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Royal Caribbean opens 2020-2021 sailings from Dubai for booking

In:
26 Mar 2019

Royal Caribbean has posted its 2020-2021 sailings from Dubai on Jewel of the Seas that will sail to destinations in  the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and beyond.

In addition, every Jewel of the Seas sailing from Dubai features an overnight in Dubai.

Sailings are available to book for Crown & Anchor members on March 26 and the general public on March 27.

You can view the full list of Dubai 2020-2021 sailings here.

Royal Caribbean announces Jewel of the Seas 2019-2020 sailings from Dubai

In:
24 Apr 2018

Royal Caribbean announced today it will base one of its cruise ships in Dubai for a few months between December 2019 and March 2020.

Jewel of the Seas will call Dubai home, and offer 7-night sailings out of Dubai to destinations in the Middle East, including maiden calls to Sir Bani Yas, Doha, and Bahrain.. You can view a full list of available Jewel of the Seas sailings from Dubai here.

The two new itineraries will be available to book from April 24 for Crown and Anchor Society members and from April 25 for the general public.

Royal Caribbean is returning to Dubai, following a two-year absence.  Jewel will sail to Dubai, following a summer season in the Mediterranean that will also see Royal Caribbean return to Turkey. Like the Dubai sailings, the newly announced Jewel of the Seas itineraries will go on sale to Crown and Anchor Society members on April 24, and to the general public on April 25.

Royal Caribbean's last ever cruise by Legend of the Seas departs Dubai

In:
13 Mar 2017

Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas departed on March 13th for her last ever sailing under Royal Caribbean colors.

Photo by CruiseArabiaOnline

Legend of the Seas was launched in 1996, and has sailed more than 600 cruise itineraries and is the most-travelled ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

During her career she has been based in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the South Pacific, Alaska, Central America, Caribbean, the Baltic, Mediterranean and the Middle East. No other Royal Caribbean ship has been so widely deployed.

Legend of the Seas will be handed over to TUI Group’s Thomson Cruises subsidiary after her arrival in Barcelona in two weeks.

"Since its inaugural sailing, Legend of the Seas has created many wonderful memories for hundreds of thousands of guests, and we expect this successful history to continue as she transitions to Thomson Cruises," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.  "While she will be missed, her transition supports our objective of moderate capacity growth."

Photo by CruiseArabiaOnline

Legend of the Seas is scheduled to depart Dubai Cruise Terminal at 8pm, with events planned on-board to mark her last ever sailing under Royal Caribbean colors.

“The fact that she is sailing from Dubai on this last ever cruise speaks to the importance of the city as a new global cruise destination,” a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean said.

Legend of the Seas was in port in Dubai at the same time as her fleet mate and sister ship Vision of the Seas, which is currently homeporting in Dubai for the 2016/17 cruise season.

Quantum of the Seas stops in Dubai

In:
31 May 2015

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas is making her way around the world as part of a 53-night cruise and the other day she was is in Dubai.

Royal Caribbean celebrated the occasion with Dubai Tourism onboard Quantum of the Seas in Two70 with a welcome reception along with the traditional exchange of plaques and keys ceremony.

According to Hamad Bin Mejren, senior vice president of Dubai Tourism, Quantum of the Seas is the largest cruise ship that has ever docked in Dubai.

Royal Caribbean could return to Dubai in 2015

In:
12 Dec 2013

Royal Caribbean is considering sending a cruise ship back to Dubai in 2015.  Royal Caribbean had ships in the area for a number of years before deciding to remove ships from the Gulf this year.

Gulf News reports Royal Caribbean regional director for Europe, Middle East & Africa, Helen Beck, says there is potential for a return.

“We’re evaluating it right now … [we’re] right in the middle of discussing opportunity for the potential for the 2015/2016 season,” she said.

Beck said she was pleased with the “positive progress” across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries towards supporting cruise tourism and investments in infrastructure.

Adding to the push to bring cruise ships back to the Middle East is the double digit passenger growth in the Middle East, according to Lakshmi Durai, Executive Director – Middle East at Royal Caribbean.

Beck admits that the UAE and Middle East region is still an emerging cruise market. She said passengers from the United States, China, and other markets still dominated bookings.

Any return to the Arabian Gulf is likely to see similar operations as before with Royal Caribbean likely to dock in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat.

Royal Caribbean considers returning to Dubai

In:
12 May 2013

A senior executive at Royal Caribbean indicated that the company may reverse course on a decision to remove Dubai from its cruise itineraries.

Royal Caribbean ceases cruises to the Gulf from Dubai this year, which also included stops in Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Fujairah.

“Unfortunately the season we had last year wasn’t as successful as we’d have liked it to be from a revenue perspective, for various reasons – economics, a bit more competition in the marketplace that brought the rates down,” Helen Beck, regional director, EMEA, told Arabian Business.

Beck was hopeful that Royal Caribbean would return to the Gulf in 2014.

“We were all very disappointed, but we haven’t given up the fight,” she added. “There’s a lot of internal lobbying... to have the decision reviewed, maybe not for this coming winter season, but for future seasons.”

Serenade of the Seas debuts in Dubai

In:
03 Feb 2013

Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas made her inaugural call to Dubai on Saturday.  This is Royal Caribbean's fourth season operating out of Dubai, with its first cruises sailing out of the region in January 2010.

Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in collaboration with Royal Caribbean, arranged for a grand welcome ceremony at the Dubai Cruise Terminals in Mina Rashid where the ship will be docked. A huge heritage village replica was set-up at the terminal with traditional activities and local music band performance.

DTCM invited representatives from other Government Departments that support the cruise operations such as Immigration, Customs, Police, and DMCA, as well as its strategic partner DP World to attend the press conference arranged on board the cruise ship.

Serenade of the Seas will offer 12 cruises out of Dubai this season until April 14, 2013.  Serenade arrives in Dubai following a total refurbishment of the ship last year.

Helen Beck, Royal Caribbean International Regional Director, commented on the ship's arrival, "Serenade of the Seas is the eighth Royal Caribbean International ship to be revitalized. Announced in 2011, the $300m revitalization program will make every ship our best ship. Each revitalization takes around one month and includes adding new dining venues, more balcony staterooms, entertainment options such as an outdoor movie screen, various technological enhancements, and more."

The plaque & key exchange ceremony, a maritime tradition, followed the press conference during which DTCM and the other invited Government Departments exchanged their commemorative crests with the Ship's Captain. The event continued with a ship visit and lunch on board for all the attendees.

Economic conditions could affect cruise season in Dubai

In:
13 Jul 2012

Economic issues such as the European debt crisis and uncertainty regarding the global economic picture as a whole has the potential to affect demand for the cruise market in Dubai, and that's something Royal Caribbean is keeping an eye on.

Royal Caribbean regional director Helen Beck is among those worried that international economic issues could negatively impact demand for Royal Caribbean's product in Dubai.  It has already been hampered with the government issuing visas but other issues like the European economy, unrest in other parts of the Middle East have all had impact on Royal Caribbean's bottom line.  

According to Beck, “We did not get the revenues we were looking for, as the global trading conditions have been quite tricky over the past 18 months.”

Royal Caribbean home ports in Dubai during the Gulf cruise season.

Khalid Bin Sulayem, the director-general of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, spoke about the cruise ship market today, "The global cruise ship industry has had its difficulties of late, but here it is a growing business and one where we feel Dubai can play a larger role within the region. While we have already established ourselves as a hub, we realise that there are a number of things that we must focus on in order to fully capitalise on this burgeoning sector by developing our cruise ship terminal infrastructure and improving coordination with neighbouring countries.”

Royal Caribbean announces Dubai 2012-2013 cruise itineraries

In:
12 Jul 2012

Royal Caribbean has announced the arrival of Serenade of the Seas in Dubai for the winter season of 2012-2013.  Serenade of the Seas will offer passengers 17 itineraries, with departures every Monday for seven-night cruises in the UAE and Oman, from December 2012 to April 2013.

Serenade of the Seas replaced Brilliance of the Seas in the region and will offer guests new cruise experiences that explore the culture of the Middle East. You can choose a combination cruise and land tour  such as the "Arabian Explorer", which combines a guided tour of four nights on the mainland to seven nights cruise onboard Serenade of the Seas. The stages of the cruise-tours are Dubai, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah. With Royal Caribbean cruise-tour guests are escorted and accompanied by tour guides and all transfers included in the price, the transportation and hotel accommodation with breakfast.

The seven night cruise Serenade of the Seas also makes a stop in Fujairah and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, with overnight in Muscat, Oman, Dubai and, at the conclusion of the cruise.

Guests can also choose a 15-night cruise in the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal, departing January 14, 2013 from Malaga, Spain to Dubai, another alternative is the 15-night cruise from Barcelona to Dubai, April 15, 2013.

Voyager of the Seas arrives in Dubai for first time

In:
15 May 2012

Voyager of the Seas has become the largest cruise ship to ever dock at Port Rashid in Dubai after arriving this morning.

Voyager sailed from Barcelona on April 30 and stopped in Alexandria, Egypt and then passed through the Suez Canal on her way to Dubai.

Voyager of the Seas is making a stop in Dubai as she makes her way to Asia to re-locate to the region.  This summer, Royal Caribbean has plans to have Voyager of the Seas offer cruises out of Singapore and Shanghai with a series of 4 to 7-night itineraries to ports of call in Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea.  Following those cruises, Voyager of the Seas will head south to Australia and New Zealand.

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