Royal Caribbean to Return Brilliance to Dubai in 2011

Royal Caribbean International’s Brilliance of the Seas will return to Dubai in 2011 for a second program after its inaugural 2010 season.

The 2011 season will comprise nine seven-night roundtrips from January through March 2011, visiting ports on the Arabian coast with an overnight in Dubai at the beginning and end of each cruise. A four-night cruise-tour extension is available. Bookings are now open.

Available for both the 2010 and 2011 itineraries, the new four-night “Arabian Explorer” cruise-tour extension offers a more thorough exploration of Dubai and the emirates of Raps Al Khaimah and Fujairah, the latter being the only emirate on the Gulf of Oman.

The seven-night cruise includes calls at Fujairah and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates; Mina Sulman, Bahrain; and Muscat, Oman. New for the 2011 season are two 12-night “Dubai & India” roundtrips, departing on March 28 and April 9, which will include the ship’s maiden port calls at India’s Mumbai (Bombay), Goa (Mormugao) and Cochin.

From January through April 2010, the line offers 13 seven-night sailings. Also on the 2010 season roster are 14-night repositioning cruises between Barcelona and Dubai via the Suez Canal, departing Jan. 4 and April 19.