Windstar Cruises has unveiled a Middle East mini-programme for 2023/2024 including the small-ship line’s first sailings to Saudi Arabia. 

Five new itineraries to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf will begin in November 2023 on the all-suite, 312-guest Star Legend. 

Highlights include the nine-day Arabian Nights & Egyptian Days cruise, which will sail on two dates between Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Aqaba, Jordan (and in reverse). The programme includes an overnight in Sharm el-Sheikh and Safaga with the opportunity to visit Luxor, and visits to the resort ports of Ain Sokhna and Hurghada. Departures on March 20 and 29, 2024, start from £3,640 per person.

Guests can also choose the eight-day Realm of the Queen of Sheba which sails from Muscat, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and includes time in Salalah following the Unesco Frankincense Trail to the ruins of ancient Al Balid and Zafar. The cruise, departing March 12, 2024 starts from £2,310 per person.

The new schedule also includes a 12-day Red Sea Revelries via the Suez Canal cruise from Jeddah to Athens; an 18-day Wonders of Arabia cruise from Athens to Dubai; and the ten-day Sparkling Sands & Cities of the Persian Gulf itinerary, which will sail between Dubai and Muscat, Oman, across 11 dates.

All five voyages are included in the line’s new 2022-2024 Voyage Collection brochure, which is available to order or can be accessed online. 

Windstar Cruises president Christopher Prelog said: “With impressive Unesco sights, beautiful beaches and wildlife, top-rated golf courses, amazing snorkelling and diving and, of course, great shopping, Windstar is excited to introduce our guests to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf with new itineraries in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.”