With the conflict set off by the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran at the end of February showing no signs of winding down soon, multiple cruise lines have had to cancel sailings and adjust their itineraries to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.
Ships that are currently unable to exit the region and forced to remain docked in Middle Eastern ports indefinitely include MSC’s Euribia, TUI’s Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5 and Celestyal Cruises’ Discovery and Journey.
With two of its ships out of commission, the latter cruise line has now confirmed that it is canceling all of its sailings in April 2026 in the hopes of being able to get the ships out and put them toward Mediterranean itineraries by the start of May.
Founded as a luxury branch of Swiss cruising giant MSC in 2021, Explora Journeys was also forced to axe any sailings to the Middle East between November 2026 and March 2027.
Explora Journeys cancels all Middle Eastern sailings into 2027
While the cruise line did not have any ships that were immediately affected by the breakout of hostilities, the security situation in the region threatens future sailings. The Explora II, which was initially slated for sailings through Persian Gulf and Red Sea for that time of the year, will instead be redirected to Western Mediterranean and North African itineraries.
Instead of port stops in countries like UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Egypt, Explora II travelers are now able to book itineraries that stop at countries such as Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
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Exact itineraries of stops will be announced later this spring. Those who already booked sailings will be contacted by the cruise line’s representative with refunds or “appropriate options offered where applicable.” Those who choose to rebook can benefit from a 10% discount on the other sailing and $500 USD credit that can be put toward on-board purchases or excursions.
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“Commitment to providing guests and travel advisors with clarity”: Explora Journeys
“This decision has been taken well in advance, following careful consideration and reflecting Explora Journeys’ commitment to providing guests and travel advisors with clarity and confidence as they plan their future journeys,” Explora said in a statement.
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The security issues comes as the privately-owned MSC branch is working to expand its presence in the luxury cruise space. The Explora IIIÂ is set to start sailing in July 2026 while the Explora IVÂ will be added to the cruise line’s fleet in 2027.
Another cruise line forced to seriously rework its sailing schedule due to the Iran war is Italy’s Costa Cruises. Instead of planned sailings in the Arabian Gulf, the Costa Smeralda and Costa Pacifica ships will instead sail Mediterranean routes with stops in Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands.
River cruise lines like Tauck and Avalon Waterways have canceled all 2026 sailings in Egypt and are waiting for more clarity on the situation in the Middle East to announce plans for the coming year. Viking initially canceled all of its 2026 Nile sailings but later ended up reinstating some itineraries given mainland Egypt’s distance from the Strait of Hormuz.
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