P&O Cruises to base ship in Dubai
P&O Cruises is launching a season of Arabian Gulf fly-cruises in 2019, placing Oceana in Dubai for just over three months.
From January 10 to April 4 it will sail five 10-night cruises from Dubai to Sir Bani Yas Island, Manama, Khasab, Abu Dhabi, the Suez Canal, Salalah and Muscat.
Cruises include overnights in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and full days in the other destinations.
The 10-night cruises will be book-ended by two positioning cruises of 20 and 14 nights respectively, to and from Dubai.
Cruises go on sale on March 23 to top tier Peninsular Club members and on general sale from March 27. Pre-registration opens on March 13.
Flights will mainly be provided by Emirates.
Senior vice president Paul Ludlow said although there have been P&O Cruises ships in the Arabian Gulf before, it’s the first time the cruise line has sailed in the region for a full season.
"It seems a little strange that we haven’t scheduled this before as this is exactly the kind of exotic itinerary our customers love," he said.
"Although other cruise lines operate in the region, ours have been designed for the British market and are quintessentially British."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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