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RELATED ARTICLES: Video: Nakheel's The Pointe, Palm Jumierah, Dubai | Pictures: Nakheel's The Pointe, Palm Jumeirah | Nakheel announces $80m The Pointe on Palm Jumeirah
Nakheel’s managing director of marine and leisure has hailed a new cruise facility to see “inside the heart” of their flagship developments the Palm Jumeirah and the World Islands as a “new perspective for tourists, residents and citizens of Dubai.”
Delighted Saeed Harib announced that boat tours, under the name ‘Cruise with Nakheel’, will begin for members of the public wanting to catch a glimpse of the likes of the world-famous Atlantis Hotel from the clear blue inner waters of Palm Jumeirah’s crescent.
Cruisers will sail north between the tips of the island’s fronds and its 11.5 km long crescent - home to a number of luxurious hotels and resorts.
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“Cruise with Nakheel is a completely new concept for marine tourism,” said Harib, Managing Director, Nakheel Marine and Leisure, of the new Dubai venture.
“Travellers can now go ‘inside’ Palm Jumeirah and enjoy views of the island and its buildings as never before.
“The Palm is already one of Dubai’s biggest attractions, and we look forward to bringing more visitors to this world-famous landmark through our new cruise service.”
Just last week, Nakheel also announced plans to build a new $80m restaurant and shopping area at the tip of its Palm Jumeirah development.
But asked whether Nakheel should concentrate on completing unfinished developments on land before starting new ones at sea, Mr Harib countered by saying they “didn’t compare.”
“Past projects were land and this is water,” said Harib.
“Palm Jumeirah is almost finished and now we start developing water projects.
“Where we are is the heart of the Palm. We have a lot of visitors to Dubai. They know about Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab and The World and The Palm but they don’t get to ‘feel’ The Palm.
“So we launched a new project.
“We are very excited about the project – to bring people to the heart of the Palm.
“They’ve heard about the Palm, they’ve seen it from the pictures but they’ve not been able to see it from inside the heart of the Palm. Now they can.
“It’s an important project to add to the (Nakheel) portfolio.
“This cruise is only done by Nakheel, it’ll only be operated by Nakheel boats.”
Harib added the cruise boats used by debt-ridden Nakheel already belonged to the company for previous Palm projects - and were not purchased specifically for the new leisure venture.
Asked whether Nakheel would consider offering a free or discounted trip as a way of attempting to ‘build bridges’ to some Palm Jumeirah shoreline residents affected by the recent controversial facilities charge incidents, Mr Harib said: “This is another facility for residents of Dubai.
“This is an additional benefit. Of course they are welcome. This is a facility for shoreline people living in Nakheel, so of course. They can use it ... but not free of charge.”
‘Cruise with Nakheel’ offers trips for groups of up to 12, 15 or 30 people on three sizes of vessel - including an 80ft, double-decker Houseboat .The smaller motor boats are 52ft and 38ft. Cruise prices start from 1,000 AED per boat.
Operating daily between 9am and 5pm, trips last one hour and begin at the Nakheel offices on Al Sufouh Road, just before the entrance to Palm Jumeirah.
Mr Harib confirmed sunset cruises are expected to commence “within three or four months” and added Nakheel would like to add to its marina portfolio by introducing the likes of water taxis, more water cruises and tours on ‘traditional’ boat cruises sometime in the future.
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