Dubai is often referred to as the city of the future. And this is not surprising. The futuristic architecture of this largest metropolis in the UAE, skillfully mixed with Middle Eastern flavor, leaves no one indifferent. Most tourists come to Dubai precisely to see the man-made islands, the Parus skyscrapers and the Burj Khalifa.
This seaside city in the United Arab Emirates is also famous for its shopping. There are tourists who appreciate the beaches of the metropolis. But few travelers know that you can go on exciting sea cruises from Dubai. After all, the large port of Rashid is located in this city, the cruise terminal of which can simultaneously accommodate seven huge liners.
Where to go from Dubai by sea? This issue will be the focus of our article. We will make a brief overview of the companies that operate cruises, talk about the services on board the ships andexcursions on the shore.
Main destinations
The geographical map of routes is quite extensive. You can go on a short cruise around the Persian Gulf from Dubai, or on a big trip across the seas and oceans. From the port of Rashid, you can even get to the north of Europe (to France and the UK).
There are interesting southern directions. So, from Dubai you can go along the African continent, up to Cape Town (South Africa). The longest routes are cruises to Shanghai (China) and Sydney (Australia). But there are also closer directions.
In just a week, you can slowly explore the beautiful places of the Persian Gulf, visiting Abu Dhabi (UAE), Manama (Bahrain) and Muscat (Oman). If you expand the geography of travel, then the ports of the Red Sea will become available to you. You will visit Safaga, Ain Soha, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, Eilat in Israel and Aqaba in Jordan.
Through the Suez Canal, the very crossing of which is already an unforgettable adventure, you can get into the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, the ports of Egypt (Alexandria), Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Spain and Portugal become available to the traveler.
Those tourists who are attracted by the oriental exotic can travel from Dubai to India and even further to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China.
Main carriers
There are a lot of companies with which you can go on cruises from Dubai. But there are only three local leaders in the transportation of passengers by sea. These are MSC, Costa and AIDA. But tourists do not have to chooseUAE firm to make an exciting journey. After all, you can take a tour that will become a fragment of a circumnavigation.
To make such a trip is good on board the magnificent liners "Queen Mary - 2" and "Sea Princess". Some tours offer to stay in Dubai (sometimes for a week) to fully enjoy the beach and sightseeing holidays. At the same time, you do not need to spend money on a hotel, because you will spend the night and eat on board the liner.
Other large ships call at Port Rashid Dubai. On board the ship of the Azamara Cruises company, you can go across the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic to the Caribbean Islands. The Oceania carrier will allow you to get acquainted with the sights of the African coast in detail.
The shortest cruise
This little trip lasts only a few hours. But the reviews of the Dubai Marina cruise are the most enthusiastic. First, the trip is made on a traditional dhow boat. This already sets you up for a leisurely savoring of oriental luxury.
Secondly, the ship cruises in the waters of the artificially created Marina lagoon. From the board of the dhow, you can not only admire the beauties of Dubai flooded with evening lights. On the ship, passengers will enjoy a luxurious dinner, including dishes of European and Arabic cuisine, and an entertainment program.
Such excursions are made daily. They last from eight to eleven o'clock in the evening. The price of the tour includes a transfer from anywhere in Dubai and Sharjah to the Marina port and back. The price of a three-hour excursion is 70 US dollars(4317 RUB) for an adult and $60 (3700 RUB) for a child.
Gulf cruise from Dubai
If you are interested in a little sea trip, then you have a wide choice. Several companies offer similar itineraries ranging from a week to 12 days (11 nights).
Such tours are called “Oriental Tale” or “Legends of the Desert”, so the passenger will not feel much difference in the direction of such sea trips. The difference in the duration of cruises is due to the large number of stops. Consider first the shortest trip from Dubai.
It lasts 8 days (7 nights). If you are not very savvy in languages, choose the Eastern Tale cruise from Dubai by Costa, which began operating in April 2018. This carrier has several excellent liners at its disposal, but only Mediterranea has Russian guides and animation on board.
The cost of the tour includes accommodation, full board and use of the entire infrastructure of the cruise ship - gyms, swimming pools, animation programs. Costa prices for a week-long tour start from 409 euros (29,497 rubles) per person (accommodation in a double cabin without a window).
In the rooms near the side the cost rises to 589 Є (42 478 rubles). A cabin with a balcony costs 689 euros (49,950 rubles), and a suite costs 1419 Є (102,336 rubles). Note that the cost of the tour is also reflected in the class of service. VIP guests (guests of superior category cabins) enjoy certain benefits (free alcoholic drinks, etc.)
Persian Gulf Cruise Itinerary
What do tourists offer to see during a week of sailing? Such sea trips are also called "Dubai-Oman" cruises, since the extreme point of the circular route is the city of Muscat in this state.
It is planned to make four stops along the way. The journey begins with a tour of Dubai. Check-in is in the morning, and check-out is planned for the next day. So tourists can see the Al Fahidi Fort, the Gold Souk and other attractions of Dubai, because there are several metro stations near the port.
After spending half a day and a night on board, the tourists arrive in Muscat. A whole day is allocated to explore this city in Oman. Then the liner goes back to the UAE, making stops in Sir Bani Yas and Abu Dhabi along the way. The ship will also spend two days in the last city.
A similar cruise, only for 12 days, can be made with the MSC company (the cost starts from 780 euros (56,550 rubles) per person). The company's liner initially heads north, visiting Abu Dhabi (UAE), Doha (Qatar) and Manama (Bahrain).
Then the ship follows south for a day. Muscat is also its extreme point. On the way back, the liner also visits Al-Khasab in Oman.
Persian Gulf + Indian Ocean
Let's now expand the geography of our voyages. Muscat is no longer in the Persian, but in the Gulf of Oman. But what is there further, beyond the horizon of the sea? Cruises from Dubai on the Indian Ocean also have different durations and routes.
MSC offers to makea fascinating journey called "Indian motives". The huge ocean liner "Lyrika" departs from Dubai on the evening of December 22. In the Middle East, he makes stops in Abu Dhabi and Muscat.
After a two-day voyage across the ocean, the ship arrives in India. In this country, tourists can get acquainted with the sights of Mangalore, Goa and Mumbai. On the way back, the liner calls at the port of Khowr-Fakkan (UAE). A place in a cabin on the inner deck for such a tour costs 1,500 euros (108,750 rubles).
Spice Tea & Rubber Tree Cruise
Southeast Asian culture lovers will love this 15 day tour. It is scheduled to start on November 3 this year. From Dubai, a comfortable ocean liner "Azamara Quest" by Azamara goes immediately to the shores of India.
In this marvelous country of spices, tourists get acquainted with interesting places in Mumbai (former Bombay), Goa and Kochi. After leaving India, the liner heads south to the legendary island of Ceylon. There he drops anchor in the port of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.
Then the liner comes to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The end point of the route is Singapore. In this tour, a lot of time is devoted to swimming in the open sea. But passengers of the Singapore-Dubai cruise will not be bored. After all, there is a luxurious swimming pool, a casino, restaurants and bars on board, and the cabins are not inferior in comfort to the rooms of a five-star hotel.
A similar tour can be done on the Seaborn Anchor 8.11.2018. Prices start from 436,700 rubles. The cruise lasts 19 days. The liner makes stops in Sir Bani Yas, Muscat, Mumbai, Mangaluru, Kochi, Sabang (Indonesia), Langkawi (Malaysia) and Singapore.
Mediterranean tour
This cruise can be taken aboard the magnificent Splendour of the Seas. Thanks to the Suez Canal, it became possible to reach the Mediterranean Sea without going around Africa.
But even following such a short route, the cruise ship reaches the final point of its route - Venice - in a week. After all, the cruise lasts 16 nights.
The ship makes stops in Salalah (Oman), the Suez Canal, Athens, Santorini Island (Greece), Venice and Dubai. On board the 264-meter liner there is every conceivable service. It's a whole floating city.
It even has an 18-hole golf course, several pools, a jogging track, several restaurants and many bars. Mediterranean tours are best done from April to October.
Segment of the "circumnavigation". Northbound
The magnificent liner Queen Mary 2 makes a round-the-world trip from London to Hong Kong, making a stop in Dubai as well. So you can make part of this great journey in a north or southeast direction. Note that in this case cruises from Dubai will not be circular.
They end either in London or Hong Kong (or at intermediate stops). So that passengers who have bought a “round-the-world trip” do not get bored, routesLondon - Dubai and vice versa do not match.
From the capital of Great Britain, the liner follows through Seville, Athens, Nazareth and the Suez Canal, reaching Dubai on the twentieth day. In the opposite direction, a three-week voyage is expected.
The route of the liner from Dubai will lie through Salalah (Oman), Petra in Jordan, the Suez Canal, Limassol in Cyprus, Rome, Barcelona and Lisbon. Cruise Dubai - London costs from 1770 euros (127 650 rubles), and in the opposite direction - from 1620 Є (116 832 rubles).
As you can see, some cruise points are not seaside ports (Seville, Rome, Petra). These cities are supposed to take field trips by bus.
South-east direction of the round-the-world trip
On board the same "Queen Mary - 2" you can get to Singapore and Hong Kong. On the cruise from Dubai, the liner will make stops in Doha, Muscat, Goa, Colombo, Phuket (Thailand) and Penang (Malaysia).
In the opposite direction, from Hong Kong, the ship will anchor in the ports of Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Chennai, Kochi and Abu Dhabi. Such a trip also lasts three weeks (to Singapore - 15 days).
The cost of the tour starts from 2290 euros (165,150 rubles) to Hong Kong and 1558 Є (112,360 rubles) back.
Travel to Shanghai
From January 29, 2019, the Cunard Line company, which owns the Queen Mary - 2 liner, decided to continue its route. So far, the sale of tickets to Shanghai has been announced, but it is possible that the trip will last until the Japanese port of Yokohama.
The season of insane discounts has already begun. With early booking, you can book a Dubai-Shanghai cruise for 251,132 rubles (a place in the cheapest cabin without windows). The price of the tour includes all-inclusive service in the category of a 5-6 star hotel.
The entire glorious journey will last 26 days. The route to Hong Kong is the same as described above, but a stop in Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia) is added to it.
Travel to Africa
A full 31 day cruise from Dubai to Cape Town (South Africa). For nine and a half thousand euros (this is the lowest price) you will see Abu Dhabi and Fujairah (UAE), Muscat (Oman), Mumbai, Mangalore and Kochi (India), Maldives, Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar island, Madagascar, Mozambique and Durban (South Africa).
The tour is operated by Oceania Cruises on the first-class Nautica liner. The ship is interesting in that it does not have passenger cabins without windows. The Nautica leaves Dubai on December 6, 2018, which promises to travel at the most auspicious time.
Dubai cruise reviews
Tourists agree that sea travel is not cheap. But cruises are experiences of a lifetime. After all, you will not only see many different countries and interesting places, but spend unforgettable days on luxury liners.
Tourists say that only the Cunard Line company (whose fleet has the Queen Mary - 2) has retained the division of passengers into classes. In other firms, those who have paid for economy cabins are no different from other cruise participants. They have access to all pools, casinos,restaurants, cinemas, libraries, spas and other luxury floating resort facilities.
