Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) will expand its Middle East presence from October 2024 through December 2025, making way for its first dedicated regional sailings.
NCL’s newly announced 2024/25 itineraries will include new ports of call to Manama, Bahrain; Rarotonga, Cook Islands; Sokhna, Egypt; and Akita, Japan as well as the debut of Norwegian Spirit, Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Sky in Asia.
With this new season of itineraries, NCL is expanding its voyages to Antarctica, South America, Africa, Asia, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand by 37 per cent, and its Extraordinary Journeys – the brand’s collection of immersive and port-rich voyages – overall by 15 per cent.
NCL’s maiden call to Bahrain is part of the cruise line’s first dedicated Middle East sailing – the brand will offer a seven-day Middle East cruise on Norwegian Sun from Doha, Qatar to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) departing April 12, 2025. An overnight stay in Abu Dhabi, UAE provides travellers with more time to explore the culturally rich destination.
In addition, the open-jaw voyage includes visits to Dammam, Saudi Arabia; Manama, Bahrain – a first time visit for NCL; as well as Dubai and Sir Bani Yas, the largest natural island southwest of Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Part of NCL’s Extraordinary Journeys portfolio, Norwegian Sun will embark on a 16-day cruise in April 2025 from Dubai, UAE to Haifa, Israel featuring 10 ports of call, including Sokhna, Egypt – a brand-new port for NCL. Visiting Sokhna, Egypt allows for easier access to Cairo, where guests can explore the ancient Great Pyramids of Giza.
In November 2024, Norwegian Sky will sail a 16-day Middle East Extraordinary Journey from Haifa, Israel to Dubai, UAE, including the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for guests to transit the Suez Canal in Egypt.
We spoke to Kevin Bubolz, who previously served as Managing Director Europe, and has been named Vice President & Managing Director Continental Europe, Middle East & Africa this January’, on how these local sailings will positively affect cruise sales in the region.
“The Middle East started the year a bit slower than some other regions in the world, but we have been seeing growth every week. Just the presence of cruise ships in the Middle East has helped to bring the topic of cruising on people’s radar a little bit more,” he says.
In this newly expanded role, Bubolz assumes responsibility for the cruise line’s sales activities in more than 60 high-potential markets.
“We expect 2023 to be the first normal year again – 2022 was still a transition year after the pandemic,” he says. “This year, we will get up to 100 per cent with historic levels of load factor. We can already see the ships filling up – and at the highest pricing we’ve ever had.
“We are in a very good position to have a record year – we have added ships and are selling at record prices. The demand is strong.
“We expect good growth in the region as well because there is room for a quality product like ours to grow in this area. This region has a little bit of a catch up to do when it comes to the uptake of cruising.”
While NCL hasn’t had ship charters in the Middle East just yet, Bubolz says there have been a few enquiries and he doesn’t rule out the possibility of a full ship takeover in the not-so-distant future. “The Mice business is one thing that we see growing already, with small and large groups coming into existing sailings. The next step would be then to take a few days on the ship and make your own programme with it.
“Especially coming out of the pandemic, we see a high interest in cruising because of the convenience it affords. Everybody’s a little exhausted, people want to relax but at the same time explore, without having to unpack every day, so our floating resorts offer the perfect solution.
“Especially for the Middle Eastern market, where we have the right product with our focus on quality and flexibility.”