Mediterranean or Gulf cruise

[Zeikah]

Hi all,

 

I know you can't decide for me but some advice from those that may have cruised both places might be able to help me decide.

 

It will be our 25th Anniversary holiday March 2021. We have decided on Dubai for a week + 1 extra week. (flying from Australia) I love cruising so I think a cruise for the second week might be the way to go. 

 

I have narrowed it down to two options. I can either do 7 nights on the Seaview from Dubai. (Bahrain,Doha,Sir Bani Yas & Abu Dhabi)  or 7 nights on Virtuosa from Barcelona. (Marseilles,Genoa,Rome,Palermo & Malta).

 

March in the Gulf will be nice weather but the ports seem not to excite me too much (Abu Dahbi will be ok) Also I can taxi to the ship.

March seems not to be as good weather in the Med. Ports will be more interesting but we need a 7hr flight each way to do this one.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Norwich Cruiser]

I’d stick with Seaview as not a great fan of those particular Mediterranean ports although always enjoy the Malta visit the sail in is worth getting up early to view.

If you could find a Greek Islands cruise which works with your timeline that may be a better option.

[perakcruiser]

7 hours ago, Zeikah said:

I have narrowed it down to two options. I can either do 7 nights on the Seaview from Dubai. (Bahrain,Doha,Sir Bani Yas & Abu Dhabi)  or 7 nights on Virtuosa from Barcelona. (Marseilles,Genoa,Rome,Palermo & Malta).

 

Difficult. 

 

I would say this depends on how many times you been to Europe and these places. Certainly they are much more interesting than Bahrain, Doha and AD. The big highlight in the Middle East is Dubai and some places in the UAE you can visit with rental car (Liwa Oasis and so on). But the Seaview should be also a great destination in itself. As the Virtuosa will be certainly.

[Zeikah]

2 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

Difficult. 

 

I would say this depends on how many times you been to Europe and these places. Certainly they are much more interesting than Bahrain, Doha and AD. The big highlight in the Middle East is Dubai and some places in the UAE you can visit with rental car (Liwa Oasis and so on). But the Seaview should be also a great destination in itself. As the Virtuosa will be certainly.

 

Thanks. We have never been to Europe or UAE.

Yes I am more about the ship as the destination. My wife on the other hand is more about the destination. Hence my dilemma. haha

[Zeikah]

4 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

I’d stick with Seaview as not a great fan of those particular Mediterranean ports although always enjoy the Malta visit the sail in is worth getting up early to view.

If you could find a Greek Islands cruise which works with your timeline that may be a better option.

 

Thanks. Can't seem to find anything for the Greek islands for that time. Maybe March is not the right time? If I could find a Greek island cruise, that would sway me.

[perakcruiser]

12 minutes ago, Zeikah said:

Thanks. We have never been to Europe or UAE.

Yes I am more about the ship as the destination. My wife on the other hand is more about the destination. Hence my dilemma. haha

OK, but in this case it is not difficult for me. I know how brutal the flights are, certainly Malaysia is closer than Australia, but still brutal enough ;)

 

But nevertheless, if you never been to Europe and get the chance to see two of worlds top cities with Barcelona and Rome, a glance of France with Marseille, the lovely Italy medieval cities of Genova and Palermo and La Valetta, the wonderful gem in the Med, and all this with a brandnew MSC ship, that is well worth the extra hours in the airplane. And the flight from Dubai or AD to Europe is not really tough. 

 

 

[Stadleter]

Dubai in march is a gamble beacuse it can be to hot. 

I would do a week of Dubai and then go to  Europe. Try to board in Barcelona. 

[CruiseIreland]

Hi. We've done several Med cruises and one gulf cruise. Hands down, the Mediterranean wins for me.  More interesting ports. The novelty of the ship doesn't hold me over interesting ports. Abu Dhabi's Grand Mosque was beautiful and Dubai is interesting in a tacky way,  Ken

[welshy74]

It really depends what you want.  The med cruise will not be relaxing due to the ports.  For example, Marsailles is not the nicest port and will require an early start to go to a nicer place like Aix en Provence or Avignon.  Genoa is a bit dull and Rome is a long way from the port.  However 2 weeks in the Middle East will be a bit boring IMHO.  Personally I would not fly the extra 7 hours for this cruise.