Parties and missile threats: On board a cruise ship stuck in the Middle East crisis zone

By Francesca Street, CNN

(CNN) — Lesley Ballantyne woke in the early hours to an emergency alert flashing on her phone: “Potential missile threats, seek immediate shelter in the closest secure building.”

Her husband, Alistair, seemed to have slept through it. Ballantyne got out of bed and peered through the cabin window. Outside, nothing but darkness — and the illuminated lights of Dubai port.

That was Sunday.

Two days later, Ballantyne was still aboard the MSC Euribia, a 331-meter, 19-deck cruise ship berthed in Dubai.

The Euribia is one of a number of vessels currently unable to depart the Middle East because of the escalating Iran conflict. For thousands of passengers and crew, routine leisure sailings through Gulf and Red Sea ports have become uncertain waiting games, as ships alter routes, delay departures or remain docked amid security concerns.

“We’ve heard some loud bangs, seen some missiles being intercepted from the ship but it all seems in the distance,” Ballantyne, who is from Scotland, told CNN Travel.

After the emergency alert, when she didn’t see anything outside her window, she figured all she could do was return to bed. “Nothing to see. So I went back to bed and back to sleep.”

‘Worried sick’

For Ballantyne, the moment epitomized the strangeness of the whole situation — a sentiment echoed by fellow passengers.

“Never, never, ever did we think we’d get caught up in something like this,” Sharon Cockram, another British passenger on the Euribia, told CNN. “It’s always something you watch on the TV from home.”

The ships and passengers don’t seem to be going anywhere soon. Airspace in the region is closed or limited, and vessels cannot transport passengers home by sea because they are avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, a usually-busy waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The Joint Maritime Information Centre recently upgraded its regional risk assessment to “critical,” its highest level, indicating that an attack is “almost certain.”

Also stuck in Dubai is Celestyal Discovery, a mid-sized vessel operated by Greek company Celestyal Cruises. One of its sister ships, Celestyal Journey, is docked in Doha. German cruise company TUI has two ships in the region — Mein Schiff 5 in Doha, and Mein Schiff 4 in Abu Dhabi.

TUI Cruises said Wednesday that a special Emirates flight departed from Dubai to Munich with 218 guests from Mein Schiff 4.

Remaining passengers on affected vessels also hope to eventually disembark and fly home, but with the geopolitical situation fluid and unstable, return dates are uncertain.

Cockram is particularly desperate to get home to the UK because her daughter is pregnant. The due date is in a couple of weeks, but the latest midwife update is “could be anytime.” This will be Cockram’s first grandchild, and she and her husband want to be there for this moment. They are also concerned that the stress of their current predicament will affect their daughter’s health.

“Our daughter in the UK is worried sick and heavily pregnant, something we could all do without,” Cockram said.

A strange normality

Both she and Ballantyne said they feel safe on board the Euribia and are happy to stay put until the cruise line decides it’s safe to disembark. They both have flights home booked this coming Saturday, March 7, and are hopeful these might take place.

“It’s quite scary,” said Cockram. “But as the days are going on, you think, ‘Well, it’s been okay up to now, so hopefully it will be okay until we’re able to go home.’”

Ballantyne said the overall atmosphere remains “positive” despite the uncertainty, adding that while there is “bound to be a few worriers” there is “absolutely no sign of any panic.” Both passengers also praised staff for keeping spirits up and hiding any of their own concerns.

“They’re in the same situation as us, really. They’re probably worried how they’re going to get home, they’ve got families, but they’ve been brilliant,” said Cockram.

The travelers are trying their best to enjoy a vacation that is far from what they expected. It helps, they say, that onboard entertainment is still going ahead. On Monday night, passengers attended a scheduled white party — guests dressed in all-white, with food, drink and dancing.

“Place was bouncing,” said Ballantyne, who added that the shared strange situation was “bringing people together.” Still, Ballantyne said trying to enjoy festivities while hearing missiles was “very surreal” and brought about “mixed emotions.”

“We are literally stuck and can’t go anywhere so having the opportunity to be distracted is really valuable,” she said. She acknowledged “at the same time you know this could all change in a moment.”

“You also feel for the people being directly affected by conflict … and their families,” she said. “There’s no winners in war and I can’t see where the end point of this will be.”

Keeping calm

Cockram said she was taken aback by the way the geopolitical situation deteriorated in the lead up to her vacation. She and her husband had spent a few days vacationing in Dubai before boarding the ship and were “completely unaware what was going on.”

Ballantyne said she did have concerns about geopolitical tensions in the area in the lead up to embarking — but she didn’t expect the cruise to be impacted.

“Truthfully, we just hoped to get home before it kicked off,” she said.

MSC Cruises said it was working with embassies and foreign offices to repatriate guests as soon as flights resumed.

“At this time, the situation on board remains calm,” the cruise line said in a statement. “Guests have full access to all onboard services and facilities, and we continue to ensure a high standard of care, comfort and support for both guests and crew.”

Ballantyne said she was most concerned about boarding a plane home, given recent attacks targeting airports in the region.

Her concerns were echoed by Cockram. “I’m not looking forward to it,” she said, adding she’ll only feel safe once back in European airspace. “It is worrying. But I’m sure they’re not allowed to fly unless it is completely safe.”

In the meantime, Ballantyne and Cockram said they’re trying not to dwell on what might have been or what’s to come, focusing instead on enjoying a cruise voyage that never left port.

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