TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 5 recently arrived at a shipyard in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for a scheduled drydock.

Offering a winter season in the Middle East, the 2016-built ship paused its revenue operations on Thursday, January 8, 2026.

In a social media update, TUI said that the vessel is set for a “spring cleaning” before welcoming guests back on January 20, 2026.

“We are in a drydock in Dubai, left our berth around noon, then traveled two miles to get to the drydock, which we are now inside,” said the ship’s General Manager Stephan Zimmermann.

“The ship is already held in position by lines. We have now lowered the lifeboats, including all the tender boats and lifeboats,” he continued in a video shared by TUI Cruises.

Zimmermann added that the lifeboats were stored near the ship ahead of the emptying of the drydock, which was scheduled for Thursday night.

In addition to technical work, the Mein Schiff 5 is undergoing updates to its public areas during the drydock, he continued.

“We’ve done a lot of preparation. We’re getting a new LED wall in the theater. The sound system is being retuned. The scoreboard in the arena is being replaced,” Zimmermann said.

Other updates include new carpets in the Atlantik restaurant, as well as refreshments to some of the suites.

Upon welcoming guests back, the Mein Schiff 5 is set to resume its 2025-26 winter season in the Middle East.

The deployment includes a series of seven-night cruises departing from Dubai and Doha for visits to destinations in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, such as Sir Bani Yas, Abu Dhabi and Muscat.

The 2,500-guest vessel is then set to start its return to Europe in early March, kicking off a series of repositioning voyages to Spain via Africa.