Cruise Lines

Who would have thought even a couple of years ago that Dubai would become the next battle ground for cruise lines?

Yet it is. Costa got there first, offering seven-night Arabian Gulf cruises initially in winter 2006/07, along with Germany's Aida, and is now to be joined by Royal Caribbean International, which is basing Brilliance of the Seas in Dubai from January 2010.

Royal tied up a deal with Dubailand, which owns shopping malls, hotels, golf courses and will have a load of theme parks when it is finished, to enhanbce its commitment to the region. Now Costa is naming a ship there - the Costa Deliziosa - to "further strengthen ties between Dubai and Costa Cruises".

Deliziosa will be named in the emirate on February 23 2010, during the ship's grand inaugural cruise from Savona in Italy to Dubai, departing February 5. It will be the first cruise ship to be named in an Arabian city and passengers will be able to attend the christening ceremony.

Incidentally, there is a second maiden leg, so to speak, from Dubai to Goa, Cochin, Mumbai and back departing February 25, which can be combined with the Savona-Dubai voyage.

I hestitate to use the word battleground and Vietnam in one sentence, so instead I'll note that Vietnam also looks set to become the next BIG thing in cruising. Not for ocean cruise lines - they are aleady there - but for the river operators.

At World Travel Market on Tuesday, AMA Waterways president Rudi Schreiner told me they start building a new vessel to cruise on the Mekong River between Ho Chi Minh City and Siem Reap in Cambodia before the end of this year, with launch set for 12 months hence.

Why? Because AMA already has one ship in the Mekong, La Marguerite, but it's in such demand it's often sold out.

Schreiner admits its inevitable that other river cruise companies will start to move in to the Mekong (Pandaw already sails there but it's not a big name in the UK and doesn't have the marketing skills of AMA).

I'm sure he's right. In fact, when I was cruising the Yangtze in China in May 2007 with Viking River Cruises, chairman Torstein Hagen was on board and in talks with a Vietnamese company (a representative was also on the cruise) about building a vessel for the Mekong. The recession made him put plans on hold, but Hagen, and others, will be back for sure.

Has anyone any thoughts about other hotspots for 2010? Why not drop me a line and let me know.