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Muscat tour question


SakeDad
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We are looking at DIY in Muscat and just walking from the ship to the shopping area and some mosques. And we were planning on just doing the Hop On/Hop Off in Penang. But today we got an off for excursions from an online company that has a Magical Muscat/Taste of Penang dual tour. My concern is we like to meander, eat here and there, see sights and not feel rushed. For tasting different foods I don't want to be handed 3 little things, hurried to eat and move on to the next place. Also it's Ramadan in Muscat when we go so not sure how that would affect organized tours. If we are on our own we just change our plans.

If you have done these tours and also done these cities on your own I would love to hear what our best option is. We have traveled all over, are very adventurous eaters and shoppers but also want to see all the key spots in these ports.

Thanks in advance

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We were in Muscat on a Celebrity cruise last year. The ship provided a shuttle to the Mutrah Souq. The main commercial area is behind and the wonderful strolling section of the corniche in front. We jumped on the hoho and did the full loop. The bus stops a couple of times allowing a few minutes for you to jump off, go to a lookout point and jump back on without having to wait for the next bus. It's a great way to get an overview of Muscat City. Ramadan and the day of the week will impact your journey. Best to check hoho availability if you plan on using it.

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Somebody is selling a combination tour of Muscat, Oman and PENANG, Malaysia?

These places are 5000 km apart as the crow flies,  or over 6000 km by sea.

And it will be Ramadan in Malaysia as well...

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/9/2019 at 4:53 AM, buchhalm said:

Somebody is selling a combination tour of Muscat, Oman and PENANG, Malaysia?

These places are 5000 km apart as the crow flies,  or over 6000 km by sea.

And it will be Ramadan in Malaysia as well...

Well as our ship stops in both it could work. But as it's Ramadan I don't want a tour just to see what's closed.

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Having lived through 6 Ramadans in Oman, 7 in Bahrain and 2 in the UAE I can tell you that in the past years things are becoming a bit more relaxed.

Hotels operate pretty much as any other day, but with some F&B restrictions at times.

Many restaurants open only in the evening,  but then into the wee hours. Places that ARE open during the day will often cover their windows so that fasting Muslims are not tempted. 

What is very, very important is that any eating (even chewing gum), drinking,  smoking, showing of affection in public and during day-old hours is STRICTLY forbidden and a no-go. It is highly disrespectful to any of those things during Ramadan.

Don't openly sip from your water bottle and such things.

Whilst it is unlikely that you will get 8nto real trouble,  it is not uncommon that a member of the public or a police officer will come up to you and tell you off.

There ARE several exceptions to this rule in the Holy Quoran, but 99.9% of the population chose to overlook these.

Better to just play along and avoid trouble. 

Roll-your-eyes situations include such cute scenarios like last year in Abu Dhabi where the cinema candy bars are, durind daytime hours,  behind black screens with big signs "No Muslim customers in this area". So I could buy my "Nachos with everything" or salty-and-caramel-half-and-half popcorn, and then sit right next to Mohammad inside the auditirium,  eating my food "in privacy". 

 

As for tourist attractions,  most will be open, but open later in the day.  Then, many are open until midnight or even later. You will see the indoor amusement parks in the malls packed with little kids at 11 pm and later. 

I would not worry about organised tours in Muslim countries (especially ship organised ones) . They will adjust their timings to consider Ramadan hours.

 

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On 4/8/2019 at 7:45 AM, SakeDad said:

We are looking at DIY in Muscat and just walking from the ship to the shopping area and some mosques. And we were planning on just doing the Hop On/Hop Off in Penang. But today we got an off for excursions from an online company that has a Magical Muscat/Taste of Penang dual tour. My concern is we like to meander, eat here and there, see sights and not feel rushed. For tasting different foods I don't want to be handed 3 little things, hurried to eat and move on to the next place. Also it's Ramadan in Muscat when we go so not sure how that would affect organized tours. If we are on our own we just change our plans.

If you have done these tours and also done these cities on your own I would love to hear what our best option is. We have traveled all over, are very adventurous eaters and shoppers but also want to see all the key spots in these ports.

Thanks in advance

 

You wont be allowed to walk from the ship to the nearest shopping areas, although all cruise lines will offer a free shuttle to the port entrance and others will offer shuttles into the nearby souqs. 

 

If you go to the port entrance to find a taxi brace yourself for the huge number of taxi drivers that will be there waiting for you, each vying for your attention 🙂

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