Review of Arabian Gulf Cruise

[mslubylu]

Following on from my Arabian Gulf cruise on P&0's Oceana in early March 2019 I thought it would be a good idea to review the trip and hopefully pass on some useful information to fellow cruisers. 

For this trip I travelled with my husband and his parents for the 10 night cruise, which started in Dubai. We flew with Emirates overnight to Dubai and were greeted by P &O staff once we had cleared immigration and taken to the ship. The main difference with this cruise compared to other P&O fly cruise's is that you have to clear immigration at the airport and then collect your own luggage and take it to the coach yourself.  There was no worry of getting lost as once in the arrivals lounge there were P&O staff every few metres to help direct you to the coach's. The rest of the check in procedure was the same as for other cruises once at the ship we were given our cruise card and our luggage was taken off the coach for us.  We arrived at the ship at about 10am, the only downside of arriving early is that you can't check into your cabin until 12, so not great if you are really tired and want to freshen up. But to be fair to the staff they did work really hard to get everything ready so we could get into our cabin a few minutes early. 

 

For our first afternoon/evening in Dubai, we decided to take the shuttle bus into the city. The shuttle bus is free for all cruise passengers and takes you to the Dubai Mall, which is about 30 minutes away, from there you can get the metro. We decided the have a look around the mall, which is huge and full of designer shops. There is also an aquarium and ice rink and the Dubai fountains and Burj Khalifa are easily accessible from the mall. 

 

For our 2nd of three days in Dubai we decided to take a taxi to the Dubai Miracle Gardens, these are only open in the winter months and is a giant garden with massive sculptures such aeroplanes, a house and cats decorated with flowers. Whilst we were there we also visited the butterfly farm. If you are visiting with a family this is a nice way to spend a few hours. We didn't do anything else that day as the road to the port was closing for a bike race, so we needed to be back aboard early. 

 

For our next port we travelled on to Manama in Bahrain, the port is a way out of the city so for this port we decided to do a ship excursion. However there was a free shuttle bus that would take passengers into the old town. There was a very warm welcome when we arrived with a traditional band playing and local women offering passengers dates and coffee. My husband decided to visit the Bahrain Grand Prix circuit which he really enjoyed, whilst my in laws and I decided to do a tour of the city. Which included stops at the Al Fateh Mosque, Bahrain national museum, a restored 1800 house and a cultural centre where traditional craftsmen still work. This was a really good way to explore the city. Lady's be aware that the mosque were very strict with clothing and will ask you to wear a gown in you aren't dressed appropriately. You get a notice in your cabin each night explaining the local laws and customs for the port you are visiting the next day. 

 

On leaving Bahrain we sailed to Abu Dhabi for two days in port. For the first day in Abu Dhabi we decided to use the big bus to get around as this takes you to all the main attractions in Abu Dhabi and you can get on right outside the port, however it is expensive at about £50 each for the day, 2 days works out better and is around £60 each.  The whole loop takes about 3 hours to complete but it only goes in one direction, so I would advise planning your day as we didn't and wasted a lot of time.  On the first day we didn't do very much , we did the big bus tour and visited the Shiekh Zayed Mosque. The mosque was absolutely stunning with breath-taking architecture and one of the highlights of the holiday.  For the 2nd day in Abu Dhabi, my husband and in laws went on a ship organised excursion to see the Yas Marina circuit. I decided to use my 2 day big bus pass to see the sights we missed on the first day. I visited the heritage village, which is based on traditional village and has local craftsmen making traditional items. I also visited the Shiekh Zayed Heritage center and Ethihad modern arts museum. For these stops I managed to time the stops for 30 minutes between each bus you don't need any more time than that. I then went onto the new Louvre Museum, which had an interesting mix of art from different cultures and periods of history displayed together. I would say this is worth a visit if you have time. Later in the evening my husband and I took a taxi to see the Emirates Palace Hotel, we tried to visit earlier in the day but were refused entry as we were in shorts. The palace is actually a very luxurious hotel, but you are able to walk and around and visit. Overall Abu Dhabi was our favourite port with plenty to see and do. If we visited again we probably would just use taxis to get around they are so cheap and plentiful and are all metered. There is also a free shuttle bus to the Abu Dhabi Mall from the port.

 

Following on the from Abu Dhabi we had a day at sea before arriving in Khor Fakkan in Fujairah another of the seven emirates. This port was added onto the itinerary instead of going to Muscat. For this port we couldn't find much information so decided to do a ship excursion. The excursion included a scenic drive around the area, a visit to a local fort, mosque and some local markets, our guide was very knowledgeable, explaining about Emirati life as we travelled around . We also took the free shuttle bus into the town which was very tiny and only the local supermarket was open, the bus was mostly full of crew stocking up on snacks and drinks.  Overall I would say this was the most disappointing port I have ever visited with very little to see and do.

 

The next day we arrived in Khasab, Oman, there was some uncertainty if we would dock as it was a small port with no pilot and windy weather but we made it. For this port we had arranged to do a dhow boat cruise through the Omani Fjords. We booked through the ship but there were plenty of locals at the port selling trips when we arrived. The cruise was lovely and scenery was beautiful, we were also lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins. It was really nice to relax and the boat also stopped for half an hour for you to take a swim. The host was also very good at bringing snacks and drinks round. Once we returned we decided to take the free shuttle bus into Khasab town, there isn't much to do in Khasab itself just a few shops and cafes, and plenty of goats running around. I would say if you aren't doing the dhow cruise there isn't much else to see.

 

Following on from Khasab we arrived at Sir Bani Yas Island, which is an nature reserve owned by the ruler of Abu Dhabi. There wasn't much to do on the island if you weren't on an organised excursion. We decided against doing any of the excursions as they were very short and quite expensive but my husband and I decided to go and enjoy a day on the beach. There was very clean facilities and the crew brought food and beverages from the ship, there was also play areas for children. The only downside was that this was a tender port which meant lengthy queues to and from the island. My husband queued for 90 minutes to get the island, as the lounges were packed with people waiting I decided to sit by the pool, instead of leaving the ship. But as I had kept hold my ticket I decided to join him at the last minute when the numbers were called. When then had a 45 minute wait coming back, so although the island is very pretty it would be have been quite a nice to sit and relax on a mostly empty ship.

 

We then returned to Dubai for the final two days of the cruise. For our final full day in Dubai we had a lot planned. In the morning we got a taxi from the port to the Dubai creek. Unfortunately we were over charged by the taxi driver, who was determined to take us on tour of the city and wasn't happy about loosing out on a bigger fare. This was the only time we were ripped off with the taxis as every other driver used the meter. From the creek we took a dhow boat across the river to the souks, the boats are very cheap and less than £1 to cross. We then spent time wondering around the gold and spice souks which is completely different to the urban nature of the majority of Dubai. From the souk we took another taxi to the Dubai Frame, this is basically a giant 48 storey photo frame, that has panoramic views of old and new dubai. It also has a glass floor at the top, with the bonus that its free for over 60's to enter. From there we took a taxi to the dubai mall, so that we could catch the metro to visit the Palm Jumeriah for those with mobility issues be aware the walk to the metro from the Dubai Mall is quite a distance. The metro again was very cheap to use working out at a couple of pounds for each journey. The journey to the palm was quite a distance as you need to travel on the metro, then change and get the tram and then finally walk a few minutes to catch the monorail. You also need to pay for the monorail separately. Although it was really nice to see the palm and you get a really good view from the monorail, I personally felt it was a long way to go with not much to do, but my husband was happy. On the way back from the palm we stopped at the Emirates Mall and had a look at the indoor ski centre, you can watch people skiing through giant windows in the mall. For our final stop we had pre-booked tickets to the Burj Khalifa, which we timed for half an hour before sunset. I would recommend booking tickets in advance as they were all sold out by the time we went on holiday. The views from the top were very nice and we managed to watch the fountain display from there. The only downside was that there was no seating at the top which a bit of an issue for my father in law. 

 

Overall we really enjoyed our cruise, it wasn't what I expected it to be.  As Dubai and Abu Dhabi were at lot more built up than I expected and the culture was very westernised. There was no issue over dress code and I was able to wear shorts and t-shirts most days, the weather was warm and sunny but no oppressive heat and every where we went was clean and tidy. There was a lot to see and do in the ports and they are constantly building and developing new landmarks and attractions. I would recommend this cruise to anyone thinking of booking. 

[teralin]

Thanks for the review.  Was the Dubai Mall shuttle easy to find at the terminal, did you need tickets and were the queues long.  We will be coming into Dubai on the Spectrum of the Seas in May and would like to see as much as possible during the two days we are there. Your review was really helpful.  Thanks

[mslubylu]

On 4/1/2019 at 1:53 PM, teralin said:

Thanks for the review.  Was the Dubai Mall shuttle easy to find at the terminal, did you need tickets and were the queues long.  We will be coming into Dubai on the Spectrum of the Seas in May and would like to see as much as possible during the two days we are there. Your review was really helpful.  Thanks

Hi,  the dubai mall shuttle bus is right outside the terminal and you just need to show your cruise card to get on the bus. We found that there wasn't any queues going to the mall. We found on the return journey it was much busier, as the area where the bus drops you off is very busy with lots of buses and people wondering around. We found it was around a 20-30 minute wait.

[teralin]

Thanks for the info.

[Unibok]

Very helpful, thank you for taking the time to write this up!