A cruise industry leader has said he expects passengers to be largely undeterred by "geopolitical issues" facing the region, despite a major operator halting planned trips going through the UAE.
Dominic Noranho, regional manager for sales and marketing at Cruise Master, a Middle East agency representing more than 24 cruise operators, spoke of the tourism boost the sector provides and said the safety of those on board remained paramount.
The cruise industry has become a key component of regional tourism, with more than 150 cruise liners visiting the UAE each winter.
Mr Noranho said 95 per cent of those on board fly in from elsewhere.
“Generally, geopolitical issues are something that does not affect the attitudes of passengers from this part of the world,” he said.
“Cruise lines deploy these ships in this part of the world to boost tourism and bring inbound customers into the Middle East to experience the destination.
“For all cruise lines, the utmost priority is safety of the crew and the passengers.
“They will not jeopardise it in any way, and on a commercial perspective, the insurance costs are going to be really high for them to operate when it comes to such scenarios.”
He spoke after German cruise operator Aida announced it was to cancel its planned Orient cruises with the 3,300 passenger capacity Aidaprima, to and from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, in the 2025-26 winter season.
The giant 18-deck, 300-metre-long floating hotel with a smiling face painted onto its bow has become a familiar sight in Dubai’s purpose-built cruise terminal.
Parent company Aida announced all associated transfer cruises in fall 2025 and spring 2026 will also be cancelled due to regional safety concerns.
Since November 2023, more than 70 commercial vessels have been attacked in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, with two vessels sunk.
The attacks have forced merchant ships to take longer routes around Africa to avoid potential flashpoints, with the cruise industry also suffering disruption to regular tourism routes.
In a statement, Aida Cruises said it was committed to long-term planning and due to the currently uncertain situation in the Middle East, would not be offering UAE cruises this winter, deploying vessels to Northern Europe and the Canary Islands instead.
“With this decision, the company aims to provide its guests with reliable clarity about their vacation trips in the coming winter season as early as possible,” a representative for Aida said.
Most cruises unaffected
Those booked on cruises transiting through the UAE have been offered a cancellation voucher worth 10 per cent off the price of previous cabin bookings, redeemable until September 30, 2025.
Despite the Aida cancellations, other cruise operators contacted by The National said they were planning to continue winter bookings as normal.
Bookings for winter cruises that usually depart from the UAE in December typically begin in mid-September, so Mr Noranho said it could be too soon to tell if there is likely to be further disruption.
“In the routings of what MSC, Costa and Celestial currently have within the Arabian Gulf that is purely touching only the GCC countries, I don't see a concern there,” he said.
“Most of the cruise lines deploying their ships here in the Middle East have stopped sailing via the Suez Canal, and they are coming all the way around Africa, which makes the cost of repositioning also expensive.
“It's quite natural when the operational costs go up, the ticket cost also would go up, but that has not led to customers shying away because it's not such an exorbitant cost for them to decide not to travel.
“The way the UAE in particular has positioned itself as a cruise hub for cruise lines passing through the region has made this a key aspect of the tourism industry today.”
Red Sea tensions
Cancellations of cruise routes due to tensions at sea are not unprecedented.
In May 2024, Seabourn Cruise dropped Red Sea ports from its 90-day Grand Africa voyage, while Holland America Line also followed with changes to its world cruise on board Volendam to avoid the same waters after consultations with security experts.
In 2019, P&O Cruises scrapped its winter programme to Dubai and the Arabian Gulf due to terrorist attacks on shipping tankers in the Straits of Hormuz.
At the time, P&O Cruises president, Paul Ludlow said the detention of a British-flagged tanker by the Iranian authorities heavily influenced the decision.
"The safety of our guests and crew is absolutely paramount and given our UK status, coupled with the uncertainty in the region, we had to make this difficult decision,” he said.
According to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the global cruise industry is currently in a rapid growth phase.
Cruise liners around the world carried 31.7 million passengers on holidays in 2023, with 37.7 million expected in 2025 and a further 10 per cent increase forecast by 2028.
The industry, however, has been criticised for overtourism by flooding already popular coastal communities with thousands of extra tourists, as well as for its environmental impact.
More than 350 extra cruise shops are under construction or due to take to the seas to meet the growing, projected demand with Gen-X and Millennials leading the market.
In its annual State of the Cruise Industry report CLIA highlighted the industry's economic impact, by contributing $168 billion to communities and supporting 1.6 million jobs.
“The report shows that cruising continues to be one of the most dynamic and resilient sectors in tourism, growing in line with strong demand for cruise holidays, particularly among younger generations and new-to-cruise travellers," said Bud Darr, president and chief executive of CLIA.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
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Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
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Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
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Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Timeline
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September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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