AROYA Cruises launches 1st Greek Islands cruise of 2026 Mediterranean season

AROYA Cruises has launched its first Greek Islands itinerary of the 2026 Mediterranean season.

The sailing marks the expansion of the Saudi Arabian cruise line’s Eastern Mediterranean programme following its arrival in Istanbul earlier this month.

Departing from Istanbul’s Galataport Cruise Terminal on Saturday, Aroya, the cruise line’s only vessel, set sail on a seven-night voyage calling at destinations in both Greece and Turkey.

The itinerary includes visits to Bodrum on Turkey’s Aegean coast, as well as the Greek ports of Rhodes, Mykonos, and Piraeus, the main gateway to Athens.

The sailing represents the first Greek Islands cruise offered by Aroya Cruises during its 2026 summer deployment in the Eastern Mediterranean. Since repositioning from the Red Sea earlier this month, the vessel has primarily been operating itineraries focused on destinations in Turkey and Egypt.

One of the distinguishing features of the new programme is the extended time allocated in port.

Departures from most destinations are scheduled between 10pm and 11pm, allowing passengers additional time ashore and the opportunity to experience destinations after the departure of many day visitors and cruise ships.

The Greek Islands itinerary forms one half of Aroya’s Mediterranean deployment strategy this summer. Alongside the new route, the cruise line is also operating a second seven-night itinerary that focuses on ports in Turkey and Egypt.

That programme has been designed to provide a visa-free option for travellers from a range of source markets by avoiding destinations within the Schengen Area. Instead, the itinerary visits Kaş, Marmaris and Bodrum in Turkey, as well as Alexandria in Egypt.

The Egypt and Turkey route also incorporates a turnaround element, allowing passengers to embark and disembark in Alexandria on selected departures. The initiative follows broader efforts by Egyptian authorities to position Alexandria as both a port of call and a turnaround destination for cruise traffic.

Aroya’s summer deployment in the Mediterranean is scheduled to continue through late September. At the conclusion of the season, the vessel will return to the Red Sea on an eight-night repositioning voyage from Istanbul to Jeddah.

The sailing will call at Bodrum and Marmaris in Turkey before continuing to Egyptian ports including Port Suez and Sharm El Sheikh.

Following its arrival in Saudi Arabia, Aroya will begin a winter programme of shorter Red Sea cruises ranging from two to five nights. The itineraries will feature destinations including Aqaba in Jordan, Yanbu in Saudi Arabia and Sharm El Sheikh, as well as visits to Cruise Saudi’s private island destination of Jabal Al-Sabaya.

The Mediterranean deployment represents an important part of AROYA Cruises’ strategy to establish a seasonal presence beyond the Red Sea. The line has already confirmed plans to return to the region in June 2027, which will mark its third consecutive summer season in the Mediterranean.

Launched by Cruise Saudi, Aroya Cruises has focused on developing itineraries tailored to Arab travellers while progressively expanding its geographical reach into new markets and destinations across the Mediterranean and Red Sea.