Photos: Dubai cruise industry ready to set sail again

Come late October, cruise lines will be calling on Dubai's Mina Rashid Terminal. Their return will be crucial, given that Dubai used to welcome up to 500,000 visitors on such ships each year before the pandemic struck.

The first cruise ships after the COVID-19 crisis will dock at Dubai’s Mina Rashid Terminal late October, according to a top official at the port operator. And all precautions are being taken to ensure the health and safety of those on board as well as those whom they come in contact with.

Dubai’s travel and tourism prospects are dominated by its airlines, hotels and leisure destinations – but in that space, the cruise industry too has a significant role. In recent years, half a million tourists have disembarked from some of the world’s most luxurious cruise liners at the Port Rashid Terminal. Above, cruise ship Silver Wind being welcomed by Dubai police pipe music band at Port Rashid Dubai.

On each visit, hundreds, even thousands, of passengers would step onto Dubai’s shores and end up being heavy spenders at its malls and other business establishments. Above, tourists outside 'Brilliance of the Seas' cruise docked at Port Rashid passenger terminal in Dubai.

Bolstering its position as a premier international cruise destination, Dubai concluded its 2019 cruise season with a record increase of over 51 per cent in cruise tourist footfall and a 38 per cent increase in cruise ship calls season-on-season.

“We have been monitoring the situation closely and feel confident we can assure customer safety,” said Mohammed Al Mannaei, CEO of P&O Marinas, the DP World subsidiary handling the cruise-focussed business. “Our long-standing relationship with cruise lines and our mutually beneficial relationship with stakeholders around the world have held us in good stead as we identify appropriate solutions to ensure tourism flows and business continuity in Dubai.”

But the pandemic struck a body blow to the cruise industry, and as with airlines and hotel sectors, it will take time for a return to normalcy. Or whatever will pass for as normal in the changed global circumstances.

The Horizon at Dubai Cruise Terminal 2, Mina Rashid in 2018. "Tourists of some nationalities can obtain their visit visas at the port while some need to obtain visas in advance.

In 2019 Dubai had welcomed India’s first premium cruise liner, ‘Karnika’ by Jalesh Cruises, to Mina Rashid as its home port for the season. Karnika is Jalesh Cruises’s first liner to homeport in the region, marking a significant milestone for both the Indian domestic and international cruise industry. Tourists from India and also from Gulf countries especially from UAE and Muscat were able to avail themselves of short cruise tours on Karnika.

More tourists and residents usually go on cruises from Dubai and the UAE to other points in the region as well as the Mediterranean.