Silversea doubles up Dubai cruise departures for 2019 Arabian Gulf cruise season

Silver Shadow and Silver Spirit, both fresh from a major refurbishment, will cruise from Dubai during the 2019 season, with Silver Shadow cruising to Greece and Silver Spirit heading for India.

The first Silversea cruise from Dubai in 2019 will be aboard Silver Shadow. As part of the Project Invictus program following the purchase of Silversea by Royal Caribbean, Silver Shadow will undergo a major refit ahead of her Dubai cruise.

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When she cruises from Dubai to Piraeus (Athens) in Greece on April 26^th, 2019, she’ll therefore sport a number of upgrades. All staterooms will be upgraded and public areas will be redesigned or refreshed, according to Royal Caribbean.

Her 15-night cruise from Dubai to Greece will include port calls in Khasab, Sur and Salalah in Oman, as well as Safaga in Egypt, Aqaba in Jordan, a transit of the Suez Canal and a visit to Rhodes before arriving in Piraeus, the gateway port for Athens.

This particular Dubai to Athens cruise itinerary is unusual for two reasons. First, it skips Muscat, Oman altogether and second because it calls in Salalah before entering the Red Sea. This means that the ship will spend only 5 days at sea between Salalah and Aqaba in Jordan.

Most cruise ships transiting between Dubai and the Mediterranean spend a week to 9 days cruising from Muscat to Safaga in Egypt or Aqaba in Jordan.

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Silver Shadow will arrive in Athens, Greece on May 11^th, 2019.

The second Dubai cruise of the 2019 by Silversea will be aboard Silver Spirit in November.

Silver Spirit is to be cut clean in half and then welded back together with a new mid-section inserted. This 49-foot prebuilt midsection housing six Silver Suites, 26 Veranda Suites and two Panorama Suites will increase her passenger capacity and also create new public areas.

Silver Spirit will cruise from Dubai on November 10^th, 2019. Her cruise is a rather short (by Silversea standards) 9-night voyage from Dubai to Mumbai in India, visiting Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, and Muscat along the way. She’ll spend an overnight in Mumbai at the cruise terminal on the last night of the trip.

Silver Spirit’s Dubai to Mumbai cruise comes amid growing demand from the Indian cruise market for cruises to and from the country.

Cruises from Dubai to Indian ports are especially popular fly-cruise options, leading both Celebrity Cruises and MSC Cruises to offer them as a regular option during the coming cruise season.