Brilliance of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International’s new cruise ship, has finished the first leg of a five stop, seven day winter cruise of the Arabian Gulf. The cruise ship made her maiden docking in the new Khalifa Bin Salman port in Bahrain. Dr. Heba Aziz, Director and advisor for the Culture and Information Ministry, Tourism Sector, said Bahrain aims to become a major player in the Gulf’s cruise ship market with its brand new state of the art, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Port. 

Dr. Aziz said “We expect to receive 100,000 passengers during the peak period from November 2009 to April 2010,”  This is twice the number of passengers received by the previous port. She said passenger numbers are expected to increase due to the ports proximity to the sea channel, because this makes it easier for cruise liners to come to Bahrain.  According to the Ministry of Information, Brilliance of the Seas is expected to add 32,000 more guests to the regions’ fast growing cruise sector during her first four month season.