Norwegian Cancels Jade’s Eastern Med Sailings Nov. 26-April 11

Norwegian Cancels Jade’s Eastern Med Sailings Nov. 26-April 11

Norwegian Cruise Line said it has cancelled Eastern Mediterranean and Holy Land cruises aboard Norwegian Jade between Nov. 26, 2011 and April 11, 2012. Norwegian said the move was made in part because of safety concerns in the ports being visited. Jade’s itineraries include stops in Egypt and Turkey, while the Holy Land cruises were scheduled to visit Cyprus and Israel.

Passengers booked on affected cruises can transfer to the same sailings between Oct. 15 and Nov. 16, or reschedule to trips between Oct. 12, 2012 and April 17, 2013 that have the same itineraries. Customers also have the option of transferring to any other sailing in the Norwegian fleet between now and Dec. 31, 2012.

Norwegian Jade, which is based in Europe year-round, will start a 12-day dry dock on Nov. 26 and then move to Barcelona for nine-day cruises to the Canary Islands between Dec. 8 and April 12. After that the ship will offer a repositioning cruise to Venice on April 21, 2012.

While Norwegian is blaming political unrest in the Middle East for the cancellations, many other travel companies, including tour operators and river cruise operators, have returned to the region following stabilization in Egypt.

Other countries still experiencing unrest, including Libya, Syria and Yemen, are not usually including in cruise itineraries, including tour. Some agents suggest that Norwegian cancelled Norwegian Jade’s Eastern Mediterranean sailings because it was having difficulty filling them.

Last month Royal Caribbean announced plans to cancel winter Eastern Mediterranean cruises aboard Navigator of the Seas, which is moving to the Caribbean this fall. Disney Cruise Line will not have a ship in Europe in 2012; instead, it will base all four of its vessels out of U.S. homeports next year. With soaring air fare costs to Europe, many lines are facing challenges getting passengers to their destinations. The cost of the air fare often far exceeds the price of the cruise.