AIDA Cruises to return to Arabian Gulf via South Africa for winter 2027/28

AIDA Cruises has confirmed its return to the Middle East and Arabian Gulf for the 2027/28 winter season, restoring Dubai and Abu Dhabi to its global deployment programme while also scheduling a series of long-distance sailings via Africa that include departures from South Africa.

The German cruise line opened bookings for the programme this week, marking its first Middle East deployment in two years and positioning the region once again as a central component of its winter operations.

The 3,250-passenger AIDAperla will operate the season, beginning her Middle East programme on December 16th, 2027.

The 125,500-gross ton vessel, delivered in 2017, will offer seven- to 14-night itineraries throughout the winter, sailing from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, visiting Sir Bani Yas in the UAE, Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain, Muscat in Oman, and Doha in Qatar. The deployment will continue through early April 2028, when AIDAperla will reposition back to Europe.

The winter programme includes extended repositioning voyages via South Africa and featuring destinations in the Vanilla Islands and the Canary Islands, further reinforcing the southern Africa and Indian Ocean corridor as a key transit region in AIDA’s long-haul winter strategy.

AIDA last operated in the Middle East during the 2024/25 winter season, when her sistership AIDAprima offered cruises from Dubai. Although the company had planned to return in 2025/26, those deployments were cancelled in mid-2025 amid regional security concerns.

AIDAperla can accommodate 3,286 passengers at double occupancy and is purpose-built for the German-speaking market, configured as a high-capacity, family-oriented resort ship, with an emphasis on multi-generational travel and informal onboard culture.

The ship features extensive leisure and recreation facilities, including a large indoor-outdoor Beach Club with retractable glass roof, a lazy river, waterslides, ropes course, mini-golf, sports court and one of the largest spa complexes in the AIDA fleet.

Dining is centred around multiple buffet restaurants and casual venues, alongside several speciality dining options, while accommodation ranges from 172-square-foot inside cabins to 1,238-square-foot suites, with a strong emphasis on cabins designed to accommodate four or more guests.

With its combination of high-density accommodation, large-scale leisure facilities, and programming focused on families and social interaction, AIDAperla represents the core AIDA product model that has previously proven successful in the Middle East market.

The reinstatement of Gulf deployments, combined with Africa and South Africa sailings, signals a renewed emphasis on intercontinental itineraries for the German operator.

With AIDAperla positioned in the Middle East for the 2027/28 winter, AIDA joins a growing number of European cruise brands strengthening their presence in the region as part of wider winter deployment strategies linking the Middle East, Africa, and the Indian Ocean.