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* MSC Cruises has cancelled a 2026 Grand Voyage aboard MSC Euribia because it cannot guarantee the safety of guests while transiting the Red Sea region.
* The voyage was to depart Dubai on April 4, 2026 and sail a 25-day cruise to Southampton, UK.
* Booked guests were offered three alternatives, including two rebooking options and a full refund.
Another voyage that featured Middle East port calls and transits through the Suez Canal and Red Sea was cancelled by MSC Cruises, which cited ongoing security concerns across the region.
Guests booked to sail a 25-day Grand Voyage aboard MSC Euribia from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Southampton, UK, on April 4, 2026 were recently notified of the cancellation. One disappointed guest posted the notice on social media on September 10, 2025.
The Meraviglia-Plus-class ship that accommodates 5,800 guests in double occupancy was to call at Doha, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Muscat, Oman, and Aqaba, Jordan, before entering the Suez Canal for a two-day transit.
From there, the ship would call at Alexandria, Egypt, then spend two days crossing the Red Sea into the Eastern Mediterranean.
"Considering that the ongoing geopolitical situation still does not allow us to guarantee a safe transit across the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, we have had to cancel MSC Euribia's Grand Voyage from the United Arab Emirates that was due to depart in April 2026," the cruise line wrote to booked guests.
Following its entry into the Mediterranean, the ship was to call at Rome, Barcelona and Cadiz, Spain, Lisbon, and Le Havre, France, before ending in Southampton.
The line apologized for the disappointment and offered three alternatives. Guests can transfer their booking to any other MSC Grand Voyage of similar length. The line said it would grant "the most convenient cruise fare between the original sailing and the new one."
This appears to mean it would charge the lower of the two cruise fares; flights and other services are not included in the offer.
Under the second option, guests can transfer their booking to any other cruise shown on the line's website without any change fee. Guests who choose a more expensive sailing will pay the difference in the fares, while those who select a cheaper option will be refunded the difference.
The third alternative is a cancellation and full refund of the cruise fare paid for the Grand Voyage.
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MSC Cruises told booked guests that these offers are valid until September 30, 2025, and that they should contact the line or their travel agent by that date.
Also, the cruise line's notice states that it is not offering any compensation for flights or other transport, or hotel stays that guests might have already booked in connection with the cancelled sailing.
Red Sea Security Issues Have Impacted Other Ships
MSC Cruises is among several cruise lines that have cancelled sailings or rerouted ships away from the volatile Red Sea region. In fact, this is the second time that MSC Euribia's Grand Voyage along a similar route has been cancelled.
The line nixed the ship's October 19, 2024 departure of a Grand Voyage that was to depart from Kiel, Germany, and sail to Dubai. At the time, MSC Cruises told booked guests that it had cancelled the sailing due to continuous attacks on ships in the area.
More recently, the cruise line substantially altered the 2026 World Cruise aboard MSC Magnifica, routing the ship away from the Suez Canal and instead sailing to South Africa.
The revised itinerary now features a route that takes the ship north along Africa's western coast, entering the Western Mediterranean rather than the originally planned Eastern Mediterranean. The new routing added 12 days to the voyage, bringing it to 131 days.