Celestyal pulls inaugural Arabian Gulf cruise amid Red Sea conflict
Celestyal has cancelled its upcoming Ancient Athens to Dazzling Doha repositioning cruise and its counterpart sailing, which were due to depart 26 October and 8 March, respectively, because of political unrest in the Red Sea region
As a result, the first three scheduled Desert Days itineraries, set to depart from Doha on November 9, 16 and 23, and three 2025 Heavenly Adriatic itineraries have also been cancelled, with the additional cancellations made to accommodate the longer repositioning cruises.
Celestyal Journey’s maiden voyage in the Arabian Gulf will now be the amended seven-night Desert Days & Qatar Grand Prix cruise, sailing round trip from Doha on 30 November 2024. The voyage will be in Doha port for the first three days to cover the Qatar Grand Prix, before sailing onto Dubai Marina, Khasab, Sir Bani Yas Island and Abu Dhabi.
All travel partners have been notified, assured protected commission and provided with updated information and guest rebooking options. All booking system changes will be updated over the next two weeks.
Celestyal to continue to homeport from Doha
Lee Haslett, chief commercial officer at Celestyal, said: “We recently announced our full cruise programme through to March 2027 to build simplicity and assurance into our offering.
“In light of the current geopolitical climate in our original path of passage to this year’s winter season, we have decided to operate longer non-commercial repositioning sailings to and from Qatar. Celestyal Journey will continue to proudly homeport from Doha, Qatar from November 2024, for the next three winter seasons.
“We apologise for the inconvenience that today’s cancellation of a small number of our itineraries may have caused. Our impacted guests have all been offered alternative cruise options and/or reimbursement.”
He continued: “We remain steadfast in our commitment to our global year-round operation in the Greek islands, Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf, and would like to thank our valued guests and trade partners for their understanding and support. We look forward to welcoming our customers onboard Celestyal Journey for her inaugural Arabian Gulf season in late November this year.”
Celestyal Journey’s inaugural Arabian Gulf season now comprises nine seven-night ’Desert Days’ sailings departing between November 2024 and March 2025
