Saudi opening
 

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle...ry-2021-07-29/

another interesting place to go.

There's cruises scheduled to go there from Dubai starting in November.

Does anyone have experience with the Tawakkalna app and being a foreign resident and being vaccinated outside of the Kingdom?

I have arrived in the Kingdom yesterday.
I am a Netherlands resident on a Business visa.
Had registered my vaccination on the Muqeem website.
The Tawakkalna app shows my status as "No record of infection" but I need it to be "Immune", without that status I am not able to take domestic flights.

Am trying to call Tawakkalna but I am waiting endlessly on the line...
Have also sent an email.

Sorry, apparently there was an app update with minor enhancements available that did the trick.

I can't get a clear answer on whether someone who is not vaccinated, but meets the other conditions (e-visa, coming from a non-restricted country) can enter and do the seven-day "institutional quarantine." The various official (https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/covid-19-information-page) and semi-official (airline web sites, local newspapers that parrot government press releases) sources are somewhat ambiguous. Visit Saudi says, "there is no quarantine requirement for vaccinated travelers to Saudi," but I don't think that this means that there is a quarantine requirement for unvaccinated travelers, but rather that unvaccinated travelers can't enter -- though it doesn't say that.

Emirates is marketing "official" quarantine packages and seems to be selling flights to RUH starting 08/23 though the COVID hub says that all flights are suspended. I guess it might make sense to keep availability a couple of weeks in the future and drop the flights on a rolling basis as necessary.

Anyone know?

There's cruises scheduled to go to SA starting in November. I'm curious if folks are really going to be let off or just dock and look?

Where on earth do cruise ships from Dubai dock in Saudi? I'm sure Jeddah is the only port with a cruise terminal, and that's quite a hike from Dubai, though there's the prospect of Muscat and Salalah on the way. Jeddah would be something of a dead end unless Aqaba is the turn-round point.

There was, maybe still is, a Saudi cruise line intent on launching Red Sea cruises. Ii guess these was aiming to tempt Jeddites with the heady delighs of Jordan and Egypt. Maybe not Yemen.

If you look on Google you'll see one right off the Arabian Sea. It's in Damman. That's where they're docking. I'll be on two of those cruises as long as it's still a go. Don't care if I get off. Not so much interested in going to SA.

I only know Damman as an oil and container port. i can't think what a tourist might want to see - but maybe i missed the tourist attractions of the Eastern Province :)

Tourists go there. It's just not a big city. Everyone is different, as I went to Abu Dhabi and hated it, even though people like it. I liked Muscat a lot better. But, the fact is cruise ships are docking in Damman in the upcoming months.

If you have a link to a cruise line, I'd love to see. Just curious.

Here you go!

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise...ations/red-sea

*I've planned to take the cruise from Dubai to SA twice. Once on Dec 4th and the next on Jan 1st. Of course it stops off at other locations on the way. I've been on this cruise 3 times before in 2019/2020, but SA was not included. I like this company because you get a very good mix of international travelers. Not all the same people from the same country.

Sorry, I put the wrong link in that previous post. Here's the route I'm going on.....

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/Search...engers=1|0|0|0

It starts in Dubai and goes to SA and back to Dubai.

....and here's the planned activities after getting off at Dammam....
https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise...-arabia/dammam

Thanks! I hope you enjoy the cruise :)