03 November 2023 , 16:05
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Royal Caribbean has removed Israel from a series of itineraries for 2024 due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Travel agents have been contacted by the cruise line to advise of changes to itineraries as late as October 2024, according to reports. When the Mirror team took a look at Royal Caribbean itineraries, it appears that there are no longer sailings which include Israel ports of call through to October 2024.
The cruise line previously shared its third quarterly results last month and said that it was anticipating an impact due to "sailings related to Israel deployment".Meanwhile its cruise ship Jewel of the Seas was originally tipped to be homeporting in Haifa, Israel next year, but will now sail from the USA instead.
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean said: "The safety and security of our guests and crew are our top priority. Due to the ever-evolving conflict occurring in Israel, we have adjusted 2024 vacations that visit Haifa, Israel, including Jewel of the Seas' seasonal cruises sailing roundtrip from the destination. Jewel will now cruise from Boston to popular destinations in the Northeast from July-Oct. 2024. Grandeur of the Seas, originally sailing from Boston, will move to Tampa, Florida, and visit islands in the western Caribbean. Guests and travel partners have been notified of the changes."
It's not the only cruise line to be amending its itineraries which featured Israel. Last month, Celestyal Cruises announced that it would be temporarily suspending cruises to Israel until the end of November. Chris Theophilides, CEO at Celestyal, said at the time: "Firstly, as a business, our thoughts are with those impacted by the events in Israel. We wish for the safety of everyone affected and a rapid return of peace to the country. We remain in close coordination with the authorities, and the safety, security, and comfort of our guests remains our upmost priority.
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"On the advice of our internal teams and the relevant authorities, we have decided to temporarily replace Israel on our Three Continents itinerary with the city of Heraklion on the island of Crete, until the end of November this year. Our teams will be contacting affected customers to advise them of the updates to their itineraries and the additional provisions that have been made to ensure their continued enjoyment."
Celestyal Cruises has temporarily suspended Israel sailings (DAILY MIRROR)Meanwhile, MSC Cruises has cancelled all sailings scheduled to call at destinations in the Red Sea until April 17, 2024.
Norwegian Cruise Line holdings has also suspended Israel sailings for 2024. In its third quarterly results released last month, the group announced that "as a result of the escalation of the conflict in Israel, the Company has cancelled and redirected all calls to Israel and certain calls to the surrounding region for the remainder of 2023".
They added: "The Company is also in the process of cancelling all calls to Israel in 2024 as well, and will continue to closely monitor and evaluate future sailings and adjust as needed."