- Viking will resume Egypt river cruises March 12.
- They had previously announced cancellations through to the end of March but have now reversed this decision.
- Other cruise lines will continue operating as normal in The Nile.
UPDATE March 9: Viking has gone back its previous decision of cancellations and will now continue to run Egypt river cruises as normal. While travel advice for Egypt hasn’t changed, other cruise lines like Amawaterways and Uniworld never announced cancellations, and after a ‘reassessment’, Viking will continue sailings as well.
Viking said in a statement: “The official travel advisories have now been clarified and the current advisory for Egypt remains the same as it was prior to the start of the recent conflict.
“Our global operations team remains in close contact with relevant authorities and security advisors, and we will continue to assess developments as they unfold. If conditions change, we are fully prepared to respond swiftly and appropriately.”
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Prominent river cruise lines such as Viking have begun cancelling their Nile River sailings through to the end of March. However, other lines such as AmaWaterways and Uniworld are going to continue to sail.
The Nile is an extremely popular river cruise destination which has been growing rapidly, and is currently in peak season. However, with the USA issuing a direct travel warning advising citizens to leave Egypt and the conflict between the USA and Israel with Iran looking set to continue for at least weeks, major river cruise lines are pulling the plug on the next few weeks’ worth of Egypt cruises.
Viking has paused over 40 voyages, cancelling Egypt sailings until the end of March.
Until now, AmaWaterways says it will continue operations as normal in Egypt.
“AmaWaterways continues to closely monitor the situation in the region and remains focused on ensuring the safety and comfort of our guests and crew at all times. Our operations in Egypt remain supported and stable. Guests currently in destination have expressed a strong desire to continue their journey, and our March 5 and March 7 Nile River cruises will proceed as planned.
“At this time, all other Nile River cruises embarking throughout March will continue as scheduled. All guests and travel advisors with March reservations have been contacted to ensure they have the most up-to-date information and assistance.”
However, AmaWaterways did note that any guests with a March reservation who prefer to change their booking to another date can do so without incurring an extra charge.
AmaWaterways has cancelled its Jordan and Dubai pre- and post-cruise programs through to the end of March.
Uniworld has said it will continue both its tours in Jordan and river cruises on the Nile for the time being.
“Due to recent military activity in Iran, airspace over Jordan is temporarily closed, potentially impacting flights for guests booked on the March 2nd Jordan pre-cruise extension. To check the status of your flight, please contact the airline.
“For guests who are currently in Amman, or have not experienced flight cancellations, we will operate the Jordan extension as usual. Tours in Jordan are operating as normal.
“Please note that our Splendors of Egypt & the Nile program will operate as usual. Our team in Egypt is standing by to welcome our guests to Cairo on March 7th. No changes to the program are expected for the group that is currently there, nor for our upcoming departures.”
If you have a cruise booked on any of these lines, make sure to continue checking with your cruise line for any updates, that you have a safe flight path organised that doesn’t stop in the Middle East and that you refer to your government’s relevant travel safety authority for the latest information.
Avalon Waterways, part of the Globus family of brands which has one ship on the Nile River, also said it was “closely monitoring the evolving situation” and had made the “proactive decision” to cancel March departures to Qatar, Jordan, Dubai and Egypt “out of an abundance of caution”.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Guests and travel advisors on affected departures are being contacted directly and personally.
“Impacted travellers are being offered flexible options, including the opportunity to rebook to a future departure or receive a full refund.”
