Saudi Arabia aims for 2027/28 Red Sea recovery as tensions reshape cruise itineraries

International cruise lines are expected to delay a full return to Saudi Arabia until at least the 2027/28 season, as ongoing geopolitical instability in the Red Sea continues to disrupt deployment plans and reshape regional cruise itineraries.

According to Cruise Saudi CEO Lars Clasen, speaking to Arabian Business, the combination of security concerns and vessel repositioning has led most global operators to withdraw their Red Sea and Gulf itineraries for the coming years. 

“We’re still sort of affected by the geopolitical situation, and many of the international cruise lines have repositioned their cruise vessels,” Clasen said on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. “There are only very few occasional calls from ships passing by. There’s no seasonal deployment other than our own.”

The remarks confirm a trend that has become increasingly visible over the past two years: while cruise traffic in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and Africa continues to expand, Red Sea deployments have sharply declined as operators seek to avoid the risks associated with regional tensions. 

Although most cruise lines that sail winter programmes in the Arabian Gulf continue to homeport annually in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha, they reposition around Africa rather than through the Red Sea.

Only two cruise lines, AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises, have cancelled plans for the 2025/26 Arabian Gulf season.

Clasen noted that the industry’s long planning cycles mean any recovery will take time. “The cruise industry is an industry with extremely long lead times,” he said. “Usually cruise lines do the itinerary planning two years out, sometimes even three years, and now that they have repositioned away from the region, they will not reposition again.”

While Cruise Saudi is in discussions with several operators about redeployment, Clasen said meaningful recovery is not expected until the 2027/28 season. 

“There is definitely high interest, but that’s for the season 27–28. We will not see, most likely not see, much traffic next year other than transit calls,” he added.

Despite the slowdown in foreign visits, domestic operations have shown resilience. Cruise Saudi’s own brand, AROYA Cruises, which launched in late 2024, has carried about 140,000 passengers so far, operating regional itineraries in the Red Sea and Mediterranean.

The company remains optimistic in the long term, banking on infrastructure investments and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 tourism goals to eventually restore momentum. “We have a lot of interest from the cruise line industry when we meet them at events,” Clasen said. “But this is for, as I said, two to three years.”

Saudi Arabia aims to attract 1.3 million cruise passengers annually by 2035 as part of its plan to transform its Red Sea coastline into a major global tourism hub.