From Oceania Cruises on October 28th, 2005. It looks like Libya is going to be difficult to visit for those scheduled to go there.

"We have just been informed by our Port Agent in Libya that in recent weeks, the governments of the United States and Libya have been feuding because apparently, the U.S. denied entry into the United States to a Libyan diplomat. As a retaliatory measure, the government of Libya has chosen to refuse the issuance of entry visas to U.S. citizens visiting Libya. In the last week or so, we have learned of at least two cruise ships that docked in Libyan ports whose U.S. passengers were denied entry, meaning that guests with U.S. citizenship were forced to stay onboard ship while their foreign shipmates were allowed to disembark.

As we all know, these types of political spats often times last only a few symbolic weeks and, then are quickly forgotten. However, as the beginning of your cruise aboard Regatta is only a few days away, there is no guarantee that this particular situation will be rectified by the November 5th, 2005 sail date. We know of at least one other cruise ship that is slated to call on Libyan ports on October 31st and November 2nd, 2005 and we will be closely monitoring the events surrounding those two calls to see if the current situation is resolved.

As a result of these actions which are totally outside our influence, much less control, and to ensure that our guests enjoy a diverse, enriching and uninterrupted destination experience, we have revised your cruise itinerary as detailed below. Should a satisfactory resolution be brought to this matter by November 5th, 2005 we will revert to the previous revised itinerary and call on Tripoli and Benghazi as originally planned."