Celestyal forced to cancel three further Mediterranean sailings

Celestyal has been forced to cancel three more Mediterranean sailings on both its ships as their repositioning from the Middle East faces a further delay.

The line has cancelled the seven-night Heavenly Greece, Italy and Croatia and 14-night Mediterranean Icons voyages on Celestyal Journey, scheduled to depart on April 4, as well as the four-night Iconic Greek Islands sailing on Celestyal Discovery, which was scheduled for April 6.

Passengers on the impacted sailings will be offered a full refund or future cruise credit.

Previously, the line was forced to cancel five Mediterranean sailings throughout March and April on Discovery.

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A spokesperson for the line said: “We continue to monitor developments closely and remain focused on resuming our planned programme as soon as possible.

“We would like to thank our guests and valued partners for their patience and understanding during this time.”

MSC Cruises ship MSC Euribia is also currently stranded in the Gulf awaiting repositioning from Dubai to northern Europe for the summer season, with its season there due to start in May.

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The line had previously cancelled the rest of the vessel’s winter season in the Arabian Gulf, including the latest departure of March 28.

An MSC Cruises spokesperson said: “There are no further updates on MSC Euribia at the moment, and the status of the ship remains the same.

“When the situation becomes clearer, we will provide further updates.”

Some hope for the repositioning of ships in the Gulf was offered on March 24 when Iran said “non-hostile vessels” would be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with “the competent Iranian authorities”.