middle east cruise News

The long-awaited Shinas-Khasab sea route, which links Musandam and the Governate of North Al Batinah has been officially opened.

Royal Caribbean International is ending its longest cruise season in the Gulf region on a positive note with practically all cruises completely sold out. After the final 13-day journey to India, which left on the 7th April and visited Cochin, Goa, New Mangalore, Muscat and Bombay, Brilliance of the Seas started her 16-day return cruise via the Suez Canal to Rome on the 19th April. She will call at Aqaba, Sharm el Sheikh, Muscat and Alexandria.

The Sex and the City ladies might have had a thrilling time when they went to Abu Dhabi for their second cinematic getaway, but the exercise is not turning out to be as satisfying for MSC Cruises, who have announced its imminent withdrawal from the city – and the Arabian Gulf – after only a single season.

Abu Dhabi has confirmed it has sent a delegation to one of the leading business gatherings in the world of cruising, Cruise Shipping Miami, which is currently underway in the USA.

From third party reports it seems as if the New Year’s Eve party on board Queen Elizabeth 2 (where she lies at anchor in Dubai) was somewhat of a weird affair, with guests barely allowed inside the cruise liner – they even had to use portable toilets on the outer decks.

The cruise season in the Kingdom of Bahrain officially kicked off with the arrival of the German cruise liner at the port of Aida Blu at Khalifa Bin Salman.

A while ago we reported about the fact that, although the QE2 was still being maintained meticulously, there was little, if any, sign of her being converted to a luxury hotel – which was the plan when she was sold for $100 million a few years ago. By now the grand old lady must be getting very bored with Dubai, where she has been sitting idly for the last three years.

Abu Dhabi might still be able to achieve its target of welcoming 77 cruise liners during the current season. Two cruise ships made inaugural visits to the port recently, bringing the port a little bit closer to that total. The World Travel Awards recently voted the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) as the World’s Leading Tourist Board.

Costa Favolosa, the undisputed flagship of Costa Cruises, will head for the United Arab Emirates this coming winter – a destination first introduced by Costa five years ago.

Royal Caribbean International is offering a host of new Caribbean cruise options this winter with three of the line’s top ships cruising to the Caribbean from a number of Gulf Coast ports.

If you love the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Gulf, here is some good news: you might soon see even more cruises to this exciting part of the world. At the recent Seatrade Middle East Cruise Convention a number of cruise executives supported plans for new ports of call in the region. Many of them expressed confidence in the potential of the area to become a major cruise hub.

The management of Costa Cruises have confirmed that the company’s pride, Costa Favolosa, will be heading for the United Arab Emirates during the winter of 2011/12.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority has confirmed that a new cruise terminal is now in place at Mina Zayed. The tented terminal can accommodate up to 1,300 passengers.

It seems less and less likely that Cunard’s cruise liner Queen Elizabeth 2 will ever be converted into a five-star hotel as promised when Dubai World bought it three years ago for £70 million pounds. Meanwhile the forgotten queen is sitting rather forlornly in Port Rashid, Dubai.

Judging by the number of cruise lines that have recently started to include Dubai in their itineraries, the city is rapidly gaining popularity as a cruise destination. Things really started to explode after the opening of their new cruise terminal last year.

Widespread economic anxiety and political turmoil don’t seem to go well with the cruise holiday crowd. At least that’s what Regent Seven Seas and Crystal Cruises seem to experience – they have made some extraordinary last-minute changes to their autumn Middle East itineraries.

Christmas cruises to the Holy Land were always very popular among cruise lovers. The problems this region recently experienced have taken its toll, however. This has once again been highlighted by the announcement that Crystal Cruises will no longer sail to the Middle East this Christmas season.

With the introduction of the Emirates and Abu Dhabi as new cruise destinations for their 2011-12 winter season MSC Cruises has opened up a new world for guests. A large number of enchanting shore excursions will ensure that you experience this fascinating region like never before.

The Arab Spring uprisings continue to have a ripple effect on the cruise industry and its itineraries. While some cruise ships have returned to Tunisia and Egypt, other ports of call had to be taken off itineraries.

To plan all the itineraries for a major cruise line might sound like an exciting job – until something goes wrong and you have to reroute a large number of ships.

According to Lawrence Franklin, the Strategy and Policy Director of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), they are intensifying their marketing efforts this year to promote Abu Dhabi as a compelling tourist destination among travellers.

Abu Dhabi’s attempts at becoming a cruise destination of note have received another boost when the 755-passenger Ocean Princess docked at Mina Zayed Port on the 12th May. It is the first time a Princess Cruises ship brings a visit to the emirate.

For the first time in history two Cunard Queen Elizabeth's met in the same port this week. It happened under the scorching desert sun of Dubai when both Cunard’s new Queen Elizabeth and her predecessor QE2 met in the port of Port Rashid.

Dubai’s dream of becoming a preferred destination for luxury cruise liners has just come one step closer. On Thursday a 12-storey luxury resort floated into Port Rashid as part of its inaugural world cruise.

Following recent events in the Middle East, Costa Cruises has taken the decision to replace all visits to Egypt, Tunisia and Israel for the rest of this year with alternative destinations.

A number of cruise lines have recently announced that they will not be visiting Tunisia and Egypt for the foreseeable future. Others have adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach.

It’s nothing unusual to see a group of tourists gathering in front of the fountain at the Dubai Mall. To see a large number of tourists communicating in sign language was, however, unusual enough to attract a lot of attention.

It has now been slightly less than a year since Dubai Cruise Terminal first opened its doors to the public. The terminal claims to be able to handle 3 cruise ships and 7000 passengers at a time. The terminal announced plans this week to expand its facilities so it can handle a maximum of five cruise ships at once.