10 years of construction, Suez Canal was officially opened on November 17, 1869. It allows passenger and cargo vessels to travel between South Asia and Europe without navigating around Africa, this way reducing the sea cruise distance by around 7,000 km (4,300 mi). Once a vast salt flat, the lake now serves as a passing and repositioning point for ships and boats journeying through the canal, where gently rippling blue waters are flanked on either side by the golden hues of the desert.

MSC Cruises Became First Cruise Line to Cancel Cruises Due to Red Sea Attacks

MSC Reroutes World Cruise to Avoid Red Sea - The Maritime Executive

MSC Reroutes World Cruise to Avoid Red Sea.

Posted: Fri, 05 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The Suez Canal Bridge will only allow ships with a maximum height of 68m, as your cruise ship passes under the bridge, you will feel quite close to it. If your Suez Canal cruise is travelling southbound (from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea), your cruise ship will most likely anchor near Port Said overnight to start the transit through the Canal the following morning. A Suez Canal cruise is often on people’s ‘bucket list.’ It’s an experience that differs from your typical ocean cruise as a Suez Canal transit offers a day of scenic cruising. In this post, I share everything you need to know about a southbound Suez Canal cruise, including the landmarks during the journey and the best places on the ship to view the Suez Canal. One of the best parts of a Suez Canal cruise is the scenery you can see while sailing along the sea-level waterway. To the west of the Suez Canal is the Nile Delta, awash in foliage, while to the east you’ll see the arid landscape of the Sinai Peninsula.

suez canal cruise

Cruises to Suez Canal (Passage)

A rise of attacks since October 2023 on commercial ships in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by the Houthis has greatly impacted tourism in the area. This includes pirate activity and even drones to attack ships in the area. In January 2024, Egypt’s revenues from the waterway decreased by ~40% (over Jan 2023) due to ship diversions (mainly cargo/container ships). It was calculated that the route’s increased fuel consumption results in additional 6800 tons of CO2 on average per voyage. One of Egypt’s largest ports, the port of Suez is found at the northern tip of the Gulf of Suez at the edge of the Red Sea.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines returning to Australia for the first time since 2020

As your Suez Canal cruise moves into the canal you will see plenty of local life on the banks. The El Ferdan Railway Bridge is the longest swing bridge in the world, with a span of 340m. Unfortunately, it is no longer in use after the Suez Canal expansion cut off the a-joining railway track.

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"We're truly sorry for the impact that this has on your vacation plans," Royal Caribbean said in a statement to guests booked on the now cancelled cruise. Anthem of the Seas was to sail through the Suez Canal as part of a repositioning from Southampton, UK to her new homeport in Singapore. It's not clear yet if any of the scheduled sailings from Singapore will be affected.

Carnival Corporation rerouted itineraries for 12 ships across seven brands for voyages scheduled to sail through the Red Sea through May. Cruise Critic is not a booking agent and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. When you book with one of our partners, please be sure to check their site for a full disclosure of all applicable fees as required by the U.S.

MSC Cruises chooses Bilbao (Spain) as embarkation/homeport for MSC Grand Voyages itinerary

The expansion was expected to double the Suez Canal capacity from 49 to 97 vessels per day. At a cost of US$8.4 billion, the project was funded via interest-bearing investment certificates issued to Egyptian individuals and entities. On February 24, 2016, the SCA opened the new side channel at the northern side of Suez Canal's east extension.

Viking notes its river cruise departures along the Nile in Egypt are still proceeding as planned, with the cancellation of select overland extensions to Jerusalem. “The three ships will transfer directly to Europe without any passengers on board and avoid transiting through the Red Sea. The move comes after a series of attacks by Yemen-based Houthi rebels on vessels transiting through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, followed by U.S. and U.K. Anticipated transits of the Suez Canal later in 2024 and into 2025 are not affected at this time. 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.

The original plan was for Serenade of the Seas to go through the Suez Canal in May. For any cruises listed, Cruise Critic does not guarantee any specific rates or prices. All cabins are carpeted, with air conditioning, small refrigerator, wardrobe, desk, and chair. Facilities include an elevator, small fitness room plus sauna, outside pool, and onboard steward.

Royal Caribbean has been forced to cancel a cruise due to the conflict in the region of the Red Sea. Passing through the Suez Canal is a unique experience related not only to cruising but also to the Africa-Asia region itself. The Egypt Nile cruise deals may be booked separately (they are optional) offering the not necessarily cheap, but always so much exotic Alexandria and Cairo tours and excursions. As you near the port of Suez, you’ll come face-to-face with the impressive Suez Canal Bridge.

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