Egypt Travel Alert Impacts Cruises

Classic Egypt Cruises - Photo Courtesy Uniworld River Cruises

Updated February 14th 

MSC Cruises has cancelled all the upcoming calls of MSC Magnifica and MSC Splendida at Alexandria for the rest of the season.  They will continue to follow the situation very closely and in case the situation would stabilize again would change the itineraries back to their original deployment. You will find all the latest updates on this page.

Updated January 31st - Additional Cruise Cancellations Announced

Political unrest in Egypt has prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a Travel Alert for Egypt effective from now until the end of February.   Cruise lines have been monitoring the situation and, in the wake of the alert, have made modifications or cancellations.

Travel Alert, January 28, 2011

The U.S. Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to ongoing political and social unrest in Egypt.  Violent demonstrations on January 28 took place in several areas of Cairo and other parts of the country, disrupting road travel between city centers and airports.  Disruptions in communications included the interruption of internet and mobile telephone service.  The Government of Egypt has imposed a curfew from  6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez until further notice.  Given this situation, the Department of State urges U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel to Egypt at this time and advises U.S. citizens currently in Egypt to defer non-essential movement and to exercise caution. This Travel Alert expires on February 28, 2011.    (Read more)

UNIWORLD Cancels Cruises

At this time Uniworld is canceling upcoming tours due to arrive in Egypt up to and including February 12, 2011, and customers may choose alternative tours or a full refund.

Clients who plan to travel on our Egypt tours from February 13 through February 28, 2011 have the option to cancel and rebook any 2011 Uniworld program.  The full value of the canceled booking will be applied toward the new booking.  Guests must re-book by March 31, 2011.
(Read more)


Viking River Cancels Cruises

Viking River Cruises' Egypt cruises are canceled through February 28 and guests booked on an affected sailing can rebook with no penalty or choose full refunds. (Read more)



Avalon Cruises also Cancelled


Avalon Waterways has canceled its cruises through February 28. Passengers booked on those sailings have the option of rebooking on an alternative sailing or receiving full refunds. (Read more)


MSC Cruises Alters Itineraries

MSC Splendida and MSC Magnifica were expected to call at Alexandria over the next few days, but they're being diverted. Magnifica will now call at Limassol, Cyprus, and Haifa, Israel, on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Splendida will call at Izmir, Turkey, on Monday.

Norwegian Cruise Line Alters Itineraries

Norwegian Jade was due to overnight in Alexandria on Sunday. It will now call at Istanbul.

Tour Operators Monitoring Conditions

All tour operators are monitoring the situation and it's safe to assume the majority of land-based excursions in the immediate future will be cancelled.   Contact your travel provider directly for updates if your cruise or tour isn't mentioned here.