The Suez Canal has witnessed the passage of the mega cruise ship AROYA, carrying 2,300 tourists and 1,500 crew members, as part of its voyage from Istanbul, Türkiye, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The vessel is also scheduled to call at Sharm El-Sheikh among its ports of call.
Sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, AROYA measures 335 meters in length, 38 meters in beam, and has a capacity of 3,362 passengers and 1,620 crew. This marks the ship’s third transit of the Canal in less than a year, following earlier passages in December 2024 and June 2025.
Adm. Ossama Rabiee, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority, said the repeated transits highlight confidence in the Canal’s ability to accommodate large cruise vessels. He noted that the Authority’s flexible marketing policies, which include toll reductions and incentives for cruise ships calling at Egyptian ports, have been instrumental in attracting more passenger traffic.
Between 2021 and 2024, these incentives brought 69 cruise ships with about 38,000 passengers, generating revenues of nearly USD 15.8 million. The Authority expects global cruise tourism to continue expanding, with passenger numbers projected to reach 38 million by the end of 2025 and 40 million by 2026.
