Six Cruise Ships Escaped the Persian Gulf Through a 24-Hour Window Before Iran Closed It Again
After 47 days stranded in Gulf ports, six cruise ships raced through the Strait of Hormuz during a brief ceasefire window on April 17 — only for Iran to shut the strait again less than a day later.
For seven weeks, six cruise ships sat idle in Persian Gulf ports with nowhere to go. On April 17, that changed — briefly. Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial traffic as part of a ceasefire agreement, and the ships made their move.
What followed was one of the most dramatic 48-hour windows in modern cruise history: a race through a contested waterway, a reported weapons incident at sea, and then the strait going dark again less than a day after it opened.
According to reporting by The Maritime Executive, all six cruise ships that had been stranded in the Gulf since late February have now cleared or are in the process of transiting the Strait of Hormuz — though the window that allowed it may already be closed.
The Ships That Had Been Waiting
When the US and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, 2026, the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea — effectively closed to commercial traffic. Six cruise ships found themselves geographically trapped.
The vessels were:
- Celestyal Discovery (42,289 gross tons), docked at Port Rashid in Dubai
- Celestyal Journey (55,819 GT), docked in Doha, Qatar
- MSC Euribia (184,000 GT), also in Dubai
- Mein Schiff 4 (99,000 GT), docked in Doha
- Mein Schiff 5 (99,000 GT), also in Doha
- Aroya (150,695 GT), the Saudi Arabia-based line’s flagship
All six had been sailing without passengers since early March, when the cruise lines evacuated guests by air. The ships remained moored with skeleton crews, waiting for a safe corridor out.
The Escape Window Opens
On Friday, April 17, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely open” to commercial vessels for the duration of the ceasefire — a two-week truce set to expire April 22.
The ships did not hesitate. Celestyal Discovery departed Port Rashid first, at 11:36 a.m. local time on April 17, becoming the first cruise ship known to transit the Strait since the crisis began. It was sailing crew-only, bound for Oman.
Celestyal Journey departed Doha that same evening. By Saturday, April 18, TUI Cruises confirmed that both Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5 had “successfully passed” through the Strait, transiting roughly 45 minutes apart, moving at speed while hugging the Omani coastline near the Musandam Peninsula. MSC Euribia followed, now heading north toward Europe — she is scheduled to depart Kiel on May 16 and Copenhagen on May 17, per her original repositioning plan.
A “Splash” Near One Ship
The transits were not entirely without incident. The master of one vessel reported to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) — the maritime authority that monitors commercial shipping in the region — that it observed a “splash” approximately three nautical miles to the east of Oman during the transit. Whether the splash was caused by a missile, drone, or something else was not confirmed at the time of reporting.
UKMTO separately received reports of an attack on a containership and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps speedboat activity in the area during the same window.
Then Iran Reversed Course
Here is where the story takes its sharpest turn.
Less than 24 hours after declaring the Strait open, Iran reversed its decision. The reversal came after the United States refused to lift its naval blockade of Iranian vessels — a blockade that had been in effect since the start of the conflict. Iranian officials cited what they described as violations of the ceasefire agreement.
The Strait, which carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply, was effectively closed again to new commercial transits by Sunday morning, April 19. The cruise ships that had already passed through were clear. Any vessel that had not made it through in time remained in the Gulf.
What Happens Now
The six ships that escaped are now free to complete their repositioning voyages, though the broader situation in the Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved. MSC Cruises has already announced it will not return to the Persian Gulf for the 2026-27 winter season, redirecting MSC World Europa to the Caribbean instead. AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises made similar announcements weeks ago.
The ceasefire that created the opening is set to expire on April 22. President Trump has signaled willingness to extend it if negotiations progress, but no extension has been formally confirmed as of this writing.
For the cruise industry, the escape of these six ships is a form of resolution — but not a clean one. The ships are out. The broader geopolitical situation is not.