Showing posts with label UAE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UAE. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Costa Favolosa Makes Maiden Dubai Call

Costa Cruises opens its sixth consecutive season in the Emirates with the inaugural call in Dubai of the flagship Costa Favolosa, the largest and most advanced ship ever deployed in the region.

From December 16 to April 6, Favolosa will be sailing on seven-night cruises in the exotic seas of the Arabian Gulf, with two days in Dubai, one-day stopovers in Muscat (Oman), Fujairah (UAE), Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Khasab (Oman) and ending with a further overnight stay in Dubai. 

The Jewels of the Emirates cruise also has an itinerary reminiscent of A Thousand and One Nights, offering a tantalising mix of past and future, unspoiled oases and stunning futuristic architecture, dune surfing, mosques and skyscrapers.

This year’s route features the additional port call of Khasab, which boasts towering cliffs and deep blue waters. Thanks to the positioning of Favolosa, Costa will make 58 port calls in the United Arab Emirates in winter 2011/2012.

For booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's luxury cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Royal Caribbean's Great Dubai Deal


Join Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas for an eight-night Dubai fly/cruise from just £999 per person this winter (based on two people sharing an inside cabin).

The price includes return flights from London Gatwick, transfers and a seven-night cruise departing from Dubai (UAE) and calling at Fujairah (UAE), Muscat (Oman) and Abu Dhabi (UAE), before returning to Dubai; meals and entertainment onboard and all relevant cruise taxes/fees. Price is based on 28 November 2011 departure.

For more info, see www.royalcaribbean.co.uk or the specialist cruise agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

New Cruises from Spirt of Adventure

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Discovery cruise ship Spirit of Adventure (above) has launched a new programme of exotic and intrepid itineraries for 2011, bringing passengers closer than ever before to the local cultures and traditions of many remote and unexplored destinations.

New to the schedule for next year are the United Arab Emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah and the exotic islands of Madagascar, Réunion and Indonesia, as well as the fascinating coasts of east, west and southern Africa. MV Spirit of Adventure will also be spending Christmas and New Year in the warm waters of Australasia, visiting Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific islands.

As one of the leading cruise companies, the small, intimate size of the ship means she can reach unusual and lesser known cities, islands and ports, including ports where no other cruise ships have ventured before. To get the most out of the destinations en route, Spirit of Adventure creates insightful tailor-made excursions, included in the price of the cruise, and carefully selects a range of expert guest speakers to inspire and educate passengers.

Here is a sample of next year's fascinating offerings:

The Undiscovered Coast
Visiting the lesser-known ports along Africa’s west coast, passengers will get an insight into authentic village life, including a unique opportunity to meet with a chief priest in the small village of Sanguera in Togo and a ceremonial Voodoo dance.
(17 nights from £3524 per person, based on two sharing; departs February 1, 2011)

Into Indonesia
Spirit of Adventure ventures to virgin territory as she leaves the ports visited by larger cruise ships to explore Indonesia’s picturesque islands. Passengers will be welcomed to remote villages by local tribes where they can visit the beautiful natural sites and track down the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon.
(16 nights from £3,229 per person, based on two sharing; departs November 16, 2011)

To the Land of the Long White Cloud
For an unforgettable Christmas and New Year, customers can join this exciting voyage around the south coast of Australia and New Zealand, for the opportunity to visit incredible National Parks or join kayaking and jet boat excursions to see the most beautiful scenery.
(22 nights from £3924 per person, based on two sharing; departs December 15, 2011)

Red Sea Explorer
On an adventure off the well-trodden cruise path, passengers will visit the undiscovered ports of the Middle East as they sail from Dubai through to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, stopping to explore the picturesque villages of Salalah before calling at the rarely visited ports of Massawa, Eritrea, and Suakin, Sudan.
(16 nights from £2274 per person, based on two sharing; departs April 15, 2012)

All Spirit of Adventure cruises include a choice of tailor-made excursions, return scheduled or chartered economy flights, car parking at the departure port or airport, return transport, porterage, all visas, port taxes, all meals and on-board gratuities, a programme of lectures and presentations, welcome and farewell cocktail parties, entertainment and activities, plus table wines with lunch and dinner on selected cruises. What’s more, new passengers can take advantage of an introductory discount of up to £300 per person.

For further details, please visit http://www.spiritofadventure.co.uk/

You can also learn more about Spirit of Adventure offerings at The Cruise Show at Birmingham NEC on October 16-17 and at London's Olympia next March (26-27).

Monday, June 28, 2010

Whoever decided that Dubai was the ideal place for a new cruise hub is probably giving themselves a hearty pat on the back about now.

The opening of their Port Rashid cruise terminal in February, and the decision of the likes of Costa Cruises and Royal Caribbean to base ships there for prolonged periods, indicates that someone really knew what they were doing.

It had to start with Dubai themselves, of course, and the splendid new facilities of the Port Rashid terminal, which gave the Middle East its first purpose-built, year-round and high-quality cruise capability in keeping with the bigger ships being built today.

But it also needed a fair leap of faith on behalf of at least one of the major cruise lines to invest some of their key tonnage in an area not previously known for anything other than the more occasional visit.

As recently as 2004, Dubai received just 10,000 passengers, nearly all of them on fleeting visits by the likes of Cunard, Holland America, Seabourn and Silversea on various legs of world cruises or similar long, one-off voyages. This year, an estimated 325,000 will step through the doors of Port Rashid.

Today comes the news that Royal Caribbean are extending their commitment to Dubai with a longer winter season in 2011/12 for their 2,501-passenger Brilliance of the Seas.

Brilliance debuted in the United Arab Emirates this January, with the ship operating a series of 8-night voyages, mainly for the UK and European markets. And, according to Royal Caribbean, sales were some 30 per cent ahead of target for the line’s first four-month season from Dubai.

According to agent feedback, there is even stronger interest in Middle East cruises in future, along with increased airlift to Dubai, hence the ship will return to the UAE two months earlier than planned, in November 2011. Royal Caribbean will also offer an increased range of itineraries, including longer cruises up to 12 and even 18 nights.

Jo Rzymowska, Royal Caribbean's associate vice president and general manager for UK and Ireland, explained: “Dubai is very popular with UK and Irish travellers, and cruises consistently offer significant value for money. We have adjusted the itinerary based on our trade partner feedback and replaced Bahrain with an overnight stay in Muscat. Also included within this itinerary is an overnight stay in the city onboard the ship at the end of the cruise, which makes this an affordable way to enjoy this fascinating Emirate. The chance to explore more of the Middle East, Arabian Sea and even India make these additional longer sailings truly exciting options."

The enhanced 2011-2012 season will be the ship’s third year based from the destination, following its winter cruises from Jan-Apr 2011. New itineraries during the longer 6-month season include a 12-night Dubai and India cruise featuring calls at Muscat in Oman and Cochin, Goa and Mumbai in India.

Brilliance will also feature the first ever call by a Royal Caribbean vessel to the New Mangalore port in Panambur on the west coast of India. The town is famed for its beautiful beaches on the Arabian Sea, the Nandaneshwara Temple and the Gurupura River.

The 2011-12 season will continue to offer double the number of regular 7-night cruises, with minor changes to the route, including an overnight in Dubai at the end of the voyage rather than the beginning, and a revised order in the other ports of call to simplify visa processing. The featured ports include Fujairah and Abu Dhabi in the UAE and Muscat in Oman. The 7-night itineraries for the upcoming 2010-11 season also will reflect these changes.

The repositioning cruise from Barcelona to Dubai will be an 18-night option via the Suez Canal and calls at Alexandria, Aqaba and Safaga.