Days after Royal Caribbean cancelled cruises from Israel, it has sent a cruise ship back to Israel but not to start a vacation.
As the war between Israel and Hamas intensifies, Americans in Israel are looking for a way to get out of the region.
The United States State Department requested Royal Caribbean's assistance in evacuating Americans from Israel.
Royal Caribbean Group issued a statement on Monday to confirm their involvement in assisting evacuation efforts, "Royal Caribbean Group is actively assisting the U.S. Department of State in an effort to evacuate American citizens in the area."
The U.S. Embassy in Israel posted on its website it was helping Americans and their immediate family members with valid travel documents leave Haifa to be transported to nearby Cyprus.
Why cruise ships? Air travel has stopped to Israel, and so a sea connection was the next best option. The major U.S. airlines have temporarily suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv.
Rhapsody of the Seas was at the Port of Haifa on Monday.
The U.S. Embassy issued a statement that boarding began on Monday morning and Rhapsody will move the Americans to Limassol, Cyprus.
According to a report by The Times of Israel, dozens of U.S. citizens and their spouses were in line to get on Rhapsody of the Seas in Haifa.
The journey will take about 10-12 hours, with food and wifi available to use during the short cruise.
Canceled cruise season
At the onset of the Hamas attack on Israel, Royal Caribbean began cancelling cruises scheduled to operate to and from Israel.
In less than a week, the cruise line pulled the plug on the remainder of the Israel cruise season, which was centered around Rhapsody of the Seas.
Rhapsody had plans to offer cruises from Haifa to the Greek islands through early November.
Since then, other cruise lines have cancelled their visits to Israel as well. Sister brand Celebrity Cruises cancelled a visit to Israel that Celebrity Apex had scheduled for earlier this week.
Like Royal Caribbean, planned stops in Israel were replaced with visits to Turkey or Greece.
A history of helping out
This is not the first time Royal Caribbean has used their cruise ships to provide humanitarian aid.
Following the Surfside, Fla. condominium collapse in 2021, Explorer of the Seas was used to provide accommodation and assistance to the first responders that are aiding the Surfside work.
Royal Caribbean worked with with different government agencies in the wake of that disaster, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Miami-Dade County Port Authority and Port Miami.
In 2019, Royal Caribbean pledged $1 million to The Bahamas for Hurricane Dorian disaster relief, and subsequently sent ships to make stops in the Abaco islands to drop off much needed supplies.
When La Soufrière volcano in St. Vincent was expected to erupt, Royal Caribbean sent Serenade of the Seas to the Caribbean island to assist in evacuating residents.
