Egypt's Red Sea gateway is seeing more cruise traffic this autumn. On October 4, 2026, Sokhna Port handled a transit call from the Aroya, the flagship of Saudi Arabia's Aroya Cruises, which arrived with 1,327 passengers onboard after sailing up from Sharm El-Sheikh and berthing at the DP World Terminal.
The stop was part of a repositioning voyage rather than a routine itinerary. The 150,000-ton ship left Jeddah earlier in the month on a nine-night Eastern Mediterranean sailing that takes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, plus a full transit of the Suez Canal. Passengers had the day to head into Cairo before the ship moved on to Alexandria. For Sokhna's operators, the call doubled as a showcase: the port authority was quick to frame it as proof the terminal can handle large cruise vessels to international standards.
The bigger story is what comes next. From mid-October, the 3,500-passenger Aroya is basing itself at Istanbul's Galataport Cruise Terminal for its first winter season in the region. Weeklong departures will loop between Turkish and Egyptian ports including Marmaris and Kusadasi, and Alexandria features regularly — notably as an interporting port, meaning travellers can join or leave the ship in Egypt rather than flying through Istanbul. That makes an Egyptian cruise embarkation a realistic option for the first time on this route, with Red Sea and Cairo add-ons easy to bolt on either side.
Egypt's Mediterranean ports are clearly leaning into the moment. In late September, Alexandria also welcomed the Mein Schiff 5, the TUI Cruises ship serving the German market, which called with 2,506 passengers and 942 crew as part of an Eastern Med itinerary that included Greece. Local officials used both calls to talk up service levels and turnaround capability.
Why should a traveller care? Aroya is a relatively new name outside the Gulf, and this winter marks its push into the Eastern Mediterranean with a ship purpose-built for the market — large, family-oriented and sailing short, affordable itineraries. If you've fancied combining Istanbul with Egyptian ports like Alexandria, Kusadasi and Marmaris without a long flight schedule, the weeklong round trips from Galataport now make that a single booking. And the Sokhna call hints at more Egyptian ports positioning themselves as both destinations and gateways, which should mean more choice for anyone cruising the region this winter and beyond.
