MSC Cruises scraps Gulf winter season as war strands ships

• Moving cruise from Dubai to Caribbean
• Plan to return for winter 2027/28
• Still bookings for other late-2026 Gulf trips

MSC Cruises has cancelled its Middle East winter season, as operators look to reposition ships from the Gulf despite increased prospects for peace in the region.

The US and Iran on Tuesday announced a two-week ceasefire agreement, which is expected to result in a temporary cessation of hostilities and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

But the deal came too late for Geneva-based MSC Group, whose MSC Euriba has been docked in Dubai since the start of the Iran war. While passengers were safely evacuated, the ship remains in situ as a result of the disruption in the strait.

MSC Euriba, which has capacity for 6,000 passengers, was originally due to call at various stops in the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar. A company statement confirmed, however, that it will deploy to the French Antilles in the Caribbean instead.

The plan is to return to the region for the winter 2027/28 season. The statement said the company was monitoring the situation and “is prepared to make further necessary changes”.

Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5, two vessels operated by German tourism giant Tui that typically carry 2,500 passengers, were coming to the end of the winter campaign when the war began, stranding customers in Abu Dhabi and Doha.

Both were due to resume operations in the Mediterranean but remain in the region. 

“At this stage, we can confirm that both ships are scheduled to return to their regular itineraries as soon as they are operational,” a company statement said. It is hoped this can be expedited as a result of the 14-day ceasefire. Bookings are open for the Middle East for later in the year.

Celestyal Cruises’ Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey are also anchored in the Middle East, in Dubai and Doha respectively. The former has a departure date of May 1 for a Greek islands tour, while the latter is scheduled to set sail through Greece, Italy and Croatia. Bookings are still being taken for December this year.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and will resume movement of our vessels as soon as it is safe to do so,” a company statement said.

Aroya Cruises’ Aroya, meanwhile, is docked in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

• Gulf cruise season run aground by Iran conflict
• GCC tourism losses from Iran war could hit $32bn
• Arabian Travel Market pushed back due to Iran conflict

The cruise industry in the Middle East represents 1 percent of the entire global sector, generating $708 million in revenue in 2024, according to research from travel news website Skift. This was expected to grow to $1.1 billion by 2026.

Dubai’s Port Rashid and Dubai Harbour handled 187 cruise ship calls between January and November 2024, official figures show. The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi said 174 cruise calls had been scheduled in the emirate during the 2025-26 season, a 27 percent increase on the previous year.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Old Doha Port received 87 cruise ships carrying more than 396,000 passengers during the 2024-25 season, while Oman had 137,000 passengers in 2025.