Several cruise ships in European waters changed their itineraries in order to avoid intense anti-austerity strikes in Greece, Spain and Portugal. Three cruise ships have already changed their plans.
"We were aware of the upcoming strikes and proactively made changes to some itineraries," Cynthia Martinez, director of global corporate communications for Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, told Cruise Critic. RCCL is the parent company of both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises. Both cruise lines have altered itineraries for certain sailings.
One of the largest cruise ships in Europe, the 3,634-passenger Royal Carribbean Independence of the Seas, was scheduled to visit Lisbon, Portugal on Wednesday. Instead, it docked in Lanzarote, Spain.
Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Constellation was set to visit Vigo, Spain on Wednesday, but it spent the day at sea instead. It will make a stop in Leixoes, Portugal on Thursday and will head to Vigo on Friday.
Also skipping a call today in the region is Celebrity Cruises' 1,950-passenger Celebrity Constellation, which will remain at sea instead of visiting Vigo, Spain.
Seabourn also made some changes. The small 208-passenger Seabourn Pride, was supposed to stop in Mallorca, Spain on Wednesday, but it moved to stop to this past Monday to avoid the strikes.
Several European unions are holding strikes due to a cut in govern-funded salaries and pension benefits. The strikes are expected to last three days and are also affecting air travel and public transportation across the continent.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
