Egypt will no longer feature as a port-of-call
for Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ Astor vessel
during its inaugural voyage to Australia, the
ship’s management have confirmed.
Late last week, the announcement was made
by the ship’s UK headquarters that Port Said
and Safaga, both in Egypt, would be skipped
due to the ongoing civil unrest in the country.
Astor will depart Rome’s Civitavecchia port
on 05 Nov for its 36-night journey to Fremantle,
from which it will operate voyages for at least
the next three summers.
The two stops in Egypt were originally
scheduled for 12 & 14 Nov and were split by
the transition of the Suez Canal.
In their place comes Messina, Sicily and
Athens, Greece, at which the 620-passenger
Astor will tie-up on 08 and 11 Nov respectively.
A previously scheduled stop in Valetta, Malta
has now been moved back 24hrs to 09 Nov.
Following the itinerary changes, the Suez
Canal will now be transited without stopping,
from which point the original itinerary will
resume until the ship docks in Fremantle at
8am on the 11th of Dec.
Astor bosses said the decision to remove Port
Said and Safaga was taken following direct
reference to Australia’s official warning for the
country, which remains listed as “Reconsider
your need to travel” on the DFAT Smartraveller
online advice platform.
“The Management team of Cruise &
Maritime Voyages sincerely regrets the
inconvenience that these minor changes to the
itinerary may cause our passengers,” the line
said in a statement.
“Our priority is to ensure the utmost safety
of all passengers in our care”.
The itinerary changes also means that the
scheduled visit to Livorno can be extended by
three hours to allow passengers to spend more
time ashore in Florence and Pisa.
Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ website has been
updated to reflect the new itinerary.
*Conditions apply. Contact APT for full terms & conditions. Australian Pacific Touring Pty Ltd Visit www.cmvaustralia.com for more details.
