Queen Mary 2 world voyage 2024….Red Sea?

[Mickb]

MSC have just re routed the Poesia world cruise away from the Red Sea and round the Cape. Turns the itinerary upside down. I can’t  believe that insurers would allow a large cruise ship to transit these waters in the present circumstances so suspect this may be the first of many world cruise itinerary changes.

[Easybimble]

23 minutes ago, Mickb said:

MSC have just re routed the Poesia world cruise away from the Red Sea and round the Cape. Turns the itinerary upside down. I can’t  believe that insurers would allow a large cruise ship to transit these waters in the present circumstances so suspect this may be the first of many world cruise itinerary changes.

Very interesting, be interesting to see what happens next now the world cruise season begins

[roscoe39]

4 hours ago, Mickb said:

MSC have just re routed the Poesia world cruise away from the Red Sea and round the Cape. Turns the itinerary upside down. I can’t  believe that insurers would allow a large cruise ship to transit these waters in the present circumstances so suspect this may be the first of many world cruise itinerary changes.

watching closely, that could be a game changer but maybe it means the QV and QM may cross paths this year which would be great!

[Easybimble]

So you are off, have a great trip😀🚢

I’m looking forward to the Singapore to Southampton segment…. any news from the sharp end?

US and British forces have attacked the Houthis last night  so I imagine this will impact decision making with the powers that be?

[rog747]

Sorry to say that after last night IMO I highly foresee the rerouting of Cruise Liners away from the region, and if I was booked on the QM2 WC heading Westwards back to Blighty later in the winter then I fully expect that Cunard will reroute the ship home via the Cape. 

Tensions are heightening, and the whole Region is entering and being dragged into a rather serious and woeful situation yet again. 

Edited January 12 by rog747

[Easybimble]

I just hope Cunard are able to let us know what the plan is in the near future ….. must be a very challenging time having to make massive changes to itineraries at this late stage.

[safarigal]

I had heard from a crew member on board that QM2 was going to give the Red Sea a miss, but they hadn't let them know what the alternative plans would be. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this, but time will tell.

[Homardbleu]

CruiseMapper says QM2  is en route to Cape Town…

[Host Hattie]

3 minutes ago, Homardbleu said:

CruiseMapper says QM2  is en route to Cape Town 

That's correct, she's not due into the Red Sea until April. 

[NE John]

Ever since I went on the “Pearls of the Black Sea” cruise on QE in Oct 2012, my travel mantra is the world is closing (not opening) and to live with no regret. Take advantage of travel now because you never know what area to visit is going to experience mayhem going forward. Much of the area of that “Pearls” cruise is mined and war torn. 

[roscoe39]

2 hours ago, NE John said:

Ever since I went on the “Pearls of the Black Sea” cruise on QE in Oct 2012, my travel mantra is the world is closing (not opening) and to live with no regret. Take advantage of travel now because you never know what area to visit is going to experience mayhem going forward. Much of the area of that “Pearls” cruise is mined and war torn. 

I agree 100%. each time I'm on the Queen V I wonder if it will be the last and this years WC looks to be the last for me for a while. Fortunately the QV is South America next year so don't have to make a drastic decision. When I look at the countries that we used to go to that we can no longer, it was only 2008 and 2010 that I had trips booked to Syria, and Russia looks problematic now too let alone Egypt Israel and the Canal

[NE John]

11 minutes ago, roscoe39 said:

Queen V I wonder if it will be the last and this years WC

I already queued up your blog page for your upcoming QV World Cruise report. I’m still chuckling from some of your commentary from last time! I don’t want to live with regrets nor not being surrounded by humor. (I hope I got my double negatives correct on the last one…)

[rog747]

I kick myself for not booking QM2 Late Saver on last Thursday down to Cape Town - but I have a brand new house with a host of plumbing & heating snags, and so I cannot leave it unattended for a month sadly Grrr.

This is a Voyage I have wanted to do for many years, since when living in Cape Town whilst working for Virgin Atlantic there, it was always the 'thing to do' at the end of the (CPT) summer season to go down to the Waterfront breakwater and watch the sunset departure of the QE2 leave for Southampton at the end of her annual WC to go home.
It was always quite teary, and always something I wanted to be on.

The only Caveat now for me (perhaps selfishly, so I do apologise lol) is that any rerouting of the QM2 for her return to Blighty via the Cape may give me the chance to get a berth on her back to Southampton.

Otherwise, we wish her safe passage wherever she goes. 

 

[Bigmike911]

Queen Mary 2 has begun her 2024 World Cruise. Outbound she is traveling around the Cape of Good Hope and then to the east. On her return she is scheduled to travel through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean and then back to Southampton. At present there is a very hot war going on at the Strait of Hormuz at the Southern entrance to the Red Sea. 

 

I cannot imagine that Cunard would risk the Vessel, Crew and Passengers to bombardment just to maintain their scheduled route. That being the case, and unless something radical happens, the conflict will likely not be resolved by the time for QM2's return. What might Cunard do?

 

Go back the way she came around the Cape of Good Hope, which would likely add days to the voyage. And that might cause a ripple effect on future voyages in 2024, or cancel some of the stops in South East Asia to be able to return to Southampton on schedule?

 

Any thoughts?

[watsonbeau]

I’d guess the latter if it comes to it plus she can speed up as is often the case on the transatlantics. Adds to fuel bill but better than risking ship and those on board. All very difficult and I wouldn’t like to be the one who has to decide on it.

[cruiseluvva]

We are boarding in Singapore and would be happy if rerouted via Cape Town. We’ve done the Suez Canal twice already, so wouldn’t be especially bothered about missing it.

[cruiseluvva]

On 1/12/2024 at 4:26 PM, safarigal said:

I had heard from a crew member on board that QM2 was going to give the Red Sea a miss, but they hadn't let them know what the alternative plans would be. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this, but time will tell.

That’s interesting. It wouldn’t bother me if it changes, in fact it would be good.

[tjunmin]

14 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

Go back the way she came around the Cape of Good Hope, which would likely add days to the voyage. And that might cause a ripple effect on future voyages in 2024, or cancel some of the stops in South East Asia to be able to return to Southampton on schedule?

I believe QM2 would be able to take the Cape of Good Hope route without having to add days to the voyage. The QV will leave Singapore 3 days later than QM2, and both ships will arrive on the same day in Southampton, according to their original itineraries. QM2 could take the same route as QV, and still have 3 days to spare.

One issue with this itinerary change would be the passengers embarking and disembarking in Dubai and Athens. Other issues would include securing ports/docks and ensuring supplies to the ship along the new route.

There are still 2 months until QM2 leaves Singapore; a lot can change in that time period.

Edited January 15 by tjunmin

[Easybimble]

3 hours ago, cruiseluvva said:

We are boarding in Singapore and would be happy if rerouted via Cape Town. We’ve done the Suez Canal twice already, so wouldn’t be especially bothered about missing it.

We are also boarding in Singapore but the reroute will affect many aspects of the voyage that may make it not worthwhile, no Jordan or Suez obviously, the Mediterranean ports wouldn’t happen, I’m not sure it’s going to be worth bothering with for us but we may get no choice?

[Host Hattie]

14 minutes ago, Easybimble said:

We are also boarding in Singapore but the reroute will affect many aspects of the voyage that may make it not worthwhile, no Jordan or Suez obviously, the Mediterranean ports wouldn’t happen, I’m not sure it’s going to be worth bothering with for us but we may get no choice?

If you've booked in the UK I would think that would count as a significant change and you would be able to cancel for a refund. 

Time will tell...

[cruiseluvva]

46 minutes ago, Easybimble said:

We are also boarding in Singapore but the reroute will affect many aspects of the voyage that may make it not worthwhile, no Jordan or Suez obviously, the Mediterranean ports wouldn’t happen, I’m not sure it’s going to be worth bothering with for us but we may get no choice?

For us, there are only a couple of new ports Penang, Phuket and Salalah. Everywhere else we’ve been to, most several times. But I can see it would be disappointing for some. We’ll still go if things are changed, as we’re staying with our son in KL first - which was the main reason for booking.

[tjunmin]

15 minutes ago, cruiseluvva said:

For us, there are only a couple of new ports Penang, Phuket and Salalah. Everywhere else we’ve been to, most several times. But I can see it would be disappointing for some. We’ll still go if things are changed, as we’re staying with our son in KL first - which was the main reason for booking.

I'm in a somewhat similar situation as yours. I've visited most of the interesting areas in the itinerary between Singapore and Southampton. The new ports of call for me are Penang, Langkawi, Doha and Salalah.

I also would be fine if QM2 was rerouted through the Cape of Good Hope. I think it would be much safer for the ship and passengers. In my personal opinion, the QM2 is a British symbol, and is a juicy target for an attack in the Red Sea. But I totally understand that there will be passengers upset with the disruptions caused by a possible itinerary change. As I said earlier, there is still 2 months until QM2 has to sail those waters, and much can change in the meantime.

The Middle East is a very interesting region to visit. Here is a short video I created using photos I took from two cruises in the region: [video link].

[WantedOnVoyage]

Two months?  My Cunard schedule shows QM2 transiting the Suez Canal in mid April. That's four plus months distant. That is a lifetime in world events and especially that region.

Edited January 15 by WantedOnVoyage

[exlondoner]

7 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Two months?  My Cunard schedule shows QM2 transiting the Suez Canal in mid April. That's four plus months distant. That is a lifetime in world events and especially that region.

Three months methinks, but maybe only two until decision time.

[tjunmin]

14 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Two months?  My Cunard schedule shows QM2 transiting the Suez Canal in mid April. That's four plus months distant. That is a lifetime in world events and especially that region.

If Cunard decides to reroute QM2 around the Cape of Good Hope, the decision will probably have to be made by the time the ship leaves Singapore on March 23, thus the 2 month timeline I previously mentioned.

If Cunard waits until the ship arrives in Dubai to reroute around Africa to avoid the Red Sea, QM2 will be unable to reach Southampton by April 28.

Someone on CC floated the possibility of all passengers disembarking in Dubai, and QM2 sailing empty through the Red Sea and passengers reboarding in Athens on April 19. This option eliminates the passenger liability for Cunard, but in my personal opinion, QM2 is still at risk of being attacked.