Celestyal Cruises to homeport in Arabian Gulf for first time during 2024/25

Celestyal Cruises has announced the launch of a program of week-long cruises in the Middle East for 2024/25, marking the first time the cruise line has homeported in the region.

Homeporting in Doha, the “Desert Days” itineraries will offer six ports of call over the course of 7 night, with an overnight in Abu Dhabi and additional port calls in Bahrain, Dubai, Muscat, Sir Bani Yas and Khasab.

The new itinerary will run from November 9th, 2024 to January 18th, 2025, and subsequently return as a permanent feature for the winter season, according to the cruise line.

The itineraries out of Doha in the Arabian Gulf will be operated by Celestyal Journey, the latest addition to the Celestyal fleet after the ship, formerly Holland America’s Ryndam, was purchased and refurbished during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Celestyal has until now been primarily a Greece-based cruise line, but Lee Haslett, chief commercial officer, said in a press conference that it was natural for the company to grow outside of Greece as it fleet expands.

In addition to the week-long program, Celestyal Journey will also offer three-, four- and five-night options in the Middle East.

The 1,266-passenger Celestyal Discovery also joins the fleet this year and will sail the cruise line’s new “Three Continents” itinerary from November, 2025 to March, 2026, visiting Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt.

Celestyal Cruises’ entry into the Middle East cruise market comes amid a period of high growth, not just in demand for cruises in the Arabian Gulf, primarily from Dubai, but in demand globally for more diverse and culturally enriching itineraries.

Dubai along saw double-digit growth in the number of cruise passengers boarding ships at its Dubai Cruise Terminal and Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal during the 2023/24 cruise season, while cruise lines homeporting in Dubai have been deploying ever-larger ships.

MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and TUI Cruises have all increased their capacity in the Arabian Gulf, while new cruise lines have been offering voyages from the region, such as Virgin Voyages last year. 

This is despite the disruption of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, and the more recent uncertainty created by the Israel-Gaza conflict, which prompted Norwegian Cruise Line to cancel a planned 2023/24 season in the Arabian Gulf, along with Windstar Cruises.