Multiple Cruise Lines Have Now Pulled Out of the Arabian Gulf Entirely

If you had a cruise booked in the Middle East this season, the news coming out of the region over the past two weeks has been hard to ignore. One by one, cruise lines operating in the Arabian Gulf have been cancelling the remainder of their winter sailings — and the list keeps growing.

According to a report from Cruise Industry News, MSC Cruises, TUI Cruises, Celestyal Cruises, Aroya Cruises, Costa Cruises, and AIDA Cruises have all cancelled remaining sailings in the region as of mid-March 2026. The situation is being driven by ongoing security concerns and regional military activity near Iran, which has made transiting the Strait of Hormuz — the only passage out of the Gulf — commercially unviable.

What Happened

MSC Euribia was operating sailings out of the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain when MSC Cruises made the call to cancel five additional departures through early April. The line cited the need to “prioritize the safety and well-being of guests and crew” in line with guidance from regional military authorities.

TUI Cruises followed suit, cancelling sailings on both Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5, pointing to travel and safety guidance issued by the German Foreign Office.

Aroya Cruises — the Saudi Arabian line that had a schedule running from late February through early May — cancelled its remaining season citing “ongoing regional operational considerations” coordinated with maritime and national authorities.

Perhaps the most complicated situation belongs to Celestyal Cruises. Not only did the line cancel the remainder of its Arabian Gulf season, but because its ships — Celestyal Journey and Celestyal Discovery — were stuck in the region, it was also forced to cancel the first sailings of its Eastern Mediterranean season while it worked out repositioning arrangements to get the ships back to Europe.

Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises had already pulled their ships (Costa Toscana and AIDAprima) from the region earlier in the season.

Why This Matters

The core problem is geography. Ships positioned in the Arabian Gulf cannot sail to safer waters without first transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which runs closest to Iran. With that passage currently closed to commercial traffic amid heightened conflict in the region, vessels are effectively landlocked at sea until conditions change.

This is not a single line making a cautious call — it is an industry-wide exit. When you see carriers as different as a luxury Saudi brand, a German mass-market line, a Greek expedition operator, and major European brands all arriving at the same conclusion within days of each other, that tells you something significant about conditions on the ground.

What to Do If You Were Booked

If you have an upcoming sailing in the Arabian Gulf this season, contact your cruise line directly if you have not already heard from them. Each line is handling affected passengers differently, and the details on rebooking, future cruise credits, and refunds will vary. If you booked through a travel agent, now is absolutely the time to have them make those calls on your behalf — that is exactly what they are there for.

The broader Gulf cruise market will likely bounce back once the regional situation stabilizes, as it has after previous periods of disruption. But for anyone with spring sailings planned in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, or Bahrain, the 2025-26 season is effectively over.

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Source: Cruise Industry News