Aroya Cruises to resume Red Sea sailings

Saudi Arabia’s Aroya Cruises will restart Red Sea sailings from its Jeddah homeport on 14 May 2026, with itineraries of three, four and five nights targeting short-break demand.

 

The sailings include calls to Yanbu in Saudi and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, alongside one itinerary combining Sharm El Sheikh and Aqaba in Jordan. An Eid Al Adha departure on 24 May 2026 is also scheduled within the programme.

 

The Red Sea programme will run through May ahead of Aroya’s second Mediterranean deployment from June to mid-September 2026. The summer season will operate from Galataport Istanbul, with seven-night itineraries covering Türkiye, the Greek Islands and Alexandria in Egypt.

 

Sture Myrmell, President of Aroya Cruises, said: “Our return to the Red Sea reflects the strong response we have seen across our first two seasons in the region.”

 

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The resumption comes after the escalation of the Iran war on 28 February 2026, which disrupted Arabian Gulf cruise operations. Several cruise lines, including Celestyal Cruises, MSC Cruises and TUI Cruises, suspended or ended their winter sailings early. Aroya also cancelled its remaining Gulf sailings and brought its debut season to an early close.

 

Operated by Cruise Saudi and backed by Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Aroya forms part of the kingdom’s wider tourism strategy under Vision 2030. The line has already carried more than 122,000 guests across its first two Red Sea seasons.

 

Saudi is targeting 1.3 million cruise visitors annually by 2035, with plans to create 50,000 

direct and indirect jobs through the sector as a part of its tourism diversification plans.

 

For more information, visit aroya.com