Cruise Saudi Announces Commercial Launch of ‘AROYA Cruises’

The ship can accommodate more than 3,362 passengers. SPA
The ship can accommodate more than 3,362 passengers. SPA
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Cruise Saudi Announces Commercial Launch of ‘AROYA Cruises’

The ship can accommodate more than 3,362 passengers. SPA
The ship can accommodate more than 3,362 passengers. SPA

Cruise Saudi, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) specializing in developing the cruise sector in the Kingdom, has announced the commercial launch of its cruise line "AROYA Cruises.”

“As the first Arabian cruise line, AROYA Cruises is proud to lead the way with its authentic Arabian experience offered to guests at sea and on land,” Cruise Saudi said in a statement.

“It also stands out for its unique design, which reflects Arabian generosity and Saudi Arabia's hospitality by providing exceptional experiences that focus on comfort and luxury for its guests,” it added.
AROYA Cruises is a 335-meter floating resort with 1,678 cabins, including balcony cabins overlooking the sea, as well as luxury suites and villas.

The ship can accommodate more than 3,362 passengers and includes 20 entertainment venues across 18 decks that provide shopping at AROYA's shops, performances in the 1,018-seat theater, and shows and movies for children.

AROYA Cruises also offers exclusive VIP experiences, with spacious and premium suites, outdoor lounges and exceptional dining experiences.

Tourist trips are scheduled in the Red Sea in December 2024, with visits to the AROYA Cruise's private island as well as destinations to Egypt and Jordan.



China Says its Astronauts Complete Record-breaking Spacewalk

File Photo: Astronaut Liu Yang waves as she is out of a return capsule of the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft, following a six-month mission on China's space station, at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China December 4, 2022. China Daily via REUTERS
File Photo: Astronaut Liu Yang waves as she is out of a return capsule of the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft, following a six-month mission on China's space station, at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China December 4, 2022. China Daily via REUTERS
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China Says its Astronauts Complete Record-breaking Spacewalk

File Photo: Astronaut Liu Yang waves as she is out of a return capsule of the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft, following a six-month mission on China's space station, at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China December 4, 2022. China Daily via REUTERS
File Photo: Astronaut Liu Yang waves as she is out of a return capsule of the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft, following a six-month mission on China's space station, at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China December 4, 2022. China Daily via REUTERS

Two Chinese astronauts this week completed a world-record spacewalk of more than nine hours, according to a statement from China's Manned Space Agency, marking another milestone for Beijing's rapidly expanding space program.

The spacewalk, carried out by Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong outside the Tiangong space station in low-Earth orbit on Tuesday, was at least four minutes longer than the last record set by NASA astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms in 2001, according to Reuters.

The two astronauts of China's Shenzhou-19 mission donned their Feitian spacesuits to carry out an array of tasks on the station's exterior, including the installation of space-debris protection devices, China's space agency said.

"They successfully completed all the planned tasks and felt very excited about it," Wu Hao, a staffer from the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, told China Central Television, a state broadcaster.

The former Soviet Union in 1965 became the first nation to carry out a spacewalk. Since then, Russia and the United States have conducted hundreds of such missions, primarily outside the International Space Station for tasks ranging from solar panel installations to materials research.

The first spacewalk by a Chinese astronaut occurred in 2008.

China's spacewalking milestone this week comes amid a flurry of other recent cosmic achievements that have boosted Beijing's competitive footing with the United States.

China landed its first rover on Mars in 2021 and earlier this year became the first country to retrieve rock samples from the moon's treacherous far side in its Chang'e-6 mission.

Beijing is targeting 2030 to land its first astronauts on the moon to become the second country after the US to put humans there. Beijing has courted roughly a dozen countries for its International Lunar Research Station program, an effort to build a moon base on the moon's south pole.

That program rivals NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return US astronauts to the moon for the first time since the final Apollo mission of 1972.