After a lull of nearly 20 months, the cruise industry is hoping for a quick recovery with several big ships lined up to dock at the Port Sultan Qaboos (PSQ) in Muscat.

Despite the surge in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, the travel industry feels that things won’t get bad like the last time, which led to a total shutdown of

the cruise operations.

In the Sultanate of Oman, Muscat will be the biggest recipient of the cruise ships, followed by Khasab in the North and Salalah in the down south.

According to the website crew-center.com, the PSQ will receive ships such as Queen Marry 2, Mein Schiff 6, Costa Firenze, and Aida Abella among others.

In addition to some of the above-mentioned names, the Khasab Port will receive Oceania Nautica, Silver Spirt, and Seven Seas Navigator.

Salalah Port is expected to receive ships such as Crystal Symphony and Queen Victoria, apart from some of the ships listed above.

It may be noted that the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) has been making efforts to revive the cruise sector in the post-Covid scenario. In the 2018/2019 season, the Sultanate of Oman saw an increase in the number of cruise visitors by more than 45 per cent, compared to the previous season.

In Mid-November, Khasab Port received the cruise ship ‘Mein Schiff Six’ of the TUI Cruises with more than 2,100 tourists from different countries. It was the first ship to reach the ports of the Sultanate of Oman with the start of the cruise season.

Costa Firenze’, operated by Costa Cruises, commenced Gulf operations on December 17 from Dubai and will sail to ports in the region, including the Sultanate of Oman.

The return of cruise visitors has been welcomed by the businesses on the Muttrah Waterfront that were affected by the shutdown of international borders, especially those selling antiques and restaurants.