Orient Cruises Suspended: Major Lines Cancel Gulf Seasons Until 2028

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Travelers hoping to admire the glittering skylines of Dubai or Abu Dhabi from the deck of a cruise ship over the next two winters will need to rethink their plans. Leading Western cruise lines—including AIDA, TUI Cruises, MSC, Costa, Celestyal, and Explora Journeys—have officially cancelled their Arabian Gulf itineraries for both the 2026/27 and 2027/28 winter seasons. However, this multi-year pause is not driven by declining passenger demand, but rather by persistent security risks at critical maritime chokepoints, namely the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the southern Red Sea. Cruise operators have emphasized that this is not a permanent withdrawal, but a risk-driven moratorium.

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The wave of cancellations was initially triggered by military tensions in the spring of 2026, when several passenger liners were temporarily stranded in the Gulf and guests had to be evacuated via emergency flights. With the Red Sea transit effectively closed, repositioning megaships back to European homeports via the Suez Canal is currently not viable. Rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope is economically unsustainable for seasonal operations, as weeks of non-revenue repositioning voyages, surging war-risk insurance premiums, and flight uncertainties under traditional "Fly & Cruise" packages make operations financially untenable.

As a result, cruise lines are redeploying their tonnage to stable core markets across Western Europe and the Americas. AIDA is utilizing vessels such as AIDAprima and AIDAperla from German ports like Kiel and Hamburg for Northern Europe, Baltic Sea, and Canary Island routes. MSC and Costa are positioning their LNG flagships year-round in the Western Mediterranean and Caribbean, while TUI Cruises has shifted Mein Schiff Flow to Palma de Mallorca and Northern European waters. Affected passengers have been offered automatic refunds, onboard credits, or flexible rebooking options with price guarantees.

Despite the temporary absence of major international brands, cruising in the region has not ceased entirely: local operators like Saudi Arabia’s Aroya Cruises continue domestic operations geared toward regional and Asian markets. Furthermore, Western cruise lines remain committed to returning as soon as geopolitical stability and safe maritime passages are restored. Celestyal is already assessing scenarios for a partial, single-ship comeback, and operators such as Costa and MSC have reaffirmed that destinations like Dubai, Doha, and Muscat will immediately return to their schedules once nautical corridors are secure.