Amid ongoing conflict in and around the Red Sea, Crystal has decided to cancel the 2024 Cruise from Mumbai to Piraeus (Athens) on Crystal Symphony March 27 to April 13.
Additionally, the cruise line said it is re-routing several segments of the 2024 World Cruise on Crystal Serenity to avoid this area. However, this will not affect the overall voyage length, and the ship will arrive in Miami as originally scheduled on June 8, 2024.
Crystal said this move comes as it remains “committed to prioritising the safety and well-being of our guests and crew.”
Crystal is not the only cruise line that’s altered its itineraries in the wake of the conflict. A spokesperson for Virgin Voyages confirmed the cruise line will alter the course of Resilient Lady’s repositioning voyage to avoid the Middle Eastern conflict.
In place of her former repositioning voyage, Resilient Lady will now be departing from Sydney, embarking on a sailing around the coast of Africa with a brand new route stopping in Eden and Fremantle (Perth) in Australia, Port Louis (Mauritius Islands), Durban and Cape Town (South Africa), Walvis Bay (Namibia), Praia (Cape Verde), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain), Casablanca (Morocco), Barcelona (Spain), Valletta (Malta), as well as Santorini and Piraeus (Athens) in Greece — all with extended time at sea.
All passengers on these former three legs of the repositioning voyages will have guaranteed spots on these sailings at no additional cost and a price protection commitment in place. If these dates are not convenient they can receive a future voyage credit based on their paid balance or a full refund.
A Virgin Voyages spokesperson said this change was made as “the safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority. Like many other cruise brands, we have been watching the current conflict in the Middle East closely, connecting regularly with global security experts to consider the impacts to the repositioning voyages planned for Resilient Lady in 2024.”
With the likely continuation of this escalated regional conflict and in an effort to minimise further disruptions to its passengers’ future holiday plans, Virgin Voyages is now conducting a full review of other geographically similar repositioning voyages and linked sailings.
It will provide an update in the coming weeks on any further changes needed.
(Featured Image: Crystal Symphony – Crystal)
