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Inside Connections Cruise Arabia 2025

Cruise

Cruise leaders gather for the industry summit

Clive Jacobs, Founder and Chairman of Jacobs Media

Clive Jacobs, Chairman of Jacobs Media, Connecting Travel's Sarah Hedley Hymers, Barbara Buczek, Chief Destination Experiences Officer of Cruise Saudi

Cruise Xplore's Business Development Manager Jeet Pujari and CEO Lakshmi Durai

Cruise Master team

Andy Harmer, Managing Director for UK&I at CLIA and Anna Gregori, VP of Brand, PR and Customer Experience of Celestyal Cruises

Jasem Zaiton, Co-founder of Cruise Zaiton and Ashok Kumar, Founder and MD of Cruise Master

Mashoor Baeshen, Executive Director of Commercial and Business Development at Cruise Saudi and Basma H Kholief, Marketing and Comms at Aroya Cruises

Regional team of Travel Counsellors

200 cruise and travel stakeholders convened on the QE2 in Dubai

Stage setup for Connections Cruise Arabia onboard the QE2

Andy Harmer, Managing Director UK&I of CLIA speaking on a panel

200 members of the travel trade turned up for the event

Sarah Hedley Hymers, Editorial Director of Connecting Travel

Angelo Capurro, Global Executive Director of MSC Cruises & Explora Journeys speaking on a panel

Ghadah Marghalani, Director of Branding and Communication of Aroya Cruises speaking on a panel

Panel titled Inspiring Middle East Markets

Panel titled Why a Middle East Hub Makes Sense

Guests networking at Connections Cruise Arabia's post-event social

QE2

Stakeholders from across the cruise ecosystem attended the Middle East’s first cruise leadership summit, Connections Cruise Arabia, onboard the QE2 in Dubai on 18 September 2025. Senior leaders took part in panel discussions and closed‑door meetings aimed at strengthening the Gulf’s position as a global cruise hub and the launch of Connecting Travel’s Cruise Insight Report. The event and accompanying report were supported by Emirates, Atlantis Dubai, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and leading cruise lines including NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea and Crystal. After the conference, guests gathered for drinks provided by MMI, with senior executives ending the day at a private dinner at Milos at Atlantis The Royal. The summit will expand into a two‑day event in 2026, with more than 300 senior leaders expected to shape the next stage of the region’s cruise development.

For more information, visit www.connectionscruise.com