by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 3:25 PM ET, Thu March 7, 2024
HX is putting its new West Africa sailings on hold because of instabilty in the region.
The cruise line, formerly Hurtigrten Expeditions, launched in the region in November 2023 with a 14-day sailing from Dakar to Cape Verde and the Bissagos Islands.
The company didn’t share many details about the decision to pull back in West Africa, only that it wanted to “ensure the safety of our guests and crew” amid “increasing levels of instability,” according to a statement.
HX described the change of plans as a “pause” for the upcoming season, which was scheduled to run September 25, 2024, through March 30, 2025.
The West Africa cruises were offered aboard MS Spitsbergen. HX is still working out the details, but plans to send MS Spitsbergen to dry dock and lay up from September through March.
Guests who were booked on any impacted sailings will hear from HX directly or their travel agent. They can choose to receive a full refund or a 125 percent future cruise credit depending on their itinerary.
In addition, HX announced that its ship MS Maud will be temporarily joining Hurtigruten’s fleet to sail the Coastal Express.
MS Maud expedition ship. (photo via Espen Mills / Hurtigruten Expeditions) (Photo Credit: (photo via Espen Mills / Hurtigruten Expeditions))
MS Maud made headlines in December when it was struck by a rogue wave in the North Sea. In January, HX said MS Maud would undergo repairs and return to service in mid-April for expedition cruises around the British Isles. The ship will spend the summer in the Arctic.
Then, in November, it will then join Hurtigruten’s fleet to help the company fulfill its contract with the Norwegian government to run the Coastal Express. MS Maud is scheduled to return to the HX fleet in 2026.
Hurtigruten has been running the Coastal Express—a route that travels up and down the Norwegian coast, stopping at 34 communities along the way—since 1893. The company’s name means “fast route” in Norwegian and, historically, its ships transported people, mail and goods along the country’s fjord-lined coast. Today, the Coastal Express is part sightseeing cruise, part ferry.
"Hurtigruten is undertaking the most significant environmental upgrade in the cruise industry,” says Daniel Skjeldam, chief executive officer of Hurtigruten Group. “The diverse fleet capabilities of the Hurtigruten Group gives us the opportunity to temporarily move MS Maud from HX to Hurtigruten, filling the void left by the upgrade program.”
The company has reached out to all affected guests or their travel agents. Similarly, guests can opt for a full refund or a 125 percent future cruise credit.
Guests who were booked on some Antarctic sailings on MS Maud have been automatically transferred to sailings on MS Fridtjof Nansen, MS Fram or Roald Amundsen.
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