There are just two days to go before one of the world’s most elegant cruise ships - Royal Caribbean International’s ‘Brilliance of the Seas’ – makes her maiden docking in the stunning port of Aqaba, as part of a 14-night repositioning trip on her way to the Arabian Gulf.
Having travelled from her starting point of Barcelona in Spain, the 2,501 passenger Brilliance of the Seas’ will arrive around 7 o'clock in the morning of January 11th – having already called at the historic port of Alexandria, Egypt, three days prior.
Interest in ‘Brilliance of the Seas’ across the Middle East is especially high as it is about to start a three month tour of duty cruising around the Arabian Gulf. Starting on January 18th, the ship will be making seven-night round-trip sailings to Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain from her home port of Dubai, signalling Royal Caribbean International’s official entry into the fledgling Middle Eastern market.
“When we dock in Aqaba, it will be an excellent opportunity to show off this beautiful ship to prospective Middle Eastern guests and have them experience a taste of what cruising is all about. The Middle East's prospective growth figures for luxury cruising are remarkable and we fully expect Brilliance of the Seas to establish itself as the leading cruise option in the Gulf and beyond for years to come,” said Rama Rebbapragada, Regional Vice-President of Royal Caribbean International.
Brilliance of the Seas, one of the world’s most stylish cruise ships, features an open Centrum with 10-deck high windows and ocean-facing glass elevators, both of which will offer spectacular views of the passing shoreline and sea. It boasts one of the highest space-per-guest ratios in the industry, and will add more than 32,000 guests in her first fourth-month season to the region’s burgeoning cruise sector.
Aboard the vessel, cruise guests can experience the contrasts of sun, sea, desert, city life, culture, luxury and Arabian hospitality in just one single holiday. The ship features indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness centre and a full-service spa, an indoor and outdoor sports deck with golf simulator, sports courts, a rock-climbing wall and a jogging track. It also boasts a wide range of dining options, shopping arcades and a theatre. For business travellers, Brilliance of the Seas also offers numerous conference and meeting facilities.
Available for both the 2010 and 2011 itineraries, the new four-night Arabian Explorer cruisetour vacation extension will offer guests a more thorough exploration of Dubai and Fujairah, the latter being the only emirate on the Gulf of Oman. Cruisetour guests will be escorted by a tour director and will experience the destinations via four-wheel drive, travelling to sand dunes, majestic mountainsides, mosques and tranquil, picturesque villages. Other highlights include camel racing and a sunset dinner at a Bedouin camp – all sandwiched in between an overnight stay in Dubai, for its superlative shopping opportunities, and a luxurious desert resort stay just outside the city.
Although the majority of guests at present come from traditional Western markets on fly-and-cruise packages, Rebbapragada believes that as regional awareness grows about cruise holidays as a viable vacation option, there will be a significant increase in local and regional passengers signing-up.
"Already there is high demand from our key global source markets in the UK, North America and Germany, however as news of our on board facilities, great shore excursions and exceptional service has seeped out, we have also seen strong levels of interest from Middle Eastern markets,” he said.
With an overall length of 293 metres, and a breadth of 40 metres, Brilliance of the Seas – which was built in Papenburg, north-west Germany, and registered in the Bahamas - weighs 90,090 tons and can travel at a speed of 24 knots. It has two anchors each weighing 12 tons and even generates its own fresh water.
On leaving Aqaba in the late evening of January11th, Brilliance of the Seas will head to Safaga on Egypt's Red Sea coast (January 12th), before moving on to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
