Middle East Cruises

Read this before booking anything: as of September 2026, no cruise line has regular sailings scheduled in the Arabian Gulf for either the 2026-27 or 2027-28 winter. A military conflict involving Iran early in 2026 disrupted the region - ships including MSC Euribia and two Celestyal vessels sat in Dubai and Doha after their sailings were cancelled, airspace closures stranded passengers, and six cruise ships were stuck in the Gulf for about two months. Since then MSC, Costa, Explora Journeys, TUI Cruises, AIDA, Celestyal and Aroya have all withdrawn their Gulf programmes and moved their ships to Europe, the Caribbean and South America.

The Red Sea is closed to cruising in 2026 as well, so the classic Suez Canal repositioning between the Mediterranean and Asia or the Gulf is not running. Ships making that move go around Africa instead - MSC rerouted its 2026 world cruise via South Africa and Namibia, adding 12 days - and any older listing that shows a Suez transit should be treated as historic.

When the region does reopen, the shape of a Gulf cruise is well established: winter-season round trips from Dubai, typically seven nights, calling at Abu Dhabi, Doha and Bahrain, with city days rather than beach days. Until a line publishes a new season, the sailings listed here are a record of what was planned rather than something you can book - check the line's own site for current status.

Sources: cruiseindustrynews.com, cruiselowdown.com, cruise-arabia.com, cruise-arabia.com