Royal Caribbean alters 2024 cruise itineraries to skip Israel -November 03, 2023 at 10:58 am EDT

NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) – Royal Caribbean Group
is removing Israel from its 2024 itineraries due to the
Israel-Hamas war, according to an email sent to travel agents on
Thursday seen by Reuters, making it the second major U.S. cruise
operator to alter its plans over the conflict.

The Miami, Florida-based cruise operator is modifying
itineraries as late as October 2024 for its Royal Caribbean
International unit that stops in Israel, the email said.

Travel has declined sharply across Israel and the
Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank. International
air carriers have halted trips to top destinations such as
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as the conflict continues.

The cruise operator did not respond to a request for
comment. Competitor Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings told
agents on Tuesday that it was removing Israel from its 2024
itineraries.

Royal Caribbean told investors last week that itineraries
that included Israel account for less than 1.5% of its capacity
for 2024.

“We don’t know how long this conflict is going to go on for,
which could very much inform where the consumer wants to go next
year,” Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean Group chief executive
officer, said on the company’s Oct. 26 earnings call.

The company will also redeploy the ship meant to sail in
Israel in 2024 for cruises out of Boston, Massachusetts,
according to the email.

Liberty said it was too early in the European cruise season
for the company to say whether the conflict was having an impact
on the demand to sail in that region.

Norwegian Chief Executive Harry Sommer told investors on
Wednesday that it was seeing a rise in cancellations and a
slowdown in bookings to the region near Israel, primarily in
short-term reservations.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Bill
Berkrot)