Cruise facts

Abu Dhabi’s cruise season runs from October to May with the bulk of activity taking place over December to April.

Cruise arrivals fall into three categories (below), with the UAE offering a multi-entry cruise tourist visa at a cost of AED 200, available to passengers that hold passports from countries that are currently unable to obtain a tourist visa on arrival:

1. Cruise ships that operate seasonal winter sun circular tours of the Arabian Gulf, where your holiday starts and ends in Abu Dhabi. This option is perfect for extending your holiday with a pre- or post-stay break in some of Abu Dhabi’s exquisite hotels.

2. Cruise ships that include Abu Dhabi as a port-of-call as part of a regional Arabian Gulf itinerary. These ships tend to stay for a day or overnight and sometimes make up to 20 calls each during a season. The regional cruises typically include visits to Bahrain, Dubai, Fujairah and Muscat, with each Cruise Arabia destination offering passengers a different but always warm and welcoming Arabian experience.

3. International cruise lines that call at Abu Dhabi for a day during their round-the-world voyages, either before venturing eastward to India, the Far East and Australia, and onward to the Pacific, or heading back to summer-sun destinations in the Mediterranean, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean or the Baltic.