Celestyal-Journey

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.

Following the successful passage of the Strait of Hormuz of the 'Celestyal Discovery' on April 17, four more cruise ships set sail. The 'Celestyal Journey' and 'Mein Schiff 5' departed Doha, the 'Mein Schiff 4' left Abu Dhabi, and the 'MSC Euribia' sailed from Dubai. Only the 'Aroya', which sailed from Dubai to Dammam at the end of March, has not yet moved. Currently, the 'Celestyal Journey', 'MSC Euribia', 'Mein Schiff 4' and 'Mein Schiff 5' were sailing at high speed towards Khasab. The city lies directly on the Strait of Hormuz, which is sometimes blocked by Iran. Only the 'Celestyal Discovery' was able to benefit from the initial opening following a ceasefire. On the morning of April 18, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again. What this means for the four cruise ships at sea will soon become clear. Presumably, the ships are heading to Khasab Bay to leave the Middle East at the earliest opportunity. Given the rapidly evolving situation, positioning the cruise ships directly at the Strait of Hormuz seems sensible. For safety reasons, only a minimal crew is on board each ship to navigate out of the Persian Gulf. If this is successful within the next few hours or days, it will likely be another four weeks before cruise operations resume in Europe. TUI Cruises and MSC Cruises have canceled all sailings of the three affected ships until mid-May 2026. At 1.45 p.m., the four cruise ships have indeed entered the Strait of Hormuz. Like the 'Celestyal Discovery' the previous day, their course was taking them close to the Omani coast. The ships have indicated Muscat as their next destination. The critical part of the passage should be completed within the next few hours. The shipping companies will then decide on the next steps for the journey to Europe. They will either travel directly through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal or choose the somewhat safer, but longer, route south around Africa.

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 remain 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 the morning of April 5, ,2025, the Heraklion Port Authority was informed that two passengers of the'Celestial Infinity', a 77-y'ear-old Greek national and an 85-year-old British national, required immediate hospital treatment. The 77-year-old patient was medevaced and transferred to the University General Hospital of Heraklion for further medical treatment, while the 85-year-old was transferred to a private clinic in Crete for further medical examination. The ship continued its route to the port of Piraeus.

CMV Cruise & Maritime Voyages is going to acquire PACIFIC ARIA and PACIFIC DAWN from P&O Australia. New names of the ships will be IDA PFEIFFER and AMY JOHNSON. Full article and images : https://www.cruisedeck.de/die-neuen-schiffsnamen-bei-cmv/

P&O Cruises Australia is to sail six itineraries to Papua New Guinea in 2019, taking guests to destinations such as Alotau, Kitava Island, Rabaul, Kiriwina Island and the Conflict Islands. The line will offer five 10-night ‘New Guinea Island Encounter’ cruises from Brisbane, Australia. The sixth cruise will be an 11-night roundtrip from Sydney, Australia onboard Pacific Aria in mind-November, which will include a call at the Conflict Islands, one of the most remote locations in the Coral Sea.