Big things are coming to Dubai’s cruise terminal in 2020 including a New Dubai cruise terminal. The Carnival Corporation is partnering with the Meraas Holding Company to construct a new cruise terminal for Dubai. It will be located in Dubai Harbour and should be completed in October 2020. This terminal will allow the area to bring in a lot more cruise traffic annually.
Here’s what we know about the New Dubai Cruise Terminal:
Marine Tourism
The goal of this project is to grow marine tourism as it’s been lacking in Dubai. The terminal will feature two cruise buildings that will allow three vessels to dock here at one time with a maximum capacity of about 13,200 passengers. In the future they hope to build even more terminal buildings and to accommodate 6 cruise ships. The hope is that 20 million tourists will be brought to Dubai via the cruise port.
Port Rashid
Currently, Dubai does have a cruise port, Port Rashid, but it is fairly small. It houses 3 terminals as well as a souvenir shop, eatery and coffee bar. There are a few shuttle buses that take passengers to some of the area’s major shopping malls. After the new cruise port opens all of the ships that currently visit Port Rashid will eventually be moved to Dubai’s new terminal.
Dubai Harbour
This new cruise terminal will be part of the new, Dubai Harbour. It will be 20 million square feet and be the largest yacht marina in North Africa and the Middle East. It will also feature a shopping mall, restaurants and cafes. Cruise passengers that want to explore the area around Dubai will also easily be able to as water taxis and access to the monorail line will be available here as well.
Despite the amount of passengers that will make their way in and out of the port, it’s expected that there will be enough room that they don’t feel crowded and that they can easily get to where they want to go. After this project is completed it is expected that Carnival also will launch new cruises that will increase the amount of passengers that they have from China and India as they expect that the terminal will be a primary Middle East hub. Despite the fact that Dubai’s new cruise terminal is in partnership with Carnival cruises 2019, travelers will have a larger variety of cruises to choose from that will go in and out of this port, once this project is completed. Browse United Arab Emirates and Dubai cruises.
