Dubai

[Jayayeff]

6 hours ago, mef_57 said:

Shh.  I am trying to stay in a little bubble of denial as to how hot it may be.  I use wunderground website for historical temps. It gives low and highs and precipitation. Humidex factor doesn't appear.  Summers in Ottawa are what I call soup season, so I know humidity - but it doesn't mean I have to like it. If too hot, The Mall is cut from the list. I would rather swelter in the souks or on the dabra.

 

 
You’ll be fine - yes it’s hot already by May but not necessarily humid.  Humidity levels are dependent upon other climatic conditions, so sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t..... 😀

 

Anne...

[Gordoncruickshank]

7 hours ago, Jayayeff said:

I agree, a 1 night post-cruise stay serves no purpose other than making the trip home slower!!!  However, there are many options to get back to Glasgow/Edinburgh, from daily non-stop Emirates flights to connections via any number of European cities.  You only need  to fly via Heathrow if you restrict yourself to British Airways - which the majority of those of us who regularly fly to UK destinations other than London tend to avoid!!!!  
 

Anne...

Thanks Anne

The cruise starts in Athens and, at the moment, BA is far cheaper than anywhere else. I have been checking using Skyscanner for a while. It may be because the low cost options will not have their schedules done that far in advance.

 

 

[mef_57]

8 hours ago, Jayayeff said:

 
You’ll be fine - yes it’s hot already by May but not necessarily humid.  Humidity levels are dependent upon other climatic conditions, so sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t..... 😀

 

Anne...

Thanks for the reassurance Anne. It supports my research, but we know Mother Nature has her own plans at times.

[Skoobdo]

20 hours ago, mef_57 said:

Shh.  I am trying to stay in a little bubble of denial as to how hot it may be.  I use wunderground website for historical temps. It gives low and highs and precipitation. Humidex factor doesn't appear.  Summers in Ottawa are what I call soup season, so I know humidity - but it doesn't mean I have to like it. If too hot, The Mall is cut from the list. I would rather swelter in the souks or on the dabra.

 

You won't have to swelter🔥at the mall or going to the mall.  If you're still staying at the Ramada, you can get a government own taxi RTA. They are equipped with WiFi and security cameras. They utilize the Careem app (similar to Uber) or you can pay direct. It will be less than $5.00 to the mall depending on when you go.  But, most hotels have a daily shuttle there.  And I would certainly think Ramada would have one.  It's nice and cool inside the mall though.

 

I've attached a heat index map, if you can find some historical humidity indexes to add to the temperatures.

[mef_57]

4 hours ago, Skoobdo said:

You won't have to swelter🔥at the mall or going to the mall.  If you're still staying at the Ramada, you can get a government own taxi RTA. They are equipped with WiFi and security cameras. They utilize the Careem app (similar to Uber) or you can pay direct. It will be less than $5.00 to the mall depending on when you go.  But, most hotels have a daily shuttle there.  And I would certainly think Ramada would have one.  It's nice and cool inside the mall though.

 

I've attached a heat index map, if you can find some historical humidity indexes to add to the temperatures.

I guess I need to embrace the taxi concept for short distances. I tend to walk. Thanks for the app detail. I would prefer the Pink Taxis to promote the service,  but I hear they are pretty popular so may not be as available. I have no qualms about regular taxis or Uber, so Careem is a good option.

Interesting humidex table. Looks like should be good up to 30%.

[Skoobdo]

1 hour ago, mef_57 said:

I guess I need to embrace the taxi concept for short distances. I tend to walk. Thanks for the app detail. I would prefer the Pink Taxis to promote the service,  but I hear they are pretty popular so may not be as available. I have no qualms about regular taxis or Uber, so Careem is a good option.

Interesting humidex table. Looks like should be good up to 30%.

The pink taxis are the government taxis (RTA).  They accept Careen and regular fare.  And as far as I know there's Uber too.  Haven't used Uber here yet (I walk and take the metro), but it shows up as an option to use when I go to Google maps each day planning out a long walk somewhere in town.

[Jayayeff]

2 hours ago, Skoobdo said:

The pink taxis are the government taxis (RTA).  They accept Careen and regular fare.  And as far as I know there's Uber too.  Haven't used Uber here yet (I walk and take the metro), but it shows up as an option to use when I go to Google maps each day planning out a long walk somewhere in town.

Uber and Careem merged about a year ago so they are one and the same thing.....and they operate under special arrangement with the RTA hence the reason you can book any via the same app.   They are trying to phase out the RTA call centre so all taxi requests/bookings will be via the RTA app and operate the same way as Uber/Careem does however, at the moment both are still in use.......Plus, you can still hail an available RTA cab on the street for immediate use....

 

Anne....

[Skoobdo]

Anne, I have a question for you, if you're able to help.  I'm taking two cruises starting in 2 days from Dubai. Can you tell me which Cruise Port building to enter for MSC ships?  I'm assuming as I approach the port I'll see the ship and it would be obvious (hopefully).

 

On Google maps at Port Rashid there's one labeled "Dubai Cruise Terminal" to the west and another one labeled "Dubai Cruise Terminal 3" a bit of a walking distance east of the first one.

 

When I go to the government website for these cruise terminals, they only have a map of the one on the left (west), the smaller one.  But, most all reviews mention the larger one.  I just don't want to waste money with a taxi driver going in circles, because they like that to their benefit of course 😊

 

Thanks in advance.

[dbsb3233]

We have a March cruise starting in Dubai, and we're staying 2 nights in hotel (the ship also docks an extra night).  Never been to Dubai before so I did some research.  The layout kinda reminds me a little of the Las Vegas Strip, in that the properties and things to see are huge and spread out and not very walkable.  It doesn't appear to me that there's any core "Old Town" area to stay in like many European cities have, where you can just stay there are walk around and see the best stuff.  Looks like it's gonna take transportation to see much.

 

So instead of picking a hotel near some destination, I picked one with the easiest access to the Metro.  I chose the Somewhere Apartment Hotel in the Dubai Creek area (next to the Deira City Center Mall).  The subway entrance is literally on the sidewalk in front of the hotel.  Looks like a nice hotel, although every hotel I checked looked really nice and had surprisingly good prices.  I thought Dubai would be much more expensive but there's tons of decent 4-star hotels for under $150/ni (USD) after taxes.

 

It's also very close to the airport.  After 20 hours of flights to get into Dubai late night, the shorter the ride from the airport the better.  We might even just take the subway since it looks like there's escalators on all of them (not sure about elevators).  Wouldn't want to drag our luggage up stairs. 

[Jayayeff]

1 hour ago, Skoobdo said:

Anne, I have a question for you, if you're able to help.  I'm taking two cruises starting in 2 days from Dubai. Can you tell me which Cruise Port building to enter for MSC ships?  I'm assuming as I approach the port I'll see the ship and it would be obvious (hopefully).

 

On Google maps at Port Rashid there's one labeled "Dubai Cruise Terminal" to the west and another one labeled "Dubai Cruise Terminal 3" a bit of a walking distance east of the first one.

 

When I go to the government website for these cruise terminals, they only have a map of the one on the left (west), the smaller one.  But, most all reviews mention the larger one.  I just don't want to waste money with a taxi driver going in circles, because they like that to their benefit of course 😊

 

Thanks in advance.

Port Rashid is no longer a ‘working’ port so the only ships in there are cruise ships.  I was on the QE2 about ten days ago and there was a Costa and an MSC ship over at the cruise terminal, and whilst they have numbers they are actually side by side.  Once you drive into the port you will easily see which ship(s) are there and the road from the security check-point to the terminal buildings is clearly signed and the taxi driver should know the way to the drop off point for each ship if there are more than one....

 

Anne...

[Jayayeff]

14 minutes ago, dbsb3233 said:

We have a March cruise starting in Dubai, and we're staying 2 nights in hotel (the ship also docks an extra night).  Never been to Dubai before so I did some research.  The layout kinda reminds me a little of the Las Vegas Strip, in that the properties and things to see are huge and spread out and not very walkable.  It doesn't appear to me that there's any core "Old Town" area to stay in like many European cities have, where you can just stay there are walk around and see the best stuff.  Looks like it's gonna take transportation to see much.

 

So instead of picking a hotel near some destination, I picked one with the easiest access to the Metro.  I chose the Somewhere Apartment Hotel in the Dubai Creek area (next to the Deira City Center Mall).  The subway entrance is literally on the sidewalk in front of the hotel.  Looks like a nice hotel, although every hotel I checked looked really nice and had surprisingly good prices.  I thought Dubai would be much more expensive but there's tons of decent 4-star hotels for under $150/ni (USD) after taxes.

 

It's also very close to the airport.  After 20 hours of flights to get into Dubai late night, the shorter the ride from the airport the better.  We might even just take the subway since it looks like there's escalators on all of them (not sure about elevators).  Wouldn't want to drag our luggage up stairs. 

The hotel you mentioned is very close to the airport, and easily accessible by Metro - and all Metro stations do have both escalators and elevators.  The Port Saeed area around Deira City Centre is mostly commercial and the roads there can get very congested.  If you look at properties a little further from DCC along Beniyas St. it will be a little less congested and you will be in what is referred to as ‘Old Dubai’, which is much closer to the Creek, and more pedestrian friendly.   There are several hotels and aparthotels that personally I would recommend over the Somewhere Hotel.   Rates are still very reasonable, especially compared to those around Burj Khalifa and Downtown.   Ones I know personally are the Dubai Sheraton Hotel & Towers, the Hilton Dubai Creek and the Rotana Al Bandar however there are several others if you look on the usual hotel booking or review sites.... The drive from the airport is only a few minutes difference however, they are not right beside a Metro station if that is important  to you...

 

Anne...

[Skoobdo]

43 minutes ago, Jayayeff said:

Port Rashid is no longer a ‘working’ port so the only ships in there are cruise ships.  I was on the QE2 about ten days ago and there was a Costa and an MSC ship over at the cruise terminal, and whilst they have numbers they are actually side by side.  Once you drive into the port you will easily see which ship(s) are there and the road from the security check-point to the terminal buildings is clearly signed and the taxi driver should know the way to the drop off point for each ship if there are more than one....

 

Anne...

Thanks Anne.  Google Maps just makes it confusing.  Glad to know it's basically just one main overall terminal with good signage.

[dbsb3233]

8 minutes ago, Jayayeff said:

The hotel you mentioned is very close to the airport, and easily accessible by Metro - and all Metro stations do have both escalators and elevators.  The Port Saeed area around Deira City Centre is mostly commercial and the roads there can get very congested.  If you look at properties a little further from DCC along Beniyas St. it will be a little less congested and you will be in what is referred to as ‘Old Dubai’, which is much closer to the Creek, and more pedestrian friendly.   There are several hotels and aparthotels that personally I would recommend over the Somewhere Hotel.   Rates are still very reasonable, especially compared to those around Burj Khalifa and Downtown.   Ones I know personally are the Dubai Sheraton Hotel & Towers, the Hilton Dubai Creek and the Rotana Al Bandar however there are several others if you look on the usual hotel booking or review sites.... The drive from the airport is only a few minutes difference however, they are not right beside a Metro station if that is important  to you...

 

Anne...

Thanks Anne.  Appreciate the info.  I almost went with one closer to the creek (Raddison Blu).  I looked at the Hilton too.  All the hotels looked nice, actually, so it came down more to ease of using the metro.  If there's more stuff to do/see by the creek, maybe I'll switch.  We effectively just have 1.5 days at the hotel.  Flight arrives 10:30pm so we just go straight to bed around midnight and probably sleep for 10 hours after the long flights and jetlag. One day of seeing things via Metro, and half a day the next before we head to the cruise port midday (although it stays docked for a night so we have an extra Dubai day from the ship to see things).  With such a short hotel stay, I didn't think we'd be hanging around the hotel area much at all, so I just went with easiest metro access.

[Skoobdo]

Just reporting back on my Embarkation process in Dubai on MSC Lirica yesterday.

 

There are three separate cruise port terminal buildings.  Basically, look for your ship as you enter the main road and go to the closest building.  My ship left out of Terminal 2 (which is the one labeled only Dubai Cruise Terminal) on Google Maps, the smaller building.  According to a MSC representative, they use all the terminals, so just look for the ship. Otherwise, you'll have a very long walk to the next terminal building.

 

When I arrived in Dubai over 3 weeks ago I purchased alcohol from the duty-free.  I had an unopened bottle of vodka left, so I brought it with me to take on the ship, along with bottled water and food from the grocery store.

 

Outside, before the controlled area (line scans and magnetometers), I was asked if I had any alcohol, which I expected because of MSC's rules.  However, they just told me not to have it in any bags that I carry on the ship, and to place it in my other duffle bag that they will deliver later. When it arrived to my room, the vodka was still there.  All the food and water went through the line scan, and nothing was said at all.

 

So, it looks like they don't really enforce their rules, which was good for me.  I received an OBC that I had planned on using specifically for vodka and orange juice and maybe some beers, but now I'll use it for something else.  That bottle of vodka will last me quite sometime.  And since I have a b2b cruise, I'll just leave the vodka in my bag and transfer it to my new cabin.

 

My overall impression of MSC so far is very good.  Nothing like a carnival cruise I took😄

 

Lots of quiet places to eat and sit, especially the area right outside the buffet where you can get a window seat and watch the skyline go by.  Not bad.  But my impression might change after 18 days ☺️ 

 

On edit: There's probably less than 10 kids on this cruise.

 

Edited December 12, 2019 by Skoobdo

[mef_57]

11 hours ago, Skoobdo said:

Just reporting back on my Embarkation process in Dubai on MSC Lirica yesterday.

 

There are three separate cruise port terminal buildings.  Basically, look for your ship as you enter the main road and go to the closest building.  My ship left out of Terminal 2 (which is the one labeled only Dubai Cruise Terminal) on Google Maps, the smaller building.  According to a MSC representative, they use all the terminals, so just look for the ship. Otherwise, you'll have a very long walk to the next terminal building.

 

When I arrived in Dubai over 3 weeks ago I purchased alcohol from the duty-free.  I had an unopened bottle of vodka left, so I brought it with me to take on the ship, along with bottled water and food from the grocery store.

 

Outside, before the controlled area (line scans and magnetometers), I was asked if I had any alcohol, which I expected because of MSC's rules.  However, they just told me not to have it in any bags that I carry on the ship, and to place it in my other duffle bag that they will deliver later. When it arrived to my room, the vodka was still there.  All the food and water went through the line scan, and nothing was said at all.

 

So, it looks like they don't really enforce their rules, which was good for me.  I received an OBC that I had planned on using specifically for vodka and orange juice and maybe some beers, but now I'll use it for something else.  That bottle of vodka will last me quite sometime.  And since I have a b2b cruise, I'll just leave the vodka in my bag and transfer it to my new cabin.

 

My overall impression of MSC so far is very good.  Nothing like a carnival cruise I took😄

 

Lots of quiet places to eat and sit, especially the area right outside the buffet where you can get a window seat and watch the skyline go by.  Not bad.  But my impression might change after 18 days ☺️ 

 

On edit: There's probably less than 10 kids on this cruise.

 

Thanks for the report.  Gives me hope I can manage to get gin and tonic on board....or bottled wine. 

Just to clarify, you carried on the water and food or did it go in your delivered bag? (I thought they scanned those too...)

Seems every cruise I have to go stack searching at the dock to pick out my ship to get the taxi closest.  

You'll have Lirica well canvassed by the time April comes around.  I'll be asking you again about those quiet reading spots.

[Skoobdo]

13 hours ago, mef_57 said:

Thanks for the report.  Gives me hope I can manage to get gin and tonic on board....or bottled wine. 

Just to clarify, you carried on the water and food or did it go in your delivered bag? (I thought they scanned those too...)

Seems every cruise I have to go stack searching at the dock to pick out my ship to get the taxi closest.  

You'll have Lirica well canvassed by the time April comes around.  I'll be asking you again about those quiet reading spots.

My food and water went through a line scan machine.  All of it was inside a large clearly marked Dubai Duty Free shopping bag. Nobody blinked an eye.

 

Just to clarify.....Upon the advice from the folks who accept the larger bags outside the terminal, told me to take the Vodka out of the duty free bag and put it in my duffle bag for future delivery.

 

I found more quiet spots.  If you go to the very back of the ship on just about any deck, especially, deck 8 and 9, there's a small area on those decks with nobody and lounge chairs stacked for use. To easily access those areas, just leave your cabin and walk ALL THE WAY to the very rear of the ship and you'll find a brown wooden exit door with a porthole window.  Just walk outside and you're there.  There's also stairs that basically access all the floors, so you can even avoid lots of people in the main elevator lobby/stairs area and just use the rear stairs to access all areas.

 

Good thing so far there's been free unlimited WiFi in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi terminals, to at least check daily email in case there's something important waiting.

 

Edit: Once I return to land, I'll report any pertinent information and tips after the completion of this cruise over in the MSC 28 April repositioning cruise roll call if it is something that can help you and others passengers since all of the ports on my current cruise is included on it.

Edited December 13, 2019 by Skoobdo

[mef_57]

6 hours ago, Skoobdo said:

 

Edit: Once I return to land, I'll report any pertinent information and tips after the completion of this cruise over in the MSC 28 April repositioning cruise roll call if it is something that can help you and others passengers since all of the ports on my current cruise is included on it.

This would be great. Thanks.  (but is 28April to be 18April?) Hopefully there will be a bit more activity there after final payment and nearer travel date.  Happy travels.

[Skoobdo]

19 hours ago, mef_57 said:

This would be great. Thanks.  (but is 28April to be 18April?) Hopefully there will be a bit more activity there after final payment and nearer travel date.  Happy travels.

Oops....fat fingers.  It's April 18th.   I'm at Sir Bani Yas island today.  I thought it would be boring.  It's actually very nice, even for people like me that don't like beaches.  Very organized.  Free WiFi and Lunch buffet. Individual Tiki lounge areas per person/couple on the actual beach.  Large covered cabana with tables spread out and a bar too.

[Skoobdo]

19 hours ago, mef_57 said:

This would be great. Thanks.  (but is 28April to be 18April?) Hopefully there will be a bit more activity there after final payment and nearer travel date.  Happy travels.

By the way, I submitted my final payment before I started this cruise.  I was hoping I could print out my ticket, but I got the Sorry you have to wait 20 days before the cruise, message.  That didn't happen when I paid for the cruise I'm on now....90 days before I printed out the ticket. Oh well.

[mef_57]

13 hours ago, Skoobdo said:

By the way, I submitted my final payment before I started this cruise.  I was hoping I could print out my ticket, but I got the Sorry you have to wait 20 days before the cruise, message.  That didn't happen when I paid for the cruise I'm on now....90 days before I printed out the ticket. Oh well.

Glad you enjoyed your day. I wonder if the new calendar year has anything to do with things? It's supposedly messing up my Cdn website but that may jave more to do with licensing issues.  Also, given the sold out status of lower grade rooms for April, and MSCs ability to reassign us, I won't be printing anything until the last minute in case there are changes.....hopefully to my benefit🙄

Ummm, any chance you are willing to check out quiet reading spots forward?  I am assigned a far forward ocean view. I can certainly walk to the stern, but a bow spot could be convenient. Thanks.

[Skoobdo]

On 12/15/2019 at 2:52 AM, mef_57 said:

Glad you enjoyed your day. I wonder if the new calendar year has anything to do with things? It's supposedly messing up my Cdn website but that may jave more to do with licensing issues.  Also, given the sold out status of lower grade rooms for April, and MSCs ability to reassign us, I won't be printing anything until the last minute in case there are changes.....hopefully to my benefit🙄

Ummm, any chance you are willing to check out quiet reading spots forward?  I am assigned a far forward ocean view. I can certainly walk to the stern, but a bow spot could be convenient. Thanks.

Just got access to WiFi. In Muscat now.  You have point there.  Maybe there's a chance for an upgrade 😊 I'll hold off on printing mine too. Tomorrow, I'll take a look at any forward locations, but I'm thinking not, because if I recall those areas are forward facing cabins and other venues. I'll check anyway.  Also, I'm thinking of having them set up twin beds.  I peeked in a twin Oceanview and it looked more spacious and you can look at the window better. I'll send photos on the other thread when I get back to land on the 29th. Muscat is very scenic by the way.  Didn't like Abu Dhabi. I'll elaborate on the other thread in a few weeks.

[Skoobdo]

Since tomorrow is a Sea day, I won't have WiFi for about 2 days, so I decided to post a photo of the quiet area on deck 8, which is the same as deck 9. Deck 10 is noisier because of the outdoor buffet above. Everybody reads books or sleeps there, very quiet.

[mef_57]

1 hour ago, Skoobdo said:

Since tomorrow is a Sea day, I won't have WiFi for about 2 days, so I decided to post a photo of the quiet area on deck 8, which is the same as deck 9. Deck 10 is noisier because of the outdoor buffet above. Everybody reads books or sleeps there, very quiet.

Thanks. Definitely looks quiet. I'm on 7 forward, and it looks like there is an open deck, but perhaps it is restricted to crew only.

I look forward to the comments upon your return.

[Skoobdo]

On 12/16/2019 at 4:43 PM, mef_57 said:

Thanks. Definitely looks quiet. I'm on 7 forward, and it looks like there is an open deck, but perhaps it is restricted to crew only.

I look forward to the comments upon your return.

I was stopped by the crew. There's no place forward for passengers.

 

Also, I recall that after my e-ticket was issued for this cruise, they reissued it because of my status match.  And also, I was notified 3 times about an invitation to upgrade which I declined. So, you can actually get new e-tickets after the fact up until 2 days before your cruise.

 

I'll take this conversation over to the repositioning cruise for any further comments.  Once I have steady wifi. I'm using wifi on a city bus in Bahrain right now.  Byeeee 

[Skoobdo]

On 11/28/2019 at 11:11 AM, Jayayeff said:

 

.....In addition to the Arabian Courtyard Hotel & Spa there are now two of the Jumeirah Group's newer second tier properties in a similar location - the Al Seef Heritage Hotel, the Zabeel House Al Seef and Zabeel House Mini....

For anyone that might still be looking for a place, Hilton recently bought out those Jumeirah properties in Al Seef, for instance, the Al Seef Heritage Hotel is now called the Al Seef Heritage Hotel Dubai, Curio Collection by Hilton.  Currently, Hilton has a Middle east/Africa sale going on for reservations placed by January 28th, where discounts are up to 30%, and of course you can obtain points and other perks. 

 

After messing around with all kinds of date combinations for several hours, I booked there for 20 days at a serious bargain.

 

Thanks Anne for bringing these properties to my attention.  I just love the old part of Dubai and the creek 😊