Geneva (Switzerland), February 12, 2020 – MSC Cruises has signed a long-term agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports for preferential berthing rights both at the Port Zayed terminal—the main gateway for cruise passengers to the capital of the United Arab Emirates—and on Sir Bani Yas Island, an oasis of beautiful beaches located 170 kilometers off the country’s coast.
The contract under which this agreement was entered into was signed at the company's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, by its CEO, Gianni Onorato, and Noura Rashid Al Dhaheri, Director of Cruise Business at Abu Dhabi Ports.
Gianni Onorato stated:“This new agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports for preferential berthing rights marks another step forward in MSC Cruises’ long-term commitment to the Gulf and will further strengthen our position as the largest passenger cruise operator in the region. Abu Dhabi is a very important port of embarkation and a highly popular destination for shore excursions during winter cruises. We are currently serving the city and Sir Bani Yas Island with the MSC Bellissima—one of the most modern cruise ships in our fleet and one of the most environmentally advanced ships sailing in the Gulf—as well as with the MSC Lirica.”
The CEO of MSC Cruises added:“MSC Lirica will return to Abu Dhabi and the Gulf in the winter of 2020–2021 to join the highly innovative MSC Seaview, a ship specially designed to operate in warmer climates. Looking ahead, we will deploy our largest ship to the Gulf region for the 2021–22 winter season: the MSC Virtuosa, a 331-meter-long ship that can accommodate up to 6,334 passengers and will be launched in 2020.”
MSC Seaview, which has the highest ratio of open space per passenger in the cruise industry, will make its first visit to Abu Dhabi on December 6, 2020, and to Sir Bani Yas Island the following day.
The ship will make 14 voyages between December 2020 and March 2021 from Abu Dhabi to Sir Bani Yas Island; Manama in Bahrain; Doha in Qatar; and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. MSC Lirica will offer 21 departures between November 2020 and April 2021 from Abu Dhabi, with stops in Sir Bani Yas, Muscat, Oman, and Dubai.
The Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal has reported significant growth over the past 12 months, with a 47% increase in the number of visitors and a 45% increase in ship calls year over year. The terminal’s excellent year was due in part to MSC Cruises’ commitment earlier this season to include 17 new calls at Port Zayed.
In December of last year, the terminal recorded one of its busiest days of the 2019/20 winter season to date, welcoming more than 8,000 visitors as part of a triple call in Abu Dhabi, which included the MSC Bellissima’s first visit.
Noura Rashid Al Dhaheri, Director of Cruise Business at Abu Dhabi Ports, said: “Our ongoing collaboration with MSC Cruises is a testament to our strong relationship and reflects the quality of the services we provide to the world’s leading cruise operators at the Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal and Sir Bani Yas Island. Our success in substantially increasing passenger volume year after year demonstrates our commitment to developing a world-class cruise destination.”
“With ongoing investment in infrastructure and improved operations and services to serve cruise ships arriving in Abu Dhabi, we have solidified our position as the leading destination in the Gulf region. The Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal is becoming a key disembarkation point for international cruise ships,” noted the Director, who added: “We are committed to further developing our offerings and strengthening our value proposition by creating flexible and smart solutions to ensure that all our passengers enjoy the best possible experiences at the port.”
Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, Acting Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing at the Abu Dhabi Government’s Department of Culture and Tourism, explained that “this historic agreement will play an important role in positioning Abu Dhabi as a major cruise destination in the region. “MSC Cruises was one of the key players in helping us attract more than 500,000 cruise visitors to the capital last year, and we have no doubt about the successes this will bring in the coming years. From our perspective, we remain committed to providing MSC Cruises and all passengers with exceptional services and extraordinary experiences during their visit to the capital of the United Arab Emirates.”
