MSC Euribia arrives in Durban on repositioning around Africa for 2nd Dubai season

MSC Euribia is en route to the Middle East for her second winter deployment in the Arabian Gulf, sailing around Africa after plans to transit the Red Sea were cancelled due to ongoing security concerns in the region. 

The LNG-powered ship arrived in Durban, South Africa for a technical stop on Wednesday, having departed Northern Europe in mid-October, marking the start of an extended repositioning voyage that saw her travel south along the Atlantic coast before rounding the Cape of Good Hope and heading north toward the United Arab Emirates.

The 4,888-passenger vessel also made a technical call in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria earlier in the month before her arrival in Durban. 

MSC Euribia will continue up Africa’s eastern coast toward the Gulf, where she is due to begin her 2025/26 Middle East season on November 8th, welcoming guests in Dubai.

Delivered in 2023, MSC Euribia is one of MSC Cruises’ newest and most environmentally advanced ships, powered by liquefied natural gas and featuring energy-efficient systems designed to reduce emissions. 

The vessel will spend the winter operating a series of seven-night itineraries between Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas Island, Doha and Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain. 

The programme, which runs through early April, will mark the ship’s second full season in the Gulf, following a successful regional debut last year, at the beginning and end of which she repositioned via South Africa for the first time.

Once her winter schedule concludes, MSC Euribia will set course for Europe in April, again bypassing the Red Sea and sailing around Africa to reach Northern Europe for her summer deployment in the Norwegian fjords.

The decision to reroute Euribia reflects wider disruptions to cruise operations in the Red Sea, where several lines have been forced to adjust plans amid heightened regional tensions. While some companies, including Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises, have cancelled their 2025/26 Middle East seasons altogether, others are continuing with alternative routing.

Celestyal Cruises recently confirmed that its ships will sail through the Red Sea under modified itineraries, disembarking passengers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before continuing to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. TUI Cruises has opted for a similar strategy to MSC, operating repositioning cruises around Africa with guests on board.

Despite the logistical challenges, MSC Cruises’ continued commitment to the Arabian Gulf underscores the region’s growing importance as a winter homeport hub. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have invested heavily in cruise infrastructure in recent years, with expanding terminals, improved shore excursion offerings and strengthened collaboration across regional ports helping to sustain demand from international markets.