Key Aspects:
- Celestyal Cruises has cancelled all April 2026 sailings for both Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey.
- A total of 11 sailings for the ships are cancelled, all of which were to have departed from Athens.
- At this time, Celesytal Discovery is docked in Dubai while Celestyal Journey is in Doha, and neither ship has guests aboard.
With the tensions in the Middle East continuing and no signs yet that the critical Strait of Hormuz will reopen to permit vessels to safely exit the Arabian Gulf, Celestyal Cruises has made the difficult decision to cancel another month of sailings for its two vessels.
Now, all sailings for Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey through April 2026 are cancelled, a total of 11 cruises between the two ships. The first planned Mediterranean departures for the vessels will now be May 1 and May 2, respectively.
“Our priority remains the safety and confidence of our guests, crew and partners,” said Lee Haslett, Chief Commercial Officer of Celestyal. “While we know this will be disappointing, making this decision now provides greater clarity and flexibility for those affected.”
Cruise Hive has previously reported on cancellations for both ships, as Celestyal Discovery remains in Dubai, UAE while Celestyal Journey is in Doha, Qatar.
At this time, all guests and “non-operational” crew members have been safely disembarked from both ships and the vessels are ready to leave the region as soon as they have authorization to safely do so. Neither ship is currently threatened in any way, nor has either vessel sustained any reported damage.
All impacted guests in this latest round of cancellations have the choice of a full refund for their cruises or they may accept a future cruise credit to rebook if they prefer.
If no further cancellations are necessary, Celestyal Discovery‘s first sailing for her summer Mediterranean season will be a 3-night Greek Islands cruise roundtrip from Athens with visits to Mykonos, Ephesus, Patmos Island, Crete, and Santorini.
Celestyal Journey‘s first sailing would be a 7-night Adriatic voyage, also from Athens, with port visits in Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, and Italy.
Both ships are scheduled to remain in the Mediterranean into November before they should return to the Arabian Gulf for another winter in the Middle East. As of now, those plans are unchanged, but the entire situation is fluid and further cancellations or adjustments may yet be necessary.
Read Also: The Latest on All Cruise Lines Impacted by the Middle East Conflict
“We remain focused on returning to service in the Mediterranean as soon as it is safe to do so,” said Haslett.
Why Cancel a Full Month of Cruises?
The cancelled sailings are roughly 2,000 miles from the troubled waters of the Middle East, so why are they cancelled?
Unfortunately, both Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey are currently unable to reposition to their Mediterranean homeport of Piraeus (Athens). To reach Athens, the ships need to sail from the Arabian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, around the Arabian Peninsula, through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and on to Athens.
In total, that route covers roughly 4,400 miles. At an average speed of 20 knots (23 miles per hour), it would take each ship more than eight full days of nonstop sailing to reach Athens.
Of course, maintaining that high of a speed for so long is impossible without necessary changes for navigation, weather, refueling, canal transits, and other operational needs.
Once the ships reach Athens, it will also be necessary to bring crew members back aboard to full staffing, as well as to reprovision the ships for their new sailings.
Despite the inconvenience of cancellations, safety is always the primary consideration and Celestyal Cruises will safeguard its guests, crew members, and ships to the best of their abilities.
