PHOTO: The site of the attack, the National Bardo Museum in Tunis, reopened March 30. (Via Wikipedia)
Holland America Line and Princess Cruises have canceled all calls to Tunisia for 2015, about six weeks after 23 people were killed in an attack in a Tunis art museum, including 17 cruise passengers.
"Out of an abundance of caution, given the security concerns in Tunisia for travelers, we have made the decision to replace port calls to La Goulette with Valletta, Malta, or Salerno, Italy, on all 2015 cruise itineraries," Princess said.
Six voyages by the Emerald Princess are affected. Departure dates are June 11, July 6, Aug. 3, Aug. 13, Sept. 7 and Sept. 28. Booked passengers and their travel agents are being notified.
Holland America replaced calls to La Goulette, the port for Tunis, the country's capital, with Olbia, Sardinia, Italy. That impacts voyages operated by two ships, the Eurodam and Zuiderdam, and booked passengers are being notified.
The two lines had previously canceled calls at Tunisia shortly after the attack, but waited to see whether the situation stabilized before making a decision for the year.
MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises, which had passengers killed or injured in the museum attack, both suspended calls to Tunisian ports for the remainder of 2015. Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises also previously cancelled all calls to La Goulette in 2015 and 2016.
In the weeks following the attack, Tunisian security forces arrested dozens of suspected Islamist militants as part of a crackdown. The site of the attack, the National Bardo Museum in Tunis, reopened March 30.
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