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TUI Cancels Additional Sailings for Middle East Ships

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TUI Cancels Additional Sailings for Middle East Ships

TUI Cruises cancelled additional departures onboard two of its vessels due to the current conflicts in the Middle East.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday, the cancellations now include all sailings set to take place onboard the Mein Schiff 4 through March 23, 2026.

For the Mein Schiff 5, the cancellations include all the cruises scheduled to take place through March 29, 2026. TUI explained that the cancellations follow a travel and security advisory from Germany’s Foreign Office.

The company said that all affected passengers have been directly informed of the cancellations by its teams.

“Should further adjustments become necessary, we will promptly and proactively contact the booked guests,” TUI added.

“We are continuously assessing the situation and making decisions based on current official recommendations,” the statement added.

TUI noted that all guests and numerous crew members have now disembarked both the Mein Schiff 4 and the Mein Schiff 5 safely.

“The primary goal now remains to ensure the safety and well-being of the remaining crew onboard,” the company explained.

“Furthermore, our crisis team is working in close coordination with the relevant authorities, the Foreign Office, the responsible embassies, international security experts and the security teams of both parent companies on an ongoing assessment of the situation and derived scenarios,” TUI added.

The company also said it set up an information hotline for families of crew members that are still onboard the vessels in the Middle East.

The information service can be reached from Monday to Friday by phone at +800 5353 3333. TUI’s team is also available to answer questions and concerns via email at FamilyCrewHelpLine@seachefs.com.

The recent round of cancellations includes Mein Schiff 5’s repositioning voyage to Europe, which was set to depart from South Africa to Spain starting on March 29, 2026.

Sailing between Cape Town and Palma de Mallorca, the 19-night cruise was set to visit destinations in Namibia, Cape Verde, the Canary Islands and the United Kingdom.

The Mein Schiff 5 is now expected to resume service in late April, ahead of a summer season in the Eastern Mediterranean.

With its Dubai – South Africa cruise previously cancelled, the Mein Schiff 4 is scheduled to welcome guests back in Cape Town for a repositioning voyage to Europe on April 11, 2026.

AIDAbella Back at Sea Post-Modernization

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AIDAbella Back at Sea Post-Modernization

The AIDAbella is resuming service in Palma de Mallorca on March 11 following its AIDA Evolution refurbishment.

The cruise ship had previously spent seven weeks in a shipyard in Marseille, where it underwent a comprehensive overhaul and modernization.

According to a statement from the company, the upgrade included new and additional restaurants, bars with enhanced service, new activity areas for families and a fresh look for the public areas.

In addition to redesigning guest cabins, new and additional suites were added, as well as exclusive areas such as the Sky Deck and the Rossini Lounge.

Furthermore, technical upgrades were made to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency.

Approximately 5,100 pieces of furniture were donated to social organizations and 18 tons of aluminum from sun loungers and chairs were recycled, demonstrating  circular economy in practice.

The company also refurbished approximately 45,000 m2 of carpets, 10,000 m2 of carpet underlay, 2,500 m2 of artificial turf and over 1,000 mattresses, giving them a new lease on life.

The crew and reception areas got a fully recyclable, allergy-friendly carpet made from Econyl yarn, produced from recycled carpets from the AIDAdiva and AIDAluna.

Thanks to a new reverse osmosis system, the AIDAbella can produce more fresh water from seawater using less energy, the company said.

The consistent use of LED lighting, further optimization of demand-based climate control, and modernized catering technology are meant to contribute to reducing energy and water consumption onboard.

Finally, a special biocide-free coating was added to reduce fouling on the hull, thus also reducing fuel consumption.

The ship’s first itinerary post-modernization is a seven-day roundtrip from Palma that includes stops in Civitavecchia (Rome), La Spezia, Marseille – with a special overnight stay – and Barcelona, before returning to Palma.

AIDA Confident Amid Geopolitical Challenges as Demand Grows

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AIDA Confident Amid Geopolitical Challenges as Demand Grows

AIDA Cruises is seeing strong demand for cruises and a high share of premium bookings and remains positive despite ongoing geopolitical challenges, the company said in a statement.

Current figures show that just over three million German ocean cruise passengers traveled in 2025, growing by nine percent compared to the previous year.

“Cruising in Germany is driving growth in the tourism market. In 2025, AIDA generated profitable growth with unchanged capacity and record-level occupancy,” said AIDA president Felix Eichhorn.

“With around 1.5 million guests in 2025, AIDA is the clear market leader in the German cruise market. This success is driven by strong demand and long-term bookings.”

For summer 2026, AIDA said it seeing an above-average level of advance bookings, a trend which Eichhorn said continues steadily.

“. The disproportionately high number of high-quality, long-term premium bookings also shows that guests place particular value on quality,” he said.

Trips departing from German ports that can operate year-round, such as Hamburg, Kiel, and Warnemünde, as well as routes to Northern Europe remain especially popular, AIDA noted.

Cruises to the United Kingdom, the Baltic states, and classic Northern Europe routes including Norway, Denmark, and Sweden are also said to be experiencing strong demand.

Multi-generational travel is currently in particularly high demand at AIDA.

A YouGov study commissioned by the company found that 66 percent of Germans have already vacationed with multiple generations of their family.

Around 20 percent of respondents believe cruises are especially suitable for multi-generational travel.

The company is also offering 20 Northern Europe cruises this year where shore power is used during port stays at every port.

The first short cruise starts on March 12 from Kiel and takes AIDAbella via Kristiansand, Oslo, and Copenhagen before returning to Kiel.

“In 2023, we had just over 60 shore power connections; last year, that number already exceeded 400. Thanks to the opening of additional facilities in Europe, we expect a further increase to 600 port calls this year. Nevertheless, further expansion of shore power infrastructure in Europe remains necessary,” said Eichhorn.