Sir Bani Yas Island - Private Resort

Read that the development of the Cayman Island Private Resort has been delayed.

Any information out there on the Sir Bani Yas Island as we are due there in March next year.

Until the Fantasia arrives in the UAE in early December and begins its weekly itinerary around the Gulf there won't be any real news. I suspect the Costa and Crystal itineraries will begin about the same time.

Today I received the monthly Costa Club packet which has an article dedicated to Sir Bani Yas island. From December to March the Costa neoRiviera will call at Sir Bani Yas every Tuesday. So MSC will have it on Mondays, Costa on Tuesdays, and I'll bet other cruise lines will have it reserved for the other days of the week.

Hi. Does anyone yet know where the private beach area is located on the island and if there are shops, a mosque, anything else within walking distance of the beach?

I take it this is a tendered port?

Thanks, Ken.

Sir Bani Yas was officially opened about a week ago. The Dec 4th cruise of the MSC Fantasia was the first MSC cruise stopping there.

Yes, it´s a tender port and you can only book the shore excursions offered by the cruise line.

No, there is no mosque there and I don´t think there are any shops. There are some ressort hotels.

You will find more here. And here´s a map.

As far as I´ve read MSC will have a BBQ type lunch there and drink packages are valid on the beach.

steamboats

The MSC Fans group on FB has had loads of photos of the Sir Bani Yas MSC cruise resort posted since it opened on 5 December. It's on a long strip of sand connected with the main island via a causeway. Other than the excursions offered it's just a day of sun and sand with the same comforts of the lido deck on the ship - sun beds with umbrellas, bars, food, massages, etc.

Thanks all for the info. It seems there is nothing to see apart from the beach unless you take a ship tour? Beach sounds fine.

Capricruiser- I sought out that FB page but it's very busy and difficult to find the photos.

Just back from cruise on MSC Fantasia 17th Dec. Visit to Sir Bani Yas was awesome. Tours can only be booked via the cruise line. We took the Jeep Safari Tour which took us around the island's wildlife habitats - we saw giraffes, gazelles, lynx, peacocks, and cheetahs. It was great to get so close to all these animals and the scenery was breathtaking. Tenders take passengers ashore (everything well organised) and the tenders go back and forth at regular intervals. Food is served on the island at no charge and if you have the all inclusive drinks package then this can be used on the island. The whole day is meticulously arranged and the crew certainly work hard setting up the barbecue stations, the bars and all other amenities.

I would certainly recommend the tour but others may prefer some of the alternative tours on offer. Whatever you opt for I feel sure you will have a memorable day on Sir Bani Yas Island.

Suzanne

Just back from cruise on MSC Fantasia 17th Dec. Visit to Sir Bani Yas was awesome. Tours can only be booked via the cruise line. We took the Jeep Safari Tour which took us around the island's wildlife habitats - we saw giraffes, gazelles, lynx, peacocks, and cheetahs.

 

I would certainly recommend the tour but others may prefer some of the alternative tours on offer. Whatever you opt for I feel sure you will have a memorable day on Sir Bani Yas Island.

 

Suzanne

Thanks Suzanne. Tallys with other reports coming in. Can you tell me if there is shade at the beach? Also, can you walk from the beach to the island and is there anything to see there? Thanks, Ken.

Just back from cruise on MSC Fantasia 17th Dec. Visit to Sir Bani Yas was awesome. Tours can only be booked via the cruise line. We took the Jeep Safari Tour which took us around the island's wildlife habitats - we saw giraffes, gazelles, lynx, peacocks, and cheetahs. It was great to get so close to all these animals and the scenery was breathtaking. Tenders take passengers ashore (everything well organised) and the tenders go back and forth at regular intervals. Food is served on the island at no charge and if you have the all inclusive drinks package then this can be used on the island. The whole day is meticulously arranged and the crew certainly work hard setting up the barbecue stations, the bars and all other amenities.

 

I would certainly recommend the tour but others may prefer some of the alternative tours on offer. Whatever you opt for I feel sure you will have a memorable day on Sir Bani Yas Island.

 

Suzanne

After reading this post I got onto the MSC website straight away and booked this excursion. We are on the re-positioning cruise from Dubai to Genoa in March. What was your overall opinion of the ship & cruise you were on?

Thanks Suzanne. Tallys with other reports coming in. Can you tell me if there is shade at the beach? Also, can you walk from the beach to the island and is there anything to see there? Thanks, Ken.

You can use the sunbeds and umbrellas for shade. The seating area where the buffet is served is all under cover so is shaded there.

The tender boats take ships passengers to the island and they then have the option to stay on the beach near the landing stage, go on one of the tours or take part in the kayaking, snorkelling and other pre -bookable tours/activities. Do book well in advance as there are limited numbers for each excursion/activity and you cannot arrange tours independently on the island- must go with the cruise lines offerings!

The jeep safari was awesome and I spoke to some others who did the island tour which they enjoyed.

Good luck with your plans

Suzanne

You can use the sunbeds and umbrellas for shade. The seating area where the buffet is served is all under cover so is shaded there.

 

The tender boats take ships passengers to the island and they then have the option to stay on the beach near the landing stage, go on one of the tours or take part in the kayaking, snorkelling and other pre -bookable tours/activities. Do book well in advance as there are limited numbers for each excursion/activity and you cannot arrange tours independently on the island- must go with the cruise lines offerings!

 

The jeep safari was awesome and I spoke to some others who did the island tour which they enjoyed.

 

 

Good luck with your plans

 

Suzanne

How far in advance do you suggest booking? They just lowered the price for a 2018 March cruise, so I booked with their $49 deposit rate....I may change my mind but once I start booking excursions, i'm pretty much committed unless something drastic happens.

You can use the sunbeds and umbrellas for shade. The seating area where the buffet is served is all under cover so is shaded there.

 

The tender boats take ships passengers to the island and they then have the option to stay on the beach near the landing stage, go on one of the tours or take part in the kayaking, snorkelling and other pre -bookable tours/activities.

Thanks Suzanne. Can you walk from the landing area towards the island or onto it?

The beach areas, bars and buffets are either side of the landing area - no need to walk anywhere if you don't want too :)

Just returned back home.

I agree with Suzanne, the Jeep Safari was great!

Do not book any of the water related tours. As for snorkeling... there is no reef or anything and returning passengers said they didn´t see a single fish. Others did the kayak tour and only paddled in circles without seeing anything. They didn´t even came close to the mangroves or saw the flamingos which weren´t pretty far from the kayak base.

No, you´re not supposed to walk over to the island. The Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach (as it´s called) is an artificial sandbank which is connected with sort of a bridge with the island. First of all it´s really a long walk to get to the main island. Second there´s no walkway. The cruise ship passengers are supposed to stay on the SBY Cruise Beach unless they take a tour to the island.

steamboats

No, you´re not supposed to walk over to the island. The Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach (as it´s called) is an artificial sandbank which is connected with sort of a bridge with the island. First of all it´s really a long walk to get to the main island. Second there´s no walkway. The cruise ship passengers are supposed to stay on the SBY Cruise Beach unless they take a tour to the island.

That's just the info l was looking for. Thank you. Ken.

My DH has just put his photos of Sir Bani Yas Island online. Text is in German, use google translate.

steamboats

Just finished my review for Sir Bani Yas Island with lots of photos. We did take the Jeep Safari in the morning and spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach.

steamboats

Excellent pictures, especially of Abu Dhabi mosque. I also appreciate the photos of Sir Bani Yas. Ken

Thanks for the kind words, Ken!

steamboats

From reading another forum it seems there was a serious petroleum fire yesterday on Sir Bani Yas island that caused MSC to cancel the day's port call there. The fire was on the island itself and not at the cruise resort.

Just back from cruise on MSC Fantasia 17th Dec. Visit to Sir Bani Yas was awesome. Tours can only be booked via the cruise line. We took the Jeep Safari Tour which took us around the island's wildlife habitats - we saw giraffes, gazelles, lynx, peacocks, and cheetahs. It was great to get so close to all these animals and the scenery was breathtaking. Tenders take passengers ashore (everything well organised) and the tenders go back and forth at regular intervals. Food is served on the island at no charge and if you have the all inclusive drinks package then this can be used on the island. The whole day is meticulously arranged and the crew certainly work hard setting up the barbecue stations, the bars and all other amenities.

 

I would certainly recommend the tour but others may prefer some of the alternative tours on offer. Whatever you opt for I feel sure you will have a memorable day on Sir Bani Yas Island.

 

Suzanne

Great to know all of this - thanks so much. We go in March

Super, we go in March too x

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From reading another forum it seems there was a serious petroleum fire yesterday on Sir Bani Yas island that caused MSC to cancel the day's port call there. The fire was on the island itself and not at the cruise resort.

We was on the ship they told us there was a broken pipe that passed the channel they use to navigate the ship to the island and because of this the port authorities had closed the channel so the port was cancelled and we went to Doha instead.

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Just finished my review for Sir Bani Yas Island with lots of photos. We did take the Jeep Safari in the morning and spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach.

 

steamboats

Thank's for sharing your lovely photos from Sir Bani Yas Island. Very interesting to see. We are planning a cruise on the Splendida next January and your photos are very helpful :)