Mariner of the Seas in maiden call on Dubai

Dubai: The Mariner of the Seas, a member of Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) cruise line fleet, made its maiden call to Dubai on Tuesday, boosting the emirate’s position as a destination of choice for cruise tourism.

The 1,020-feet-long cruise ship sailed from Galveston, Texas, then called on Barcelona before making its maiden voyage to Dubai on Tuesday. The cruise ship, one of the largest to have visited Dubai, will leave the emirate on Wednesday on an 11-night cruise to Singapore and China.

“Dubai is increasingly consolidating its position as a destination of choice for cruise tourism. In 2012, we received 105 ship calls carrying almost 408,000 visitors and expect this to increase more than 420,000 from 110 ship calls this year,” said Dr Ahmad Belhoul, CEO of Strategy and Tourism Sector Development at Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

Cruise tourism accounts for 5 per cent of all the tourists that visit Dubai every year. And the number continues to grow, Dr Belhoul said.

“This will continue to increase in 2014 and 2015, with an annual growth rate that is in line with the projected global cruise tourist growth of 3 per cent and we are looking to receiving over 450,000 passengers in 2015,” he said.

Mariner of the Seas brought around 3,800 guests to Dubai on Tuesday.

Lakshmi Durai, executive director for the Middle East at Royal Caribbean Arabia, said that the RCI has brought around 180,000 guests from its two cruise ships — Brilliance of the Seas that made three winter dockings in Dubai, and Serenade of the Seas with one winter docking, over the course of four years.

Durai said there is a noticeable change in how people in Dubai perceive cruising now compared to four yeas ago.

“When we started here, we needed to tell people about the idea of cruising as people were unaware of it back then. But now people are interested in sailing more,” she said, adding that the percentage of guests from the Middle East is growing very steadily.

“It’s more than 30 per cent year on year but it is still a small percentage if we take into account the total guests coming from other parts of the world,” she explained.

Famed for introducing the concept of ‘active cruise vacation,’ Mariner of the Seas boasts numerous leisure, health and fitness amenities that include jogging and inline skating tracks, a nine-hole miniature golf course, a golf simulator, a full-size sports court with basketball court, three swimming pools and six whirlpools.

The ship also debuted the first onboard ice-skating rink, rock-climbing wall and a Royal Promenade that stretches nearly the entire ship’s length.

During the event on Tuesday, Durai mentioned some details on the upcoming next-generation ships the RCI is building for its cruise line called Quantum Class, which will come into service in November 2014 and in 2015.

Some of the features of the new class include sky diving, bumper cars and a glass capsule that will transport guests 300 feet above sea level to provide views of the ship.