TUI Cruises deploying Mein Schiff 5 in Dubai for 2019/2020 cruise season

German cruise line TUI are homeporting Mein Schiff 5 in Dubai for the 2019/2020 cruise season, replacing Mein Schiff 4, which is cruising roundtrip from Dubai between November, 2018 and March, 2019.

Mein Schiff 5 is a sister ship to Mein Schiff 4 and is virtually identical in terms of the on-board experience and amenities. Her cruise itineraries for the 2019/2020 season in the Arabian Gulf will also be near-identical to those of Mein Schiff 4 during the coming season.

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She’ll offer 7-night round trip cruises from Dubai on alternating itineraries that take in the eastern and western parts of the Arabian Gulf.

The eastern 7-night cruises visit Dubai, Khasab, Muscat, and Abu Dhabi, before returning to Dubai, with the ship staying overnight in Dubai on the first and last nights of the cruise.

The western 7-night cruises visit Abu Dhabi, Doha and Bahrain, before returning to Dubai, again with the ship staying overnight at the Dubai Cruise Terminal on the first and last nights of the cruise.

Mein Schiff 5 will cruise 21 times from Dubai on these itineraries between October, 2019 and March, 2020.

The ship is near-identical to Mein Schiff 4. She has 15 passenger decks and more than 1,200 cabins, giving her accommodation for 2,500 guests. There are 13 restaurants and cafes, 14 bars, and several speciality dining concepts, including TUI’s popular Asian specialty restaurant by Tim Raue.

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The ship is particularly well-suited to families thanks to special children’s and teen clubs and a baby room and special children’s menu in the Atlantic-Mediterranean restaurant.

TUI Cruises markets itself solely at the German-speaking cruise market, with more than 50,000 German cruise tourists fly-cruising from Dubai aboard its ships every year.

For the intrepid non-German cruiser, the line offers a taste of German hospitality and culture in the middle of the one of the most fascinating region’s in the world on its Arabian Gulf cruise itineraries.

All on-board products, food, amenities and entertainment are heavily German-influenced, making one feel as though they’re in Germany itself, but cruise staff go out of their way to accommodate non-German guests with translated menus and daily program guides.

And, true to that German stereotype regarding efficiency, the boarding and disembarking process is universally praised, while shore excursions are said to run like clockwork.