Aroya departs Arabian Gulf as AROYA Cruises prepares for Red Sea Jeddah season

AROYA Cruises’ Aroya has departed the Arabian Gulf, transiting the Strait of Hormuz and setting course for Jeddah, where the ship is scheduled to resume operations with a short Red Sea season before repositioning to the Mediterranean.

The departure marks the last of six cruise ships to leave the Arabian Gulf following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, bringing an end to an extended period during which cruise ships remained alongside in regional ports amid disruption to maritime traffic.

Having cleared the Strait, Aroya is now bound for Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, where it will operate a series of roundtrip sailings from Jeddah beginning in mid-May.

The programme serves as a transitional shoulder season, bridging the gap between the disrupted winter deployment in the Gulf and the ship’s planned summer operations in Europe.

The Red Sea schedule begins with a sequence of shorter itineraries, including three-, four-, and five-night cruises departing on May 14th, 17th, 21st, and 24th, 2026, all sailing roundtrip from Jeddah.

These are followed by an eight-night repositioning voyage departing May 29th, 2026, which will take the vessel from Jeddah to Istanbul, marking the start of its Mediterranean season.

From early June, Aroya is scheduled to operate a series of seven-night roundtrip cruises from Istanbul, with weekly departures running through the summer months. The programme extends into September, concluding with an eight-night repositioning voyage returning the ship from Istanbul to Jeddah on September 12th, 2026.

The deployment reflects a return to planned operations following the disruption that left multiple cruise ships unable to leave the Gulf since late February. During that period, vessels were maintained with minimum safe manning, with hotel crew repatriated and no passengers on board.

Unlike some operators that have opted to route ships around Africa, Aroya is expected to utilise the Suez Canal for its onward deployment, consistent with its original positioning into the region for the winter season.

This shorter routing enables a faster return to service and allows the ship to maintain its scheduled programme in both the Red Sea and Mediterranean.

The ship’s departure follows the earlier exit of vessels including MSC Euribia and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5, which have taken longer routes towards South Africa as part of their repositioning strategies. Celestyal Cruises vessels Celestyal Journey and Discovery have also left the Gulf, and are expected to sail for Europe via the Suez Canal.

With Aroya now underway, cruise operations in the Arabian Gulf have effectively drawn to a close for the season, as operators pivot towards summer deployments in Europe and surrounding regions.