Carnival Cruise Line makes double call in Dubai for first time ever
You wait forever for a Carnival Cruise Line ship to arrive, and then two come along at once. This week, two Carnival Cruise Line ships docked in Dubai at the new Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal. Carnival Splendour and Carnival Spirit docked side-by-side at the Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal this week ahead of their much-delayed re-entry into service out of Australia.
With cruises from Australia cancelled until at least December, both ships are at a loose end for the summer, are likely en-route to Europe for routine dry-dock maintenance and inspection by their classification society, RINA.
Carnival Spirit and Carnival Splendour are the second pair of cruise ships to dock at the new cruise terminal, after AIDA Cruises’ ships AIDAprima and AIDAvita called in March this year. AIDA and Carnival Cruise Line are both owned by Carnival Corporation, which owns the Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal in a joint venture with Meraas, a local property developer in Dubai.
The new terminal is Carnival Corporation’s cruise hub in the Middle East, and will become the primary cruise port for all Carnival Corporation-owned ships when the Dubai cruise season kicks off this winter. Two Carnival-owned cruise lines, AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises, will homeport in Dubai for the coming winter cruise season between November, 2021 and March, 2022.
Several dozen more Carnival-owned cruise lines are scheduled to call in Dubai on grand voyages between East and West, or cruise from the city, during 2022, including Princess Cruises and Seabourn.
Carnival Splendour is now due to resume cruises in November from Australia, with her first scheduled cruise a 3-night roundtrip voyage from Syndey on November 25th.
Carnival Spirit, meanwhile, will resume cruises from Brisbane on December 1st. The new Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal is set to become a major tourist destination within Dubai, its location between the Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah Island puts it in the heart of New Dubai, while the development taking place around the terminal will hugely enhance the city appeal as a cruise destination.
Although Carnival Corporation-owned ships have been homeporting in Dubai and cruising from the city on international voyages for almost two decades, this is believed to be the first time a Carnival Cruise Line ship has ever docked in the city.
