rolling stoner

If you get on Pullmantur.es (I think) and ask for google translate, you can enter your booking number and sail date and get the ship sponsored tours.  On our cruise, a package was offered that included most ports and individual tours were offered.  The price was reasonable.  I believe they said if there were 10 or more people, English speaking tours would be offered.  We chose to do our excursions.  Usually a ship or port shuttle would get you into town.  From there, your negotiating skills will be tested.  We usually read about the ship excursions to see what would be interesting to see, and then spoke with one or more taxi drivers to see about their English and the price.  We travel a lot but Oman and UAE were a little intimidating to us.  As usual, once we were there the people were nice and we had a great time.

There was always English commentary on board.  Sometimes the Spanish announcements were much longer but I believe we always got the important information.  As far as visas, all those were arranged by the ship.  You had to submit your passports a couple of times and the ship got the visa stamps.

We did the November 22nd cruise, Athens to Dubai.  We enjoyed the cruise very much.  The itinerary was interesting, the days at sea were relaxing and the crew was fun and friendly.  We also enjoyed the food very much.  My husband is fairly picky and always wants to know what he's eating, I will try anything.  We both found dishes we liked every day.  There were several dishes that were always available and then another section that changed every day.  

The balcony cabin was average sized and showed some signs of wear but nothing terrible. The boat was a manageable size especially since my husband had just had hip replacement surgery.  The elevators always came very quickly.

We usually ate bread and pastry that I would bring to the cabin in the morning.  That was after I went and got two delicious lattes at the included specialty coffee shop.  Lunch was at the buffet and there was always an interesting mix of items, including a carving station.  Pizza, pasta and salad were always available.  There was often a specialty stand that made chef salads or ceasar salads to order.  A perfectly satisfactory wine was served at all times.  Most other drinks were also included.  There was an upgrade liquor package but that wasn't necessary for us.

We only went to 3 or 4 shows during our cruise.  We peaked in at some others and decided to skip them.  There was often music playing at different spots.  I wished they played longer than 30 or 45 minutes at a time.  Everyone would start dancing and having fun and it would be over.  We played slots at the casino almost everyday and they only took a little money from us.

We have cruised a couple years ago on Pullmantur on a Baltic cruise and had a similar good experience.  As far as included gratuities go, I did not find them high.  If everyone actually tipped the crew, these would not be necessary.  We added just a little extra to our cabin attendant and waiters.

For reference, we are in our early 60s, have cruised many times with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess, MSC, Costa, Norwegian and Carnival.  We loved this cruise and would gladly travel with them again.

We are on the Horizon cruise leaving Nov 22, 2018.  This is the information we received from Pullmantur after we checked in.

"Visas are required for US citizens, US permanent residents and Canadian citizens vising the following countries:

JORDAN requires a visa, which can typically be obtained on your behalf for an additional fee through Pullmantur.  Any fees for visas procured through Pullmantur will be charged to your onboard account.

EGYPT requires a visa for cruises that embark or disembark in Egypt.  Visas are available for purchase upon arrival at Egyptian airports or cruises terminals for an approxiate cost of $25USD per person.  A visa is not required for in-transit visits to Egypt.

OMAN requires a visa.  An in-transit visa is provided at no cost for travelers arriving in Oman by cruise ship for stays of up to 24 hours.  For stays over 24 hours, a visa fee of approximately $15USD per person may be assessed.  For cruises that embark in Oman, or for any stay in Oman that exceeds 96 hours, an Electric Visa (eVisa) must be obtained prior to arrival."

No information is given about UAE but from what I understand they don't require a visa.

I hope this helps.