AROYA Cruises transits Suez Canal as Egypt looks to attract cruise lines back

Saudi Arabian cruise line AROY has marked the transit of its cruise ship Aroya through the Suez Canal as she returns to the Red Sea following her debut Mediterranean season.

Aroya made what has become a rare passenger transit of the Suez Canal, as Egypt steps up efforts to attract cruise operators back to the waterway amid ongoing security concerns in the Red Sea.

The Suez Canal Authority confirmed that the 151,000-gross-tonne ship transited this week carrying around 2,300 passengers and 1,500 crew. The vessel, travelling from Istanbul, is scheduled to call at Sharm El-Sheikh before concluding its voyage in Jeddah.

Aroya, operated by AROYA Cruises under the Cruise Saudi initiative, will spend the opening months of the winter season sailing from Jeddah. In February 2026, the ship is expected to transit the Red Sea, passing Yemen, en route to Dubai, before returning to the Mediterranean for summer cruises later that year.

The vessel previously transited the Suez Canal in December 2024 on its pre-maiden delivery voyage from Germany, where it underwent a major refit, and again in June 2025 when repositioning to the Mediterranean.

If the repositioning to the Arabian Gulf goes ahead as planned, it will mark the ship’s first transit of the Red Sea since AROYA Cruises launched operations in December last year.

Originally built by Meyer Werft in 2017 as World Dream for Genting Hong Kong’s Dream Cruises, the ship operated in Asia until Genting’s collapse in 2022. Acquired by Cruise Saudi, Aroya was remodelled specifically for Saudi and Arab markets and has capacity for more than 3,300 passengers.

The Suez Canal Authority positioned the transit as part of its broader push to revive cruise traffic. 

Chairman Admiral Ossama Rabiee noted that between 2021 and 2024, 69 cruise ships carrying nearly 38,000 passengers used the canal, generating $15.8 million in revenue. 

Cruise activity through the canal has fallen sharply since late 2023, with most operators diverting vessels around Africa to avoid the Red Sea. Egypt has rolled out flexible marketing policies, toll reductions, and new incentives designed to encourage cruise lines to return, but with little success thus far.

Costa Cruises cancelled its 2025/26 Middle East programme in July, while MSC Cruises last week scrapped a 25-day repositioning between Dubai and Southampton and rerouted its world cruise south via South Africa. MSC Euribia will reposition empty to Dubai for its winter season.

Dubai had become a leading winter homeport for the global industry, and the Suez Canal a central artery for world cruises. Egyptian officials remain optimistic, however, that incentives and stability will restore the canal’s role as a key gateway for passenger shipping.