Cruise Lines Cancel Israel Itineraries After Hamas Attack, 2 Cruise Ships Flee Port Haifa

Following the Hamas attack on Israel, many cruise lines have altered their routes owing to safety concerns.

Carnival Corporation and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings ships were docked in Haifa in, Israel, about 50 miles from the unfortunate blasts in Tel Aviv, at the time of the strike.

Cruise Lines Reportedly Cancel Israel

Holland America Line’s Nieuw Statendam and Oceania Cruises’ Nautica were docked in Hafia at the time of the surprise attack. After guests returned from shore excursions, both the ships left on time.

Instead of stopping at Israel, the Odyssey of the Seas was rerouted to Bodrum in Turkey and Limassol in Cyprus.

Rhapsody of the Seas, which sails from Haifa, Israel, has cancelled its short cruises on 9 and 13 October.

Guests on the Ground

When the strike occurred, guests on the Statendam were on an independent shore trip in the Galilee region of the Jordan River. The tour departed early in the morning, a passenger said on Cruise Critic. We were on a tour of the Galilee region at the Jordan River when they were summoned to the vessel.

The poster stated that the ship was awaiting the last guests to return so they could depart for the sea as soon as possible. Three days in the Holy Land have been reduced to three hours. This itinerary was chosen by many passengers on this trip for their visit to Israel. Obviously, HAL had no control over this.

Ongoing conflicts in Israel

This is not the first time that a conflict has resulted in problems for cruise lines in the region. Rocket debris went down on a cruise ship about a decade ago off Israel’s coast of Ashdod.

Due to instability in Israel, Royal Caribbean cancelled certain trips in 2021. Following recent Palestinian militant attacks, Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the nation is at war.

On Saturday, rockets and missiles were launched from the Gaza Strip toward Israel by the Islamist group Hamas.

According to local reports, 450 people were killed, and nearly 2,500 were injured in Saturday morning’s attack.

Land-based American tourists in Tel Aviv are attempting to return home as airlines cancel flights in and out of the airport.

References: Cruise Hive, Cruise Radio

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Source: Maritime Shipping News