lamwinn

Hi Cole,

Forgot to add that i did not get the notification therefore i was slow in responding your "Help" note above. Much appreciated.

Thank you so much for your help here. I think i did what you said. Will see whether next time i will get an email notification. Please drop a few lines here to test me if i did it correctly. HAPPY THANKSGIVING and SAFE.

i need help. Please tell me in details How will I automatically receive the email notifications in related to the roll call that i was in? Thank you for your time.

6 hours ago, SailorJack said:

Just got back from Dubai.  What an amazing place! Thanks for all the help on this thread - it helped quiet a bit on our visit.

 

Jack

Welcome home! Do you have a trip report of Dubai? I would love to read it if you dont mind.

I will be on the cruise in May 2020, and Dubai will be the disembarkation port. We will be there 2 nights. We live in Los Angeles. In addition to your Dubai trip, please also share your experience of Dubai Intl Airport. Thank you in advance for your time.

Thankyou Ann!

Hi Ann,

You are always so appreciated in this forum.

I dont know whether this question was here yet? TIPPING.

Please advise about "tipping in Dubai" from restaurant to Taxi, including tour guide.

Thank you so much again for your time and great help

lam

10 hours ago, Jayayeff said:

 

I don't have any personal experience with any local tour companies - I'm usually the one guiding my visitors around!!!  However, a couple I met on a cruise who had used private tours when visiting the UAE had recommended a company called Dubai Private Tour.  I have also heard recommendations for a private guide by the name of Iona who I understood was registered just as Dubai Tour Guide but I don't have contact details for either of them.   I'm sure if you do either a Google search or a TripAdvisor search or Tours By Locals search for private guides or tours you'll get both listings and reviews...

 

Anne..

Thank you so much Ann.

12 hours ago, Jayayeff said:

 

If you have an 8.30am flight departure and need to be at the airport by 6.00/6.30 then traffic isn’t an issue at that time but distance/time may be if you stay in the Jumeirah Beach, Dubai Marina or Palm Jumeirah areas...  There are several hotels very close to the airport from budget hotels (Premier Inn, Holiday Inn Express) upwards.   There are also 3 hotels (Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn) in Dubai Festival City which is also quite close to the airport, on one of the Hoho bus routes and attached to a mall with nice cafes/coffee shops. The nicer stand alone hotels nearest to the airport would be Le Meridien Hotel & Conference Centre, Roda Al Bustan Hotel or Jumeirah Creekside Hotel...

 

Anne...

 

Anne....

Thank you so much Ann for your quick reply. I will check in the Dubai Festival City area for the hotels since you said it is close to the airport. And definitely i will look into Le Meridien too.

I think in this forum. You had noted a private guide tour name. If it is still okay to this forum and CC. And if you dont mind to please mention again the contact of the private tour guide, if you have more than one please include all. Sometimes they get busy because thousand of cruise guests come in town. It is always nice to know more than one tour guide. You again are appreciated.

Hi Ann,

Thank you so much for your time and all the helpful suggestions/advises here.

I will be in Dubai for 2 nights (after a cruise in 2020).  My flight home to LAX, is early in the morning around 8.30AM.

Please recommend a hotel near to the airport. At the mean time, I would like to do some tours too (first time in Dubai), or I dont need to be near the airport? Would the traffic be bad in the morning?

Im grateful for your advises.

lam

Anne,thank you so much for your recommendation of Dubai private tour. We were in Dubai in April pre cruise and used them for an all day trip to Abu Dhabi. So reasonably priced compared to others,and we had a great day and tour in Abu Dhabi with our guide Ajay. We'll be back next year and use them again. Definitely a highlight of the trip. Thanks again for the advice.

Hi FDNY: please detail how did you get in touch with the tour company in order to inquire about their tours. Did you just email them? Thank you for sharing your experience.

They look just like bank branch offices (many banks also have branch offices in the malls so you can use either a bank or an exchange). A couple of the larger exchanges are UAE Exchange, Al Ansari Exchange, Sharafexchange, Al Rostamani Exchange. The reason we have so many is to facilitate transfer of funds to home countries for expatriate labour who may not meet the requirements of international banks to open accounts with them, so they serve the same purpose as banks - they are not back street money dealers like you may find in some other countries... If you go in a mall and pick up one of the directory pamphlets from the information desks you’ll find both banks and money exchanges listed in them along with their location within the mall..

 

Anne..

Thank you Ann. Such a good explanation. I keep these notes on my planner.

Best not to change in stores, hotels, etc. except in cases of urgency. To get the best exchange rates use the licensed money exchanges - they are just like bank branches and you’ll easily find them in any of the main shopping malls...

 

Anne..

Hi Ann, would you help me how to identify whether a "licensed money exch" name, or some types of their "initials". Thank you again.

They will but you may not get a favourable exchange rate however, the one thing we are not short of here are ATM’s and money exchanges - you will find them in any of the shopping malls so I would recommend you exchanging your US$ if you need more cash during your stay. The UAE Dirham is pegged to the US$ so the exchange rate does not fluctuate daily and the exchanges are regulated by the Central Bank just as the local bank branches are...

 

Anne..

Thank you Ann: Since i had a bad experience about my ATM card, Im no longer carry ATM with me. Again, it is my choice. I lost my ATM in Europe. It cost me so much time to call home...long story short: I quit carry it.

I just hope they have vendors/shops to do the exchange for me if I run low on Dirham$.

Taxis take only Dirhams

 

 

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Thank you H G. I just make sure I carry it more.

Thank you for you kind remarks, having lived here for many years now I just try to be as helpful as I can be to those visiting.

 

With regard to you question re Chinatown, the city is too new to have established ethnic areas so you will not find anything like those local areas that are found in many older cities around the world...

 

Anne..

Thanks Ann. BTW: I did check into the website of the DubaiPrivatetour company which you recommended it. I definitely use them. They have very high rating on Tripadvisor.com. I hope I will have the opportunity to do the review about them once im home.

I will use them all the days that Im there. They noted on their website that they take both US dolalrs or local currency (great info.).

Ann: what about the taxis? or restaurants? do they take US dollars? Just in case my Dubai local currency runs out? Please advise. I appreciate your help.

As Cotswold Eagle posted Dubai (and Abu Dhabi) do not have traditional city centres and are in fact spread over quite a considerable distance. Dubai has three main areas - Old Dubai, which as the name implies is the original part of the city which was built around the Creek but during time expanded to cover the areas of Deira and Bur Dubai. For reference purposes the airport is located on the outskirts of Deira and the cruise terminal is located in Port Rashid which is the original commercial port and is in Bur Dubai. Then comes New Dubai which is the area from the Dubai World Trade Centre outwards along Sh. Zayed Road towards Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi and it encompasses the Dubai Mall, Downtown, Business Bay, Mall of the Emirates then outwards to Dubai Marina. The third area includes the beachfront areas of Jumeirah Beach and The Palm and parts of Dubai Marina.... The distance from the airport out to the far reaches of The Palm or Dubai Marina area takes the best part of an hour by car.....

 

Unless you particularly want a beachfront hotel for your stay then I would recommend looking at hotels along Sh. Zayed Road, or in the Downtown/Business Bay areas as they are easily accessible by public transport (Metro or taxi) and with the Metro, the stations, cross-bridges, etc. all fully air-conditioned, plus readily available taxis (again all air conditioned) you would spend the least time out in the heat getting from place to place. Mid to late May temperatures here will be pretty much the same as you experienced in Las Vegas (I was in Las Vegas in September and it was not as hot as it is here during my visit)... Most of the taxis (they are all beige colour with various coloured roofs which identify the operating company, and are metered so you do not need to negotiate fares) in Dubai are Toyota Camry cars which are licensed to carry 4 passengers however, there are also MPV vehicles for larger families or groups if needed... If you are an Uber user then you can also use Uber here..

 

Any other questions, queries, clarifications needed, please ask...

 

Anne...

Waking up this morning, and to learn of your new message here. It made me felt like im having a great day today.

I am copying and paste your "hotel notes " here onto my planner page (I carry this along while travel, so I know what to do next). You have no idea how much you are appreciated. Your words are so kind and patience. Such a great contributor to this site.

Actually the ship offers 3-4 nights stay with tour around Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is apprx. $US1200 pp. The hotel is near to the harbor. I have the name of the hotel which i can google to view its location. Our group is 4 adults, we like to do a little more private, customized tours and just "us". Going with the ship will be on the big bus, things will be definitely slow down in the process. I do not have to be on the beach, or at the water, we come off from the ship (LOL), we see enough water. I also live in California, 10 miles from the coast line. Our other 2 friends live in Hawaii.

I will take your advises to look at hotel in downtown Business area, or on Sh. Zayed Road. I hope I will find a great private tour guide which already recommended here. Hopefully we save some money to be able to bring back home some tiny gold piece of jewelry and proudly show off "it is from Dubai".

Being an Asian, does Dubai city have Chinatown? I always want to visit each ChinaT in the nation that I stop by (LOL). I just want to see who has the best variety ethnic food and most fresh groceries.

Thank you Ann! You are great.

You have referred to ‘central’ a couple of times. Dubai (and Abu Dhabi, for that matter) doesn’t really work like that - I fear you may be underestimating the sheer size of the place.

 

Please do not plan on walking very far in May - the heat can be brutal.

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I agree with your comment, since you are there.

Being a first timer visiting Dubai. I have no idea what it would be like. Dubai has been on my bucket list. Unfortunately, the cruise ship I choose to be sailing there, they do Apr-May always in Dubai stop. The past 2 years, their ship sold out fast within 12mos before the sailing date. I was hoping this cruise line would alternately dock Jan-Feb in Dubai. Nope, I guess it is the choice i made. Perhaps I can use the taxis service from point A to point B. I hope they have a mini van taxi. We are 4 adults.

I remember I was in Las Vegas during August. The heat was so unbearable. As soon as I opened the hotel door, I felt that heat wave striked straight onto my face. Immediately I turned around and went back in the hotel. I waited until after 7PM, when the sun was slowly disappeared behind those desert mountains. Then I stepped out of the hotel, I could still feel the heat was in the air. It was around 104F.

I just have to dress respectfully cool.

I have asked Cruise Critic to do the merge (I can’t because I am not a Host for these ‘destination’ Forums).

 

 

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Thank you H Grandma. Thank you for being so helpful and involved. Looking forward to more of your input.

You can buy the tickets online if you want but it'll be the same price at a bus stop or your hotel in Dubai. When choosing a hotel try to find one with a HOHO stop nearby. You'll be walking enough in the heat as it is so it's nice to have a bus stop close to your hotel.

Thanks Sailco: I like to stay in the hotel that very central to things. If you can name a few hotels for me which are right at the bus or HoHo stops. That would be great. I thankyou for your help.

Hi H Grandma,

Thank you for offering to do the merging the 2 files in one proper location.

I hope Ann can help to spell out the exact name of the link on this subject which previously created, then be merged with my thread here.

In a way, it is a great idea, voiding the duplicates and repeats. Thank you so much again.

Hi Ann, thank you again for your quick helpful note especially the dress code. I do respect people culture wherever I visit. It is good that I know what to pack, what to wear respectfully.

There are some changes in our date. It was my mistake to say April 2019. Actually it is around May 15. We hope the private tour guide including car + driver (this is our plan) has air conditioning, that would help with the heat.

I was going to ask you some of the hotel names. The link you provided has some posts with hotel names, hotel locations...etc..If you need to add more info. please do so. When I travel, I like the tourist areas, the hotel must be in the central where all conveniently to walk to, especially I am the first timer there.

I appreciate it.

Thank you H Grandma for the links to the HOHO and Bus tour. You and SailCo spoke highly of Dubai HoHo, we may use it one day while we aer there.. As of now, we plan to stay 3 nights in Dubai (yay!). We should find time to do HOHO which included the boat ride.

Thank you Ann. I did get over the link that you attached in your reply to read other input as well. Now, Im having problem of "how" can I move my discussion here to your attached link?

Get back to DuBai. Please tell me whether ending of May is hot hot?

When im in the Mosque, can I wear Capri pant, sleeveless, short sleeves or not? Or I must wear long pant, long sleeves all the time including shopping, sightseeing? Perhaps, long dresses? Please advise Ann.

I hope you do not mind Im asking you this question. I need to apologize first if I am so wrong here.

It is about you as a "tour guide" which you had posted that you are a tour guide to your visitors. Would you mind to do a private tour guide for us? We are 4 adults. First timers to Dubai and excited!

Your kindness & patience in helping to answer so many questions here is so greatly appreciated. Please continue to do this for all the travelers like me. Im looking forward to reading more of your input. Much thanks.

Thank you to H Grandma and Sailco for HoHo tip. I definitely take note to that. Does HOHO have a location for me to go buy their tickets? I appreciate your time and your input.

Im planning on cruising to the Far East/Middle East in April 2019.

I have never been in that side of the world. I would be so thrilled to get to see the incredible Dubai and A Dhabi.

I will be disembarked in DUbai port. I would like to stay back before flying home at least 2, 3 nights. Please help me with some of the hotel names (central walking or touristy kind of areas- first timer). I really need also the name of a trusted tour company can help me with sightseeing, tours, including transfer from ship to hotel...etc...I prefer not to do the HOHO.

Thank you in advance for all your advises.