As cruise lines cancel and reroute popular voyages, Jack Carter examines how the conflict in the Red Sea could impact the future of the destination

When Yemen-based Houthi rebels attacked a commercial ship in the Red Sea late last year, it was a reminder of just how quickly the travel landscape can shift when conflict erupts.

It began on 19 November in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, when militia groups seized a cargo ship via helicopter. The situation intensified on 23 and 31 December, when two more commercial vessels were targeted by drone and missile attacks.

Houthi rebels say the incidents are in response to Israel’s bombardment of Palestine, a conflict that poses its own separate set of risks to cruises sailing in the eastern Mediterranean. 

The response from cruise lines has been swift. Virgin Voyages announced last month that it has cancelled its 2024/25 season plans for Resilient Lady and withdrawn the vessel’s late 2024 and early 2025 repositioning sailings between Europe and Australia.

“On the heels of recent changes and based on the regional and government advice we have received, we remain very concerned about potential escalations in the Red Sea over the next 12 months,” a Virgin Voyages statement read.

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Meanwhile, MSC Cruises has already cancelled a variety of programmes, including a transit through the Suez Canal that was due to sail in January. Fred Olsen Cruise Line and Holland America Line are among others to reroute or cancel 2024 itineraries that were due to sail through the Red Sea.

“We have been working closely with cruise lines to address issues for customers booked to travel through the Suez Canal,” says Dave Mills, chief commercial officer at Iglu Cruises.

“This mostly affects those returning from round-the-world cruises, or on repositioning cruises. Our team is keeping the situation under close review on a daily basis.”

How is this impacting travel agents?

While cancellations cause upheaval for lines and cruisegoers, it’s travel agents who are often left to pick up the pieces as they scramble to salvage bookings and, subsequently, their commissions.

Linda Hill Miller, founder and managing director of LAH Travel, told Cruise Trade News that she lost a booking worth £30k as a direct result of the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea. What she found particularly frustrating was that rather than help save the booking by offering the customer an alternative cruise, the line stepped in and gave them a full refund instead without consulting her first. 

While it’s not the cruise line’s fault, once again it feels like a kick in the teeth for the travel agent

“It’s a shame for us as we’ve done all the work to book the holiday and then all the work to cancel it,
as well. While it’s not the cruise line’s fault that it’s not a safe area to travel to, once again it feels like a kick in the teeth for the travel agent.”

Miller believes that when travel plans are disrupted, cruise lines should let agents deal with the consumer directly while there’s still hope of finding a solution everyone can be happy with.

“I wish tour operators wouldn’t deal with customers at all. I pride myself on my customer service, so if there’s information to share with the client, I want to be the one to tell them,” she says. “I don’t want customers contacting me before I’ve had a chance to pick up the phone.”

Is there a way back for the Red Sea?

It’s impossible to predict how the situation in the Red Sea will evolve. What’s clear, however, it that it’ll be a long time before cruise lines deem it safe enough to return to.

“There needs to be some massive political changes and then a period of stability before cruising starts again,” says river cruise specialist James Hill. “However, Egypt and the Nile show that ‘no-go’ areas can become popular again once clients can see a safe and reliable way to visit.”

There needs to be some massive political changes and then a period of stability before cruising starts again

Miller agrees, stating that while there’s plenty to entice British holidaymakers to the Red Sea region, she can’t see it being back on travellers’ wish lists any time soon. “Even if the Red Sea was deemed safe tomorrow, it would still take a good few years for consumer confidence to return,” she says.

Confidence is the key word here. As all travel agents know, even if unrest is occurring in one specific region, negative perception can quickly spread on a much larger scale.

“Consumers get scared when they start seeing things like this on the news,” Miller concludes. “Whether it’s the Red Sea or not, [conflict] makes people think they don’t want to cruise. If it continues, it will impact travel overall, not just our industry.” 

Which cruise lines have cancelled or altered their Red Sea itineraries?

Virgin Voyages recently cancelled its 2024/25 voyage season plans for Resilient Lady, impacting the late 2024 and early 2025 repositioning voyages between Europe and Australia. “This significant and ongoing conflict puts unacceptable risks for safe passage through the region for our Sailors [passengers], crew and vessel (Resilient Lady),” said the line.

MSC Cruises cancelled three trips in April from South Africa and the United Arab Emirates to Europe, with the ships due to sail through the region now transferring directly to Europe to avoid transiting through the Red Sea. “The cruise industry is in a unique position that ships can promptly be redeployed when there are geopolitical issues so that guests are still able to enjoy a cruise holiday with peace of mind.” 

Holland America Line also made the difficult decision to reroute its 2024 Grand World Voyage on Zuiderdam to bypass the Red Sea. “While we never want to disappoint our guests, we believe these changes best support our commitment to the safety and security of all who sail with us and provide the opportunity for passengers to enjoy the service, cuisine and destination-rich cruising the Grand World Voyage is known for.”