Will we ever get to cruise through the Red Sea and Suez Canal again?

[ATWCruiser]

I miss my opportunity to cruise the Black Sea. Now, it doesn't look like cruising through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal will be likely anytime soon.  Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia ports are no longer viable options.  Sorta sad.

[Harters]

I suspect any discussion on this thread will quickly cross the forum's "no politics" rule. And I'm not going to be the first to cross it.

[MEFIowa]

Safety always comes first. And what they can even do or are allowed to do. Booked a Baltic Cruise in May 2022 for August-Sept 2024. Of course, St. Petersburg not on it. Get to Finland and Estonia, but not Russia.

 

Do keep in mind that the 1973 War had the Suez Canal mined and closed. For some time. Same for the 1956 War. Each time she reopens. Egypt needs and wants the revenue.

 

Though for us, Madagascar is our next hoped-for lengthy stay. 2026. Then Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana in 2027. Off the beaten path. Did 2 weeks in Paraguay in 2022. Was magical driving over 2000 KM and really seeing and experiencing one nation like that.

[clo]

11 hours ago, ATWCruiser said:

I miss my opportunity to cruise the Black Sea. Now, it doesn't look like cruising through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal will be likely anytime soon.  Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia ports are no longer viable options.  Sorta sad.

We toured Israel a few years ago and it was fantastic. But I don't have a crystal ball to tell me if I would EVER be allowed to do it again. 

[jonthomas]

Not for a very long time.

[ATWCruiser]

One time, Oceania had a cruise going through the Black Sea going to Ukraine, Georgia, Russia, etc.  I regret not getting on that cruise.

 

We did Israel, Jordan on ATW2015 and Israel, Jordan and Egypt on ATW2019.  ATW2026, which we signed up for is suppose to go through that region but it looks likely they will go around Africa instead.  It feels like the cruising lanes are getting smaller and smaller whether environmental situations or wars.    

[clo]

1 hour ago, ATWCruiser said:

One time, Oceania had a cruise going through the Black Sea going to Ukraine, Georgia, Russia, etc.  I regret not getting on that cruise.

 

We did Israel, Jordan on ATW2015 and Israel, Jordan and Egypt on ATW2019.  ATW2026, which we signed up for is suppose to go through that region but it looks likely they will go around Africa instead.  It feels like the cruising lanes are getting smaller and smaller whether environmental situations or wars.    

As well they should IMneverHO.

[ATWCruiser]

As the pandemic, wars, climate and over tourism have shown us, don't wait for tomorrow if one is able to go, cruise right now as those ports may not be available again or may not be available for years.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed. 

 

Some of my best cruise port memories are in the Middle East including Petra-Jordan, Masada-Israel, Wadi Rum-Jordan, etc.  In ATW 2019, Oceania had one of the best shore-side cruise events and it took place in a citadel in Israel.  They had models, fabulous dinner, famous concert singers all in a perfect beautiful setting.  They even gave away wine bottles at the end.       

[osandomir]

4 hours ago, ATWCruiser said:

 

 

Some of my best cruise port memories are in the Middle East including Petra-Jordan, Masada-Israel, Wadi Rum-Jordan, etc.  In ATW 2019, Oceania had one of the best shore-side cruise events and it took place in a citadel in Israel.  They had models, fabulous dinner, famous concert singers all in a perfect beautiful setting.  They even gave away wine bottles at the end.       

I’ve never seen that kind of events on Oceania. Was it for the ATW cruisers only? Would be great if Oceania extends such experiences to the other sailings as well.

[ATWCruiser]

Yes, just for ATW cruisers only.  They normally have 5 shoreside events on the 6 month cruise.  We did the very first ATW cruise in 2015 and the shoreside events on that one were the best as a collective.

1. Dinner on a battleship in Hawaii with a 1940s theme

2. Lunch in front of the Great Wall of China

3. Wine and dinner at a chateau in Bordeaux, France

4. Flew to Bagan, Burma for overnight tour

5. Dinner at Four Seasons in Bangkok with a personal fireworks show

 

I reason Oceania put a lot of money into these events is because it was the very first ATW cruise and there were probably a smaller amount of ATW cruisers than it is now.  But the one at the Citadel in Israel in ATW 2019 was one of the best ones (uploaded a pic).  Good memories.

 

[osandomir]

17 minutes ago, ATWCruiser said:

Yes, just for ATW cruisers only.  They normally have 5 shoreside events on the 6 month cruise.  We did the very first ATW cruise in 2015 and the shoreside events on that one were the best as a collective.

1. Dinner on a battleship in Hawaii with a 1940s theme

2. Lunch in front of the Great Wall of China

3. Wine and dinner at a chateau in Bordeaux, France

4. Flew to Bagan, Burma for overnight tour

5. Dinner at Four Seasons in Bangkok with a personal fireworks show

 

I reason Oceania put a lot of money into these events is because it was the very first ATW cruise and there were probably a smaller amount of ATW cruisers than it is now.  But the one at the Citadel in Israel in ATW 2019 was one of the best ones (uploaded a pic).  Good memories.

 

Looks great! I wish it’s available to all. Not that we prefer and sailed with Azamara often but they offer some kind of similar events to everyone on most of the sailings. The one that we attended in Montevideo was amazing. I understand that it costs money but it would be nice if Oceania can do the same.

[Travel Lady in CT]

On 8/22/2024 at 2:13 PM, ATWCruiser said:

One time, Oceania had a cruise going through the Black Sea going to Ukraine, Georgia, Russia, etc.  I regret not getting on that cruise.

 

We did Israel, Jordan on ATW2015 and Israel, Jordan and Egypt on ATW2019.  ATW2026, which we signed up for is suppose to go through that region but it looks likely they will go around Africa instead.  It feels like the cruising lanes are getting smaller and smaller whether environmental situations or wars.    

Just curious...Any thoughts on when O might change an itinerary for ATW2026?  Wondering if we'll know in advance of excursion booking and/or departure.

[clo]

1 hour ago, osandomir said:

Looks great! I wish it’s available to all. Not that we prefer and sailed with Azamara often but they offer some kind of similar events to everyone on most of the sailings. The one that we attended in Montevideo was amazing. I understand that it costs money but it would be nice if Oceania can do the same.

I seem to recall that it was Azamara that had a post-dinner event (maybe with music) at Ephesus in Greece.

[Torquer]

O has cruises scheduled through the Suez Canal in 2025 and 2026.  Now who knows if they will really happen or not.  I do know that Holland America has cruises scheduled to go to Egypt this fall, and it has not been changed yet, so it is quite possible it will go.  We were booked on one of those Holland America cruises for September, that originally included Israel, and that was totally changed around to other ports, so we cancelled that cruise.

[ATWCruiser]

Regarding any ATW2026 itinerary announcements, my best guess will be after San Diego when we got everyone doing the world cruise onboard, probably after Hawaii.

 

I discuss this in length as well as likely alternative itinerary on the ATW2026 rollcall.

 

 

[Tranquility Base]

5 hours ago, Travel Lady in CT said:

Just curious...Any thoughts on when O might change an itinerary for ATW2026?  Wondering if we'll know in advance of excursion booking and/or departure.

For what it's worth:

The 2024 re-route of Riviera's previous  Red Sea schedule to the current Barcelona - Cape Town - Singapore one, was published for sale in December 2023.

About 11 months prior to the new Barcelona departure.

Edited August 24 by Tranquility Base

[ATWCruiser]

These are my own rules taking the perspective of the cruise line.

Rule#1

Safety of the passengers is priority.

Rule#2

Maximize profit which also means minimize lost.

Since rerouting around Africa will add an extra 14 sea days, it is an inferior itinerary and if they keep the same prices, it won't sell as well.  So the strategy is to get everyone onboard fully paid, make the announcement, maybe give a small compensation and hope most people stick around.  No benefit for announcing anything early.  Maybe on single segments but not on world cruises.  Plus, the cruise line can dangle that there is still a possibility they can go through the Red Sea.  We all like to dream before reality hits.

[pinotlover]

Meanwhile, we have people clamoring for Oceania to declare a segmented 2026-27 schedule with multiple ports and routes either on or off the schedule. Patience is still a virtue.

[CptBoatface]

At least we have significant time before final payment.  

[osandomir]

1 hour ago, CptBoatface said:

At least we have significant time before final payment.  

Now with a new penalty schedule Oceania made it more difficult to drop the booking after the deposit was paid. It also beneficial to them when they need to make significant changes along the way.

[AndrewRnR]

13 hours ago, ATWCruiser said:

Rule#2

Maximize profit which also means minimize lost.

Since rerouting around Africa will add an extra 14 sea days, it is an inferior itinerary and if they keep the same prices, it won't sell as well.  So the strategy is to get everyone onboard fully paid, make the announcement, maybe give a small compensation and hope most people stick around.  No benefit for announcing anything early.

We were just about to hit book on a ATW cruise today for 2026 then we came across the changes for 2024 and the recently announced for many lines changes for 2025 and held off for time being. Adding those sea days is a much inferior itinerary if that was to be the case in 2026.

I agree they'll likely do the sell it one way if there is even a 1% chance but I do wonder if Suez/Red Sea become longer term issues if lines will need to get creative to sell the itineraries. Do they sail to UAE and people fly to Europe and get on a different ship?  

[Hlitner]

I think the simple answer to the OP is that Yes, at some point in the future, the Red Sea and Suez Canal will again be used by cruise ships.  As to when this happens, nobody knows.  Since cruise lines must plan their itineraries far in advance (sometimes over 2 years) I would expect nothing will happen for several years.   

 

Hank

[osandomir]

I’d like to say that even if the cruise lines put the Red Sea and Suez Canal on their itineraries that far in advance it’s upon the customers to decide whether they want to take a risk of possible changes later. The situation may not improve soon enough to sail in the region so planning ahead may be needed to avoid further disappointment.

Edited August 25 by osandomir

[pinotlover]

The challenge is the potentially cancelled cruise through the Suez and Red Sea must be of equal length to the time the African sail around takes. If not, they messed up more than one cruise.

 

Unfortunately, booked during Covid and then cancelled, I had Istanbul-Dubai booked twice. I’m not sure O could schedule that today because of alternative cruising times.

 

I did read that some lines are considering round trip cruises through the Suez Canal and going no further than Jordan port for Petra and the Egyptian port . Avoid going further South towards the Straits.

[Cruising Maryland]

Looked at Vista's schedule. According to the itinerary, it looks like it is going through the Red Sea and Suez Canal in May 2025. Will it happen? Who knows. The ATW is LA to Miami. World Odyssey