MSC Euribia Scraps Another Sailing as Middle East Crisis Deepens
Key Aspects:
MSC Euribia, which has now been docked in Dubai for several days, has cancelled another upcoming sailing.
The March 7 embarkation, which was a 7-night cruise around the Middle East, has officially been scrapped.
It’s unclear when current guests will be able to disembark to go home.
MSC Cruises’ MSC Euribia remains stuck in the port of Dubai as the conflict in the Middle East continues to intensify, which is leading to more cruise cancellations.
The Meraviglia-Plus class cruise ship has been stuck in Dubai since it arrived for an overnight call on February 27.
It then hunkered down in the UAE port following the joint military attack on Iran that unfolded on February 28, taking a wait-and-see approach to the situation.
As the conflict continues to escalate with Iran taking retaliatory action, it’s become clear that the 6,327-guest ship will not be departing Dubai anytime soon. This has prompted MSC Cruises to cancel several upcoming embarkations, and the list grew longer as of March 1, 2026.
MSC Notifies Guests of Cancelled Cruises
The cruise line already cancelled the embarkations on February 28 and March 1, which would have been overlapping 7-night Middle Eastern itineraries. The March 4 departures, which consisted of a 3-night getaway cruise and a 7-night sailing, were also nixed for safety reasons.
Now, guests booked on the March 7 embarkation, which was another 7-night sailing from Dubai, have been told that their sailing is also officially cancelled.
Like the other sailings that were scheduled to be operated simultaneously, guests would have visited Doha, Qatar, Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and Khalifa Bin Salman, Bahrain.
“Due to the current situation and the closure of airspace across the Middle East region, your cruise aboard MSC Euribia departing from Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 3/7/2026 has been cancelled,” MSC sent in an email to current guests, which was obtained by Cruise Hive.
“Your safety and satisfaction remain our top priority, and we are here to support you during this time,” the cruise line continued.
In light of the cancellation, guests will automatically receive refunds of their full cruise fare within 30 days. No further action is required on the part of the guests.
Are More Changes Coming?
The situation in the Middle East is dangerous and continues to evolve, which means more embarkations could be impacted. After March 7, MSC Euribia has more embarkations scheduled for March 8, March 11, March 14, March 15, and March 18.
It would not be surprising if these sailings, all of which are 7-night itineraries, also ended up on the chopping block in the coming days.
For now, the 183,500-gross ton vessel is one of six cruise ships that are stuck in the Middle East. It’s joined by Celestyal Cruises’ Celestyal Discovery and Aroya Cruises’ Aroya Manara in Dubai.
Mein Schiff 4 is stuck in Abu Dhabi, while Mein Schiff 5 and Celestyal Journey round out the list in Doha.
Read Also: All Cruise Lines Impacted by Middle East Tensions So Far
Cruise ships cannot sail to safer waters because they would have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is dangerously close to Iran at only 21 to 33 miles wide between Iran to the north and Oman/UAE to the south.
Even if ships wanted to brave the waterway, it is closed to all shipping and civilian vessels until further notice.
At the same time, the ships in Dubai have not been given permission to disembark current passengers due to safety concerns in the port and mass flight cancellations.
Guests have been given permission to go ashore to briefly stretch their legs during this waiting period, but have been asked to go no further than the cruise terminal area. Wi-Fi has also been made available to all onboard at no charge.
This is still a developing situation, and Cruise Hive will continue to share updates as more information becomes available.
MSC Euribia Scraps Another Sailing as Middle East Crisis Deepens