Red Sea security crisis Middle East impact seen in new Princess 2026 World Cruise

Princess Cruises’ has released the itinerary for its 2026 World Cruise aboard Coral Princess, with the cruise line entirely skipping the Middle East for the first time.

Coral Princess will depart Los Angeles on January 21st, 2026 to sail a 114 day World Cruise visiting 48 ports and 45 UNESCO World Heritage sites, but for the first time, none of them are in the Middle East.

Princess Cruises intends to use the Suez Canal on the voyage, but has opted to sail direct for the Mediterranean from Colombo, Sri Lanka, spending 7 nights at sea and two days on the transit before arriving in Limassol, Cyprus.

The cruise line has long used Dubai as a key turnaround port during its annual World Cruise itineraries, with passengers boarding in the city for shorter legs of a grander global itinerary. 

That will not be the case with the 2026 itinerary, however, and it appears the cruise line may have elected not to feature any ports in the region so that amending the itinerary is easier if the Suez Canal remains unsafe by 2026.

Currently, no cruise ships are sailing through the Suez Canal and Red Sea due to attacks on international shipping by Houthi militia in Yemen, which has a coastline on the key waterway linking the Suez Canal and Indian Ocean.

Princess Cruises may be hedging its bets in the event that the security situation remains uncertain two years from now.

It’s the first indication of a major cruise line avoiding the Middle East long-term as a result of the Red Sea security crisis. 

While all cruises to and from the region for 2024 and 2025 have been impacted, some cruise lines have began planning a return to business as usual long-term.

Emerald Cruises has ordered a new cruising superyacht specifically for the region, which is due in 2026, and Cunard Line features Dubai and other Middle Eastern ports on its 2026 World Cruise and Grand Voyage itineraries.

Coral Princess 2026 World Cruise

Roundtrip from Los Angeles, January 21st, 114 days

The 2026 World Cruise aboard Coral Princess features 48 ports of call in 28 countries, across six continents with access to 45 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The cruise features an inaugural call to Boracay, Philippines and first-time World Cruise calls to Puerto Chiapas, Mexico and Ponta Delgado, Azores Islands.

The voyage also offers more time in port with “More Ashore Late-Night” stays in 13 ports including Singapore, Sydney and Honolulu, and one overnight stay in Hong Kong.