by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:40 AM ET, Sat November 4, 2023
Royal Caribbean Group announced it would remove Israel from
its 2024 itineraries due to the ongoing conflict in the region.
According to Reuters.com,
Royal Caribbean International officials sent an email to travel agents saying
that itineraries with a scheduled stop in Israel through October 2024 would be modified
to include safer destinations.
Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason
Liberty said last week that only around 1.5 percent of the company’s
scheduled sailings are impacted by the Middle Eastern war, with the ships
expected to sail to Israel in 2024 being moved to cruises out of Boston,
Massachusetts.
“We don't know how long this conflict is going to go on for,
which could very much inform where the consumer wants to go next year,” Liberty
said.
In October, Norwegian
Cruise Line Holdings announced changes to several of the company’s 2024
itineraries, canceling stops in Israel due to the ongoing war in the region.
The company revealed that Oceania Cruises sailings to Israel would instead make
port stops in cities like Trieste, Italy.
Norwegian isn’t the first cruise company to alter
itineraries in the region due to the ongoing conflict, with Windstar
Cruises canceling its inaugural season in the Middle East.
MSC
Cruises also revealed it would replace the Red Sea itineraries on MSC
Orchestra this winter with a new Mediterranean itinerary, sailing from December
16, 2023, to April 19, 2024, to avoid the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
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