EssG Posted May 26, 2018 #1 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Having LOVED our first MSC cruise in April/May, we would love to cruise with them again, but do something completely diff than before. Just been send a special offer with 50% off second passenger for some cruises in 2019. One is on the Lirica, to the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar. Its an area we would love to visit at some time, so just wondering if anyone here has done that itinerary, what they thought of it :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingFox27 Posted May 27, 2018 #2 Share Posted May 27, 2018 We sailed Splendida in that region this past March. We absolutely loved the area and our cruise. I'd highly recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suron Posted May 27, 2018 #3 Share Posted May 27, 2018 I have done three cruises from Dubai (my son and his family are based there and I love visiting). I actually did one of the cruises on Lirica. My itineraries were slightly different as I visited Abu Dhabi (the mosque here is not to be missed and The Emirates Palace Hotel where I had a wonderful Afteroon Tea is awesome), Muscat, Khor al Fahran and Khasab. On the last cruise in that region we visited Sir Bani Yas Island which was most interesting. Ports of call have changed recently so I have not been to Bahrain or Qatar but reviews indicate these are interesting. If you can spare extra time then I would suggest you spend a couple of days in Dubai either pre or post cruise as there is so much to see and do there. I have no hesitation in going around Dubai on my own- it is very safe and the people are so friendly. Taxis are very reasonable and the metro system excellent. Good luck with your plans. I feel sure you will not be disappointed with UAE Suron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssG Posted May 28, 2018 Author #4 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Thanks Guys..that is GREAT to hear :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingFox27 Posted May 28, 2018 #5 Share Posted May 28, 2018 We did call at Bahrain and Qatar, we very much enjoyed both. We also called at Sir Bani Yas island, we had scheduled this as a relaxing beach day, it wasn't and was our least favourite. I have read from the reviews that the excursions around the nature reserve are excellent though. I'd also recommend a few extra days in Dubai, if you can. We stayed for 5 nights post cruise and found it to be a fantastic city, the Dubai fountains are marvelous and I'd also recommend afternoon tea at the Burj Khalif. The views are stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssG Posted May 29, 2018 Author #6 Share Posted May 29, 2018 We did call at Bahrain and Qatar, we very much enjoyed both. We also called at Sir Bani Yas island, we had scheduled this as a relaxing beach day, it wasn't and was our least favourite. I have read from the reviews that the excursions around the nature reserve are excellent though. I'd also recommend a few extra days in Dubai, if you can. We stayed for 5 nights post cruise and found it to be a fantastic city, the Dubai fountains are marvelous and I'd also recommend afternoon tea at the Burj Khalif. The views are stunning. Thanks CruisingFox ..... this cruise has 4 days in actual Dubai....2 at the start and two at the end. Do you think that is enough time to explore or would you spend longer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingFox27 Posted June 3, 2018 #7 Share Posted June 3, 2018 EssG, that's a difficult one because I suspect you could spend two weeks there and still not see everything, as with many cities. Yes, you could see an awful lot in four days. We wanted to visit at a leisurely pace, we went through the list of things we wanted to visit and planned from there. Sorry, I'm not sure that's helped any! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssG Posted June 4, 2018 Author #8 Share Posted June 4, 2018 EssG, that's a difficult one because I suspect you could spend two weeks there and still not see everything, as with many cities. Yes, you could see an awful lot in four days. We wanted to visit at a leisurely pace, we went through the list of things we wanted to visit and planned from there. Sorry, I'm not sure that's helped any! LOL ...may have to now revisit the convincing hubby bit and add a few days ;p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingFox27 Posted June 4, 2018 #9 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Oh poor hubby, an extra few days holiday LOL. I did find in my research that people did recommend using the metro and taxis as it was a quicker way to visit the sights. As we were going to be there longer we opted to use the Hop on Hop off buses, this does take more time but we felt we'd get to explore more of the City. They are expensive for 1 or 2 day tickets but we got a deal on a 5 day pass which included mini cruises on the river. Again though, you could spend a day in the Malls, we just had a quick visit. You can just visit the Burj Khalif, and view in around an hour, where we opted for a full afternoon having high tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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