MSC Cruises cancels MSC Euribia Dubai repositioning voyage on Red Sea concerns

MSC Cruises has cancelled MSC Euribia’s repositioning voyage from Europe to Dubai for the 2024/25 Middle East cruise season, due to ongoing security concerns in the Red Sea.

The Grand Voyage aboard MSC Euribia was due to depart Kiel, Germany on October 19^th bound for Dubai in the UAE via the Suez Canal, where she is due to homeport for the upcoming winter cruise season in the Arabian Gulf.

That cruise has now been cancelled due to security concerns with sailing through the Red Sea, which connects the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean. 

Houthi militia in Yemen have been attacking international shipping in the region using missiles and drones since last year, prompting all major cruise lines and many shipping companies to divert ships around Southern Africa instead.

 “Due to attacks against cargo ships in the Red Sea, we have cancelled MSC Euribia’s 28-night Grand Voyage later this year from Kiel in Germany to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to ensure the safety of our passengers and crew as there is no viable alternative route for this particular sailing,” MSC Cruises said in a statement.

“Guests affected by this regrettable but understandable cancellation have been offered a range of alternative options including other Grand Voyages of similar length, other sailings in our global network or full refunds,” it added.

MSC has asked affected guests to decide on their alternative options by Friday April 26th.

MSC Euribia will reportedly still be sailing roundtrip in the Arabian Gulf from Dubai and Doha from November 16^thonwards, with the ship understood to be sailing without passengers around Africa via Cape Town to reach the region.

This repositioning mirrors that undertaken by MSC Virtuosa and MSC Opera at the end of their Middle East cruise seasons from Dubai earlier this year. In March, when the Dubai cruise season came to a close, the ships sailed without passengers around South Africa bound for Europe.

Other cruise lines homeporting in Dubai during the most recent cruise season, including AIDA and Costa, also chose to reposition their ships via Africa without passengers.

MSC Euribia is MSC’s newest ship, which launched in June last year. She is the latest in the Meraviglia Plus-class and a sister ship to MSC Virtuosa and MSC Grandiosa. The ship carries more than 6,000 passengers and offers 10 restaurants, 19 cafes and bars, three separate pool areas, four lounges, and a casino, theatre, gym, spa and expansion retail area known as the Galleria.

She will homeport in Dubai from November, 2024 until March, 2025, sailing 7-night roundtrip voyages in the Arabian Gulf, visiting Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas Island, Doha, Muscat and Khasab.