MSC Cruises has revised the East Mediterranean itineraries for MSC Sinfonia and MSC Musica to avoid Israel as tensions in the region escalate.

MSC Sinfonia’s next eight 11-night voyages will see Haifa, Israel replaced by Istanbul in Turkey, which also means Rhodes will be replaced by Piraeus in Greece and Izmir in Turkey will replace Limassol, Cyprus.

Starting on 21 October, MSC Sinfonia’s new itinerary will be the Italian ports of Genoa, Civitavecchia and Messina followed by Piraeus, Izmir, Istanbul and Heraklion in Crete before the ship returns to Genoa, Italy.

MSC Musica’s future three seven-night voyages from Piraeus will see Haifa replaced by Rhodes on 18 and 25 October and Marmaris in Turkey on 1 November.

MSC Cruises CEO Gianni Onorato said: “The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority and we have worked rapidly to revise the itineraries of MSC Sinfonia and MSC Musica to offer an extremely attractive alternative for the winter months.”

The line has started the process of communication with all of its passengers and their travel agents affected by the changes. 

MSC Cruises will also update its website to reflect the confirmed details of the new itineraries.