Cruise & Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Condemns Tunisian Port for Blocking Israeli Passengers

Brian Major
by Brian Major
Last updated: 3:55 PM ET, Tue March 11, 2014

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Norwegian Cruise Line cancelled all future calls in Tunisia following the government's refusal to allow Israeli nationals to disembark Norwegian Jade in Tunis' Port of La Goulette on March 9.

Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's CEO, condemned the "discriminatory act," saying, "We are outraged by this act and the fact that we were not notified in advance of this practice. We apologize sincerely to our guests who were affected and want them to know that we have taken the appropriate action in response."

According to international press reports, approximately 20 Israeli nationals were barred from disembarking the Norwegian Jade in the Tunisian port. Non-Israeli passengers were allowed to disembark.

The Israeli passengers reportedly met with the ship's captain but still were not allowed to leave the ship. The passengers quoted in press reports said they had no warning they would not be allowed to disembark the ship in Tunisia.

Sheehan added, "We want to send a strong message to Tunisia and ports around the world that we will not tolerate such random acts of discrimination against our guests."


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