TUI Cruises, which cruises the longest Middle East cruise seasons of all the cruise lines homeporting in Dubai, is switching out Mein Schiff 5 with Mein Schiff 6 for the 2020/21 season.

Mein Schiff 6 is a sister ship to Mein Schiff 5 and Mein Schiff 4 (which homeported in Dubai during the 2018/19 season), while Mein Schiff 5 is due to homeport in Dubai for the coming 2019/2020 season.

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At 99,800-gross tons and carrying 2,790 passengers, Mein Schiff 6 is one of the largest cruise ships in the TUI fleet, and thanks to Royal Caribbean’s joint ownership of TUI, shares a close resemblance to the new Quantum-class cruise ships.

Mein Schiff 6 will homeport in Dubai from October 25^th, 2020, when she will sail her first roundtrip Dubai cruise of the season (an 8-night itinerary visiting Doha, Bahrain, Sir Bani Yas Island and Abu Dhabi). This cruise is unusual however as all her other itineraries from Dubai during the season will be either 7-nights or two weeks.

Mein Schiff 6 will sail one-week alternating itineraries that can be combined into a single two-week cruise

The two-week cruises will be back-to-back butterfly itineraries as each week-long cruise will include port calls in Abu Dhabi, but will interchange between Doha and Bahrain or Khasab and Muscat. So the two-week cruises will feature all five ports.

Mein Schiff 6 will cruise 21 times from Dubai, with 20 of those itineraries being roundtrip cruises in the Arabian Gulf (10 of which are two-week butterfly itineraries).

Her last cruise of the season from Dubai will be on March 15^th, 2021, a 16-night voyage from Dubai to Iraklion in Greece.

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With 11 bars and restaurants, 8 lounges, the only maritime museum at sea and a full-scale theatre for Broadway-style productions, Mein Schiff 6 has already won over the German cruise market for whom she was designed.

She also offers residents of Dubai and the wider Middle East a different cruise experience in the busy Arabian Gulf cruise market.

TUI Cruises offers a premium cruise experience with a lot of added-charge options included in the cruise fare (house wines and beer are served during dinner for example).

The all-inclusive offering aboard TUI Cruises means that a far wider range of services and amenities are included in the cruise fare than on most ships. For example, 24-hour food and snacks are served aboard Mein Schiff 4, and more than 100 different brands of cocktails and beverages are served free of charge (apart from premium spirits).

All children and teens facilities can be used without charge, along with the spa and gym facilities, and of course the ship’s expansive pool area. All on-board entertainment is also complimentary and there are no compulsory gratuity charges.

It is marketed almost exclusively to the German cruise market and as such all on-board products, food, amenities and entertainment are heavily German-influenced.