Ongoing conflict in the Red Sea has led Princess Cruises to revise its world cruise itineraries for the Island Princess and the Crown Princess, which were scheduled to sail there in 2025.
The ships will no longer visit the Middle East or Asia on those cruises and will instead make new port calls in Africa and Europe.
The changes make Princess the latest line to alter its itineraries after Yemen's Houthi rebels began attacking shipping vessels passing through the Red Sea last year. Although cruise ships and many shipping vessels are now avoiding the area, conflict there is active with a reported missile attack as recently as Monday.
The Island Princess is scheduled to sail roundtrip from North America on a 116-day voyage departing from Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 5 and from Los Angeles on Jan. 20. The substituted calls are scheduled between Feb. 16 and April 9 when the ship departs Sydney. The ship will now call in Melbourne and Perth (Fremantle), Australia; Port Louis, Mauritius; overnight in Cape Town, South Africa; call for two days in Walvis Bay, Namibia; then call in Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands.
The ship will then arrive in Europe with calls at Madeira (Funchal), Portugal; Gibraltar; Siracusa, Italy; Athens (Piraeus), Volos, Patmos and Crete (Chania), Greece; Kusadasi, Turkey; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Bar, Montenegro; and Taranto, Italy, before resuming its previously scheduled itinerary.
Guests scheduled to depart or join the voyage from Dubai on March 14 will now embark or disembark four days earlier on March 9 in Cape Town. Booked guests disembarking from Cape Town will receive a refund for the four days eliminated from their cruise. Guests joining earlier will not incur an added cost. All of these guests will receive a $300 onboard credit.
The Crown Princess, which will also avoid the Red Sea, is scheduled to depart Auckland on May 31 and Sydney on June 4 to sail a 113-day cruise. The ship will bypass the Red Sea and the surrounding region and cruise to Africa instead of the Red Sea and Asia. A fully revised itinerary is in the works and will be communicated soon, Princess said.