Fujeirah and Muscat

[karenbeanpole]

We are on the Azamara Journey, visiting those 2 places. Can anyone who has been to either give advice on what you did, what you avoided, what you wished you did instead etc. Also, do we need local currency?

[Keith1010]

You can manage without local currency in Muscat.

 

We had a taxi take us and one other couple around for a few hours. This was our second time there. I would recommend visiting the Souk which is not too far from the cruise ship terminal. I would take the drive which is about 45 minutes over to the Grand Mosque and I would visit the area near and around the Palace.

 

Keith

[voyager70]

We visited both these ports last March. Didn't bother getting off the ship in Fujairah, not many did, as there really wasn't anything there that interested us. A few people went to a nearby resort for the day which they said was nice but other than that people I spoke with who did go ashore said there wasn't much to see or do. Muscat is a different story. Charming town with a real Arabic feel to it. We were there for two days. The first day we did a tour through the cruise line (Royal Caribbean) which took us around to all the "must see" places (Grand Mosque, Muttrah Souk, Sultan's Palace, Museum of Omani Heritage) which were all quite interesting. The second day we got a taxi right outside the port and had him take us into town where we spent the afternoon exploring on our own. Very easy to walk around town and always felt safe and welcomed. As far as currency in Muscat they accepted Omani rials (obviously), UAE dirhams, Euros and US$. Can't speak for Fujairah but we got UAE dirhams before the cruise as we were spending several days in the country. Have a wonderful cruise!

[yorkshirephil]

In Fujairah, we took the shuttle to the town where we were dropped off outside the Lu Lu supermarket, and we spent 10 minutes there and got on the next shuttle back to the ship. I would advise anyone to either book a trip or stay on the ship here.

 

 

Next port was Muscat in Oman, we were looking forward to this as my research suggested that this was a nice place to visit, and we had an overnight stay. We were not disappointed, on day one we walked into the small section of town near the port before returning to the ship to partake in a spot of sunbathing. On day two we had booked the mystical Muscat trip which was very enjoyable with a trip to the grand mosque, the royal palace, a museum and the souk. This was a very nice unrushed trip with little travelling . There were plenty of taxis at the port gates who were touting various trips, as petrol is so cheap the taxi fares are cheap.

[lilybob]

Ditto what everyone else has said. I would add visiting the Bait al Zubair Museum in Muscat which is in the vicinity of the Palace. Strolling along the picturesque corniche will provide many photo opportunities. Also, peak behind the souk for a look at the colorful minaret. If you are there overnight, check to see if there is a performance at the Royal Opera House as they have a variety of events from jazz to theater.

[karenbeanpole]

Thanks for your replies. Do you know if it's worth going to Dubai from Fujairah? There is an excursion there covering quite a lot of activities in Dubai but it's a fairly steep price = anyone has any experience of a day trip to Dubai? We are on the Azamara Journey - no overnight stays

[lilybob]

Thanks for your replies. Do you know if it's worth going to Dubai from Fujairah? There is an excursion there covering quite a lot of activities in Dubai but it's a fairly steep price = anyone has any experience of a day trip to Dubai? We are on the Azamara Journey - no overnight stays

 

Dubai is about 130 km (80 miles) from Fujairah. If Dubai is not a port stop on your cruise, I would say it is definitely worth taking a tour to visit. If you didn't want to do a ship tour you could arrange an excursion with North Tours or Arabian Adventures. Sites in the city you would want to visit would be Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, the creek area of Bastakiya where the old souks are, and perhaps Burj al Arab and Madinat Jumeirah. Not sure how long your stop in Fujairah is.

[karenbeanpole]

Thanks Lilybob, I've emailed both companies. Trouble is we're docking in Fujairah on a Sunday and when I looked at Arabian adventures, they don't do anything suitable on a Sunday. Anyway, will await their replies and see whether anything comes up. The ship's tour is £155 each, and that's supposed to be with the 50% discount!

[Mexfolkart]

You might want to check one of the latest posts on our Oceania Nautica Roll Call

for April 4..Bangkok-Dubai..as we have a great excursion set for

Fujairah! A DIY one.

Sherry

[askmeanother]

Hi everyone - we are on Serenade of the Seas around UAE in February. I fancied doing the ships excursion on the Dhow Cruise in Muscat - has anyone done this and is it a worthwhile experience? Also wondered about Yas Marina. Many thanks for any help.

[karenbeanpole]

I've booked the Dubai tour with the ship, it wasn't as expensive as I thought as they put the wrong price down on the web. Going to book a "hop on hop off" in Muscat as we feel safer than having to haggle with taxis in Muscat. Will try to visit the souk and the palace area as suggested. Thanks for suggestions. We are only there for the day, no overnight.

[buchhalm]

I've booked the Dubai tour with the ship, it wasn't as expensive as I thought as they put the wrong price down on the web. Going to book a "hop on hop off" in Muscat as we feel safer than having to haggle with taxis in Muscat. Will try to visit the souk and the palace area as suggested. Thanks for suggestions. We are only there for the day, no overnight.

 

There is no HOHO bus in Muscat!

As nice as the Omanis usually are, the taxi drivers tend to be crooks and when they see a "white" face they assume that you are rich and try to fleece you. Better stick with a ships tour, as expensive as they are, or pre-arrange a tour with one of the local tour companies.

They tend to be very good, fairly priced and have guides/drivers who can speak English (or French, German, etc).

I have booked with Zahara Tours a few times for visiting friends and family, and they come home happy and in one piece. http://Www.zaharatours.com.

I am also listing a few other companies ( out of the current Time Out, Oman magazine):

http://www.bahwantravelgroup.com, http://www.alkoortourism.com, http://www.desertdiscovery.com, http://www.nttoman.com, http://www.omanworldtourism.com, http://www.travcotravel.com.

 

If your time allows it, performances at the new Royal Opera House come highly recommended. Tickets are not expensive, starting at less than 10 OMR for some performances. The most expensive tickets cost around 60 OMR. We usually buy tickets for around 30 OMR and we get excellent seats. The auditorium is well designed and sight lines are fine from virtually all seats.

Be advised, that the ROH does enforce a strict dress code.

Ladies, knees and shoulders must be covered. Gents, minimum long trouseres and jacket with tie. No jeans, sandals, sneakers, shorts etc. (The Omani men must wear National dress to attend, or Western style business suit!)

Tickets are generally available, even on the day. Just rock up a few hours before the show starts and you will be fine. The only exception in this season's schedule is the Nutcracker ballet, on Christmas. That one is completely sold out for all performances.

http://www.rohmuscat.org.*****

 

:-)

[karenbeanpole]

The HoHo bus tour is one organised by the ship. We thought it would be the safest option. Guess they just get a bus to do a loop with lots of stops and goes round again and again. Thanks for your help though.l

[lindyloo17]

Hi everyone - we are on Serenade of the Seas around UAE in February. I fancied doing the ships excursion on the Dhow Cruise in Muscat - has anyone done this and is it a worthwhile experience? Also wondered about Yas Marina. Many thanks for any help.

Hi askmeanother....:)

 

We are also on the Serenade... we cruise on 11th Feb..... are you getting excited yet? :D

[sasharose]

Can you email me the info? My friend an I are on RCCL to the UAE 4/1/13 ceciliatherese@aol.com