Carnival Corporation & plc and Shamal Holding celebrated the opening of Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal following the strategic partnership the two companies signed in 2018 to develop the cruise port as the major hub for cruise tourism in Dubai.
With the arrivals of the Italy-based Costa Cruises' ship Costa Firenze and the Germany-based AIDA Cruises' ship AIDAbella, the official opening was marked by 2 passenger ships visiting the Dubai terminal for the first time, coinciding with the beginning of the cruise season and the liners’ homeporting seasons from Dubai.
The opening represents a milestone in realizing the goal of Dubai to become the most visited city in the world, underscored with the October launch of the popular Expo 2020 in Dubai. Via Costa Cruises’ partnership as a Gold Sponsor of the Expo 2020 Dubai Italian Pavilion, cruise passengers are provided with shore excursion options to explore the World Exhibition.
As the region’s first dedicated, twin-terminal cruise port, Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal can accommodate 2 large cruise ships simultaneously. The facility spans 120,000+ m2 (~1,3 million ft2) and features 2 purpose-built terminal buildings. The terminals are equipped with 4 Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges that can support the full turnaround of the industry's largest class of cruise ships.
The cruise terminals, part of Dubai Harbour development, provide an array of services and amenities for guests and crew: ample seating areas, washrooms, ATMs, currency exchange outlets, cafes, duty-free, retail outlets, taxi stands, dedicated parking, and more. The facilities are specially designed to be fully accessible for visitors. Complimentary Wi-Fi is enabled for passengers and crew members to stay connected.
As a gateway to the cruise destinations in the Arabian Gulf such as Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Oman, Dubai has been a popular destination for the corporation’s AIDA and Costa Cruises brands, which first started operating from the port in 2006. In late November 2021, AIDAbella arrived for the first time at Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal, marking the first regular passenger operation for the new terminals as well as the start of the winter season. In addition, Costa Firenze arrived in Dubai on December 16 marking the start of the ship’s season out of Dubai, where she is homeported for the first time, through March 2022.
6 Carnival Corporation subsidiaries/brands (AIDA, Costa, Cunard, P&O UK, Princess, Seabourn) will visit Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal by 2023. In total, the 6 companies are expected by then to make a total of 90 calls to the twin-terminal cruise port.