Andrea Zelinski
A few days before many of us clinked our Champagne glasses to ring in the new year, Yemen-based Houthi militants attacked a shipping vessel in the Red Sea.
It was the latest in a string of attacks over recent weeks as Iranian-backed Houthi militants targeted shipping vessels with missiles and drones, spurring the U.S. to dedicate naval forces to protect ships passing through the canal.
But that protection hasn't stopped container shipping giants Maersk, Kuehne and Nagle, and MSC from opting to skip the Suez altogether, instead directing ships to take the much longer way around Africa, according to reports.
While the attacks are disrupting world trade (and could exacerbate supply chain issues), they haven't affected most cruise itineraries yet. The Red Sea isn't a major draw for cruise vacations, and although the Suez Canal is a convenient shortcut, especially for world cruises, most major brands don't have ships scheduled to transit the canal until spring.
Shorter sailings also transit the region. For instance, Silversea's Silver Moon cruised through the canal on New Year's Eve into the Red Sea. The Silver Moon called in the northern portion of the Red Sea making calls in Saudi Arabia before the scheduled end of the voyage in Aqaba, Jordan, on Saturday. The sailing was far north of Yemen where shipping vessels have been attacked.
But this week, Silversea altered its itinerary of the Silver Moon, which was scheduled to sail through the Red Sea, from Aqaba, Jordan, past Yemen en route to Muscat, Oman. Royal Caribbean Group told Travel Weekly on Tuesday that guests will no longer finish their cruise in Muscat and will instead disembark in Aqaba, and the company is in the process of scheduling return air. Royal Caribbean Group did not immediately respond to questions about Silversea's subsequent sailings in the Persian Gulf, scheduled through February, that require it to pass Yemen.
Cruise companies have offered little to no response about any upcoming contingency plans they may have and are perhaps hoping it won't be an issue when more of their ships need to use the canal again this spring.
Carnival Corp. executives avoided talking about geopolitical conflict during its Q4 earnings call in late December until analyst Assia Georgieva, of Infinity Research, inquired about the Costa Toscana's expected passage through the Suez in March.
The response from Josh Weinstein, Carnival Corp.'s CEO, was brief and to the point.
"Obviously, our first priority is going to be safety. That's already on our radar screen, and we've got mitigation plans, should we need it. But keep in mind, this is months away," he said. "We'll do the right thing."
Jody Venturoni, Carnival's chief communications officer, separately said it's impossible to say when any decision about the Red Sea and Suez might be made. The company has ongoing contact with local and global authorities, along with partners and tour operators in the region, and "will use the most up-to-date guidance to determine if future itinerary adjustments are necessary," and directly communicate any changes to guests and their travel advisors, she said.
Between the ongoing war in Ukraine, the intense conflict with Israel and Gaza and now the attacks in the Red Sea, Weinstein lamented: "There's always something."