Abu Dhabi Ports has reported its best-ever cruise season with a 48 percent increase in passengers at Zayed Port and Sir Bani Yas from last year. The 2016-2017 season saw more than 345,662 passengers, up from 232,605 for the 2015-2016 season. (cruiseindustrynews.com)

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed an exclusive contract with DP World to provide taxi services to lift tourists from and to The Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Rashid Port in Dubai. (arabianbusiness.com)

The world’s newest cruise destination — Sir Bani Yas, an island in the United Arab Emirates — was officially declared open for business this week, but it was unable to welcome passengers ashore because of freak high winds. (cruisecritic.com)

The emirate of Dubai, turning into a major hub for cruise tourism, is to receive 157 cruise ships during the current season 2016-2017 which started last October and will continue until next April. (khaleejtimes.com)

Ports across Arabia are busy building and upgrading their facilities as passengers arrive in search of winter sun. Rebecca Lambert speaks with members of the Cruise Arabia Alliance to find out more. (cruiseandferry.net)

Hala Abu Dhabi, the destination management company of the Etihad Aviation Group (EAG), has been selected as the exclusive shore excursions and activities provider for Sir Bani Yas Island and Beach Oasis, the latest cruise destination stop in the UAE for the 2016/2017 season. (etbtravelnews.com)

Abu Dhabi Ports has experienced increases of 16 percent in passenger numbers and 20 percent in vessel calls, it has announced. (arabianbusiness.com)

Dubai is targeting one million cruise passengers to visit the emirate per year by 2020, according to Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman and CEO of DP World and chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation. (arabianbusiness.com)

A new cruise terminal will open at Mina Zayed on Sunday as part of the emirate’s goal to boost its tourist arrival numbers. (thenational.ae)

Dubai’s cruise port Mina Rashid has been voted the best Middle East cruise port at the World Travel Awards, held in Dubai, for the eight consecutive year. (cruisearabiaonline.com)

The last ship of the 2014/2015 cruise season has called at Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi. The Regent Seven Seas Voyager closed out the season with its final call on May 2. (cruiseindustrynews.com)

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has released figures showing 1,629,578 hotel guests in 2014, 5.6 percent increase on 2013. (cruiseindustrynews.com)

The second phase of construction work on a new permanent cruise tourism terminal building in Abu Dhabi has just begun, it was announced on Monday. (arabianbusiness.com)

This Friday, January 30, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 embarks upon its 2015 world tour. The ship is departing from Mina Rashid, the Dubai port that has emerged in recent years as a key international cruise hub. (canoe.ca)

Sharjah is becoming an increasingly visited emirate. Not only from those passing along Mohammed bin Zayed Road but those arriving along the coast of the Arabian Sea or the Gulf of Oman – cruise passengers. (thenational.ae)

Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) show off its Sir Bani Yas Island complex to cruise line representatives this past week. (cruiseindustrynews.com)

More than 381,000 cruise passengers are expected to arrive at Dubai’s Mina Rashid this season (October 2014 to June 2015). (gulfnews.com)

Abu Dhabi Ports Company’s (ADPC) Zayed Port has welcomed the first cruise ship of the 2014/2015 season. (cruiseindustrynews.com)

Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) and Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) unveiled the design of the Zayed Port’s new cruise terminal building. (cruiseindustrynews.com)

A senior Dubai tourism official on Wednesday said the emirate’s cruise sector will be transformed by a new law to bring in multiple entry visas. (arabianbusiness.com)