Nicko Cruises has reshaped its 2026-27 world cruise to sidestep the Red Sea's trouble spots, and the workaround might actually be the best part of the trip. Instead of sailing the high-risk stretch near Yemen, the line will fly guests over it — and throw in a complimentary five-day stay in Egypt while the ship repositions empty.
The voyage runs on the Vasco da Gama, departing Hamburg on November 3, 2026 for a 193-night loop that takes in the Caribbean, Latin America, the South Pacific, Asia, the Indian Ocean, Africa and the Mediterranean before returning to Germany.
Here's how the new plan works. Guests get off in Salalah, Oman on April 16, 2027 and rejoin the ship in Safaga, Egypt on April 21. In between, charter flights take them to Hurghada for a five-day land program with excursions covering beach time, culture and sightseeing. Meanwhile, the Vasco da Gama sails around Yemen with no passengers onboard, avoiding waters Nicko describes as impossible to assess reliably at the moment.
The line is upfront about why: world cruises are mapped out years ahead, and geopolitical shifts can force late changes. Safety of guests and crew comes first, and Nicko says it keeps reviewing routes right up to departure. This is actually the second year running the German brand has done something like this — the 2025 world cruise swapped a Red Sea transit for a multi-day overland program in Oman, which managing director Guido Laukamp says guests received extremely well, praising the chance to experience the country, its culture and its people up close.
For anyone booked on the sailing, the practical upshot is simple: you lose a sea-transit segment and gain nearly a week on land in Egypt at no extra cost, with organized excursions to fill it. Hurghada makes a solid base — Red Sea diving and snorkelling, day trips to Luxor's temples, and desert excursions are all within reach. April weather there is warm but not yet scorching, so it lands in a sweet spot before the summer heat.
More broadly, the move shows how world cruises are adapting to Middle East security concerns. Expect other lines with 2026-27 and 2027-28 circumnavigations to publish similar contingencies, and if you're booking a long voyage that transits the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden, it's worth asking what the backup plan looks like before you commit. Nicko's approach — turning a routing headache into a bonus land stay — is likely to become the template.
