The Saudi-backed cruise ship Aroya slipped through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, becoming the last large cruise vessel to transit the waterway during a brief lull in regional tensions and announcing plans to resume commercial sailings from Jeddah on May 14. The move marks a notable development for the ship — acquired by Saudi interests in 2023 and operating in coordination with Cruise Saudi — as it returns to service after a pause prompted by renewed hostilities in the region.
The 151,000 gross tonne vessel, registered in Malta, had not joined five other cruise ships that transited the Strait earlier in the weekend, drawing attention given the strained relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Aroya got underway on Sunday and, like the others, hugged the coastlines of the United Arab Emirates and Oman as she moved west toward the Red Sea. Her operators say she is now making her way back to Jeddah to begin an abbreviated season of three-, four- and five-night Red Sea cruises before repositioning to Turkey for Mediterranean sailings.
Aroya’s purchase followed the bankruptcy of Genting Hong Kong and its Dream Cruises brand, making the ship the first large cruise vessel owned by a Middle Eastern country. Before the current round of hostilities, she had been conducting cruises from Dammam. To reach Jeddah from the Gulf she will again need to transit waters near areas controlled by Yemen’s Houthi movement — a route she navigated in February without incident — underscoring the continued operational risk for cruise operators in the region.
Other cruise lines moved quickly over the same weekend to reposition vessels. Cyprus-based Celestyal Cruises said it coordinated closely with regional authorities and maritime security teams as its Celestyal Discovery became the first cruise ship to pass the Strait on Friday. Celestyal Journey followed on Saturday, leading a convoy that included two TUI Group ships and one MSC Cruises vessel. AIS data shows Celestyal Discovery now bound for the Suez Canal, while Celestyal Journey is reporting a destination of Cape Town, South Africa. Celestyal has said its ships are repositioning to the Mediterranean but has not provided details for the 2026–2027 season.
TUI’s Mein Schiff 5 is likewise showing Cape Town as her next stop, and Mein Schiff 4 is presumed to follow the same routing. TUI avoided the Red Sea on outbound trips because of safety concerns. MSC Cruises confirmed that MSC Euribia passed safely through the Strait and is en route to Northern Europe; the company said the ship’s Northern Europe season will resume sooner than expected, with a first cruise scheduled from Germany on May 16.
The weekend’s movements also brought early strategic changes for future deployments. MSC said it will replace previously planned Persian Gulf sailings for the 2026–2027 season by moving an additional ship to the Caribbean. Celestyal, which only recently established a presence in the Persian Gulf after traditionally idling its ship in winter months, has not yet disclosed how it will handle deployments for 2026–2027.
The swift redeployments and Aroya’s planned restart highlight how cruise lines and regional operators are adapting schedules in response to fast-changing security dynamics in the Gulf and Red Sea. For Saudi interests, Aroya’s return to service will be a high-profile signal of the Kingdom’s ambitions to grow a homegrown cruise market even as geopolitical tensions continue to reshape itineraries and long-term deployment strategies.
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