Mein Schiff 4: Saudi Arabia calls canceled for the winter season - New ports in the Orient

Bild von Bernd Hildebrandt auf Pixabay
TUI Cruises has decided to cancel all planned calls of Mein Schiff 4 in the Saudi port of Dammam during the winter season 2024/25. The original plan was to call at Dammam on November 21, 2024, December 19, 2024 and January 16, 2025. These stops have now been removed from the itinerary and replaced by alternative ports.

The main reason for the decision is the strict regulations in Saudi Arabia. Female passengers are obliged to conform to local customs and wear a veil when going ashore. There is also a ban on alcohol on board during layovers, which is a considerable restriction for many cruise passengers. Added to this is the limited range of interesting excursion destinations in the Dammam region. These factors ultimately led to all calls as part of the Mein Schiff 4 cruises in winter 2024/25 being canceled.

TUI Cruises has found alternatives instead: The route from November 18 to 25, 2024 will now call at Sir Bin Yas Island in the United Arab Emirates, while the voyages from December 16 to 23, 2024 and January 13 to 20, 2025 will be supplemented by a stop in Khasab on the Musandam Peninsula in Oman. These new destinations offer guests attractive alternatives and are expected to generate more excitement than the Saudi port.

Mein Schiff 4 recently completed its summer season in Europe and is currently on its transfer voyage to the Orient to spend the winter there. The 30-day positioning voyage, which runs along the African coast, started on October 12, 2024 in Antalya, Turkey, and leads via Gibraltar and Cape Town to Dubai.