Debut in Dubai for luxury liner of Celebrity cruises

The 122,000 gross tonnage ship, carrying over 2,700 passengers and 1,200 crew docked at the Dubai Cruise Terminals in Mina Rashid for a overnight stopover in Dubai. The ship arrived after a 16night journey from Barcelona via Egypt and Jordan, and will have a major passenger turnaround in Dubai during the port stay. Passengers joining the vessel in Dubai will take a 12 night cruise to Oman, India, Malaysia and Singapore.

Jamal Humaid Al Falasi, Director of Cruise Tourism of DTCM said, "It is a great honor for us to have here the award-winning C.S. Celebrity Solstice of the luxury cruise line Celebrity Cruises from the fleet Royal Caribbean International - one of our key partners in the cruise tourism industry since 2010."

"We have been working closely with all concerned authorities in planning and executing a smooth operation for the ship," he said.

The 317 meter-long Solstice class cruise ship offers outstanding cuisine in fine dining restaurants, an array of leisure facilities and spacious staterooms with verandas. Ninety percent of the vessel's industry-first AquaClass suites face the sea, providing an extraordinary cruising experience. The ship has a real grass half-acre lawn club, and many other world-class facilities onboard to pamper its guests.

Helen Beck, Regional Director for International Representatives, EMEA for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises, said that Celebrity Solstice is one of five luxurious ships in the Solstice class that set a new benchmark for exquisite cuisine and travel. "Celebrity Cruises offers the ultimate in premium cruising," she said.

A press conference was organized onboard as a part of the welcome ceremony for the ship, at which the keynote addresses were made by Mr. Jamal Humaid Al Falasi, Ms. Helen Beck and the ship Captain, and questions from the assembled media were answered.

A traditional plaque exchange ceremony was then held, whereby DTCM and the invited dignitaries and senior officials from various Government Departments such as GDRFA, Dubai Customs, Dubai Police, DMCA, Dubai Airports and DP World exchanged plaques with the ship captain. A tour of the ship followed by lunch was arranged for all attendees.

The Dubai Cruise Terminals received over 390,000 passengers arrived from 102 ship calls last season and the current season will bring 115 cruise ship calls and over 410,000 passengers.

The continual efforts of DTCM has reaffirmed Dubai's position as the foremost cruise hub of the region and it is a combination of factors that are driving Dubai's cruise tourism business towards robust growth. Besides the obvious attractions that Dubai has to offer for its tourists from around the world - excellent air connectivity, good infrastructure, multimodal transport system, world-class hotels and restaurants, vast stretches of sandy beaches, sprawling shopping malls and an array of outdoor activities - Dubai boasts simple immigration formalities, customized operation procedures in a safe environment.

Dubai has been constantly enhancing its facilities and services in line with business growth and as a result the Dubai Cruise Terminals will have three dedicated facilities to cater the cruise lines and visitors this season. Spanning over 20,000 square meters and with a pier length of 1900 meters - which can accommodate up to six ocean-going ships simultaneously - Dubai will have the largest facility in the Middle East dedicated for cruise tourism.

The continual efforts of DTCM, the Government of Dubai, government departments such as Immigration, Customs, Police, DP World, combined with the cooperation of cruise lines, ship agencies, DMC's and other stakeholders all mean that the cruise tourism sector in Dubai is set to scale new heights in the years to come.