Saudi-Owned Cruise Ship Escaped Before Hormuz Closure Resumed
The Aroya, a cruise ship operation launched in coordination with Cruise Saudi, became the last of the cruise ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. Five other cruise ships, operated by MSC Cruises, TUI Group, and Celestyal Cruises, had previously made the transit over the weekend, taking advantage of the brief lull in the region.
The 151,000 gross ton cruise ship owned by Saudi interests but registered in Malta had not joined the others in their sailing, raising questions because of the animosities between Saudi Arabia and Iran. She, however, got underway during the day on Sunday, despite the reports that Iran had again ordered the Strait closed. She followed the other cruise ships hugging the coastline of the UAE and Oman, and now her operator reports the cruise ship is making her way back to Jeddah.
Acquired by the Saudis in 2023 after the bankruptcy of Genting Hong Kong and its Dream Cruises, the ship became the first large cruise ship owned by a Middle Eastern country. She entered service and was conducting a series of cruises from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, when the hostilities began.
Her operators report Aroya will resume service on May 14 from Jeddah. To reach her homeport in the Red Sea, she will have to again transit past the Houthis. She made a similar trip in February without incident. She will run an abbreviated season of three-, four-, and five-night cruises in the Red Sea before repositioning to Turkey for Mediterranean cruises.
Cyprus-based Celestyal Cruises also issued a statement thanking its captains and highlighting the close coordination with regional authorities and maritime security teams. The line’s Celestyal Discovery was the first cruise ship to transit the Strait on Friday. Its vessel, Celestyal Journey, followed on Saturday, leading a convoy of the two TUI cruise ships and one from MSC.
Celestyal says its ships are now repositioning to the Mediterranean without providing details. The AIS signal on Celestyal Discovery shows a destination of the Suez, while Celestyal Journey reports it is heading for Cape Town, South Africa.
TUI’s Mein Schiff 5 is also showing a destination of Cape Town. Presumably, her sister ship, Mein Schiff 4, will follow the same route. TUI avoided the Red Sea on its outbound trips also due to safety concerns.
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MSC Cruises only said that its cruise ship MSC Euribia had safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz and is on her way to Northern Europe. The company said it is set to resume “her Northern Europe season sooner than expected.” The first cruise is set for May 16 from Germany.
The cruise lines have also begun to report changes to future deployments. MSC said it would replace its Persian Gulf sailings planned for 2026-2027 by moving an additional cruise ship to the Caribbean. Celestyal had historically idled its ship during the winter season before establishing its presence in the Persian Gulf market. The company has not yet said how it plans to handle the 2026-2027 season.