Dubai. 20 October 2011: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. - the world's largest global cruise line - announced a record year of business for the Middle East region in 2011. From January through September 2011 bookings from the region for Royal Caribbean Cruises’ three global brands - Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises - have increased significantly with guest volume rising by 34 percent compared to the same period last year.
“All markets performed well and showed positive growth compared to last year,” said Lakshmi Durai, Executive Director Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises Middle East. “We are very happy with the support we get from travel agencies around the region and our education programme as well as marketing and PR activities are successfully demonstrating the advantages of cruising as a holiday option for guests in the Middle East.”
As in previous years, Europe was the most popular cruise destination for travelers from the Middle East. According to Royal Caribbean Cruises, approximately 75 percent of all bookings from the region were made for European cruises. The second most popular destination for cruise travelers from the Middle East was the Caribbean.
“Royal Caribbean’s 2011 Europe cruise season was the biggest ever European deployment with 12 ships offering 109 unique itineraries, ranging from three to 15 nights and visiting 27 countries”, explains Durai. “Liberty of the Seas, the largest cruise ship sailing in Europe, was the top choice with attractions like the DreamWorks® experience and the Flow Rider® surf park. The Caribbean is also a favourite destination and with the two biggest ships of the world – Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas – sailing in the Western and Eastern Caribbean offering the Aquatheatre, Central Park, state-of-the-art spas, onboard shopping malls, Broadway shows and much more, the interest of regional guests was very high”, she adds.
The UAE and Oman have become increasingly popular cruise destinations over the last few years. In the 2010/2011 cruise season, 135 ships brought a total of around 375,000 passengers to Dubai. Abu Dhabi received 78 calls by cruise liners with around 140,000 passengers disembarking and 109 cruise ships called at Muscat Port carrying 340,000 passengers in 2010.
Due to the high demand, Royal Caribbean International is extending its third consecutive season in the Gulf region to 6 months – which run from November 2011 through to April 2012. The longest season to date will comprise of 18 roundtrip 7-night sailings and two Dubai and India 12-nights sailings.
Brilliance of the Seas, one of the world’s most elegant cruise ships, starts her 7-night itineraries in Dubai, sails to Fujairah and docks in Muscat where guests can enjoy an overnight stay. She then continues, spending the day at sea, via Abu Dhabi and then back to Dubai.
Royal Caribbean International is the only cruise line in the region offering two new 12-night itineraries which includes ports in India. Sailing from Dubai to Mumbai spending three days at sea, Brilliance of the Seas then calls into Goa, New Mangalore and Cochin before docking in Muscat and then sailing back to Dubai.
Cruising is the fastest growing leisure vacation choice today and it also enjoys the highest rate of repeat satisfied customers of any type of vacation. The choices of destination, experience, accommodations, and cuisine are almost limitless and cruising is the ultimate vacation in value and convenience, according to the Cruise Lines International Association Inc. (CLIA).
The cruise industry continues to innovate and deliver on the cruise product promise, with the result that more and more vacationers are intending to take a cruise in the near future – in 2010 nearly 15 million guests worldwide went on a cruise and stayed an average length of 7.2 days. By year end 2011 the cruise market will reach 19.2 million annual passengers worldwide. Looking forward to 2014 that number is projected to reach 21.6 million, according to Cruise Market Watch.