While the six stranded cruise ships have recently managed to leave the region, the future of cruising in the Arabian Gulf is still facing uncertainty.
Cruise Industry News looks into the status of the 2026-27 season in the region, which has seen five cancellations so far.
TUI
TUI became the latest cruise line to cancel its planned itineraries in the Middle East for the 2026-27 season.
The company was initially scheduled to offer cruises in the region with the Mein Schiff Flow, which will now sail in Northern Europe.
As the company’s largest and newest vessel, the 4,000-passenger ship will offer cruises from German homeports.
MSC
MSC announced plans to cancel its 2026-27 season in the Arabian Gulf in early April. In a press release, the company said that the change was part of a revision of its deployment for the upcoming winter.
Originally scheduled to offer itineraries to the UAE, Bahrain and Doha, the MSC World Europa was repositioned to the Southern Caribbean.
With the LNG-powered vessel taking over its itineraries in the French Antilles, the MSC Seaview was also redeployed and will now offer cruises in South America in 2026-27.
Explora
Explora confirmed the cancellation of its 2026-27 winter season in the Middle East back in late March, announcing plans to move the Explora II to Europe.
The MSC Group-owned luxury brand planned to operate the vessel in the Arabian Gulf for itineraries to the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Explora said that the decision follows “careful consideration” and reflects its “commitment to providing guests and travel advisors with clarity and confidence” for future cruises.
Costa
Costa was one of the first cruise lines to cancel plans for the 2026-27 winter season in the Middle East.
In a statement shared in mid-March, the Carnival-owned brand said that decision was driven by the outlook for the region, which was deemed as uncertain.
Previously scheduled to sail in the Arabian Gulf, the Costa Smeralda was repositioned to the Canary Islands, taking over the itineraries of the Costa Pacifica. The latter will now offer new winter itineraries in the Mediterranean during the season.
AIDA
In an announcement shared in mid-March, AIDA also cancelled its 2026-27 operation in the Arabian Gulf.
The Germany-based company said that the decision aimed at giving guests certainty, considering that the situation in the region in “cannot be reliably predicted for the foreseeable future.”
With its itineraries in the Middle East cancelled, the AIDAprima is now set to offer cruises in the Canary Islands and Northern Europe in 2026-27.
Celestyal
Celestyal hasn’t announced any changes to its published schedule for the 2026-27 season in the Middle East at press time.
After the recent transit of the Celestyal Discovery and the Celestyal Journey through the Strait of Hormuz, the company plans to operate both ships in the Arabian Gulf between late November and mid-March.
The vessels are scheduled to offer itineraries to destinations in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman.
Aroya
After having most of its inaugural season in the region cancelled earlier this year, Aroya is scheduled to return to the Arabian Gulf during the 2026-27 season.
The Saudi-based brand plans to offer seven-night cruises to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrein and Oman between January and March 2027.
