In a press release issued today, Princess Cruises announced that, given the ongoing situation in the Red Sea and surrounding area and following extensive consultation with global security experts and government authorities, they are revising the itineraries for its two 2025 World Cruises, which will no longer visit the Middle East or Asia, and now instead, will offer new port stops in Africa and Europe.
“A Princess World Cruise is truly the voyage of a lifetime and after careful consideration with guidance from global security experts and government authorities, we know our guests will understand and appreciate the change to our upcoming 2025 itineraries to avoid certain areas,” said Terry Thornton, chief commercial officer of Princess Cruises. “These global events beyond our control have necessitated these reroutings but we are pleased to continue to ensure these world cruises retain destination-rich itineraries with incredible stops along the west Africa coast and the Mediterranean.”
Island Princess World Cruise
Sailing from North America on Island Princess, the 116-day World Cruise offers two roundtrip options with departures from both Ft. Lauderdale, embarking January 5, 2025, and Los Angeles on January 20, 2025, and ends in Los Angeles on May 17, 2025. This destination dreamers delight will traverse over 36,700 nautical miles, visiting 46 destinations in 24 countries and six continents. The voyage includes visits to historic Bar, Montenegro and Taranto, Italy, along with inaugural World Cruise calls to the idyllic Greek Island of Patmos and to Volos – for the Monasteries of Meteora.
The revised World Cruise itinerary, from February 16-April 9, departs Sydney and will travel to Melbourne and Perth, then on to South Africa. From there, the cruise resumes the scheduled itinerary starting in Valletta, Malta on April 9.
Following is the amended portion of the voyage:
| Date | Destination |
| Sunday, February 16 | Sydney, Australia (as scheduled) |
| Monday, February 17 | At Sea |
| Tuesday, February 18 | Melbourne, Australia |
| Wednesday, February 19 | At Sea |
| Thursday, February 20 | At Sea |
| Friday, February 21 | At Sea |
| Saturday, February 22 | At Sea |
| Sunday, February 23 | Perth (Fremantle), Australia |
| Monday, February 24 | At Sea |
| Tuesday, February 25 | At Sea |
| Wednesday, February 26 | At Sea |
| Thursday, February 27 | At Sea |
| Friday, February 28 | At Sea |
| Saturday, March 1 | At Sea |
| Sunday, March 2 | At Sea |
| Monday, March 3 | Port Louis, Mauritius |
| Tuesday, March 4 | At Sea |
| Wednesday, March 5 | At Sea |
| Thursday, March 6 | At Sea |
| Friday, March 7 | At Sea |
| Saturday, March 8 | At Sea |
| Sunday, March 9 | Cape Town, South Africa (overnight) |
| Monday, March 10 | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Tuesday, March 11 | At Sea |
| Wednesday, March 12 | Walvis Bay, Namibia |
| Thursday, March 13 | At Sea |
| Friday, March 14 | At Sea |
| Saturday, March 15 | At Sea |
| Sunday, March 16 | At Sea |
| Monday, March 17 | At Sea |
| Tuesday, March 18 | At Sea |
| Wednesday, March 19 | At Sea |
| Thursday, March 20 | Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands |
| Friday, March 21 | At Sea |
| Saturday, March 22 | At Sea |
| Sunday, March 23 | Madeira (Funchal), Portugal |
| Monday, March 24 | At Sea |
| Tuesday, March 25 | Gibraltar |
| Wednesday, March 26 | At Sea |
| Thursday, March 27 | At Sea |
| Friday, March 28 | Siracusa, Italy |
| Saturday, March 29 | At Sea |
| Sunday, March 30 | Athens (Piraeus), Greece |
| Monday, March 31 | Volos, Greece |
| Tuesday, April 1 | Patmos, Greece |
| Wednesday, April 2 | Kuşadasi, Turkey (for Ephesus) |
| Thursday, April 3 | Rhodes, Greece |
| Friday, April 4 | Crete (Chania), Greece |
| Saturday, April 5 | At Sea |
| Sunday, April 6 | Dubrovnik, Croatia |
| Monday, April 7 | Bar, Montenegro |
| Tuesday, April 8 | Taranto, Italy |
| Wednesday, April 9 | Valletta, Malta (as scheduled) |
Those guests scheduled to originally depart or join the cruise from Dubai on March 14, 2025, will now embark or disembark four days earlier on March 9, in Cape Town, South Africa. Booked guests disembarking in Cape Town will be refunded the amount equivalent to four days of the cruise fare and those joining earlier will not incur an added cost to their cruise fare. All these guests will also receive a $300 onboard credit as a gesture of good will.
Crown Princess World Cruise
Departing from Down Under, Crown Princess – the largest ship to ever host a World Cruise – is scheduled to depart Auckland May 31, 2025; and Sydney June 4, 2025; and sail on a 113-day adventure visiting 42 destinations in 22 countries, across five continents. This cruise will also bypass the Red Sea and surrounding region, including the transit of the Suez Canal. The ship will travel via Africa instead of the Red Sea and Asia itinerary. The fully revised itinerary is currently being finalized and will be communicated shortly.
More information about World Cruise itineraries, plus shorter World Cruise segment options can be found at http://www.princess.com/worldcruise.
