A number of cruise ship itineraries were adjusted to avoid Egypt during the country’s political turmoil in January. Costa Cruises’ Costa Allegra (1969/28,430gt), which was operating cruises from the Egyptian port Sharm el Sheikh, moved base to Aqaba, while the remainder of sistership Costa Marina’s programme was cancelled. Other Costa ships which had been scheduled to call at Alexandria will now call at ports in Greece, Turkey or Israel. MSC Cruises and NCL also diverted their ships to other ports in the region.
Thomson Cruises’ Thomson Celebration (1984/33,933gt) also left the region in mid-February for a three-week drydocking in Gibraltar before returning to service on 18 March. During the summer, most cruise lines in the Eastern Med include Alexandria or Port Said in their itineraries.
