Aroya Cruises

Overview — Aroya Cruises

AROYA Cruises - a Saudi cruise company positioned as the first Arab cruise line. The brand was created in 2023 by Cruise Saudi, which belongs to the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Commercial cruises began in December 2024. The name AROYA combines the words Arabian and Roya - “vision” or “dream.”

AROYA offers a large family liner in the mass premium segment, with a focus on:

• Arab hospitality and culture;

• family vacations with children;

• halal dining;

• a wide variety of spacious staterooms and family categories;

• entertainment designed primarily for passengers from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.

This is not a classic ultra-luxury company like Silversea or Regent. In terms of format, AROYA is closer to the large family liners of MSC, Costa, or Royal Caribbean, but with a distinct Arab touch.

Overall, AROYA is an interesting, modern, and very family-friendly product, but with a specific Arab concept. Its main advantage is an unusual ship, spacious areas for children, and a new hospitality format; its main limitation is the absence of alcohol and a focus primarily on an Arabic-speaking audience.

Recommended for

Best for:

• families with children;

• large families;

• passengers for whom halal dining is important;

• travelers who want to experience an Arab-style cruise vacation;

• those who don’t drink alcohol and don’t need a casino.

Worth considering:

• couples looking for a quiet romantic or intimate cruise;

• travelers for whom European nightlife is important;

• passengers who expect Ukrainian-language or Russian-language service- the main languages onboard are Arabic and English.

Features

AROYA has important differences from European and American cruise companies:

• alcohol is not sold on board;

• there is no casino;

• food is halal;

• pork is not served;

• instead of alcohol bars, they offer mocktails, juices, tea, and traditional Saudi coffee.

Therefore, AROYA is well-suited for families and tourists who are looking for a calm vacation without an alcohol atmosphere. For passengers who consider cocktail bars, a casino, and an active nightlife of the European type to be important, this may be a significant limitation.