British Cruise line to bring over 1,800 tourists to Oman

Muscat: British cruise-line operator Marella Cruises has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Tourism to bring over 1,800 cruise ship visitors to Oman during the 2018-2019 tourist season, the Ministy has announced.
"Marella Cruises signed an agreement with the Ministry of Tourism to make the Sultanate the receiving and departure station for two groups of tourists (900 passengers in each ship) for the 2018-19 tourism season, the Ministry said.
Vessels will start with the arrival of Marella-bound tourists at Muscat International Airport, the ministry added. For two consecutive days, 900 Marella Cruise-bound tourists will arrive in Oman on flights from the Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham airports in the UK. They will then be transferred to the Sultan Qaboos Port to begin their tour on the Marella Discovery.
At the same time, 900 tourists will disembark from the same ship and travel to Muscat International Airport for their outbound flights to the UK.
According to the ministry, the first batch will arrive next Thursday, while the second batch will come to Oman at the end of the tourist season in April.
The Marella Discovery will enter Omani waters on Thursday and will first stop at Sultan Qaboos Port before departing for a regional tour of several ports in the region, including the Khasab Port. Marella bound visit in April will pass through three Omani ports including Port Sultan Qaboos, Khasab Port and Port of Salalah.