Cruise ships changing course to avoid regions of unrest

Cruise lines are keeping a close watch on areas of unrest in North Africa and the Middle East to determine if itineraries need to be tweaked to avoid violence.

Already, at least two ships have changed their planned port stops.

The Royal Caribbean International cancelled Mariner of the Seas' port call to Alexandria, Egypt, on September 18. The 3114-passenger ship instead visited Sicily, Italy yesterday, followed by Valletta's port today.

A spokeswoman said the stop in Alexandria was called off "in an abundance of caution" and said the line would notify guests or travel agents if other changes to upcoming voyages need to be made.

Holland America Line's Ryndam stopped in Sardinia, Italy on Friday instead of La Goulette in the Tunisian capital of Tunis. The Associated Press reported that protests outside the US embassy in Tunis on Friday left at least two people dead and 29 injured.

The line will keep monitoring activity in the region to determine whether other calls will be affected, a spokeswoman said.

Demonstrations against the US have erupted across the region in recent days in response to an anti-Muslim video that was produced in the United States.