Food and Wi-Fi were available while U.S. consular staff were available both on the ship and at the Limassol Port in Cyprus to assist and provide information about onward travel to the United States. At this time, no other cruise ships have been requested for similar evacuations, but the situation is fluid and new plans may be developed at any time. The next scheduled sailing for the cruise ship is its Sunday, November 12, 2023 departure from Barcelona, Spain.
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President Joe Biden is scrapping a trip to Colorado for “national security meetings,” the White House told pool reporters Monday. The US State Department said that in addition to the ship, chartered flights from Israel will be available for American citizens on Monday and Tuesday. The passage from Haifa to Limassol Port in Cyprus was expected to take between 10 and 12 hours, with food and internet service available to passengers on board. Thousands of Americans fleeing the war in Israel raced to board a cruise ship Monday that would take them to neighboring Cyprus.
Americans leave Israel on cruise ship bound for Cyprus
While air travel to and from Israel had come to a screeching halt, notably with major U.S. airlines temporarily suspending their flights to Tel Aviv, a cruise ship was the most viable alternative. A Royal Caribbean cruise ship carrying US nationals has departed the Israeli port of Haifa for Cyprus. The embassy had informed U.S. residents that the voyage was based on space available on the ship, which had its cruises cancelled out of Haifa due to the geopolitical situation. The Royal Caribbean International cruise ship was sailing on the request of the U.S. embassy in Israel. At the moment, it is unknown whether just one seagoing evacuation will be used or if additional voyages may be necessary in the coming days. It is possible that additional trips could be planned to accommodate US citizens in Israel who were unable to reach Haifa by Monday morning for the scheduled departure.
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The freighter Sparta IV has traveled back and forth between Russia and Tartus for years, moving equipment and stores for the Russian military. Tartus is an important base, providing the Russian Navy with a year-round, sanctions-free haven in the Mediterranean. The top US diplomat did not travel to Jerusalem when he visited last week. Instead, the meetings were held in Tel Aviv, which is where the airport is located. By Monday, little progress had been made regarding either of those appeals. Israel reported at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza – a sharp upward revision from the previous count of 155.
Royal Caribbean Assists in Evacuating Americans From Israel - Cruise Hive
Royal Caribbean Assists in Evacuating Americans From Israel.
Posted: Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The ship had its sailings in the region canceled after the Hamas attack from Gaza Strip on Israel last week and the Israeli response that together have left thousands of Israelis and Palestinians dead. US consular staff are onboard the cruise ship as well as in Limassol to assist with information and travel options. The US Embassy will provide busses from the cruise port to both international airports in Cyprus, one in Larnaca (42 miles / 68 kilometers from Limassol) and the other in Paphos (39 miles / 63 kilometers from Limassol).
All travelers will be responsible for their own onward travel plans from Cyprus, whether returning to the US or traveling elsewhere. Charter options and assistance to arrange such travel will be available. All travelers must be either a US national or the immediate family member of a US national, including spouses or children under the age of 21. All travelers must also have a valid passport, though assistance is available if eligible individuals do not have their passports in their possession. All travelers may bring on bag up to 50 pounds, plus one small carry-on bag.
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“Each traveler must be a U.S. national or the immediate family member (spouse/partner, children under age 21) of a U.S. national and have a valid passport,” the alert said. The embassy said travelers would be responsible for arranging their own accommodations and travel from Cyprus, but that chartered flights were also being arranged. In a letter to employees, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty announced that Rhapsody of the Seas would be used to safely evacuate American citizens.
Cruise Ship Evacuating US Citizens From Israel
Food and Wi-Fi will be provided on the ship, the announcement said, and upon arrival in Limassol, buses will transport travelers to the country’s international airports in Larnaca and Paphos. Embassy personnel were trying to guide the process, but at times recommended people leave and return later in smaller groups. They were being told that food and Wi-Fi would be available onboard and the U.S. consular staff would be traveling to assist the people evacuating from Israel. Space onboard the cruise ship is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Royal Caribbean is helping the United States evacuate Americans from Israel - Royal Caribbean Blog
Royal Caribbean is helping the United States evacuate Americans from Israel.
Posted: Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The flight was organized by an international rescue nonprofit group called Project Dynamo. Also this weekend, the first of what Gov. Ron DeSantis said would be several rescue charter flight arrived in Tampa, bringing with it 270 passengers from Israel, most of whom were Americans. The cruise line did not say to were the ship would head after departing Israel. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Jerusalem for his meetings with Israeli officials, according to the traveling press. Five empty UN petrol trucks are now waiting at the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, hoping to cross over and refuel in Egypt, a Palestinian official responsible for the Rafah crossing told CNN on Monday.
Royal Caribbean International is using its Haifa-based cruise ship, Rhapsody of the Seas, to assist in evacuating Americans from Israel in light of the ongoing conflict in the region. The assistance was requested by the US Embassy in Israel, with evacuations on Monday, October 16, 2023. The cruise ship line Royal Caribbean stepped in to help after commercial airlines mostly stopped flying into Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport, making it extremely difficult to get out of the country. The Odyssey of the Seas, the cruise line's newest ship, had planned sailings from Haifa beginning June 2 and continuing through October. Instead of sailing from Israel, the ship will spend its inaugural season with sailings in Florida. A ship for American citizens wishing to leave Israel will be departing from Haifa on Monday morning, the U.S.
As the passage between Haifa and Limassol is approximately 170 miles (274 kilometers), the trip is expected to take hours. Meals and Wi-Fi service will be provided onboard, though guests will not likely be assigned individual staterooms for this short journey. Travel to the ship’s departure site in Haifa “is conducted at your own risk, and plans may change depending on the security situation. The U.S. government is unable to guarantee your safety,” the announcement stated. Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines.
There were also widespread Palestinian protests Friday in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot and killed 11 people. "Due to the unrest in Israel and the region, we have not been able to complete the preparation required to operate," the cruise line said on May 15 in its updated suspended sailings list. A senior enlisted Navy servicemember has been convicted of attempted espionage for delivering classified information to a foreign government, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service said Friday. In January, Chief Fire Controlman (Aegis) Bryce Steven Pedicini was charged with multiple counts of attempted espionage for mishandling or disclosing classified information. Pedicini was a former destroyer crewmember who worked on the Aegis system, the Navy's integrated radar and weapons control platform. The most capable Aegis variants can target ballistic missiles in mid-flight.
The move comes as the Israeli military is preparing for an all-out ground assault on Gaza in retaliation for last week’s deadly attacks by Hamas that killed at least 1,400 people, including at least 30 Americans. Many cruise lines changed itineraries following the conflict, in some cases suspending stops in Israel altogether. The State Department has an advisory in place for the region, warning against travel to Gaza and urging travelers to reconsider going to Israel and the West Bank. A Royal Caribbean International cruise ship helped evacuate U.S. nationals from Israel on Monday.
The State Department said Sunday the number of Americans killed in the conflict since it began has risen to 30, and that it believed several Americans were among the nearly 200 people Hamas kidnapped after the surprise attack on Oct. 7. Department of State, Rhapsody of the Seas arrived in Israel early Monday morning to evacuate Americans and their immediate family members with valid travel credentials. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines has decided to equip one of its LR1 product tankers with a combination system that both captures a portion of the CO2 emissions from the exhaust as well as acts as a SOx scrubber. For reasons unclear, two of Russia's sanctioned military supply ships have had to make a heroic journey around Europe after their latest run to the naval base at Tartus, Syria.
We make sure cruisers are fully prepared for their cruise vacation with tips on ships and ports.Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world. Rather than flights, the cruise ship is being used for this evacuation because air travel has been largely suspended to Israel at this time, and most US airlines have cancelled flights both to and from Tel Aviv. Its cruise ship, the Rhapsody of the Seas (78,878 gross tons) which had been idled in Cyprus, was dispatched to Haifa overnight. The cruise ship, which was built in 1997, had been operating cruises from Israel that were canceled last week after the war began. The passage to Limassol Port was expected to take approximately hours.
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