Featured Image Credit: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Cruise ship, Iran
Dan Seddon
A traveler from Scotland has shared the hair-raising emergency alert she received on her phone in Dubai last weekend.
In case you've skipped recent geopolitical news lines, the escalating conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran means that standard shipping lanes and flight paths are on ice in the area, leaving thousands of holidaying passengers stuck in a war-torn foreign land, with a return home up in the air as things stand.
Currently aboard the MSC Euribia, which never set off from the Dubai port, Lesley Ballantyne has now told CNN Travel all about her unique experience.
On Sunday, March 1, Ballantyne awoke in the early hours to a flashing message on her device. It read: "Potential missile threats, seek immediate shelter in the closest secure building."
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She proceeded to get out of bed - her partner Alistair seemingly sleeping through it - and peer out of the cabin window. Nothing threatening was going on, just a sleepy view of the well-lit sea port.
"Nothing to see. So I went back to bed and back to sleep," the cruise passengers added. "We've heard some loud bangs, seen some missiles being intercepted from the ship but it all seems in the distance."
The Euribia is one of many wave-navigators unable to go about its usual business, with vessels actively avoiding the Strait of Hormuz between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
A regional risk assessment from the Joint Maritime Information Centre has deemed these waterways 'critically' endangered, indicating an 'almost certain' attack on the horizon.
In a statement, MSC Cruises said it was working with embassies and foreign offices to repatriate guests as soon as flights get back underway.
"At this time, the situation on board remains calm," the company said. "Guests have full access to all onboard services and facilities, and we continue to ensure a high standard of care, comfort and support for both guests and crew."
Meanwhile, fellow British holidayer Sharon Cockram can't believe she's been wrapped up in such a crisis.
"Never, never, ever did we think we'd get caught up in something like this. It's always something you watch on the TV from home," she commented, via the same publication.
Her plight slightly differs to that of Ballantyne, as her daughter is pregnant with her first child and the due date lands in this month. She and her husband are understandably concerned that their situation could affect things back home in terms of their daughter's health.
"Our daughter in the UK is worried sick and heavily pregnant, something we could all do without," she said.
Both families will be praying that local airlines remove the brakes this coming weekend, as they're scheduled to fly home on Saturday, March 7.