Royal Caribbean International’s Brilliance of the Seas came to Bahrain as part of its inaugural five stop, seven-night winter cruise program in the Arabian Gulf, which commenced from Dubai.

The new route will visit Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and the new Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman port in Bahrain. The weekly programme will run from January to April 2010.

“Bahrain is aiming to become a major player in the Gulf's cruise ship market with our brand new state-of-the-art port, we expect to receive 100,000 passengers during peak period till April this year - this is double the figure that the former port had. We anticipate passenger numbers to increase due to the port's proximity to the sea channel, which makes it easier for cruise liners to come to Bahrain,” said Culture and Information Ministry Tourism Sector executive director and advisor Dr Heba Aziz.

“The Middle East's prospective growth figures for luxury cruising are remarkable and we expect Brilliance of the Seas to establish itself as the leading cruise option for years to come,” said Helen Beck, Royal Caribbean International regional sales director.

Brilliance of the Seas will be the biggest cruise ship in the Middle East in terms of guest capacity.

The ship, boasts one of the highest space-per-guest ratios in the industry and will carry 2,501 guests a week, in addition to over 800 crew. The seven-night cruise starts from $800 per person.

With a beam of 30.6 m and a length of 293 m, the ship weighs 90,090 tonnes and can travel at a speed of 25 knots. More than 50 per cent of the 1,055 staterooms have balconies and offer guests breathtaking vistas of the passing landscape and sea.

The ship features indoor and outdoor pools, a seaside fitness centre with modern exercise equipment and a full-service spa, an indoor and outdoor sports deck with golf simulator, sports courts, a rock-climbing wall and a jogging track. There is also a wide range of dining options, shopping arcades and a theatre as well as numerous conference and meeting facilities for business travellers.

Royal Caribbean's shore excursion programs include a Heritage tour, where visitors can admire one of the largest mosques in the world, Al Fateh Grand Mosque, as well as the Black Gold and Camel tour or a full day on the beach.-TradeArabia News Service