Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: People in Oman who wish to take cruises in Europe and America are now once again able to do so, after the countries in both regions lifted some travel restrictions.
Travel companies in Oman are advertising cruises to popular tourist destinations such as Greece, Italy, Spain and the United States for both Omanis and expatriates and are also offering to take care of other arrangements travellers will have, such as visas and flights.
“We only made this announcement public on Sunday, and on the very first day, we received about 25 inquiries,” said Faiyaz Khan, general manager for Travel Point.
“This is a good opportunity for people who intend to travel, as it has not been available to them for more than a year.”
Although travellers who wish to take part in these cruises need to make their own arrangements to get to their port of departure, tour agencies in Oman are willing to take care of these for them as well, at an extra cost.
“We can organise flights to these locations, as well as arrange for transfers from the airport to the cruise ship and back,” said Khan.
“If you want, we can also organise a one or two-day city tour in your port of disembarking, and your port of arrival.
“A lot of Omanis love football, and we sometimes do get requests, particularly when we organise tours to Spain, to arrange tours of the Camp Nou, the home stadium of FC Barcelona, because it is such an iconic location,” he went on to explain.
“Similarly, if you want to visit Athens, because of its rich history, we can do that as well.”
Tour companies, however, are still seeking clarification on who can travel, with a number of European countries only allowing in people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“Another location we’ve found to be very popular in the US is Disneyworld,” said Khan. “Our New York cruise stops at Miami, so once you go there, we can arrange a transfer to Orlando and organise a tour for you.”
Among the cruises offered are one from Greece, priced at OMR399 and operated by Norwegian Cruise Lines, a seven-night cruise from Royal Caribbean which departs from New York (OMR790), a week-long cruise along the Eastern Mediterranean, which also begins in Greece, and operated by Azamara (OMR700), and MSC Cruises’ five-day voyage from Italy to Spain (OMR 450).
