Dubai early arrival at airport...ship embarkation query

[Dadcab]

We are due to sail on Brilliance of the Seas 21/2/11 and arrive in Dubai approx 7am. I have been told we will be met by RCI & taken to a nearby hotel for breakfast and to have documentation checked. Has anyone done this as I do now want to end up waiting for hours if RCI do not allow us to embark before 2pm..... Mark

[efields2]

We are due to sail on Brilliance of the Seas 21/2/11 and arrive in Dubai approx 7am. I have been told we will be met by RCI & taken to a nearby hotel for breakfast and to have documentation checked. Has anyone done this as I do now want to end up waiting for hours if RCI do not allow us to embark before 2pm..... Mark

 

I'm not sure what the process is internationally, but in the US you can typically board sometime around 11 am. They 'recommend' you don't arrive until 2 pm that way all the previous cruises' passengers can disembark smoothly, they can process the new passengers as they arrive (instead of everyone showing up at the same time) and also incase they are any delays from the last cruise.

 

I've never heard of a RCI rep taking passengers to a hotel for breakfast so hopefully someone can confirm whether or not this has happened.

[ChipLondon]

You are correct this is how it is handled on flights arriving in Dubai on the same day as the sailing, however the entry control in Dubai and customs clearance takes some time, and you will be taken to the port earlier than 2pm.

 

We are due to sail on Brilliance of the Seas 21/2/11 and arrive in Dubai approx 7am. I have been told we will be met by RCI & taken to a nearby hotel for breakfast and to have documentation checked. Has anyone done this as I do now want to end up waiting for hours if RCI do not allow us to embark before 2pm..... Mark

[Nettiehesh]

Hi Dadcab

 

I am sure this has come up on another forum and it seems you are taken late morning to the ship.

 

We are staying in Dubai for 4 night prior they wanted to book us on the overnight flight but chose to do the 1,30pm flight from Manchester instead and paid extra night in hotel.

 

Have you signed up for the meet & mingle on the roll call we only need another 2 people for it to happen, if you have look foward to meeting you.

Jeanette

[SailingBird]

Hi Dadcab

 

We did this cruise in February last year - so my info may be a little out of date.

 

We were picked up from Dubai airport - our suitcases were taken at this point - and then we were taken for breakfast. After an overnight flight - we were extremely tired, we were held at the restaurant for about 2-3 hours where we were able to check in for the cruise and we were issued with our sea passes. On arrival we were issued with a coloured card - the colours were called when the bus was ready to take you to the port.

 

Fortunately we sat at a table with some people that had arrived earlier than us (on a London flight, I think the Manchester flight gets in later) and they had decided to go one of the water parks so they gave us their card which I think saved us about 45minutes.

 

I know you don't want to hear this but if we were to do the cruise again, I would travel a few days before and arrive at the port at lunchtime refreshed. If I was you I would get rid of your suitcase at the airport and then go and sightsee until at least 1pm - then go and check in at the port.

 

It was a fantastic cruise - we had a fab time - I'm sure you will enjoy it.

 

Regards,

Helen - from just down the road in Nantwich

[Dadcab]

Thaks Helen

 

We are considering letting our cases go to the ship and taking in some of the sights in Dubai. Was the process fairly efficient as I don't fancy hanging around too long if possible.

 

Mark

[ClaireP]

Will be interested to hear how you get on, as we are doing this cruise next year. I am concerned about how tired I will be and not enjoying the first day or so. Enquired with RCL this week about going on the earlier flight - they will do it, but charge us £20 each if we don't take their hotel but the problem is they wantd over £200pp for anight - well you would be there at midnight! but will probably do something like that

[Nettiehesh]

Claire

 

That is what we have done. We always ask before booking what flights they will use. we felt it better to pay for extra night in hotel and get earlier flight.

 

We once had a 3 hour layover in Frankfurt airport. We could have flown direct to Barcelona in less than 2 Hours!!!

 

Have you signed up for meet & mingle never too early

 

Jeanette

[Albert Ross]

Thaks Helen

 

We are considering letting our cases go to the ship and taking in some of the sights in Dubai. Was the process fairly efficient as I don't fancy hanging around too long if possible.

 

Mark

 

I got this sent to me when I asked for some clients:

 

Arriving Guests/Embarkation for 7 Day Round Trip Dubai -

 

Early Morning Arrival Options:

Book an arrival shore excursion that does a short Dubai City Tour. After the tour, guests will be dropped off at the Cruise terminal. These pre cruise Tours can be booked through the website.

 

Book a one night pre-cruise hotel stay

 

Fly cruise guests and Cruise Only guests with a c/o transfer with flights arriving before 9am, will be taken to the Hyatt Regency for cruise check-in and breakfast. Once the ship is ready for boarding, guests will be transferred to the cruise terminal.

 

Guests who choose to make their own arrangements to the Cruise terminal can check-in their luggage from 9:00am at the cruise terminal. However they will not be able to board the ship until 11.00am.

 

Check-in will be open for all guests from 9:00am to 4:30pm on Monday however they will not be able to board the ship until 11.00am.

 

All guests must be onboard a minimum of 90 minutes prior to the ship’s departure.

 

The Hyatt Regency is nice:

http://dubai.regency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp?null

[suekay]

Will be interested to hear how you get on, as we are doing this cruise next year. I am concerned about how tired I will be and not enjoying the first day or so. Enquired with RCL this week about going on the earlier flight - they will do it, but charge us £20 each if we don't take their hotel but the problem is they wantd over £200pp for anight - well you would be there at midnight! but will probably do something like that

We're doing this cruise in December. We've booked a package with RCI but asked to fly in 2 days early and we have arranged our own hotel (much cheaper than £200pp per night !) The flight cost an extra £50 but it's worth it to avoid feeling exhausted the first day