Despite COVID-19 pandemic, cruise company debuts in Saudi Arabia

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Updated 14 October 2021
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Despite COVID-19 pandemic, cruise company debuts in Saudi Arabia

  • As part of the Kingdom’s initiatives to open up tourism, the MSC Bellissima started its series of voyages around the Red Sea
  • MSC Cruises had to adapt to pandemic restrictions and hire ‘cruise ambassadors’ to meet the standards of Saudi guests

JEDDAH: Timing is everything in business so for a cruise ship company to launch its debut voyage in Saudi Arabia the same year as a global pandemic seemed like a dicey move.

But it did not slow down the well-known Geneva-headquartered MSC Cruises, which waited for COVID-19 restrictions to calm down before it hit the open water.

“After what happened with the cruising industry, everything stopped,” Giuseppe Pane, the hotel director of MSC Cruises, told Arab News. “MSC was the first company with big ships to start cruising again and open the sea.”

This was the first year for MSC to cruise in Saudi Arabia as part of the Kingdom’s initiatives to open up the country for tourism. The MSC Bellissima, which is longer than three football fields, started its series of voyages around the Red Sea from Jeddah Islamic Port to Aqaba in Jordan and Safaga in Egypt in July 2021. 

Even though MSC was hoping to make a big splash in a post-pandemic world, the company still had to adapt to restrictions and limitations that affected the entire industry. Cruise ships tend to make stops at different ports so each time the vessel docked, the crew and passengers were exposed to different protocols and circumstances.

“These protocols caused a lot of limitations,” Pane said. “What you experience now onboard a three- or four-day trip are just a little part of what cruising is really about.”

Mask mandates, vaccination status, and social distancing are all somewhat new concepts for an international cruising industry that really took off in the 1960s. 

But Pane said MSC was a leading example for other cruising companies who suffered during the pandemic, as it quickly adapted to protocols approved by different governments and ports.

The main example was the number of passengers the MSC Bellissima could take on board. The massive ship was built in 2019 with a capacity of 4,500 passengers, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, the boat’s capacity was cut in half. 

The cruise ship’s theater can usually hold up to 975 guests but the empty seats during a show were vast and the same thing was felt inside the many dining areas onboard.

But despite the limitations, Pane said he was happy with the results this year, especially since cruising in the Kingdom is new. 

“The thing that makes me emotional is to see the children crying when they disembark because they are leaving something that they enjoyed,” he said. 

The ship is also equipped with an aquapark, bowling alley, Formula One simulator, kids club, cinema, and shopping gallery with more than 200 brands.

During a four-day cruise, Saudi comedians perform two interactive shows while mixing local flavor, excitement, and plenty of laughs.

Aside from the pandemic, Pane said MSC faced challenges when it launched the cruise in the Kingdom as some of the products the cruise offered did not match the Saudi standards. Especially when it came to entertainment along with food and beverage.

“Wherever you go around the world, the products offered have to adapt to the guests’ taste,” he said.

Pane said MSC had the local culture in mind when it planned out activities. It took some time but Saudis started to enjoy some of the new entertainment options offered. He said guests were shy to take dance lessons during the first few weeks of the trips. But after a while, the participation wheel turned and the dance floor was packed.  

To adapt to the guests’ food and beverage preferences, Pane said MSC recruited a team of Saudi chefs to help design a menu that would satisfy all guests. 

The crew did not want to get lost in translation when dealing with guests so the company hired many employees from the Kingdom who served as “cruise ambassadors” to smooth out communication. 

MSC announced earlier this year that it was open to train and qualify Saudi nationals in all areas of the cruise industry. Their emergence within the staff has been a successful one.

“The team on board was fantastic,” Pane said. 

“What makes me happy is that most of the guests say that they want to come back. They want to bring their families and friends and this means that we are doing a good job. But still, we are always trying to find how we can do better.”

The latest series of MSC Bellissima voyages in Sadi Arabia ended Wednesday. Pane said MSC’s seven-day trips will open again Nov. 13 and continue until March 26, 2022. The ship will be cruising in Asia next summer.


Ancient Saudi city of Qurh a historic stop for pilgrim and trade caravans

Updated 31 min 43 sec ago
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Ancient Saudi city of Qurh a historic stop for pilgrim and trade caravans

  • Qurh was capital of Wadi Al-Qura, a center for Arab markets
  • Architectural features date back to the early Islamic periods

ALULA: Qurh, an ancient city in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla governorate, served for centuries as a vital hub for pilgrims and traders, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Located about 20 km south of AlUla’s old town, near the village of Mughayra, Qurh is one of the Royal Commission for AlUla’s archaeological sites. AlUla’s other main heritage sites are Dadan, Hegra and the Old Town.

Qurh’s ruins spread across an expansive plain surrounded by medium-height mountains. The ruins include remnants of architectural structures, marketplaces, streets, and palaces, all of which highlight the city’s once-thriving economic and urban life.

Architectural features dating back to the early Islamic periods also suggest that settlement and cultural growth continued after the advent of Islam.

The ruins include remnants of architectural structures, marketplaces, streets, and palaces, all of which highlight the city's once-thriving economic and urban life.  (SPA)

Qurh was the capital of Wadi Al-Qura and a center for Arab markets, as described by the historian Hisham bin Al-Kalbi, who identified it as a commercial and cultural center and a cradle of the arts.

The city was located on the route of the historic Incense Road, a trade artery used to transport precious goods from the southern Arabian Peninsula to the north, passing through Wadi Al-Qura.

The ruins include remnants of architectural structures, marketplaces, streets, and palaces, all of which highlight the city's once-thriving economic and urban life.  (SPA)

According to Abdulrahman Alsuhaibani, the RCA’s vice president for culture, the excavations in Qurh have so far proved “that there was some interaction with China at the beginning of the Islamic period.”

“Evidence exists of interactions and trade extending as far as China,” he said in an interview produced by FT Longitude in partnership with the RCA.

“With China, for example, (there were) merchants who brought porcelain, medicines and silk to Arabia with incense for sure, ivory, while other valuables travelled in the opposite directions.”

AlUla, part of Saudi Arabia’s western province of Madinah, has been home to the ancient Dadanites, Lihyanites, Nabataeans, Sabaeans, Minoans, Egyptian, Romans and Arabs, he said.


Saudi defense minister holds talks with UK security, defense officials

Updated 29 May 2025
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Saudi defense minister holds talks with UK security, defense officials

  • Prince Khalid bin Salman and UK National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell discussed strategic partnership between the two countries

LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman held talks with the UK’s National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell in London on Wednesday.

The two sides “reviewed the strong friendship and strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the UK,” the Saudi Press Agency reported. “They also reviewed areas of cooperation and discussed regional and global developments, as well as ongoing efforts to support security and stability.”

The talks followed a meeting on Tuesday between Prince Khalid and British Defense Secretary John Healey during which they discussed strategic defense cooperation.


Saudi Embassy coordinating with Turkiye to find boy who fell into a creek

Updated 28 May 2025
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Saudi Embassy coordinating with Turkiye to find boy who fell into a creek

  • The embassy coordinated with child’s family after he reportedly went missing in a river in Trabzon province
  • Turkish authorities are investigating the incident

ANKARA: The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Turkiye confirmed on Wednesday that it is coordinating with Turkish authorities to search for a Saudi child who reportedly fell into Haldizen Creek in Uzungol region.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the embassy issued a statement clarifying the reports circulating in media outlets and across social media platforms regarding the incident in Trabzon province.

“From the first moments of the incident, the embassy coordinated with the child’s family and contacted the relevant Turkish authorities to investigate the incident,” the statement said.

“The authorities have responded and are gratefully conducting extensive searches in the area and its surrounding to locate the child. We ask God Almighty to crown these efforts with success and to protect everyone from all harm,” it added.


Founding nations sign Global Water Organization charter in Riyadh

Updated 28 May 2025
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Founding nations sign Global Water Organization charter in Riyadh

  • Ceremony was attended by Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who highlighted the importance of the GWO in tackling water issues worldwide
  • Prince Faisal said that Saudi Arabia would provide financial and logistical support to the GWO for the next five years

RIYADH: The Global Water Organization officially launched operations from its headquarters in Riyadh on Wednesday, with founding member states signing the organization’s charter.

The ceremony was attended by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who highlighted the importance of the GWO in tackling water issues worldwide through a holistic approach, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

“The launch of the Global Water Organization affirms Saudi Arabia’s commitment to strengthening international initiatives and addressing global challenges through partnerships based on cooperation between countries and governments,” Prince Faisal said.

“The Kingdom looks forward to the organization becoming an international platform that drives sustainable solutions and supports developing nations in enhancing their water capabilities,” he said.

Prince Faisal said that Saudi Arabia would provide financial and logistical support to the GWO for the next five years, emphasizing that collective action was essential to achieving shared objectives. Prince Faisal invited all countries and private-sector entities to join the organization.

Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadley took part in the ceremony and emphasized that the signing of the Global Water Organization’s charter and the launch of its operations from Riyadh reinforced shared international responsibility to preserve water resources.

Al-Fadley added that the importance of the organization stemmed from water being not just a resource, but a source of economic and social development and stability worldwide.

He described the organization as “not just a platform that brings countries together, but a collective global mind working to develop and integrate the efforts of countries and organizations to address water challenges comprehensively.”

“The Global Water Organization will lead international efforts to address water-related challenges and transform traditional water management approaches. These challenges go beyond water scarcity to ensure its availability at the right time and place and recognize its impact on the economy, public health, food security and supply chains, especially in the face of climate change,” he said.

He emphasized the importance of having an integrated system that covered all stages of the water cycle, adopting innovative economic models based on cost-benefit analysis, introducing new financing mechanisms, reducing reliance on government subsidies, and actively involving the private sector.

The GWO’s charter was signed by representatives from founding countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Spain, Senegal, Pakistan, Greece and Mauritania.

The organization aims to strengthen the efforts of countries and organizations to address water challenges.


Saudi FM receives US envoy to Syria in Riyadh

Updated 28 May 2025
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Saudi FM receives US envoy to Syria in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received US envoy to the Syrian Arab Republic Thomas Barrack in Riyadh on Wednesday.

During the meeting, they discussed steps to provide economic, humanitarian and other support to the Syrian people, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji received Ambassador of Italy to the Kingdom Carlo Balducci in Riyadh on Wednesday.

They discussed bilateral relations and other topics of common interest.