Nautica/ Mumbai to Rome/ April 29-May 27, 2018 with Taj Mahal pre extension...Live

[ronrick1943]

Thanks for taking the time to post. Enjoy reading your post. But 3:00AM???????

[dkbustr]

Thanks for taking the time to post. Enjoy reading your post. But 3:00AM???????

 

The only positive about the start time is that we are still fighting with the nine hour time change, and haven't slept past 2am yet!

 

Everyone was cheerful this morning when we loaded the buses at 5am. Although the trip to the Taj only took 5 minutes, the shuttle into the entrance coupled with security got us there around 5:45. After a great introduction by our guide Ravi, we went into the structure to see the actual mausoleum. Following that, we were let loose to take photos and met again at 7:15.

 

Really, these two pictures require no subtitles.....

 

 

A bucket list moment, more impressive than you can imagine.

 

Back to the hotel for breakfast, and then a choice of two morning tours; the Red Fort or the mini Taj. Since we did the fort in New Delhi, we will do the mini Taj. Then back for lunch and shopping shuttles starting at 1pm to the marble inlay factory or jewelry shop.

[Paulchili]

Thank you for those wonderful pictures.

Just about everyone is familiar with the outside view of the Taj but I think the detail inside is equally, if not even more, impressive than the outside. Little attention is paid to that part of the Taj IMO.

[TLCOhio]

Really, these pictures require no subtitles.....

A bucket list moment, more impressive than you can imagine.

 

YES!! Wonderful pictures. The visual above is the one what I love the most. BUT, we want many more to be shared. Hint! Hint! Keep 'em coming.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting, dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 38,390 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

[dkbustr]

Yesterday was our travel day from Agra to the ship. We were all awoken by unplanned morning wake up calls between 3:30-3:45, some people by more than two calls. I'm pretty sure Oceania didn't want anyone holding us back from making the flight in New Delhi. The four hour trip by coach to New Delhi included a washroom stop for those early morning I shouldn't have had those two cups of coffee people, and then a lunch stop, yes lunch, at 7:30am! Courtyard Marriott supplied a box lunch consisting of a "cheese" sandwich and a bag of chips.

This allows me to segue into a brief hotel review of the two Marriott's we stayed in. Both were rated five stars, and the JW in New Delhi approached that rating by USA standards. The Courtyard on the other hand would be a 3-3.5 star property. Nothing bad with it, but clean and comfortable rooms, a close location to the Taj are it's highlights. Travelers agreed that the food had something to be desired. But no issues and I'm sure it is one of the best hotels in Agra near the monument.

 

Our coach arrived on schedule, the Vistara airways flights (three separate flights) were a little late departing, but comfortable for the two hour flight. Transport by Oceania was efficient, and the first group arrived at the ship at 4pm. The last group was pushing sail away time at 6 pm. I heard no issues with any luggage not arriving to the ship, as that was a concern for travelers since Oceania would control most bags for the three days we were in Agra. Just an FYI, clothes that sit in bags for three days at 110 degrees Fahrenheit, no matter how neatly packed, are the same when unpacked, as clothes that have been in the dryer for three days. Can you say "wrinkled"? Pressing service on the ship is undoubtedly in high gear at this point.

 

Will make this my conclusion of the pre extension to the Taj Mahal, and now onward to the Nautica for some quick comments....

 

Great that so many from these Cruise Critic boards will be along for this amazing adventure from India to Rome. To help people, like me, who are going to be following along actively via the Internet, I am listing below your exact planned port stops, etc.

 

Among questions of interest for Mike and others on this cruise would be these:

1. What kinds of speakers, enrichment, entertainment, etc., will be offered on the Nautica during this sailing?

2. In general, how well does the Internet work? Are some hours of the day or night better for getting faster service?

3. Any problems, limits for getting off the ship at ports where people are doing private tours?

4. What are folks favorite "hide-away" locations that are nice, quiet, comfortable and not as well known?

5. What are your best tips and secrets for those sailing with Oceania and on the Nautica for the first time?

6. You have ten "sea-days". What special or different does the ship offer or do on those days, including for the four days doing the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden?

.

So to start a few responses to Terry, which I will continue to comment on as the cruise progresses...

 

#2 the complimentary internet on the Nautica at 5pm yesterday was almost unusable. It constantly went from two bars to zero bars and reconnecting. I tried to do this post and gave up after a while. Oceania of course offers a premium package with higher bandwidth for an additional $10 a day, payable for the full cruise, and and opposed to writing this entry at 4am as I am doing now, it may be something I have to consider especially when I'm uploading pictures. I will move around the ship today and see if there are locations with stronger signal strength, as opposed to buying the upgrade.

 

#6 At 10am we are supposed to have our cruise critic meet and greet in Horizons, followed at 11am by the obese persons belly flop contest at the pool...oh no, wait, that's on Carnival. Actually, our meet and greet will be shortened apparently by the mandatory anti- pirate safety drill at 10:30. Since this cruise travels thru waters known to be used by pirates, the briefing will cover what to do in the case of an emergency.

Some other activities for the sea day, are bridge, ballroom basics, slot, blackjack and Texas hold-em tournaments, and of course trivia.

 

For those who like to know, our Captain is Drazen Tijan and cruise director is Julie James.

 

Post any questions about the ship and I will try and get answers for you. For now, bon voyage!

[Paulchili]

Just a note about internet on Nautica.

We disembarked in Bangkok - 2 segments ago.

The internet was quite satisfactory 90% of the time - including my ability to watch YouTube and one basketball game live (with occasional interruption).

Thus it may be a function of your location or maybe everyone being online at the same time?

I think the internet should be fine for routine e mail reading, surfing, etc - maybe not for masssive downloads /uploads or streaming.

Thank you for your reporting - please keep it coming :)

[cbb]

Good morning everyone!

 

We are also on board this cruise and so far have only good news to report.

We flew from Miami to London and stayed at the Marriott- Heathrow for 2 days/2 nights. It is close to the airport and the staff was great about calling a cab to take us to the airport for our flight to Mumbai. Even better, our room was ready for us!!

 

I found a diy photo/ walking tour of London which we did the day we arrived. Having arrived @ 6am, we tried to stay in the sun and out of the bed--successfully accomplished! Lunch was at a great & very old pub and the weather was lovely.

 

Day 2 was a rainy, cold day. We were prepared for some colder weather, but this was temps in the 40s and raining!! We had not brought enough cold weather clothing so we scored 2 London sweatshirts for $15 GBP each and wore them constantly with our other jackets.

 

I looked for a museum we had not been to and found the London Museum which we thoroughly enjoyed plus I got to have a scone, clotted cream & strawberry jam at one of their cafes. Really great history on the city of London and we weren't out in the cold rain!

 

We used a combination of tube and bus to get to and from London and our hotel. Dave is a great fan of the Underground --very efficient way to handle lots of people in a timely manner!

 

On one of our trips we saw one tube so crammed with people that one man's face was literally smashed on the door glass. I wonder how commuters ever stay healthy?

 

Our BA flight from London to Mumbai was at least an hour late due to a/c hoses and jet way issues and a report of a work slowdown by French air traffic control which meant we were late arriving in Mumbai.

 

Our driver was waiting for us at the airport and whisked us to the Taj Mahal where we had a room in the historic wing and it was magnificent! I was thrilled but at 3:30am I was only interested in a shower and bed.

 

Up at 8ish, quick breakfast in one of the lounges, unfortunately NOT the Sea Lounge--long wait we were told-- and we grabbed our cameras and walked down to the Gateway to India, then several blocks north and west.

 

We saw the Oval (lots of guys playing cricket), Mumbai Univ, Rajabai Clock Towers, (Big Ben of India) several beautiful buildings from the British colonial era, and walked back to the hotel, and checked out. The hotel called a cab for us and we were whisked to the port.

 

Smooth check in with Oceania and by 1:00 we were in Terrace having lunch followed by a quick and successful trip to the Library. Our cabin was ready about 1:45.

 

Happy hour was delayed due to late arrival of guests but we were among the first in Horizons at 6pm and sail away was shortly afterwards. Julie James, cruise director, introduced herself to everyone at the tables there and wished us a great voyage.

 

She and I exchanged hugs and wished each other a great cruise--not a repeat of our circumnav of Oz!!!

 

Dinner and then early bed time. We have some sleep deprivation to take care of!!!

[cbb]

This morning breakfast outside at Terrace and then to a well-attended CCritic meeting at 10am, followed by the mandatory anti-pirate drill at 10:30.

 

On my return to the cabin I heard an officer reassure a passenger that O has several ways to repel bad guys.

 

He patted the side wall of a hall corridor and said these 'older ships are built strong and durable with lots of steel and can easily be repaired while at sea and wished all new cruise ships were built as well'--a general reference to all new cruise ships-- not O specifically.

 

So when we wish for new ships for O, perhaps we should keep in mind this officer's knowledge. Everything new is not necessarily better and he also mentioned so much plastic is being used in new builds.

 

Today's enrichment lecture was @ 9:30 by Clive Leatherdale who spoke on India and Islam, his area of expertise. I did not attend since we slept late and was at breakfast at 9:30 and literally jogged to the M&G.

 

We have not had any problems with the Internet, but we only logged on briefly to send a message to family that we had safely arrived. We've learned not to log on Day 1 or to log on in high use times during sea days! I've not had any problems loading these reports or David loading his blog.

 

For those of you who followed along as I circumnavigated Australia, please know that Nautica is well maintained, sweet-smelling, and as I pass the laundry room there is only the smell of detergent--not mold or mildew !!!

 

The crew is, as usual, composed of wonderful and hard-working young people. Our room attendant is the awesome Putu from Bali!

 

Captain Drazen Tijan is having the Captain's Cocktail Party tonight so free drinks for everybody. Life is good on Nautica!

 

Our pictures, his blog: drdavebradley.blogspot.com

[TLCOhio]

Just a note about internet on Nautica. We disembarked in Bangkok - 2 segments ago. The internet was quite satisfactory 90% of the time - including my ability to watch YouTube and one basketball game live (with occasional interruption). Thus it may be a function of your location or maybe everyone being online at the same time? I think the internet should be fine for routine e mail reading, surfing, etc - maybe not for masssive downloads /uploads or streaming. Thank you for your reporting - please keep it coming :)

 

Appreciate these details and this follow-up above from our San Francisco CC friend. Great added info, plus the wonderful postings from Mike, etc. Nice travel details from cbb. Excellent lead-up for this exciting sailing from India to Rome. Keep up the great sharing.

 

Did find out some background on one of your ship's speakers as you sail from Dubai to the Suez Canal, etc. You've got a number of sea-days scheduled and he will be a speaker for those on your cruise. Here's his bio:

 

Hassan Eltaher, Lecturer with Canada’s Foreign Service Institute, is a former diplomat specializing in Mediterranean/Arab world issues. Raised in Egypt and Lebanon, he has lived/worked in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco and U.S., before moving to Canada in 1980. For the Canadian Transport Department, he was Chief, Civil Aviation Security Intelligence. He has a Political Studies/International Relations degree from American University of Beirut and an MBA from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He speaks five languages. For the past seven years, he has been a lecturer aboard ships sailing between Europe and the Persian Gulf.

 

Mr. Eltaher will also be on our Nov. 16-Dec. 6, Athens to Dubai Oceania Nautica sailing. He did a recent Library of Congress lecture on Ancient Library of Alexandria. It's on YouTube and it is clear that Hassan is very knowledgeable, has a good sense of humor and can connection with his audiences. Look forward to getting feed-back from those on this upcoming cruise as to how Hassan Eltaher performs during his programs. With speakers like him, don't be shy!! Ask questions, chat with him, etc. He seems very approachable and likes those personal interactions with cruise passengers.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 224,607 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[RJ2002]

dkbustr, Enjoying the reports very much. Very happy to see the beautiful shots of the Taj Mahal. For some reason I thought the renovation work might still be going on, but I see the scaffolding is down! Good for you. We were in India in 2013 and had an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime land tour. I can empathize with your comments about the heat and traffic!

[dkbustr]

dkbustr, Enjoying the reports very much. Very happy to see the beautiful shots of the Taj Mahal. For some reason I thought the renovation work might still be going on, but I see the scaffolding is down! Good for you. We were in India in 2013 and had an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime land tour. I can empathize with your comments about the heat and traffic!

Our guide Ravi said the scaffolding was only down for a couple weeks, so yes we did get very lucky in that regard. Some of you might have seen that there was a severe storm at the Taj also a couple weeks ago. Many large trees were uprooted and one of the minarets at the gate was toppled. There was scaffolding there as they start repair.

[dkbustr]

 

Did find out some background on one of your ship's speakers as you sail from Dubai to the Suez Canal, etc. You've got a number of sea-days scheduled and he will be a speaker for those on your cruise. Here's his bio:

 

Hassan Eltaher, Lecturer with Canada’s Foreign Service Institute, is a former diplomat specializing in Mediterranean/Arab world issues. Raised in Egypt and Lebanon, he has lived/worked in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco and U.S., before moving to Canada in 1980. For the Canadian Transport Department, he was Chief, Civil Aviation Security Intelligence. He has a Political Studies/International Relations degree from American University of Beirut and an MBA from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He speaks five languages. For the past seven years, he has been a lecturer aboard ships sailing between Europe and the Persian Gulf.

 

Mr. Eltaher will also be on our Nov. 16-Dec. 6, Athens to Dubai Oceania Nautica sailing. He did a recent Library of Congress lecture on Ancient Library of Alexandria. It's on YouTube and it is clear that Hassan is very knowledgeable, has a good sense of humor and can connection with his audiences. Look forward to getting feed-back from those on this upcoming cruise as to how Hassan Eltaher performs during his programs. With speakers like him, don't be shy!! Ask questions, chat with him, etc. He seems very approachable and likes those personal interactions with cruise passengers.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Will watch out for Mr Eltaher's lectures, as his qualifications seem very substantial. Today's lecture today will again be by Mr Leatherdale on the topic of "The creation of Saudi Arabia".

 

Re: the internet

Again I have some difficulties retaining connection from our midship cabin deck 8. I'm sure everyone accessing on the sea days is most of the problem, and during off hours it is fine. But when it was prime time yesterday and we were in Horizons, I had a super strong signal, so it is location related also.

 

Yesterday's sea day was a lazy day. Did some ship activities, had a nice breakfast in Terrace cafe, good lunch and a great dinner in Polo. Our sommelier in Polo immediately recognized us from our Riviera cruise in July. He said bringing our favorite wine, Caymus Cabernet to Polo, which we also did in July, made it easy for him to remember us. Also the bartender at Martini's was on the Riviera cruise in July, and remembered us. Hmmm, this is making it sound like all we do is drink, but we enjoy a martini before dinner and a glass of wine with dinner, and that is about the limit for us.

 

Our cabin attendant, Robielyn, could not be more friendly or helpful. We are in a PH, so we have the services of a butler, Arun, who is also amazing. It is his first cruise as a butler, and he is obviously trying to impress out of the gate, which he has managed to accomplish, and then some. At this point I will have to say, our best butler to date. All the Oceania staff go out of their way to make sure the passengers have the best staff interaction that they can. Kudos to these hard working individuals!

 

Second full sea day today, so some activities planned, but again a recuperation day from the pace of the pre extension. Tomorrow early afternoon arrival in Dubai, so some pictures returning then.

Mike

[dkbustr]

Third time trying to post this, so frustration is setting in!

 

We arrived in Dubai on schedule at 1pm. Immigration in Dubai requires a fact to face meeting, so that invariably slows down leaving the ship for tours. At the sail in, we noticed our crew had arrived earlier with the boat from home...

 

The Dubai skyline in the background is highlighted by the tallest building in the world at 2717 feet, the Burj Khalifa. Originally named the Burj Dubai, it was renamed to honor the ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates. A new structure, the Jeddah Tower in Saudia Arabia will sit at 3307 feet.

 

The first things learned about Dubai is that there is a different income structure than India. Ranging from upper middle class to "I have so much money I don't know what to do with it". Secondly is that if you are going to build a building to top my building, I am going to build one that will make yours look miniature. So of course we saw the mock up of the new building going up in Dubai to dwarf the one in Saudi Arabia.

[dkbustr]

We scheduled a tour with Dubaiprivatetours.com, and our guide Sarij, was waiting for us after immigration. He was so pleasant, knowledgeable and funny, the four of us loved him from minute one. We had a 7 passenger vehicle for the 4 of us, which made the tour really comfortable, and a third the price of the same O tour.

 

Our first stop was the Jumeria mosque, a beautiful structure, but in tight spaces making it difficult to get a good photo...

Following this stop, we went to the beach in Jumeria to view the world's most expensive hotel... Are you understanding the trend here in Dubai??!! The Burj Al Arab runs from $2800-50000 a night, one of those if you have to ask, don't bother asking things.

Thankfully, if the tour vehicle broke down, someone brought a backup vehicle for us

[cbb]

Yesterday and today have been spent in Dubai. Having researched the place, having never been here before, and knowing we may never come again, we opted for a grand overview.

 

We wanted one of the HOHO buses (hop on hop off) that were advertised online. Mr Wonderful was a little stressed about trying to find the offices that were supposed to be close to the port.

 

We docked in Dubai about 1pm and after being cleared by immigration we were free to leave the ship.

 

We stood in line to leave from Nautica's 4th deck and "TAH DAH"....there was a representative from Big Bus Co right there waiting to sell tickets.

 

We quickly seized the opportunity and bought a 24 hr pass (timed from when you bought it + 24 hours) which was perfect for our needs. And it was charged to the room bill!

 

We all did have to do a face-to-face immigration check but in our case it took less than 30 seconds.

 

The Big Bus provided a FREE shuttle bus for its customers to the Dubai Mall, a connecting hub for the 3 routes offered: Red, Blue, and Green--each approximately 2-3 hrs, depending on traffic. At the connecting hub there are representatives of the bus company to guide you to the 'red bus', etc.

 

We got on the "Red" bus which took us throughout the Old City, and the earbuds worked great -providing a narrative of what we were seeing. One could chose from a number of languages and could adjust the volume easily.

 

"Old City" was built from the 1980s to now, not counting the Historical Area (being restored) and some older homes and buildings that predate the '80s. Please know "old" is still mostly gleaming highrises and amazing architecture!

 

We did not get off the bus, but many aboard took the opportunity to do so. The weather was 'warm' but one had a choice of A/C seats below or in the front half of top deck. The second half of the top was covered but open so that was our choice since we are avid and very amateur photographers.

 

When we returned to the Dubai Mall we used the free toilets. Go up the escalator from the bus stop, go through the courtyard, through the Mall doors and walk straight ahead--toilets about 150' ahead on the left....you're welcome!!!

 

Dave timed it and walking from bus back to bus was about 15 minutes. We walked the Mall for 1/2 hour and then caught the next shuttle bus back. Approximately 30-45 minutes from ship to Mall with buses running every 30 minutes.

 

Currently we can look at Dubai prices and divide by 4 to get ~US$. I bought a pair of back-up sunglasses and the price read 99...our receipt showed ~$25. (yes, plastic worked in Mall)

 

Last shuttle back to the ship was at 9:00pm but most passengers were back on board and Terrace was doing such a booming business that many of the waiters were pulled from the MDR to Terrace.

 

HINT: save your Big Bus receipts and if you have the opportunity to use them in another port they will give you a discount!

 

Have a great day!

[cbb]

Today, we continued our Dubai adventures with the Big Bus Company--retracing our steps from Nautica to shuttle to the Dubai Mall and changing buses--this time onto the Blue Route.

 

This covered territory that was more beach-based. We went to the famous area of the Palm. From the air this land is shaped like a giant palm tree, with each frond holding many high-rise hotels and multi-family developments.

 

Sand scooped up from the Arabian Sea and then precisely blown into certain areas provides the foundation for the area. The preciseness came from the use of GPS!!!

 

Signs along the road direct one to addresses of "K frond" or "L frond" ; this whole area was begun at the turn of the 21st century. Before this, our announcer declared, the whole area was desert waste.

 

All I could think of was "it just shows what can be done with huge amounts of workers and even more huge amounts of money. Non-natives can live here year around and in several other places in Dubai and evidently the taxes are favorable for doing this!

 

Almost every frond or 2 had a grocery store, a nursery school, a medical clinic, and either homes in high rises or in townhomes of 2 stories with plants and grass. All were near the beach, with some buildings touching the beaches--obviously high-end real estate.

 

Every place in Dubai is spotless and perfect. Young men patrol flower beds picking off a dead leaf or pulling up an audacious weed, the streets are swept, and there is no litter.

 

We often saw signs that said "If you are safe, then we are happy.....from the Dubai police" and the announcer said that most money spent by the Dubai government is for education, medicine, tourism, and infrastructure.

 

The population of Dubai today is around 3 Mil and although Arabic is the official language, English is the most spoken and is taught in the schools. It is considered one of the safest places in the world--both for locals and tourists.

 

Dubai is one of 7 monarchies that compose the United Arab Emirates. The leader of Dubai is an Emir and is one of the key office holders in the UAE.

 

In 2014, the Emir launched Dubai Plan 2021 which was to make Dubai one of the top players in the global economy by concentrating on trade, logistics, finance, and tourism.

 

From my amateur viewpoint I'd say they are very successful in tourism! Almost 16 million tourists visited in 2017 and early reports say that Dubai is on track to far exceed that in 2018.

 

When we returned to the ship for a late lunch Terrace had remained open even though they were to close at 2pm. Huge thanks to the hardworking staff and crew....cold drinks and good food were gratefully received!!

 

Soon time for trivia, then Horizon for a glass, and then dinner somewhere on board. Nautica sets sail at 6pm for Fujairah, UAE --to arrive at 8am. Can't wait!!!

[TLCOhio]

Yesterday and today have been spent in Dubai. Having researched the place, having never been here before, and knowing we may never come again, we opted for a grand overview. We docked in Dubai about 1pm and after being cleared by immigration we were free to leave the ship. We stood in line to leave from Nautica's 4th deck and "TAH DAH"....there was a representative from Big Bus Co right there waiting to sell tickets. We quickly seized the opportunity and bought a 24 hr pass (timed from when you bought it + 24 hours) which was perfect for our needs. And it was charged to the room bill!

 

Super appreciate this above great information/details from cbb, plus the excellent pictures and reporting from Mike/dkbustr. Keep it coming!! Love learning these details about Dubai and your journey on the Oceania Nautica. This keeps building the excitement for our Nov. 16-Dec. 6 trip from Athens to Dubai on the Nautica.

 

For Mike, destination speaker/expert Hassan Eltaher is on your ship through to your final stop in Rome. He is looking forward to hearing from you. Make sure you reach out to him and do some postings here as to his presentations, what you learned, etc. He will be on our fall trip as one of the speakers.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Finished June 2017 sailing on the Silver Spirit from Portugal to France along the scenic Atlantic Coast, plus great pre- and post-cruise experiences. Many interesting pictures and details on history, food, culture, etc., from my live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

Edited May 3, 2018 by TLCOhio

[dkbustr]

Thanks cbb for the background of the area. I will add a few pictures to the story. As was said, the Jumeria palm is an elaborate man made island. At the top of the palm is located the Atlantis hotel, owned by the same group as the Bahamas property. The size is larger and in the middle is a Middle Eastern design...

We then rode to the Spice and Gold Souks to look around. Gold items are quoted in two parts, one price for the weight in gold (non-negotiable) and the second part for labor. This part is meant to be bargained.

 

[dkbustr]

Our next morning, we again had a tour booked with dubaiprivatetours,com, this time with Pearl as a guide, and returning as our excellent driver, Anwar. This tour was to the Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque. The trip from port was about 90 minutes. This mosque is NOT the largest in the world, that of course is in Mecca, but they do have the largest continuous piece of carpet in the world, so I guess that qualifies as best of. They are very strict with dress code here. Women must have complete coverage except for face, but if you are inappropriately dressed, they do have abbaya's to wear so you can cover and go into the mosque.

Here we have Janice demonstrating acceptable dress in 100 degree heat.

The mosque is truly beautiful with it's Italian white marble and inlaid semi precious stones.

A section of the largest carpet in the world

One of the three Swarovski crystal chandeliers costing US 20,000,000 each.

[dkbustr]

Below are two pictures of some of the amazing architecture in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The first is the Abu Dhabi government building controlling land and construction

 

The second is a view of some buildings in Dubai at the Marina...

 

During the return drive, Pearl filled us in with two amazing facts about the area. Crime is almost non existent here, but in the case of murder, blood money of 250,000 dinhar would have to be paid to the family. But if you kill someone's camel, you would have to pay 500,000 dinhar to the owner.

In that same thought, Abu Dhabi has a 15 day event in December or January where they elect the world's most beautiful camel. The face is voted on by symmetry and shape and size of the face in proportion to the head. Someone asked why they don't have women's beauty pageants, and the response was because we can't see their faces under the wraps. But to make this seem even more amazing, the winning camel's owner receives 15 MILLION dinhar, so camels come from all around the Middle East for the contest.

 

 

She is gorgeous isn't she.

[dkbustr]

Yesterday, we were in Fujairah, UAE. The following are the positives I heard from the passengers from their port visit.....

 

Ok, and now the negatives. Unless I missed something, and hopefully those who went on tours will be able to add a positive, there wasn't much to see and do. The shuttle drops you off at Center City Mall, which unfortunately is nowhere near the center of any city. Your basic mall like at home, except the Toys-r-us didn't have any going out of business signs. The fall sailing does not include Fujairah, so there must have been enough negative feedback to remove it from future sailings.

 

Today, we are in Muscat, Oman. We did a half day private tour with Oman day tours, and although our guide was reasonably good, we were spoiled by our previous guides. But before I delve into the tour, I have to tell you all a little secret. You know how our crew had our yacht ready for us in Dubai, well, after seeing the other yachts there and getting some of the attitude of mine is bigger than yours rub off on us, we decided to dump it on an unsuspecting Emirati before we left Dubai. Someone told us there was a yacht we might consider as a replacement when we reached Muscat, and sure enough there she was.....

 

Actually, there they were. She is named Al Said, and her sister yacht, Fulk al Salamah. Just for a comparison, I will use m/s Nautica's stats since many of you are familiar with the Oceania R-class ships....

 

Cost: Al Said - US$ 300,000,000, Nautica 150,000,000

Length Al Said - 155 meters, Nautica 181 meters

Berth Al Said - 24 meters, Nautica - 25 meters

Passengers Nautica - 684 Al Said - 1

 

Thank goodness, with the bargaining skills I have acquired at the souks, I was able to secure her for about US$15, and get the other yacht thrown in for free. Now if I can just come up with the US$ 6,000,000 it takes for diesel to run them a year, I'll be set.

 

OK, so maybe there was a little exaggeration thrown in there at the end, but the statistics are true, They are owned by the Sultan of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The second yacht is strictly a supply ship for the first, and it's length of 150 meters makes it one of the top 10 yachts in the world. Not bad to haul along the extras you need.

[dkbustr]

Our Muscat tour started with a visit to the Sultan Qaboos Grand mosque. With room for 20,000 to pray, it was smaller then the Abu Dhabi at 56,000 to pray, but still very impressive. Although most mosques in Dubai and Abu Dhabi had marble domes, the ones in Oman have painted domes instead.

The interior of the mosque also contains some amazing chandeliers...

 

Our guide took the time to explain some of the Quran, making it a point that Jesus is mentioned in 55% of the text.

 

 

After the visit, we headed to the Muthra souk to practice our skills. In reality, not really a pushy place at all, most owners just politely asked if you would come into their shops...

 

 

After the souk, we drove to the museum to see some artifacts from earlier Omani times. Following this we went by the beach and then to the developing resort area highlighted by the Shangri-La hotel. Here is a view of the older part of Muscat

 

 

Our final stop was by the Qasr al Alam Royal Palace, where Sultan Qaboos resides

 

 

Back to the ship for showers and lunch, as again it was a very hot day.

[LadyCruisers]

Is Julie James the CD on this sailing? If so would someone currently on board ask if she will be on Nautica’s June 18 sailing r/t Dublin. We have sailed with her previously and really enjoyed her and hope she still be on for our upcoming sailing on June 18. Thanks so much.

 

Barbara

[Reading54]

We sailed on this part of the world in 2015 with Insignia as segments of the world cruise. I agree with you that there was not much to see in Fujarrah. I thought our time could be better used to spend that day in Dubai instead (we only had one day in Dubai). However, on the Oceania's survey form I do not recall they ever asked if any port was a worthwhile stop. Thus there was no way to reflect that sentiment up to the management.

[TLCOhio]

Our Muscat tour started with a visit to the Sultan Qaboos Grand mosque. With room for 20,000 to pray, it was smaller then the Abu Dhabi at 56,000 to pray, but still very impressive. Although most mosques in Dubai and Abu Dhabi had marble domes, the ones in Oman have painted domes instead.

The interior of the mosque also contains some amazing chandeliers.

 

Appreciate from Mike these great reports, details, pictures and follow-ups. Good news? Glad that we won' have a stop later this year at Fujairah, UAE. Loved your specifics and details for comparing the massive mosque in Abu Dhabi versus the one in Muscat named Sultan Qaboos Grand.

 

Keep it coming!! Looking forward to a few pictures and details as to your loves and favorites spots on Nautica. Hint! Hint! Soon you will have those four sea-days while doing the Gulf of Eden and Red Sea. For cbb, don't be shy. Look forward to any additional sharing from you and any others sailing now on the Nautica.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting, dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 38,514 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.