Explora Journeys has unveiled upcoming cruises aboard Explora I and Explora II through April 2026, with Explora I now spending an entire season homeporting in the Arabian Gulf for 2025/26.
Qatar Tourism improves shore excursion logistics for cruise passengers
Qatar Tourism has signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatari transportation services company Mowasalat to improve the tourism experience for cruise passengers arriving in the country.
Abu Dhabi wins best cruise destination at World Travel Awards
Abu Dhabi won “World’s Best Cruise Destination” and “Middle East’s Best Cruise Destination” this year at the World Cruise Awards in London.
Virgin Voyages praises Dubai Harbour, looks ahead to future UAE cruises
Virgin Voyages has praised the efficiency of turnaround operations at Dubai Harbour following the cruise line’s first-ever call in Dubai, and cruise from the city, aboard Resilient Lady.
Resilient Lady makes maiden call to UAE at Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal
Virgin Voyages marked its maiden cruise call to the UAE on Sunday with the arrival of Resilient Lady in Dubai.
Passengers unhappy with altered cruise itineraries dropping all Middle East calls
As cruise lines alter their itineraries to exclude Middle Eastern ports of call amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, passengers have been left unhappy with itineraries that no longer feature bucket-list destinations.
Silver Spirit to sail Doha to Athens cruise in 2025 at end of South African season
After spending the 2024/25 South African cruise season sailing roundtrip itineraries from Cape Town, Silver Spirit will sail a one-off 17-night Doha to Athens repositioning voyage.
Oceania Cruises drops Middle East port calls on 2024 cruises from Dubai
Oceania Cruises has dropped all port calls in Israel, Egypt and Jordan aboard its cruises departing Dubai and ports in the Eastern Mediterranean during the first half of 2024. The 42 revised […]
Virgin Voyages on track for Dubai cruise, Oceania cancels Red Sea port calls
Virgin Voyages cruise ship Resilient Lady has entered the Red Sea and is on her way to Dubai after calling in Safaga, Egypt, one of only four port calls on her 14-night […]
Crystal Symphony kicks off 2023 Middle East cruise season in Arabian Gulf
The Arabian Gulf cruise season officially kicked off Thursday with the arrival in Dubai of the first cruise ship of the season, Crystal Symphony.
Costa Cruises enhances Dubai fly-cruise convenience with SITA partnership
Costa Cruises has partnered with SITA, the leading IT provider to the travel industry, to enhance the efficiency of its fly-cruise packages to Dubai and other homeports around the world.
Doha enhances Qatar shore excursions with addition of Msheireb Museums
Msheireb Museums, home to four historic heritage houses restored in the broader sustainable Smart City development of Msheireb Downtown Doha, is positioning itself as a new shore excursion for cruise passengers in […]
Swan Hellenic makes maiden call in Saudi with stops in Yanbu and Jeddah
Swan Hellenic made its first port call in Saudi Arabia this month aboard SH Diana, with an overnight in Yanbu and a maiden call to Jeddah, the Kingdom’s principle port on the […]
Israel-Hamas war begins to impact wider Middle East cruise industry
The major disruption to cruise itineraries in the Eastern Mediterranean due to the Israel-Hamas conflict has had little impact on the 2023/24 Middle East cruise season in the Arabian Gulf, but that […]
MSC Cruises says no plans to pull out of Middle East as Windstar cancels season
Windstar Cruises has confirmed the cancellation of its upcoming debut Middle East cruise season on the back of deteriorating regional security, while MSC Cruises insists its Dubai cruises will go ahead as […]
Indian cruise line Cordelia Cruises set to return to the Middle East in 2024
Cordelia Cruises will return to Dubai next year with a series of cruises to the Middle East planned for its single cruise ship Empress.
Ship Review: MSC Euribia
Launched in June 2023 as the second of MSC’s LNG-powered ships, MSC Euribia has already made history as the first cruise ship to sail a zero emissions cruise, and she’s homeporting in […]
MSC Cruises expects up to 200,000 passengers for coming Saudi cruise season
MSC Cruises is seeing significant growth in passenger numbers on its Red Sea itineraries out of Saudi Arabia, with up to 200,000 expected for the coming 2023/24 cruise season.
AIDA Cruises to sail Dubai to Mallorca in 2024 aboard AIDAbella
AIDA Cruises will sail a 15-night voyage from Dubai to Palma De Mallorca on April 16th next year aboard AIDAbella, as part of her repositioning from Asia to Europe for the summer.
Luxury French line Ponant to offer range of Arabian itineraries during 2023/24 season
The luxury French cruise line Ponant has partnered with the Dubai-based cruise agency CruiseXplore to offer a series of voyages homeporting in the Arabian Gulf during the 2023/24 cruise season.