Jayayeff

Roy I think it may be the UKMTO as have also had an office here for many years now…I know when I did the Dubai to Athens cruise back in 2010 that was the office that monitored vessels as they transited the waters along the route… https://www.ukmto.org/ Anne.

Hi Adrian, I have just spent an hour or so of my Sunday morning reading this ‘live’ review of your current ‘journey’ whilst enjoying a nice hot cup of tea (made with boiling water and almost the last of the tea I brought back from my trip to Kenya last summer - the lengths we Brits will go to for our tea!!!). As always, your posts are honest, informative and entertaining - so much so that Boris, who I am currently dog-sitting, must be wondering why I keep laughing out loud as I read. I hope you both enjoy the remainder of your cruise and have a safe and uneventful journey (that word seems to have taken on a life of it’s own since EJ came to be) back to the UK. Although I still haven’t returned to cruising post pandemic I look forward to our travel paths crossing again someday. Enjoy the Big Birthday celebrations - I’m a wee bit ahead of you and it’ll be the same dreaded big ‘number’, but plus a smaller one for me next week!!!! 🥳🥳 Anne…

Somehow I doubt that - more likely to be having channeled bookings through all of the above at some time during the 18 years since my first Crystal cruise back in 2006, and never having changed contact details during that time!!!! 😀😀

Received the above email twice in the space of 30 minutes, both times with the UK contact telephone number on it. There seems to be no telling with them - sometimes I get emails with the US contact number, sometimes the UK contact number (yours above seems to show an Australia contact number?) and a couple of weeks ago I received an email promoting Crystal summer voyages from an email address representing Crystal Cruises GCC & Cyprus with a Cyprus contact number shown on it....Take your pick whose mailing list I must be on!!!!

I agree, and as if to prove a point. After the US & UK launched more air-strikes overnight, the Houthis have already retaliated by firing missiles at a ship off the coast of Yemen earlier today.. I’m not sure what reassurance having a US navy escort is when the US and the UK are the Houthis prime targets….

I was just chatting online to a friend onboard Serenity - still no word there either…

Meanwhile, back to April, the Mumbai to Athens cruise and the now Waitlisted Chairmen's Cruises - just my luck as these were the first itineraries of real interest to me since the Symphony returned to service. However, I think it's highly unlikely they were ever going to happen considering they weren't even announced until the region, and now the Red Sea in particular, was already a hotbed of activity!!!

Much as I would love to have my friends who are currently onboard Serenity for the World Cruise stay over in Dubai for a week or more while the ship transits the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea without them, I think there is zero chance of that happening!! I suspect they are more likely to get an unplanned visit to Cape Town than to Dubai...🙂

Also, subsequent to those most recent strikes, the Houthis have given the UN and other aid agencies notice that all UK and US nationals (or dual nationals of either country) are to leave Yemen within the next 30 days.. I really can't see any passenger ship affiliated with either country heading into the Red Sea anytime soon...

I don't believe that was ever likely to happen as they have time to re-route with passengers on their side. The voyages that really need addressing now are those of the Symphony that don't have time to re-route around Africa with passengers...

Me too….

Not for you, but perfect for me!!!! However, I suspect current affairs will intervene and it will be a non-starter anyway!!! Anne..

Similar to the other 'getaways' they have created from the original 17 night Mumbai to Athens itinerary. Whilst they do interest me as I live out here so they'd be great for a short getaway, there is no way I'm prepared to pay those prices. At least when 'old' Crystal split voyages up into shorter segments they pro-rata'd the full voyage fare and didn't price them at a 50% premium!!!! However, my guess is it is all academic anyway as I doubt very much whether that voyage will actually sail as currently scheduled... Anne..

It is, and apart from A & K being high-end and very expensive, accommodation in AlUla is very expensive. What struck me was how expensive the 6 day partial cruise fare is - is cruising with these “two luminaries of the travel world” so exclusive it warrants a 50% increase in the per diem solo fare when compared against the same for the full Mumbai to Athens cruise that it is a 6 day part of??? I’m not sure I see any logic in that pricing strategy when the cruise is only a couple of months away??? Anne.

I was surprised to see this itinerary too, more so due it falling in the middle of Ramadan which is more strictly observed in KSA than it is in some of the more cosmopolitan Arab countries… Having lived in this part of the world for a long time now the current situation is not so much the issue…. Anne

Hi Adrian Good to see you a Kathleen enjoyed your return to the Symphony. I’m looking forward to seeing her arrival here in a couple of weeks, although I’m unlikely to make it onboard now as the friends who will be onboard have an early flight out on disembarkation day, and with the arrival now scheduled to be later than initially given the previous day it leaves them very little time in port… Look forward to reading your full review later… Anne…

The information you have already been given is correct... Visa on arrival | The Official Portal of the UAE Government

Mine too, and that is definitely what the deck plans lead us to believe….🤔 Anne

That is definitely 7060 on the Symphony - my very first stateroom onboard a Crystal ship…. 😀😀 Anne

Wise decision - hopefully you don't take it too seriously either!!! Having spent a large part of my working life in five star hotels, which is not too dissimilar to the hotel operations onboard ships, the views of armchair experts with regard to the onboard hotel management, service, staffing levels etc.is interesting to say the least!!!! 🥱 Anne.

Well, I'm pleased to see I wasn't the only one whose past and currently available similar cruises show such a significant increase. It would appear that the biggest increases affect those of us who previously booked in the OV categories whereas those in Penthouse and above are noticing little change. I have my suspicions as to why that should be the case, but I'll keep them to myself rather than start yet another hostile debate on here!!! Anne..

Yes, I am living in Dubai, and have done for a long time so am always happy to help with visitor info. A lot depends on what time of year your trip is, what your interests are and whether you are comfortable getting about independently. Dubai is spread over a large area, and as previously mentioned traffic can be a major issue to take into consideration, so unless you want a beach break then I would always recommend picking a more central location for a pre or post cruise stay… Anne

In November when the Nautica was here the ship was docked in Port Rashid. I had friends on that sailing and met up with, and dropped them off later in the day at the cruise terminal there… Anne

We can but hope however, I very much doubt they would be applicable for single occupancy fares!!! There are so few entry level Oceanview staterooms left now that any promotion at that level is unlikely. I suspect my days of Crystal cruising are now behind me!!! 😢 Anne...

If, being the operative word!!! Yes, I’d love to see you both again - it must be nearly another anniversary time by now!!!! You have my email, stay in touch and hopefully we’ll catch up again in October… Anne..