Celestyal-Discovery

On May 15, the 'Mein Schiff 5' will begin its summer season in the Eastern Mediterranean from Heraklion. On May 17, the 'Mein Schiff 4'Ä will commence operations in Trieste,, where it will be based for Adriatic cruises. Given that the voyage south around Africa takes over three weeks and also requires logistical stops, the schedule for the two TUI Cruises ships was relatively tight. The 'MSC Euribia', operated by MSC Cruises, still has a long journey ahead before it begins operations in Kiel on May 16. The ship will then start its summer season two weeks late, sailing a route to the Norwegian fjords from/to Kiel and Copenhagen. Celestyal Cruises was currently repositioning both its ships from the Middle East to the Mediterranean. Since they have switched off their AIS, it was impossible to determine whether the ships were being transferred through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal or south around Africa. The Suez Canal was last listed as the destination for the 'Celestyal Discovery', while the 'Celestyal Journey' appeared to be heading for Cape Town. All currently bookable voyages were to be operated. This would mean that the 'Celestyal Discovery' should commence operations on May 22, in Lavrion, and the 'Celestyal Journey' on May 23 in Piraeus. The last of the six cruise ships to leave the Persian Gulf was the 'Aroya,' operated by the Saudi cruise line Aroya Cruises. It was expected to arrive in Jeddah on April 27,. Before that, the ship faces another challenging passage along the Yemeni coast. If all goes according to plan, the 'Aroya' will welcome its next guests in the port of Jeddah on May 14,. Cruise ship launch dates at a glance: - May 14, 2026: Aroya (Aroya Cruises) in Jeddah; - May 15, 2026: Mein Schiff 5 (TUI Cruises) in Heraklion; - May 16, 2026: MSC Euribia (MSC Cruises) in Kiel; - May 17, 2026: Mein Schiff 4 (TUI Cruises) in Trieste; - May 22, 2026: Celestyal Discovery in Lavrion/Athens; - May 23, 2026: Celestyal Journey in Piraeus/Athens.

After the Strait of Hormuz was opened to shipping by Iran on April 17, the first cruise ship on its way out of the Strait was the 'Celestyal Discovery', which has left Dubai and was now north of Oman with a speed of 17 knots. At 11:00 a.m.LT, before news of the temporary opening of the Strait of Hormuz had spread, the ship had set sail. Either the Cypriot shipping company was well-informed or was speculating on the strait's opening. The cruise ship's AIS signa initially indicated the port of Khasab as its destination. This port lies before the critical passage. Shortly before 6:00 p.m., approximately six hours after departing Dubai, the 'Celestyal Discovery' passed Khasab and changed its destination in the AIS to Muscat. It continued along the Omani coast at a high speed of about 17 knots. The chosen route was significantly further south and closer to the coast than the shipping lanes before the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War. At around 8 p.m. , the ship had had already passed the critical part of its passage and also now sailed past Muscat in Oman. Its next destination was the Suez Canal with an ETA as of April 24,. The planned resumption of cruise operations on May 1 in Lavrion should then proceed without any major obstacles. The shipping company will likely still need to fly in crew members and finalise the logistics for the 'Celestyal Discovery' in order to launch its season in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Five cruise ships have transited the Strait of Hormuz since April 17. The 'MSC Euribia' has departed Dubai, safely transited the strait and was now en route to Northern Europe. The 'Mein Schiff 4' and 'Mein Schiff 5' have successfully passed the Strait of Hormuz.  The captains and crews supported and enabled the safe passage with great professionalism and prudence, TUI said in a statement issued on April 18. All four ships followed the Omani coastline through the passage, with Muscat listed as the next port of call. The 'Celestyal Journey' briefly stopped several nautical miles off the port of Khor Fakkan before continuing. The four ships followed the 'Celestyal Discovery', which became the first cruise ship to transit the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the conflicts in the Middle East, departing Dubai on the afternoon of April 17. Each of the ships operated with skeleton crews for the transit. The cruise lines were now deciding on routing to Europe, either via the Red Sea and Suez Canal or the longer route south around Africa. As the 'MSC Euribia' was now able to arrive sooner than previously anticipated, MSC Cruises has confirmed that the ship’s sailing due to depart May 16 from Kiel and May 17 from Copenhagen would operate as originally scheduled, with all subsequent sailings proceeding as planned. The 'Celestyal Discovery' was expected to resume its regular sailing schedule in the Eastern Mediterranean on May 1, 2026, embarking on a short cruise to the Greek Islands and Turkey from the port of Lavrion. Only Cruise Saudi’s 'Aroya' was still in the Persian Gulf.

All passengers have now safely disembarked from the 'Celestyal Journey' in Dubai after they were stranded as a result of the Middle East conflict. The affected customers were being supported by onboard teams with onward transfers and accommodation arrangements where required. Passengers who remained on the company’s other ship, the 'Celestyal Discovery', which was docked in Doha, Qatar, were to be informed of disembarkation plans “in due course”. Travellers were being advised to contact their airlines directly and register with respective embassies for flight arrangements and official updates. Remaining guests currently aboard the 'Celestyal Journey' in Doha were to be advised of disembarkation plans in due course. All guests have been advised to contact their airlines directly regarding flight arrangements and to register with their respective embassies for any official updates or repatriation support.

The situation of the passengers on the TUI ships "Mein Schiff 4" and "Mein Schiff 5," as well as the "MSC Euribia," remained uncertain on March1. At least all passengers were safely back on board. The three ships, along with three other cruise ships, remained docked in the ports of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar. What would happen next for the passengers and the ships was still completely unclear. The night in the Persian Gulf was once again marked by military operations. According to unconfirmed reports, the military strikes were now also targeting the Iranian navy. Iran has closed the crucial Strait of Hormuz to shipping. This means there is currently no escape for ships from the Gulf. Only ships with ties to China or Russia passed through the strait during the night. The approximately 2,000 passengers of the 'Mein Schiff 4' were originally scheduled to depart from Dubai on March 1 for their return journey to Germany, making room for about 2,000 new passengers who were to arrive by plane from Germany. Continue With these new passengers, the "Mein Schiff 4" was supposed to set sail on March 2 at 10:30 p.m. for the seven-day "Magic of the Orient" cruise to Oman. That will no longer happen. The "Mein Schiff 4" itinerary has been suspended for the time being. The situation was similar for the "Mein Schiff 5" in Qatar, whose passengers have been stranded in Doha since Feb 28, after the end of their cruise. Some were already on planes when the aircraft turned back. They landed again and were stuck at the airport. After waiting at the airport for ten hours, according to their own statements, the passengers were brought back to the "Mein Schiff 5" in the evening. Warnings about incoming missiles on smartphones From time to time, warnings about incoming missiles from Qatar's Civil Defense appear on the passengers' smartphones. According to the captain, the ship was in constant contact with the German embassy and TUI on land. More information was expected during the afternoon. The passengers hadn't received any messages from the cruise line for 12 hours. However, it was better to wait on board. There was such terrible chaos at Doha airport; there were endless lines and nobody knew anything. Passenger of the "Mein Schiff 5" had to leave all their luggage behind at Doha airport. Since they were not allowed to leave the ship, they were directed to the onboard shop for toiletries and a change of underwear. Underwear was meanwhile completely sold out. The “Mein Schiff 5” was scheduled to leave Doha with new passengers on March 1 at 10 p.m. Several more cruise ships were stuck in Dubai The “MSC Euribia" was docked in Port Rashid, the port of Dubai. It was also supposed to depart on March 1 for a cruise through the Gulf and to Oman. MSC Cruises announced on thr morning of Feb 28, immediately after the first reports of the conflict, that the cruise would not take place. Also docked in Dubai wee the "Aroya" of the Saudi cruise line Aroya Cruises and the "Celestyal Discovery" of the Greek shipping company Celestyal. A second ship from the same company, the "Celestyal Journey", was docked in Doha, Qatar, along with the "Mein Schiff 5."

On April 4, 2024, the Greek Air Force medevaced a 25-year-old Cuban dancer who suffered serious injuries aboard the 'Celestyal Discovery' Air Force personnel swiftly responded to the distress call, initiating a rescue mission at 10:30 p.m. A Super Puma helicopter departed from the base in Rhodes to conduct the evacuation. The incident took place while the 'Celestyal Discovery' was sailing near Karpathos. The injured dancer, who was part of the ship's entertainment team, required urgent medical attention after falling and sustaining severe injuries. She was airlifted to a hospital in Rhodes for immediate medical treatment.

Almost a month after the scheduled sale of the 'AIDAaura' to the Turkish shipping company Miray Cruises, which wanted to send the ship on a three-year trip around the world as 'Lara' for the Life at Sea Cruises brand, the cruise ship is remaining at the Columbus Quay in Bremerhaven as of Oct 26, 2023, where the 'AIDAaura' ceased operations on Sep 21. The Italian flag has not yet been taken down because the cruise ship is still owned by AIDA parent company Carnival Corporation. The official handover of the ship has still not taken place. The crew of 'AIDAaura' continues to consist of crew members from AIDA Cruises, who look after the ship without guests. The number of crew members was, however, reduced to a necessary minimum. The crew that was supposed to take over the ship for Life at Sea Cruises flew home earlier in October. The start date of Nov 11, which has already been pushed back, is unlikely to be tenable, as the conversion work will take at least 18 days in a shipyard. Furthermore, stays in the shipyard must be planned precisely so that all necessary work can be completed in a short time. The fact that the departure port for Life at Sea Cruises' three-year round-the-world trip has now been changed from Istanbul to Amsterdam is unlikely to contribute to compliance with the last communicated schedule. The departure date must at least be pushed back again, if the departure takes place at all. Miray Cruises CEO Kendra Holmes said in early October that the ship's purchase would close in mid-October. This apparently did not occur. The information about the departure of the 'Lara' on the Life at Sea Cruises website now differs from the information provided by guests waiting for the ship to depart. According to the Life at Sea Cruises website, the departure is still scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Nov 1. The ship has already changed berths in Bremerhaven several times and completed short trips in the German Bight when the berths in Bremerhaven were needed by other ships.

The 'AIDAaura' will be removed from the Aida fleet in September 2023 due to her age and size. The sister ship 'AIDAvita' was removed from the fleet in 2021, never having returned to service after the pause in operations caused by the pandemic. The sister ships along with the 'AIDAcara', which was sold in June 2021, were the original cruise ships built for AIDA before the brand became part of Carnival during the 2003 merger with P&O Cruises. In more recent years, the ships were employed for longer and more distant cruises. The 'AIDAaura' is currently cruising around South Africa, where the farewell season begins immediately on Jan 9 from Cape Town. The ship returns to Northern Europe in the spring for her final season. She will be sailing from Hamburg and Bremerhaven with trips to Scandinavia, Iceland, and Greenland, as well as Northern Europe including the UK and France. The last 'AIDAaura' voyage for AIDA Cruises runs from Sep 9 to 21 from Bremerhaven, to the UK, France, and Belgium. The ship will have completed more than 800 cruises with around one million passengers during her 20-year career. No future plans have been announced for either the 'AIDAaura' or the 'AIDAvita'. It is believed both cruise ships are being offered for sale.