In need of Sun

Hello KathyBC-

It was my pleasure.   This trip widened my view of the world.   I hope that you find it life-altering also.   Don't worry, Dubai in particular has a lot of infrastructure that supports tourism and you will rarely feel alone.   My suggestions would be the following:

1. Skip the ship excursions, when you get past the gate, negotiate with a cab driver, you can go the same places for a lot less and have some control over how long you stay.

2. Dubai is the 7th most traveled to destination.  Allow the infrastructure they have in place to assist you.   You can get anywhere on the Metro, and I found the metro stations in Dubai cleaner than many governmental buildings I have been in.   The metro stops are announced in English and Arabic.   When you get tired, hop on the big bus and let it take you around while you gather your thoughts and just take a breath.  The big bus operates in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat.   If you buy all 3 at once you get a substantial discount and you can schedule your rides for when you start to get tired.  Food is allowed on them so you can eat while you determine your next stop.   95% of my interactions were in English and everybody understood tourism so I never felt at a disadvantage.

3. If I were you, I would consider making the Burjamon stop my home base away from the ship, it's easy and cheap to get back to the ship and Burjamon has a more relaxed feel to it.   Its a neighborhood and you can walk along many working folks and the shops they support.   I found myself coming back to this area over and over. I walked this neighborhood all times of the day and night and always felt secure.   The metro stop is huge and you can get a lot of information there. Additionally, There are restaurants and a Carrefour that are informal and allow you to people watch, exchange money and pick up things you might need.

4. If you are there on the first Saturday of the month.   Don't miss the flea market in El Zabeel park.   It is the park where the frame is.   It is another place where the "real world" Dubai meets.   it costs 5 dirhams to enter, but if you have it on your metro card, they will accept this.   You can reach it on the Metro.   Bring dirhams, and plan to stay past 10a.m. (it opens at 8), as that is when prices start to drop.  

5. Read my review of the ship and the trip.   I have posted it.   If you need more information, don't hesitate to ask.   I hope that you enjoy it as deeply as I did.   My perception of the world is broader as a result of this trip.

Hello-

The Bus you want is the Dubai Mall shuttle.   It is supposed to run once per hour and yes, it is free.   The only time this changes is when there are a lot of ships in port and it gets full.  It is typically a black bus with "Dubai Mall" on the sides.   The stop  for this bus is about 50 feet from the cruise dock.   There is a large marker for this bus.   Be careful there are several other smaller buses that take you to other malls.  Usually the  big bus is parked in the next spot and those guys are good for asking for info.

Another option that we used when the the Dubai Mall bus didn't show up was the following:  look to your left and walk to the cab stands.   As them for the price to the closest metro station (I think it is the Burjurman station).   From there you can take the metro (which is clean and fast) and be downtown in 20 minutes.  (The cab to Burjurman  should cost anywhere from 17-23  although the cabs at the pier will try to charge you outrageous prices.   It helps if you have a group for negotiating leverage.

Have a wonderful time!!

Hi Everyone

I understand that pullmantur has a departure from Sao Paulo. I would like to book this but cannot find it listed anywhere. I have checked the pullmantur USA and UK sites. If someone knows of a link, can you forward it to me?

Thanks