Costa Cruises has sent a statement to guests booked on its Costa Toscana’s 19-night repositioning cruise informing them the voyage has been canceled.
The one-way sailing was to sail on March 9, 2024 from Dubai to ports of call in the United Arab Emirates and Oman before sailing the Red Sea and the Suez Canal before arriving in Italy for the Mediterranean summer season. However, like many other cruise lines, Costa Cruises felt it best to cancel the cruise for the safety of its crew and guests citing the “critical situation” in the Middle East.
The statement sent to booked guests read, “As you can well understand, the critical situation that is currently affecting the maritime traffic along the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden is constantly being monitored with the maximum attention.”
“As always, the security and well-being of our guests and crew is our foremost priority, and on this direction no uncertainty and compromise can be accepted.”
“Given recent developments on the security environment and future uncertainties in the area, working in close consultation with global security experts and government authorities, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the cruise that was originally planned.”
Booked guests have been offered several options as compensation for their canceled cruise. They may move to any other repositioning or transatlantic cruise departing by December 2024. Guests may choose any other Costa Cruises sailing, departing no later than March 31, 2025, and receive a $54 onboard credit per adult. Another option is to request a future cruise credit which includes an $108 onboard credit per adult. Lastly, guests can request a full refund.
Costa Toscana will now reposition to Italy by way of circumnavigation of Africa with no need to change its scheduled Mediterranean season. Beginning in April, the Excel-class Costa Toscana, Costa Cruises newest ship, will sail a series of week-long cruises to the Western Mediterranean with ports of call in Italy, France and Spain.