Celestyal Cruises to run the Suez Canal with passengers, breaking 2-year cruise absence

Two years after most cruise lines halted passenger sailings through the Suez Canal amid regional instability, Celestyal Cruises is preparing to carry guests through the vital waterway once again, potentially driving a broader resumption of Red Sea transits.

Celestyal Journey and Celestyal Discovery are scheduled to depart from Piraeus and Lavrio, both near Athens, on November 22nd and 28th, repositioning to Doha and Abu Dhabi via Jeddah for the winter season. 

Each week-long itinerary will include Marmaris, Port Said, a Suez Canal transit, and calls at Sharm el-Sheikh and Safaga before arriving in Saudi Arabia. From Jeddah, both vessels will then sail on to the Arabian Gulf without passegers, due to ongoing security uncertainty at the mouth of the Red Sea.

Lee Haslett, Celestyal’s Chief Commercial Officer, said the voyages represent the first time in more than two years that a mainstream cruise line will carry paying passengers through the Suez Canal. 

“We’ve worked closely with various government authorities, and we believe it’s a very safe part of the world to cruise at the moment,” he told The Independent, describing demand as “extremely strong” despite regional sensitivities.

In the past year, several ships have transited the Suez Canal without passengers, while Aroya Cruises, the Saudi domestic brand, has made local voyages within the Red Sea. 

For international lines, however, Celestyal’s decision marks the first mainstream test of confidence in the corridor since late 2023, when security concerns forced widespread rerouting around Africa.

One notable adjustment to Celestyal’s itinerary is the absence of Aqaba, Jordan, long regarded as the Red Sea’s signature port due to its proximity to Petra and Wadi Rum. The omission, Haslett explained, was driven by scheduling constraints to ensure Jeddah could be reached within a seven-day window.

The change highlights the operational fragility that still defines the region’s cruise recovery. While Celestyal’s voyage restores a key Mediterranean–Red Sea link, it also underlines how itineraries remain subject to tight safety assessments and logistical margins. 

For now, Aqaba’s return is planned for 2026, signalling gradual rather than immediate normalisation.

Celestyal’s decision stands in contrast to major operators,such as MSC Cruises, which continues to reroute repositioning voyages around Africa, and others that operate Arabian Gulf repisitioning cruises without passenger transits through the Suez Canal.

If Celestyal’s voyages proceed smoothly, they could pave the way for larger lines to reconsider direct east-west routes connecting Europe with Gulf homeports such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi. 

For Saudi Arabia, the development reinforces Jeddah’s emerging role as a strategic cruise gateway, bridging the Mediterranean and the Gulf and supporting the kingdom’s ambitions to position the Red Sea as a competitive global cruise destination.

As Celestyal prepares to sail where few mainstream lines have ventured since 2023, the industry will be watching closely. A successful passage could mark the first tangible step toward reopening the Red Sea to international cruise tourism.