Crystal drafting Red Sea cruise alternatives, in case

Crystal Symphony's March 27 repositioning cruise from Mumbai to Piraeus has the ship in the Red Sea the first week of April. Crystal Serenity's ongoing 142-day world cruise would be there a couple weeks later.

In a statement, Crystal said: 'Our team is diligently working to create alternate itineraries, recognizing the potential need to make adjustments should the need arise to cancel voyages that transit the Red Sea. Throughout this process, we will maintain an ongoing conversation with our guests to ensure their preferences are considered and addressed.

'For our world cruise guests, we will confirm that any adjustments will not impact Crystal Serenity’s ability to reach Miami by June 8 ...

'Once a final decision is made, we will immediately notify all guests who may be impacted. Guests and crew can rest assured that any necessary adjustments will be handled thoughtfully.'

Many considerations

The statement continued, outlining all the complexities involved in a significant itinerary change:

'Considerations such as adjusting ship provisions and the impact on containers in transit, adapting travel plans (including visas) for our dedicated crew members, and rebooking or, if necessary, canceling previously scheduled ports will be addressed with care.

'Any necessary modifications to itineraries will be carefully managed to prevent any cascading effects on our operational systems. We thank guests and crew for their understanding during this process.'

MSC and Silversea cancellations

Recently MSC Cruises canceled three repositioning grand voyages in April to avoid the Red Sea, while Silversea Cruises dropped two trips on Silver Moon in January/February.