Most of us have seen numerous photographs of the magnificent Egyptian Pyramids and the enigmatic Sphinx, the tomb of Tutankhamen, the eerily beautiful lost city of Petra in Jordan, and the gleaming towers of glass and steel soaring from the arid desert landscapes of Dubai. Now, thanks to cruise operators like Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises, Thomson Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises, you can directly experience not just one but several of these spellbinding wonders in the same cruise holiday. All of these companies run superb Red Sea cruises.
To take just two examples, the fabulous Brilliance of the Seas will be your ship if you opt for Royal Caribbean’s Dubai cruise holidays – 13 decks of state of the art technology and design, with glass elevators facing the sea and a thirteen storey glass Centrum, this ship boasts the unrivalled Golden Anchor Service standard. You’ll visit spectacular locations like Dubai itself, Muscat, Oman, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain. Thomson’s Red Sea cruises include ports of call at Aqaba in Jordan, with its gorgeous beaches and crystal clear sea (you’ll be able to see Petra, an entire city carved into limestone rock by the ancients, from here). Other sights include; Egypt’s Safaga, built on the 4,000 year-old city of Thebes and gateway to the legendary Valley of the Kings, which includes the tombs of Tutankhamen and Ramses II, and Port Said, from where you can behold the mesmerising Pyramids.
Red Sea cruises bring a dimension of awe and wonderment to the cruise experience, which it’ll be difficult to find anywhere else on earth. And with cruise deals perennially on offer, which can be especially good if you take a chance on last minute cruises, you’ll be pleasantly haunted by your memories of this stunning region.