MSC Fantasia becomes first-ever mega cruise-liner to dock in Doha

If in the next few days, you see a lot of tourists posing for photographs in front of Qatar’s landmarks, then it is quite possible they arrived on the first-ever mega cruise-liner to dock in Doha.

MSC Fantasia, which has more than 3,000 passengers and 1,300 crewmembers to help them, docked at the Doha Port yesterday.

“Along with our partners, we’re making great strides towards ensuring that Qatar becomes a key port of call on all cruise itineraries that cover this region,” said Mwani, the Qatar Ports Management Company, in a statement.

Mwani is the exclusive operator of the state’s commercial and touristic ports.

While a large number of passengers visited the Museum of Islamic Art, other locations, like Msheireb, Souq Waqif, Katara Cultural Village and The Pearl-Qatar were also popular choices.

Qatar’s 2016-17 cruise season, which runs from October to April, will see the arrival of several cruise ships visiting the country for the first time.

From Doha Port, the ship will sail to Mina Salman, Manama, Bahrain, before heading back to Port Rashid in the UAE.

MSC Fantasia’s Arabian cruise is part of its 25-night/26-day itinerary from Barcelona, Spain to other parts of Europe and the Middle East.