TUI Marella Cruises: UK cruise line cancels entire Middle East & Asia programme due to ongoing conflict in Red Sea

Marella Cruises, a British cruise line operated by airline TUI, has cancelled its 2024-25 Asia and Middle East programme due to ongoing conflict in the Red Sea. The line said it was a “difficult decision” to cancel the sailings.

The sailings that are scheduled were due to depart between November 1 and April 30, 2025. The cruise line said it had to make this decision “for the safety of our customers and crew”. Affected passengers will be given the option of either a full refund or rebooking with a £200 discount. The line has not yet confirmed new deployment plans.

A spokesperson said: “We appreciate how disappointing this news will be and, therefore, all impacted customers will be contacted by their booking agent to discuss the options available to them. Options include being able to rebook with a £200 per person reduction or receive a full refund. Once again we apologise for the disappointment and inconvenience caused to impacted customers and we hope to see them on board a Marella Cruise very soon.”

The impacted voyages are all aboard the 69,130-gross-ton Marella Discovery 2, which is the only ship from Marella Cruises currently offering these destinations. The cruise line’s other ships are all deployed to different regions and are unaffected by the situation in the Red Sea.

While Marella Cruises has a small fleet of just five ships, they offer a variety of diverse itineraries to choose from, including destinations in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, the Caribbean, and more, with departures from Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria. Travellers who cannot find a replacement cruise or who may not be comfortable booking another itinerary can simply cancel and will receive a full refund without any cancellation fees. 

Refunds will be processed back to the original form of payment. Guests have until April 29, 2024, to make their decision for rebooking. If they have not notified their travel agent or the cruise line of their decision by that date, cancellations and refunds will automatically be processed on April 30.

Marella is one of several operators to amend or axe itineraries that go through the Red Sea where tensions continue to escalate.

Earlier this month, Holland America Line changed its 2025 Grand World Voyage itinerary to protect passengers. This year HAL’s parent company Carnival Corporation also confirmed it had rerouted 12 ships’ itineraries due to escalating tensions in the Red Sea.