Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCL), a leading cruise operator, will deploy a luxury vessel from its Celebrity Cruises fleet in the UAE capital on a homeport basis from November 2016.

Celebrity Constellation will be the premium brand’s first ship to make the Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal its home, strengthening the emirate’s world cruise destination ambitions.

The 295-metre, 91,000-tonne vessel with a capacity for 2,170 guest will sail nine –, 12- 14- and 15-night cruises covering five ports-of-call between November 2016 and the end of January 2017.

The modern luxury cruise vacations, also calling at Dubai, Muscat in Oman and the west coast of India, are expected to appeal to visitors primarily from the US, UK, Germany as well as guests from Scandinavia, Southern Africa, China and the Far East.

With ‘Spices and the City of Gold’ and ‘Arabian Coast Immersion’ regional itineraries departing Abu Dhabi, Celebrity Constellation will sail around the Arabian Gulf peninsula to Muscat, before heading east to the west coast of India. It will then sail to Dubai, before returning to Abu Dhabi.

The move follows extensive negotiations between Celebrity Cruises, Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) and Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).

“This is a landmark decision for our cruise tourism ambitions reflecting a new horizon for Abu Dhabi’s sector development,” said Jasem Al Darmaki, acting director general, TCA Abu Dhabi.

“Celebrity Cruise’s decision to base a vessel in Zayed Port demonstrates that the new Cruise Terminal and the Abu Dhabi Cruise Development Committee’s work, really is delivering results. The cruise industry is already delivering significant benefits for businesses in the city and across the Emirate. The committee will continue to work together to meet the requirements of the cruise lines and to differentiate the city from the other cruise locations, so that the cruise operators can increase the vessel calls and develop new exciting itineraries around this region’, said Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO, ADPC.

The Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal’s building concept is due to be completed ahead of the start of Celebrity Constellation’s homeport stay.

The dedicated cruise terminal, which will be able to accommodate up to three mega cruise ships simultaneously, increases the port’s capacity and is tailored for home-porting – a significant factor for the decision to select Abu Dhabi, explained Helen Beck, regional director, International Representatives, EMEA, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises.

“We are confident that an array of pre- and post- cruise excursions, including visits to our new cultural attractions on Saadiyat Island, will encourage passengers to extend their cruise experience and we will work hand-in-hand with our airline and tour operator partners to package engaging tours to the cultural sites of our heritage heartland of Al Ain and of the stunning deserts of our western region,” said Sultan Al Dhaheri, TCA Abu Dhabi’s acting executive director Tourism.

Visitors to the Volvo Ocean Race Destination Village on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche Breakwater between December 12 and January 3, 2015, can see a scale model of the Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal and enter a competition for a chance to win a voucher towards an Arabian Gulf cruise courtesy of Royal Caribbean International. – TradeArabia News Service