Etihad Airways has teamed up with Geneva-based MSC Cruises to boost tourism through the capital.
Passengers will be able to fly to Abu Dhabi from Europe this winter to travel on MSC Musica with airfare is included in the cruise package.
The cruise packages are targeted at European countries such as Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
As part of the deal, passengers can embark and disembark from Abu Dhabi for the seven-night cruise that would take in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Khor Fakkan, Khasab and Muscat.
But embarkation and disembarkation is available only at Dubai and Abu Dhabi, making the two cities home ports for the liner.
Travellers can embark from Abu Dhabi the day after the ship sails from Dubai.
"The best thing that can happen with the Etihad Airways deal is that people would get aware about the direct connection to Abu Dhabi from Europe," said Rashmi Shenoy, the Dubai-based commercial coordinator for MSC Cruises. "Earlier, Dubai was the only destination they knew from where they could embark."
The eal is also expected to increase tourism to Abu Dhabi and the UAE. MSC Musica can carry up to 3,000 passengers.
Services start from December 12 out of Dubai, while the last trip is scheduled for March 26.
“The weather is nice around that time and there would be more tourists from Europe to enjoy the sand and the beaches,” she said.
The introductory price booked from the UAE starts at US$429 per person, valid until the end of the month with surcharges for sailings for Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s Day.
During Abu Dhabi’s 2014-15 cruise season from October until May, 200,407 passengers visited the capital from 94 ship calls. That was up from 189,709 passengers and 75 ship calls the previous season.
“By providing state-of-the-art facilities to cruise lines and industry partners, we are boosting Abu Dhabi’s growth potential to be a regular port of call on the itineraries of leading tour operators from across the world,” said Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi Ports.
The new cruise terminal at Mina Zayed is expected to open in December on schedule.
When complete, it will be able to handle three ships simultaneously.
That should be in time for the ambitions of Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises to make Abu Dhabi the home port for one of its Celebrity Cruise vessels in the 2016-17 season.
The cruise industry is enjoying a revival as operators start to target younger passengers.
The billionaire Richard Branson yesterday said Virgin Cruises had ordered its first three ships, each capable of carrying a complement of 4,200 passengers and crew.
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