Cruise Nightmare because of Middle East Turmoil

OTOH, there are those who have been expecting this to happen for quite some time.

Tourism disruption is part and parcel with the outbreak of war, although one might argue it should not be of more concern than the safety of the people who actually live there. Middle East turmoil? Call it by its name. It is a war.

The UK currently has at least 94,000 nationals (possibly twice that) in various countries across the region which have closed air space, and is assessing how to evacuate if the conflict continues and airspace remains closed.
This covers those working there, those on holiday and those who were in transit at the time.

bostonphil7, some folks go through life knowing everything and never running into this. Others go through life thinking they know everything and miss out of a lot of great opportunities and others, just wander in the fog. If you booked you holiday a year ago, not many would have had the information and the background to make an educated guess on this one.

Now it comes down to how they make their lemonade. The odds of being killed are probably less than the odds of dying on IH35 between Austin and San Antonio on any weekday morning. So, I would just enjoy the extended landside holiday. I imagine that in 4 or 5 days there will be a realistic way home or elsewhere to finish up the time off work.

But thanks for the post. Its a good reminder that life is what life is. You just gotta go with it and recoginze how blessed you are that your problem is nothing compared to those that live in the Middle East or Iran or Ukraine or most of Africa or Mexico or .... well

CJean

Thank you for your reponses.

Unless I am reading the story wrong and I might be, I think some of the cruise passengers are stuck on the ship. I do not think they are allowed to get off. Perhaps they are and that would certainly help.

When I book a vacation,. I do not expect a disruption of this type. I would not go if I thought that anything like described in the article would happen,

Truthfully, I always expect to have a wonderful time with no to to few glitches. That is unrealistic so I get frustrated when the glitches happen.

I believe that I would have a very difficult time if I would stuck anywhere at all like what is described in the article.

Mr E

I hope that you are right and those on vacation will be able to get home in 4 or 5 days. I hope their employers will understand and that they still will have their jobs.

I think that I would have a very difficult time trying to relax and enjoy being caught up in a war or uprising.

isn31c

I imagine that many of the British Nationals are on pins and needles while waiting to leave.

CNN just did a segment on how travel is being affected in the Gulf and the Mideast because of the war with Iran but it was all about airports and airplanes, Not one word about cruise ships.

I would imagine many of the Brits are on pints

While traveling, I have encountered terrorism, earthquakes, hurricanes, snowstorms, strikes, road closures, airport closures, diverted flights, last minute cancellations, and much, much more.

Thus is the modern world of travel. If anyone believes all travel will go off without a hitch then they've spent too much time in Amsterdam coffee houses.

You hope for the best but prepare for the worst. If there is something I can do to rectify the situation then I do it. If not, I sit back and wait to see what happens next.

Hello Frank II

Well I have not been to Amsterdam so I have not spent too much time in Amsterdam coffee houses although I think you are really not talking about coffee.

For whatever it is worth, I love coffee and drink way to much, but at home.

I realize that you are extremely well travelled and always look forward to your input.

Most definitely I am not as adventurous as yourself.

When I book a vacation,. I do not expect a disruption of this type. I
would not go if I thought that anything like described in the article
would happen,

I'm pretty confident that few of the passengers on the German ship would have booked the cruise if they knew it would have this unfortunate timing. Travel anywhere, including close to home, is not zero risk, ever. Each person has to decide for themselves what level of risk they are willing to accept based on the imperfect information available at the time.

And FWIW the article implies that the cruise company is being extremely cautious to maintain the safety of their passengers. Letting anyone off the ship would be incredibly dangerous and irresponsible.

bostonphil,

For most of us travel is a privilege. And with privilege comes responsibility. Every traveler has a responsibility, whether they accept it or not, to understand the "climate" of the places they visit

While some things do occur unexpectedly, things like weather, strikes, political unrest and more should be on your radar, both before and during your travels.

Would I book a Caribbean cruise during the height of hurricane season? Would I travel to a country or area at war/on the brink of war? No, I wouldn't. But, many people (even folks on this forum) do. Travel with your eyes wide open.

As Frank II says

You hope for the best but prepare for the worst. If there is something I can do to rectify the situation then I do it. If not, I sit back and wait to see what happens

So glad that this has turned into such a lively discussion.

I can not keep up with all the events of the hour yet alone day. That includes but is not limited to stranded passengers..

One airline is evacuating some passengers by air but you have to be "invited" to evacuate.

Does anyone know any more about what is happening with air travel in the Gulf or the Mideast? How about cruise ships stranded in the strait?

well, I found the story that I had seen earlier.

https://www.euronews.com/2026/03/02/us-and-israeli-strikes-on-iran-disrupt-regional-and-international-flights

Unless you are directly involved it is probably impossible to keep up with what is happening. It seems that some airlines have begun repatriation flights- not normal schedules, just to get people home, also crews and aircraft repositioned.
They may actually be wanting to get aircraft out of potential harms way.
Those are probably being in part organised by embassies.
Yesterday there was confusing talk that the UAE, as a country, was paying for hotels and meals etc for everyone stranded there. That was then amended to just passengers of Emirates (the airline) then some reports that even then such an approach was patchy.

The cruise ship passengers at least don't have to worry about their room and meals.

Being docked the cruise companies can keep the ships requisitioned.

Doubtless the cruise companies are working to try to charter aircraft. But given the numbers of people caught up in this, that may be a hard one to crack.
Other reports of people driving to safety in other countries in their own cars. That may be an option for cruise companies if this becomes a prolonged situation- long haul bus transfers out of the conflict zone.

"Would I travel to a country or area at war/on the brink of war?"

I think the point is, when many passengers booked their travel (often months ago), it wasn't "on the brink of war". Normally I wouldn't have any concerns flying through Dubai or Doha (and it is a very popular route from Australia and Asia to Europe and vice versa). And not everyone has the privilege of being able to pick and choose routes and carriers due to cost - Emirates, Etihad and Qatar are very competitive coming from Asia and Australia to Europe.

And many have family in the region and other compelling reasons for travel. I was in the Middle East a week or so ago and while I was monitoring the news, and was aware if the US military buildup, I didn't have a whole lot of choice. Yes, we all have to take responsibility for ourselves, but I do feel for people who've been caught out by this

There are some flights leaving, but many stranded expats or passengers transiting through Dubai are driving to Saudi Arabia to pick up flights. The wealthy are hiring private jets to get home, others are having to buy tickets at grossly inflated prices. I feel sorry for the thousands of workers from poor countries who work in the Middle East for low wages and poor conditions and who can’t leave. I don’t think anyone travelling in that region expected this conflict to be quite so wide spread, but a friend of mine was on a cruise ship in the area when Iran and the USA had a stash not so long ago. Apparently everyone was confined to their rooms and then the Americans were evacuated by US troops from the cruise ship. Perhaps that might happen again? I remember flying out of Riyadh (during the first Gulf War) and the possibility of the plane being hit by a missile. I hope people stay safe

Just heard on the middle of the night news that some stranded passengers were simply changing planes in Dubai or another airport that is considered safe and pleasant. They were flying from Point A to Point B and needed to make connections at an airport where they are now stranded.

A few travelers were being interviewed and they are among other things, frightened.

I realize that the world is an everchanging place and stuff like this happens at the spur of the moment.

As someone who is big on insurance, as part of my medical evacuation policy, I have an emergency evacuation rider that is supposed to get me home in case of war, terrorism, natural disasters, etc. The company involved usually works with large corporations to get executives out but now makes their services available through Medjet Assist.

Will it work 100% of the time? Who knows. And I hope I never have to find out.

It wasn't that expensive. $795 for both policies and I can travel for up to 1 year without having to return home. It's actually made for expats but anyone can purchase it.

Frank II, are you referring to MedJet Horizon policy? Or another company?

The MedJet Horizon Policy doest specifically say Act of War in its advertising but does describe wartime situations like what is going on in the Middle East. My policy died 28 February. Not sure i will renew it and I don't think they have a Horizon Expat policy any longer. But it was pricy and tge standard policy would be sufficient.

But there has to be limitations on the Horizon policy. If I go to Kyiv and the front line changes and Kyiv is in the battle, do I get evacuated? I hope not if I was dumb enough to be there in the first place.

On the ships. The US is sending half the navy off the coast of Iran. Various countries share that they cant be used by the US to stage attacks .... and the cruise company sails through one of the narrowest hostile channels in the world and parks in the Persian Gulf? Were they crazy or what?

Good, bad or indifferent ____ happens everyday.

Yesterday 8,500 US citizens were repatriated raising the total to 17,500. The State Department has another 6,000 names to deal with.

Not too shabby.

We leave in a week for our Best of Japan cruise. A number of UK folks on the Facebook group are scrambling about flights because they are connecting in the Middle East. We fly non stop westward from Toronto to Tokyo.

Yes, it is Medjet Horizon.

They will not cover you if you go to an active war zone. But they will act if you are somewhere and a war breaks out.

So if you go to Kyiv now they won't cover you. But if you were in the Middle East when Israel and the US started firing they would try to help.

The US Navy announced that they will escort oil tankers through the Straits of Hormuz. I wonder if they are doing the same with passenger ships?

Are Cyprus and Turkey active war zones?
I read the full Horizon part of the plan and its good, but it is a lot more limited than the advertising implies. All you can count on is a lot of assistance on the telephone and messaging. Maybe, just maybe the will assist in evacuating you if it is required for "a positive outcome", but the total value of all the staff cost is talking to you and the evacuation cannot exceed $50,000. I suspect no one in the UAE or Qatar would get evacuated under this plan. It’s frightening but relatively safe to remain in place. On the other hand, they may have the clout to get you on a repatriation plane. I don’t know.

On that subject the US is doing a pretty fair job. 17,000 out so far so far and 6,000 outstanding requests ... if one news source is to be believed.

The US Navy announced that they will escort oil tankers through the
Straits of Hormuz. I wonder if they are doing the same with passenger
ships?

Cause if a tanker get hit, that a few hundred crew scramble for boats. If a cruise ship gets hit 3000 tourist end up floating in the water. They are safe where they are.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-04/hormuz-tracker-traffic-comes-to-a-near-halt-amid-signal-fog
“Shipping has Collapsed Through Vital Strait of Hormuz” 95% + of all traffic is stopped right now.

I believe six ships are remain stranded temporarily. Here is a CNN travel article : https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/03/travel/cruise-ship-passengers-middle-east-crisis. People are making the best of it.

Hopefully this opens up quickly.

Cause if a tanker get hit, that a few hundred crew scramble for boats. If a cruise ship gets hit 3000 tourist end up floating in the water. They are safe where they are.

A typical tanker will have a few dozen crew (probably no more than 30). But also there will be no hesitation in launching the lifeboat. It's down and off, a fast release off the stern- unlike on a cruise ship. On a cruise ship it will take an eternity to get the passengers to the boats, then launch the boats off the sides of the ship.

When I travelled passenger on freighters we were trained to crew standards on evacuation. On a container ship I was on we had 5 minutes day or night to get to the bridge from anywhere on board, don full immersion suits and be in the lifeboat. There was no equivocation that anyone who didn't achieve that would be on their own, with the lifeboat gone.

Totally different to the (not very) fun and games I see at any cruise ship muster.

We have done 21 ocean cruises and did one from Singapore to Dubai. The UAE is a fascinating country, as is Oman. You would think the Cruise line would read the news before doing a cruise in the Persian Gulf at this time.