Cruise Lines, Tour Companies, and Airlines Cancel, Change Israel Travel

The travel industry may be feeling a bit of déjà vu. On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and brought a screeching halt to all cruises, tours, and air in and out of Ukraine. Now it’s happening in Israel, with the attack by Hamas on Tel Aviv that started on Saturday.

Several cruise lines were scheduled to visit Israel this weekend, and airlines were flying when the attack happened. While airlines are still flying, they are allowing changes without fees. Cruises and tours have been canceled. 

Here’s what we know.
(Updated Oct. 12, 2023)

Cruise lines
Azamara Cruises
Azamara has changed the itineraries for three upcoming voyages: the Oct. 17 Israel Intensive sailing on Azamara Journey, the Oct. 27 Ancient Trade Routes sailing on Azamara Journey, and the Oct. 23 Ancient Civilizations sailing on Azamara Pursuit. All port calls to Israel have been canceled and will be replaced with alternate ports of call. 

Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Apex canceled its scheduled visit to Haifa (Oct. 8) and Ashdod (Oct. 9). In their place, the ship spent two days in Limassol, Cyprus, departing late on Oct. 9. The ship also replaced calls to Israel and Egypt on its Oct. 6 and Oct. 16 sailings with calls to Santorini, Mykonos, and Rhodes in Greece, and Bodrum, Turkey. Other canceled calls for Celebrity Apex include Haifa on Oct. 20 and a two-day visit to Alexandria that was scheduled for Oct. 22/23.

Celestyal
Celestyal has suspended all port calls to Israel through the end of November 2023. The change in itinerary is valid for the seven-night Three Continents sailings that depart on Oct. 21 and 28, and Nov. 4, 11, 18, and 25. 

“Firstly, as a business, our thoughts are with those impacted by the events in Israel,” said Celestyal CEO, Chris Theophilides. “We wish for the safety of all the souls affected and a rapid return of peace to the country.”

Holland America
HAL’s Nieuw Statendam arrived in Haifa on the morning of Oct. 7 and started disembarkation. After the Israeli government declared a state of emergency and “in consultation with security personnel,” the ship halted disembarkation. It recalled all shore excursions to bring guests back to the ship. All guests and crew were accounted for and the ship departed Israel at 8:20 p.m. local time.

“Our thoughts are with those impacted by this tragic violence,” the line said in a statement.

MSC Cruises
Two MSC ships have been rerouted. MSC Musica’s Oct. 12 visit to Haifa has been canceled. The ship will now visit Limassol, Cyprus on Oct. 10. This necessitates the cancelation of its scheduled call on Kusadasi, Turkey. The ship will instead stop in Antalya, Turkey on Oct. 12, before continuing on its originally scheduled itinerary. Additionally, MSC Musica’s scheduled port calls to Haifa on Oct. 19 and Oct. 26 have been replaced with Rhodes, Greece, and its Nov. 2 Haifa call has been switched to Marmaris, Turkey. 

The call to Haifa by MSC Sinfonia planned on Oct. 16 has been replaced with the port of Bodrum, Turkey. 

Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Gem was scheduled to call on Ashdod on Oct. 8 but spent the day at sea instead.  NCL has canceled Norwegian Jade’s planned calls to Ashdod and Haifa on Oct. 11 and Oct. 12 and will visit Bodrum, Turkey on Oct. 10, followed by Marmaris, Turkey on Oct. 11, and a sea day on Oct 12.

The line is monitoring the situation and will make any additional changes as needed; the line does not have any more calls to Israel scheduled for this month.

Oceania
Nautica arrived in Haifa on Friday, Oct. 6 for an overnight stay. According to a statement from the line, “Nautical departed Israel a day ahead of schedule,” and all guests and crew are accounted for and safe.

Sirena’s Oct. 14 voyage was originally scheduled to have three days in Israel. These have all been replaced with port calls in Greece. 

Plans are currently being made to change the itinerary of Marina’s Nov. 1 sailing, which was supposed to have two days in Israel. 

Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Regent has amended the itineraries for Seven Seas Voyager’s Oct. 3 itinerary, canceling the planned call to Haifa on Oct. 14/15 and instead sailing to Istanbul, where the sailing will conclude on Oct. 15. The Oct. 15 sailing will now begin in Istanbul, instead of Haifa, with its planned call to Ashdod on Oct. 16/17 canceled. The ship will sail directly to Cairo, arriving on Oct. 18 to resume its previusly scheduled itinerary. 

Royal Caribbean
Odyssey of the Seas’ visits to Haifa (Oct. 10) and Ashdod (Oct. 11) have both been canceled. The ship will instead visit Bodrum, Turkey on Oct. 9 and Limassol, Cyprus on Oct 11, with a sea day in between.

International cruisers on Rhapsody of the Seas, which is due to end its current cruise in Haifa on Monday, Oct. 9, were told to disembark in Santorini. Its next two cruises have been canceled. 

Silversea Cruises
Silversea has adjusted the itinerary for the Oct. 18 sailing of Silver Spirit, which had been scheduled to stop in both Haifa and Ashdod. 

Air
Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv said on Monday that passengers should “be advised that Ben Gurion airport is working as planned including departures and landings,” though several airlines temporarily suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv on Saturday, and are now waiving change fees.

American Airlines
American Airlines will not operate flights in, through, or out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport until at least Dec. 4, 2023. The airline is offering anyone who purchased tickets to, through, or from Ben Gurion the option to rebook without fees as long as they don’t change their origin or destination city and rebook in the same class of service.

Delta Air Lines 
Delta Air Lines has canceled all Israel flights through at least Oct. 31 and has issued a change fee waiver for all impacted flights. Tickets must be reissued by Nov. 30. Delta flights to and from Tel Aviv may be changed without a fee if travelers were scheduled to fly between Oct. 7 and Oct. 31, 2023. 

United Airlines
United also canceled flights over the weekend and is now allowing travelers to change flights with fees waived if they are traveling to Tel Aviv, bought their ticket on or before Oct. 6, and are scheduled to travel between Oct. 7 and Oct. 31, 2023. 

Tours
Intrepid Travel has canceled tour departures in Israel and the Palestinian Territories up until and including Oct. 31. The tour company had a small number of travelers in Israel when the attack occurred. All travelers and tour leaders have been safely accounted for and the majority left Israel over the weekend, with the remainder set to depart Oct. 9.

“Our thoughts are with the people of Israel and the Palestinian Territories at this awful time, and we send our condolences to all those who have lost loved ones,” said Zina Bencheikh, managing director, of EMEA for Intrepid Travel.

Collette also had travelers on the ground in Israel at the time of the attack. All have been moved across the border to Jordan and flew home Oct. 9. 

All Collette tours to Israel have been canceled through the end of 2023.

Like Intrepid Travel and Collette, Tauck had tours operating in Israel at the time of the attack, as well as a number of guests already pre-staying ahead of a fourth tour. The company “quickly arranged for all those guests and their Tauck Director guides to cross from Israel into Jordan, providing transportation to Jordan, hotel accommodations there, and assistance wth travel arrangements home.” All are now either home or scheduled to travel home in the coming days.

Tauck has cancelled all departures to Israel through Oct. 21. 

The Globus family of brands, which includes Globus and Cosmos, also had guests in Israel at the time of the attack. The company was able to put together an “exit strategy” and provided assistance in arranging flights home. The company has now canceled all future Globus and Cosmos Israel tours through Nov. 15, 2023.

“Our hearts go out to the people of Israel,” said Steven Born, chief marketing officer for the Globus family of brands. “In the coming days, we will continue to monitor the situation to determine future needs and/or cancellations.”

TTC Tour Brands has canceled all upcoming departures to Israel for its brands (Insight Vacations, Trafalgar, Contiki, etc.) through the end of 2023. 

“We are deeply saddened by the current situation unfolding in Israel,” the company said in a statement. “Our hearts and thoughts are with everyone in the affected areas.”