Royal Caribbean International today announced its return to the Gulf in winter 2015-16. The sailings will comprise of 16 round-trip cruises from December 2015 through March 2016 with the Splendour of the Seas

The ship is scheduled to dock in its home port of Dubai, UAE followed by calls to Oman’s capital of Muscat and Khasab along with Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates.

The Splendour has been deployed to South America for previous winter seasons, where Royal once had two ships seasonally. A replacement has not yet been announced.

“Following on from positive and collaborative discussions with our key partners in the region, we are pleased to announce our return to cruising in the Arabian Gulf for the winter of 2015 / 2016. We are looking forward to deploying Splendour of the Seas, one of our Vision-class vessels to the region for the first time and to welcoming guests from all over the world.  I would like to express our thanks to the cruise tourism officials from the DTCM, TCA Abu Dhabi and Oman’s Ministry of Tourism for their support and congratulate them on the formation of the Cruise Arabia alliance. This is a welcome step in continuing to promote the economic and touristic benefits of cruising and I’m sure the season will be very successful,” said Helen Beck, Regional Director, International Representatives, EMEA, Royal Caribbean.