Cruise Saudi is developing a new private island north of Jeddah with direct ship docking facilities to serve northern Red Sea cruise routes, the company’s Chief Destination Experiences Officer told Arabian Business on Monday.
Barbara Buczek revealed the project, scheduled to open by end-2027, will complement the company’s existing Saba Beach destination on Jabal Al-Sabaya island which launched in December 2024.
New Saudi Cruise island
“It will be predominantly for the northern itineraries, with similar capacity to welcome large vessels,” Buczek said in an interview on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
Unlike Saba Beach, where ships must anchor offshore with passengers shuttled to land via tender boats, the new destination will feature a pier allowing vessels to dock directly.
“The aspiration with this particular asset will be to have a pier rather than tender location,” Buczek said. “With Saba Beach, the ship is in Dynamic Position, and we welcome guests through a tender operation.”
The new island will feature “more permanent facilities” and “a little bit more comprehensive development” than Saba Beach, according to Buczek. While specific facilities remain unannounced, Saba Beach currently offers a floating park, full-service restaurant, retail shops, a VIP beach, VVIP beachfront villas, spa experiences, a shisha lounge and various land and water activities.
“We’re working with quite strict environmental regulations, but rightly so, because obviously, Red Sea is our main asset,” Buczek added.
Multiple projects underway
Cruise Saudi is simultaneously developing three other significant projects to expand the Kingdom’s cruise infrastructure.
Chief among these is activating Al Wajh port, which Buczek described as “key for us and very much requested by a number of cruise lines.” The port will serve as a gateway to AlUla, one of Saudi Arabia’s premier heritage destinations.
“Obviously, Saudi has been fantastically successful in promoting AlUla as one of the key destinations for us,” Buczek explained. “AlUla can only be delivered through the development of Al Wajh.”
The port will also provide access to the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve, which is developing new activities, attractions, and wildlife restoration initiatives.
“Cruise guests are super interested in that kind of regenerative activities – fastest growing aspect of our industry,” Buczek said.
Additionally, the company is creating a designated Jeddah cruise hub separate from the current Jeddah Islamic Port operations, and expanding facilities at its Dammam terminal in the Arabian Gulf.
“In Dammam, we have a terminal that is currently designed for port of call only,” Buczek noted. “We’re looking to have it as an interporting or a home porting facility.”
Almost 500,000 visitors since 2021
Since beginning operations in 2021, Cruise Saudi has welcomed almost half a million guests from 130 different nationalities across 17 different cruise lines, according to Buczek.
“We welcome large vessels, small vessels, expedition, premium luxury, and we worked with every single segment of the industry already,” she said.
The company is currently in its 2024-2025 season, which typically runs from September/October through May. While its main customer is AROYA Cruises, Cruise Saudi’s own cruise line, which launched in December 2024, Buczek mentioned that Norwegian Cruise Line has also made calls at Dammam port, along with some technical calls from other cruise lines.
The company recently completed a successful first-ever Ramadan season with AROYA Cruises, which Buczek described as very successful.”
Work continues on enhancing Saba Beach, which had a soft launch in December. “We did a soft launch in December. It had to be ready in a hurry for the cruise line, and we’re finishing the second phase of it,” Buczek said.
“Hopefully, for the next season, when the guests will return, they will see a lot more assets to visit, a lot more space to utilise on the island.”
Cruise Saudi, a wholly owned Public Investment Fund company, aims to welcome 1.3 million cruise passengers annually by 2035 as part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy.
