Crystal Cruises’ flagship cruise liner Crystal Symphony sailed from Dubai Cruise Terminal Wednesday on her 17-night Dubai to Seychelles ‘Indian Ocean Discovery’ cruise itinerary, marking her first cruise in the Arabian Gulf since her massive month-long refit and refurbishment at the Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven shipyard.

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“We are delighted that Crystal Symphony will be making the regional debut of its redesign in Dubai. With the city fast developing into a leading cruise hub, Dubai Cruise Tourism’s goal is to position the emirate as a cruise tourism destination of choice,” said Hamad Bin Mejren, Senior Vice President, Dubai Tourism.

He was part of a delegation that went aboard the ship to welcome her captain and crew back to the Middle East.

Crystal Symphony features newly designed spaces and state-of-the-art features and amenities. These include new dining concepts as well as the addition of spacious, butler-serviced Penthouse accommodations.

Throughout the ship, state-of-the-art technological upgrades have been installed, enhancing guests’ connectivity and access to entertainment and news on demand.

Crystal Symphony’s guest capacity has also been reduced from 922 to 848 guests resulting in an increase in space-to-guest ratio of 64.7 per cent, whilst the number of crew on board remains the same. More information about her refit can be found in our review here.

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“Crystal Symphony’s redesign provides guests with more choice and flexibility than ever before,” says Helen Beck, Vice President, International Sales and Marketing at Crystal Cruises. “Dubai is a city with an unmatched reputation for luxury and guest experience, making it the perfect location to debut Crystal Symphony’s sophisticated and state-of-the-art redesign in the region.”

Crystal Symphony’s cruise from Dubai comes as the city prepares for its busiest cruise season on record. Dubai’s cruise industry only really gained momentum in 2001 with the opening of the first cruise terminal in the Gulf and since then the city has been instrumental in pioneering cruise tourism in the Middle East.

In the coming 2017/18 Middle East cruise season Dubai will play host as home-port to five major cruise lines basing ships in the Arabian Gulf between November and March, while a further 15 cruise lines will use Dubai Cruise Terminal as a turnaround port on more than 160 separate cruise itineraries.

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“DP World is committed to providing all forms of support to cruise liners that call at Dubai’s cruise terminals, as part of our group’s comprehensive strategy to boost the growth of the emirate’s cruise industry and tourism sector at large,” said Mohammed Al Mannaei, CEO P&O Marinas and Executive Director Mina Rashid – DP World.

Dubai Cruise Terminal is located within the soon-to-be-redeveloped Port Rashid (Mina Rashid). Both are operated by DP World.