Dubai is often called the city of the future. And this is not surprising. The futuristic architecture of this largest UAE metropolis, artfully mixed with Middle Eastern color, leaves no one indifferent. Most tourists come to Dubai just to see the man-made islands, the Parus and Burj Khalifa skyscrapers.
Also, this coastal city of the United Arab Emirates is 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. Indeed, in this city there is a large port of Rashid, the cruise terminal of which can take seven huge liners at the same time.
Where to go from Dubai by sea? This article will be devoted to our article. We will make a brief overview of the companies that carry out cruises, tell about the services on board the liners and excursions on the shore.
Main directions
The geographical map of the routes is quite extensive. You can go on a short cruise on the Persian Gulf from Dubai, or on a great trip across the oceans. From the port of Rashid you can even get to the north of Europe (in France and the UK).
There are interesting southern destinations. So, from Dubai you can go along the African continent, up to Cape Town (South Africa). The farthest routes are cruises to Shanghai (China) and Sydney (Australia). But there are also closer directions.
In just a week, you can leisurely explore the beautiful places of the Persian Gulf, having visited Abu Dhabi (UAE), Manama (Bahrain) and Muscat (Oman). If you expand the geography of travel, then you will have access to the ports of the Red Sea. You will visit Safaga, Ain-Sokha, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, Eilat in Israel and Aqaba in Jordan.
Through the Suez Canal, the very intersection of which is already an unforgettable adventure, you can get into the Mediterranean Sea. So, the ports of Egypt (Alexandria), Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Spain and Portugal become available to the traveler.
Those tourists who are attracted by oriental exoticism can go from Dubai to India and even further - to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China.
Major Carrier Companies
There are a lot of companies with which you can go on cruises from Dubai. But there are only three local leaders in transporting passengers by sea. These are MSC, Costa and AIDA. But tourists do not have to choose a UAE company to make an exciting journey. After all, you can take a tour that will become a fragment of circumnavigation.
It is good to make such a trip aboard 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. In this case, you do not need to spend money on a hotel, because you will spend the night and rest on board the ship.
Other large vessels call at Rashid Dubai. On board an Azamara Cruises ship, you can sail across the Indian Ocean and Atlantic to the Caribbean Islands. Carrier Oceania allows you to get acquainted in detail with the sights of the African coast.
The shortest cruise
This short trip lasts only a few hours. But the reviews on the Dubai Marina cruise are the most enthusiastic. Firstly, a walk takes place on a traditional dhow boat. This already sets in to slowly savor oriental luxury.
Secondly, the ship cruises in the waters of the artificially created lagoon Marina. On board the Dhow, you can not only admire the beauty of Dubai flooded with evening lights. A luxurious dinner awaits passengers on the ship, including dishes of European and Arabic cuisine, and an entertainment program.
Such excursions take place 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 Sharzhi to the port of Marina and back. The price of a three-hour tour is $ 70 (4,317 rubles) for an adult and $ 60 (3,700 rubles) for a child.
Dubai Gulf Cruise
If you are interested in a short sea voyage, then the choice before you is quite wide. Several companies offer similar routes lasting from a week to 12 days (11 nights).
Such tours are called either "Eastern Fairy Tale" or "Legends of the Desert", so the passenger will not feel much difference in the direction of such sea voyages. The difference in the duration of the cruises due to the large number of stops. First, consider the shortest trip from Dubai.
It lasts 8 days (7 nights). If you are not very knowledgeable in languages, choose the Costa Tale East Coast Cruise from Dubai, which began operating in April 2018. This carrier has several excellent liners at its disposal, but only Mediterranea has Russian guides and animations on board.
The price of the tour includes accommodation, full board and use of the entire infrastructure of the cruise ship - gyms, pools, animation programs. Prices of the Costa company for a weekly tour start from 409 euros (29,497 rubles) per person (accommodation in a double cabin without a window).
In rooms by 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 - 1,419 Є (102,336 rubles). Note that the cost of the tour is reflected in the class of service. VIP guests (guests of cabins of a higher category) enjoy certain benefits (free alcoholic drinks, etc.)
Persian Gulf Cruise Route
What do tourists offer to watch for a week of sailing? Such sea voyages are also called Dubai-Oman cruises, since the city of Muscat in this state is the extreme point of the circular route.
In total, it is supposed to make four stops along the way. The journey begins with a tour of Dubai. In the morning there is check-in in the cabins, and departure is planned for the next day. So tourists can visit Fort Al Fahidi, the Golden Market and other attractions of Dubai, because there are several metro stations near the port.
After spending half a day and night on board, tourists arrive in Muscat. An all day is set off to explore this city in Oman. Then the liner goes back to the UAE, making stops on the way to Sir Bani Yas and Abu Dhabi. In the last city, the ship will also spend two days.
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 first heads north by visiting Abu Dhabi (UAE), Doha (Qatar) and Manama (Bahrain).
Then the ship goes south for a day. Its extreme point is also Muscat. 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's next, beyond the horizon of the sea? Cruises from Dubai to the Indian Ocean also have different durations and routes.
MSC offers a fascinating journey called Indian Motives. The huge ocean liner Lyrics leaves 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 enters the port of Khur-Fakkan (UAE). A cabin seat on the inner deck for such a tour costs 1,500 euros (108,750 rubles).
Cruise "Spices, tea and rubber tree"
Southeast Asian culture lovers will be delighted with this 15-day tour. Its beginning is planned for November 3 of this year. From Dubai, the comfortable ocean liner Azamara Quest by Azamara goes immediately to the shores of India.
In this wonderful country of spices, tourists get acquainted with interesting places in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), the state of Goa and Kochi. Leaving India, the ship heading south to the legendary island of Ceylon. There he anchors in the port of Colombo, the capital of the state of Sri Lanka.
Then the liner enters Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The extreme point of the route is Singapore. On this tour a lot of time is devoted to swimming in the open sea. But passengers of the Singapore - Dubai cruise are not bored. Indeed, on board there is a luxurious swimming pool, casino, restaurants and bars, and cabins are not inferior in their comfort to the rooms of a five-star hotel.
A similar tour can be made on the liner "Siborn Ankor" 11/08/2018. Prices start from 436,700 rubles. The cruise lasts 19 days. The liner makes stops in Sir Bani Yas, Muscat, Mumbai, Mangalore, Kochi, Sabang (Indonesia), Langkawi (Malaysia) and Singapore.
Tour to the Mediterranean Sea
This cruise can be made aboard the magnificent ship Splendour of the Seas ("Luxury of the Seas"). Thanks to the Suez Canal, it became possible to reach the Mediterranean Sea without enveloping Africa.
But even following such a short route, the cruise ship reaches the extreme point of its route - Venice - in a week. After all, the cruise lasts 16 nights.
The ship makes stops in Salalah (Oman), Suez Canal, Athens, on the island of Santorin (Greece), in Venice and Dubai. On board the 264-meter liner there are all conceivable services. This is a whole floating town.
There is even an 18 hole golf course, several swimming pools, a jogging track, several restaurants and many bars. Tours to the Mediterranean Sea are best done from April to October.
A segment of the "circumnavigation". North direction
The magnificent Queen Mary 2 liner makes a round-the-world trip from London to Hong Kong, making a stop, including in Dubai. So you can do part of this great journey north or southeast. Note that in this case, cruises from Dubai will not be circular.
They end either in London or in Hong Kong (or at intermediate stops). So that passengers who have bought a round-the-world trip do not get bored, the London-Dubai routes and in the opposite direction do not coincide.
From the capital of Great Britain, the airliner follows through Seville, Athens, Nazareth and the Suez Canal, reaching Dubai on the twentieth day. A three-week voyage is expected in the opposite direction.
The liner's path from Dubai will lie through Salalah (Oman), Petra in Jordan, Suez Canal, Limassol in Cyprus, Rome, Barcelona and Lisbon. Dubai-London cruise costs from 1,770 euros (127,650 rubles), and in the opposite direction - from 1,620 Є (116,832 rubles).
As you can see, some cruise points are not seaside ports (Seville, Rome, Petra). Outgoing excursions by bus are supposed to these cities.
The southeastern direction of "round the world"
On board the same "Queen Mary - 2" you can get to Singapore and Hong Kong. On a 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. This trip also lasts three weeks (to Singapore - 15 days).
The cost of the tour starts from 2,290 euros (165,150 rubles) to Hong Kong and 1,558 Є (112,360 rubles) back.
Traveling to Shanghai
Since January 29, 2019, the Kunard Line company, which owns the Queen Mary - 2 liner, decided to continue its route. So far, ticket sales to Shanghai have been announced, but it is possible that the trip will last until the Japanese port of Yokohama.
Already, the season of crazy discounts has begun. For early bookings, you can order a Dubai-Shanghai cruise for 251,132 rubles (a place in the cheapest cabin without windows). The price of the tour includes the all inclusive service for the category of a 5-6-star hotel.
All the brilliant journey will last 26 days. The route to Hong Kong is the same as described above, but a stop at Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia) is added to it.
Traveling to Africa
The whole 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 made by Oceania Cruises on the first-class liner Nautica. The ship is interesting in that there are no passenger cabins without windows. Nautika departs from Dubai on December 6, 2018, which promises wandering in the most favorable period.
Dubai Cruise Reviews
Tourists agree that sea travel is not a cheap pleasure. But cruises give an impression of a lifetime. After all, you will not just see many different countries and interesting places, but spend unforgettable days on luxury liners.
Tourists say that only the Kunard Line company (in whose flotilla there is Queen Mary - 2) retained the division of passengers into classes. In other companies, those who paid for economy cabins are no different from other cruise participants. They have access to all swimming pools, casinos, restaurants, cinemas, libraries, spa centers and other luxurious infrastructure of a floating resort.