Princess Cruises has announced a revision to two long cruise itineraries to avoid the Middle East and the Red Sea. The cruise line said that these changes were made after extensive consultation with global security experts and government authorities.
Princess Cruises is changing their two world cruises in 2025 on Island Princess and Crown Princess.
The 116 day world cruise on Island Princess will depart on January 5, 2025 from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The February 16 through April 9 portion of the itinerary has been changed for the safety of the guests and crew on the ship.
Guests who were booked to join the cruise in Dubai on March 14, 2025 will now embark in Cape Town, South Africa on March 9. Guests who were scheduled to disembark in Dubai will now get off in Cape Town.
Guests who will have their cruise cut short by four days will receive a refund equivalent to four days of the cruise fare. Guests who have an extra four days added to their cruise will not have to pay anything extra. All of these guests will also receive $300 in on board credit as a gesture of good will from the cruise line.
The revised portion of the cruise is as follows:
The second world cruise from Princess Cruises that is impacted by these changes is Crown Princess.
This May 31, 2025 cruise from Auckland will bypass the Red Sea and a transit of the Suez Canal. The ship will now travel to Africa instead of the Red Sea and Asia portion of the itinerary.
The new itinerary is still being finalized and Princess Cruises will announce it shortly.
Crown Princess will be the largest ship ever to sail a world cruise in 2025 at 113,000 gross tons in size.
Terry Thornton, chief commercial officer of Princess Cruises, said the following about these two changes,
“A Princess World Cruise is truly the voyage of a lifetime and after careful consideration with guidance from global security experts and government authorities, we know our guests will understand and appreciate the change to our upcoming 2025 itineraries to avoid certain areas.
These global events beyond our control have necessitated these reroutings but we are pleased to continue to ensure these world cruises retain destination-rich itineraries with incredible stops along the west Africa coast and the Mediterranean.”
Princess Cruises is one of nine cruise lines owned by Carnival Corporation. They currently have 16 ships in their fleet with one more (Star Princess) entering service in late 2025.
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