Royal Caribbean World Cruise passengers stick with Dubai following re-routing vote

Passengers sailing the Ultimate World Cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas have opted to keep the port call in Dubai, after the cruise line gave them the unprecedented choice of choosing the vessel’s itinerary following a decision to avoid the Red Sea.

Serenade of the Seas was scheduled to cruise from Dubai for the Mediterranean via the Red Sea and Suez Canal in May, but Royal Caribbean cancelled that segment of the World Cruise on the back of an ongoing security crisis in the region.

Houthi militia in Yemen have been firing on international shipping in the Bab al Mandeb Strait (the “Gateway of Tears” in Arabic”), a key waterway linking the Indian Ocean with the Red Sea, which in turns lead to the Suez Canal, providing access to the Mediterranean.

Although no cruise ships have been targeted, all the world’s major cruise lines have amended or cancelled itineraries to avoid the region, sailing around the southern tip of Africa instead.

Royal Caribbean is doing the same, but gave passengers a choice between sailing from Dubai with limited port calls in Africa, or an itinerary that crossed directly from Asia for Africa, providing more time to call in ports in the Indian Ocean and West Africa.

Following a five-day vote onboard, passengers have chosen the former option.

Sailing from Dubai to Italy via South Africa, the 43-night segment of the Ultimate World Cruise takes place between May 9th and June 20th, 2024, visiting 18 ports including exotic destinations, such as the Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Cape Town.

“We have all been closely monitoring the unrest in the Red Sea and were hopeful everything would settle down,” said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean in a statement that presented guests with voting options and alternative itineraries back in February.

“However, as we are approximately 90-days away from the he impacted itinerary, we would like to present various options for your consideration, as we need to prepare and arrange logistics,” he added.

The new itinerary voted on by passengers will mark the first time Royal Caribbean International has ever visited African ports of call, and will potentially open the door to further Royal Caribbean itineraries on the continent if the cruise line has trouble-free operations in key ports such as Cape Town.

The Ultimate World Cruise departed Miami in early December for a 274-night journey across different parts of the globe visiting 150 ports of call in 60 countries.