Marella (TUI UK) cancels Red Sea repositioning cruises due to safety concerns

   March 8, 2024 ,   Accidents

Marella Cruises has made the decision to cancel a series of repositioning sailings on Discovery 2 ship due to concerns regarding the Red Sea area.

Affected passengers who were scheduled for cruises next month have been informed of the cancellations and have been presented with the choice of rebooking at a discounted rate of 10% or receiving a full refund.

Discovery 2 is presently engaged in a series of cruises in the Far East, departing from Singapore. The 15-night ‘Eastern Delights’ fly-cruise scheduled for March 26th from Singapore to Sri Lanka will proceed as planned.

Subsequent relocation voyages (RepositionCruises.com) through the Red Sea have been called off, along with a Limassol to Palma, Majorca voyage set for May 1st. The earliest departure listed on the Marella website is now a ‘Highlights of the Mediterranean’ round-trip from Palma on May 7th.

In correspondence with customers, TUI, the parent company of Marella Cruises, explained that due to the ongoing Red Sea conflict, they had explored alternative routes for sailing from Singapore to Palma. Regrettably, they had made the challenging, yet necessary, decision to cancel the cruise.

"The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority.”

TUI is extending a 10% discount on a new cruise booking or providing a full refund, inclusive of any excursions booked. The 10% discount offer is valid for re-bookings made by 16 March.

A spokesperson for Marella Cruises commented:

“We can confirm that due to the on-going conflict in the Red Sea area we have made the difficult decision to cancel ‘Eastern Flavours 1 and 2’, ‘Arabian Sunrise 1 and 2’, ‘Red Sea Sights 1 and 2’, ‘Ancient Discovery 1 and 2’ and ‘Ancient Escape’ on Marella Discovery 2 between 4 April 2024 – 1 May 2024, for the safety of our customers and crew.

“We appreciate how disappointing this news will be. All impacted customers will be contacted by their booking agent to discuss the options available to them, which including being able to rebook with a 10% booking incentive or receive a full refund.”