As war broke out in the Middle East in late February, the ripple effects reached far beyond the battlefield, extending to the region’s ports and the roughly 15,000 cruise passengers who suddenly found themselves stranded in the Persian Gulf.
Iran’s February 28 closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow body of water connecting the Gulf to the open ocean, left six ocean-going cruise ships stranded with no route out. Wide-scale repatriation efforts by both cruise lines and governments evacuated passengers safely, but the ships and their crews remained trapped for weeks.
Around April 18, during a brief window in which both Iran and the United States claimed the strait was open, all six cruise ships—MSC Euribia, Celestyal Discovery, Celestyal Journey, Aroya Manara, and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5—sailed through the strait and into the Arabian Sea, which opens to the Indian Ocean. The window proved short-lived. Iran has since closed the Strait of Hormuz again.
As the conflict erupted at the end of the Middle East cruise season, which runs from December to March, few cruise sailings were directly impacted. Cancellations since the onset of the war have primarily affected March and April sailings on the six ships that were trapped in the Persian Gulf. “For the most part, travel has since resumed as usual where it can,” says Theresa Scalzitti, COO of travel agency Cruise Planners. With the six ships now freed, they will continue their summer programs in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, and the Red Sea.
A global repositioning
But the volatility in the Middle East has prompted a broader reshuffling of cruise deployments for the next year. Italian line Costa Cruises canceled its full winter 2026–27 season in the Middle East, moving its Costa Pacifica ship to the Mediterranean and Costa Smeralda to the Canary Islands, Spain, and Madeira, Portugal, for the winter season.
MSC World Europa, originally scheduled to sail in the Middle East between November 2026 and April 2027, will sail the Caribbean instead, bumping MSC Seaview from the Caribbean to Brazil and Argentina during the same window. Explora Journeys will reposition its Explora II vessel from the Middle East to the Mediterranean for the winter season.
“While we plan our itineraries well in advance, one of the inherent advantages of ocean travel is the agility to respond thoughtfully to evolving global dynamics,” says Chris Austin, Explora Journeys’ president, North America. “We continuously monitor developments to ensure we can adjust routes or ports when needed without compromising the overall experience.”
Though tensions may end by next season, the cruise industry’s preemptive pivot benefits guests. “Adjusting itineraries this far in advance gives travelers the gift of time to explore alternatives without the stress of a last-minute disruption,” says Scalzitti. Guests on affected sailings have been contacted by their cruise lines or travel advisors and offered the option to either book another itinerary or request a full refund.
Exploring new ports
For cruise lines, the reshuffling has also meant finding the silver lining in disruption. Explora II‘s redeployment, for instance, opened up new opportunities for Explora Journeys. The revised routing includes five maiden ports: Spanish ports Ceuta, San Sebastián de La Gomera, Fuerteventura, and Palamós, as well as Algiers, the cruise line’s first-ever call to Algeria.
The itineraries will include extended stays and overnights across the Mediterranean during the offseason, plus special cultural programming such as a private Christmas concert in Gibraltar’s St. Michael’s Cave, after-hours access to Spain’s famous Alhambra, and New Year’s Eve parties in Cannes, France.
“What excites me most about this new schedule is how closely it reflects the evolving preferences of today’s modern traveler, particularly the growing appetite for shoulder and offseason journeys that feel more unhurried, immersive, and culturally rich,” says Austin.
Though the Strait of Hormuz may remain a volatile choke point for months to come, the cruise industry’s repositioning ensures that for travelers looking for a winter escape, the journey—if not the destination—remains on track.
