U.S. Evacuates Nationals from Israel on Chartered Royal Caribbean Ship
The U.S. State Department and the Embassy in Israel announced that it chartered a cruise ship to accelerate the departure of U.S. nationals and their immediate families from Israel. The move comes as fears mount of escalation as Israel stands poised for what government officials are saying will be the next phase of the war against Hamas with an all-out air, sea, and land invasion of Gaza.
Royal Caribbean Group confirmed that it was working with the U.S. Its cruise ship, the Rhapsody of the Seas (78,878 gross tons) which had been idled in Cyprus, was dispatched to Haifa overnight. The cruise ship, which was built in 1997, had been operating cruises from Israel that were canceled last week after the war began.
The embassy in Israel announced that embarkation would begin at 8:00 a.m. this morning local time advising American nationals who had the proper paperwork to arrive at the terminal by 8:00 a.m. and that boarding would be on a first-come basis. The embassy was only saying that space would be limited, but media reports said they hoped to load as many as 2,500 people aboard. The cruise ship, which is registered in the Bahamas, has approximately 1,000 passenger cabins and a normal maximum passenger capacity of just over 2,400 people along with 765 crew. It was unclear if everyone was being assigned a cabin or if the ship would take deck passengers for the trip, which was expected to last 10 to 12 hours.
Israeli media were reporting the scene at the dock was chaotic today. Embassy personnel were trying to guide the process, but at times recommended people leave and return later in smaller groups. Each passenger was permitted just one suitcase of up to 50 lbs. and a small carry-on bag. No pets were being embarked on the ship. They were being told that food and Wi-Fi would be available onboard and the U.S. consular staff would be traveling to assist the people evacuating from Israel.
The cruise ship departed Haifa shortly after 4:00 p.m. local time after about seven hours in Haifa and is returning to Cyprus. According to its AIS signal, it is sailing at about 10 knots and is due to reach Limassol at 8:00 a.m. local time tomorrow, October 17. The U.S. Embassy in Cyprus will provide buses from the ship to the two airports on Cyprus, but onward travel and accommodations is the individual’s responsibility. The embassy in Israel was reporting that charter flights would be conducted out of Cyprus due to the limited availability of commercial service.
On Sunday, the U.S. Embassy wrote in an advisory, “We urge those wishing to leave to take advantage,” of its travel arrangements which also included planned charter flights from Israel to “nearby safe locations.” With commercial flights remaining very limited out of Israel, the U.S. said it would be offering seats on a space-available basis on an unspecified number of charters. They advised the family members of U.S. government employees and some non-emergency personnel would also be authorized to depart.
It is unclear if the U.S. has plans for any further emergency evacuations from Israel. All the major cruise lines last week suspended their port calls, as did most commercial airlines. It was reported that MSC Cruises chartered an Israeli-owned cruise ship, Crown Iris (40,000 gross tons), and on Sunday the cruise ship spent about 10 hours in Haifa disembarking Israelis that had been on an MSC cruise when the war broke out.