Just last month, off the coast of Somalia—where pirates occasionally hijack cargo ships —passengers on the fancy, all-inclusive Seabourn Encore were enjoying martinis and opera around the pool when out of the darkness arrived a small motorboat. The crowd rushed to the side rail for a view.
Onto the cruise ship climbed several burly security guards with cases of "conventional weapons," which would provide, as the captain explained, an added layer of protection for a potentially tricky passage.
"This is just like a James Bond movie," said Dr. Jack King, an orthodontist from Dayton, Ohio—and one of 548 passengers sailing on a three-week voyage from Rome to Dubai.
A week later, near Abu Dhabi, an alarm sounded, signaling the arrival of another boat. This time, it was stocked with 500-gram tins of Sterling Caviar and Champagne for Encore guests to enjoy in the warm surf of a private beach.
Cruising from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf brings a sense of intrigue—and often, a fair share of five-star accoutrements. And more and more travelers are catching on.
A total of 87 cruise ships docked in Dubai in 2009, a number that nearly doubled to 157 during the 2016-2017 winter season. At last count, 18 companies were docking in the Middle East this winter, with five cruise lines doing a full season there; additional companies, including Carnival Corp.’s P&O Cruises, are planning new itineraries to come online in 2019.
Here’s why: With Middle Eastern countries investing heavily in infrastructure, cruise lines now see the region as an attractive place to move their Europe fleets in the winter season, while travelers see the itineraries as an easy way to check off several bucket list attractions they may not previously have visited.
No Worries Needed
The Egyptian pyramids, the rose-hued ancient city of Petra in Jordan, the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem—the Middle East has many tourism calling cards, and cruising is an easy way to see several of them in one fell swoop. Longer voyages such as the Seabourn Encore's include visits to the latter two, plus sailings through the Suez Canal and camel rides in Wadi Rum, the red desert in Jordan made famous by Lawrence of Arabia.
Even on itineraries as short as a week, cruisers can catch a whiff of Old Arabia in Oman, where souk merchants peddle frankincense incense and perfume, and then experience the modern delights of Abu Dhabi and Dubai—including the gleaming new Louvre Abu Dhabi. The ancient fort in the sleek city of Bahrain and the millennia-old artifacts in the I.M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art, in Doha, are excellent examples of how these itineraries provide compelling bridges between old and new.
Combining these places on a land trip requires expert-level planning. Dicey relationships between neighboring governments mean you may get turned away from a border for having old stamps from a rival country in your passport; many prime attractions require the assistance of a guide and driver.