AD Ports Group and the Greek cruise line Celestyal have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote Abu Dhabi as a key destination among Celestyal’s guests ahead of the cruise line’s first homeporting itineraries in the region.

Celestyal will sail its first-ever Middle East cruise season between November, 2024 and March, 2025, offering Abu Dhabi as a homeport for its 7-night roundtrip itineraries in the Arabian Gulf, visiting Dubai, Sir Bani Yas, Muscat and more.

Signed during the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, the agreement will also see Celestyal rolling out nine excursions that transport guests to the heart of the emirate.

The cruise line is offering half day tours to experience culinary hotspots and cultural sites, theme parks, VIP beach days, as well as classic desert safaris and attractions.

Celestyal’s new 1,200 passenger ship Celestyal Journey will homeport in the Arabian Gulf this cruise season, but the cruise line committed to a further two seasons until at least 2027.

Abu Dhabi is home to Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal at Zayed Port, which was voted as the best cruise terminal in the region and in the globe during the World Cruise Awards in 2023. 

With leading customer service, state-of-the-art facilities, and seamless operations the cruise terminal at Zayed Port in the heart of the city has witnessed significant growth, welcoming over 600,000 visitors to Abu Dhabi during the 2022/23 season.

While Dubai is the primary homeport for cruise lines in the Arabian Gulf, Abu Dhabi has established itself as a popular embarkation port as well. In addition to Celestyal Cruises, several cruise lines homeporting in Dubai are also offering Abu Dhabi as a homeport.

The practise, known as inter-porting, will see AIDA, MSC, and Costa Cruises, allowing passengers to embark in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi during the coming cruise season.

This agreement between Abu Dhabi Ports Group and Celestyal comes after Abu Dhabi in March entered an agreement with regional tourism entities – Dubai, Bahrain, and Oman – to foster the growth of the region’s cruise tourism industry and to promote key destinations to cruise liners and other cruise stakeholders.

The Cruise Arabia Alliance seeks to promote the Arabian Gulf as a global cruise ship destination, while also enhancing the cruise experience for passengers, attracting more cruise liners to the region, improving port infrastructure, and driving economic growth in the regional cruise tourism sector.