MSC Musica United Arab Emirates and Oman (January 2016) Trip Report

[CRUISEBOY305]

I so enjoyed reading this review. I've sailed this region 4 times and your photos brought back some very pleasant memories.

 

I think you really can't beat the UAE for a winter destination. Not that far to fly to, very safe, lovely weather and loads to do regardless of your interests. Shame the hotels are so expensive - cruise helps with the coast of going there though as the nightly rate is so much cheaper than staying ashore!

 

It's pretty far for me lol. :eek::eek::eek::eek: (In the States)

Edited February 11, 2016 by CRUISEBOY305

[tiggerman101]

I don't mean to interrupt a review thread too much, but since others are chiming in.....

 

Wow. I am so glad I decided on an Arabian cruise for next January. I had been curious about the region for a few years, but never looked too far into it. When the Celebrity cruise came along with all the overnights I jumped on it. The more I have been researching, the more I am awestruck. I am becoming more excited about this cruise then many others I have done.

 

Your review is nice and to the point. Your photography is just simply beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing.

[CRUISEBOY305]

I don't mean to interrupt a review thread too much, but since others are chiming in.....

 

Wow. I am so glad I decided on an Arabian cruise for next January. I had been curious about the region for a few years, but never looked too far into it. When the Celebrity cruise came along with all the overnights I jumped on it. The more I have been researching, the more I am awestruck. I am becoming more excited about this cruise then many others I have done.

 

Your review is nice and to the point. Your photography is just simply beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing.

 

I'm doing the same cruise as you but in 2018 :eek:

[hobunny]

I too would like to thank you for your review so far and I looking forward to the rest! Super excited now 3 weeks today we will be flying out doing the same cruise.

What was you highlight?:)

[TeDaKi]

Day 9 (13th January 2016): Muscat, Oman (Docked 08:00-17:00)

Weather: Overcast, light drizzle at times, max temperature 21C / 70F

Free Wi-Fi: at the Muttrah souk

 

This morning, I set the alarm for 07:00AM. We had to start our day early today because our main attraction, the Grand Mosque, was only open from 09:00-11:30AM.

 

Port of Muscat:

 

Muttrah Fort:

 

After breakfast, we disembarked the ship and hopped onto a free shuttle bus, which dropped us off at the security centre. We had to go through security and hop back onto the same shuttle bus which brought us out to the port gate. At the port gate, there were many taxi drivers wanting to do business, however, they all wanted to give tours of Muscat. It was impossible to get a taxi driver to drive us one way only to the mosque, so we had to opt for a tour. We dealt with a particular taxi driver who would show us the Royal Opera House (outside only), the Grand Mosque, the Sultan's Palace (outside only), and we were to be dropped off at the Muttrah Souk. This tour would last 2 hours and cost EUR 50 in total for the three of us.

 

We left the Muscat port gate at 09:20AM and arrived at the Grand Mosque 20 minutes later. On the way, we made a photo stop at the Royal Opera House.

 

Royal Opera House:

[TeDaKi]

Day 9 (13th January 2016): Muscat, Oman continued …

 

On arrival at the Grand Mosque, our driver dropped us off at the entrance. There were many other tourists there, a lot from the ship. Note that mosque dress codes apply here too (just like the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi). The grounds around the mosque were beautiful. There were lots of flowers and you could even smell the flowers in the air.

 

 

 

 

We wandered around the mosque for about 1 hour in total, taking photos of its beautiful architecture and admiring its beauty.

 

 

 

[TeDaKi]

We also went into a small prayer hall.

 

 

We did not see any signs or people going or coming out of the main prayer hall, so we think it was closed on that day. However, it was still nice to see the outside.

 

 

 

[TeDaKi]

Day 9 (13th January 2016): Muscat, Oman continued …

 

After we were finished touring the Grand Mosque, we went back outside to the car park and our driver was there waiting for us. He had us spotted before we saw him!

 

We got back into the car and our next stop was to see the Sultan's Palace. On the way there, our driver pulled into a petrol/gas station to fill up the car. He did this because the petrol/gas prices were going to be rising that night. He told us that the total cost to fill up a car with petrol/gas was about US$10, but it would be rising to US$12 overnight!!! (Funny fact: the next day, we read on the newspaper that in some petrol/gas stations in Oman, there were so many people filling up their cars, that a lot of the stations ran out of petrol!!! :D:D).

 

We arrived at the Sultan's Palace at about 11:05AM. Our driver let us out of the car, so we could get out and take some photos. It was a very nice area.

 

The Sultan’s Palace:

 

 

 

[TeDaKi]

Day 9 (13th January 2016): Muscat, Oman continued …

 

Then, it was a very short drive back to the Muttrah Souk. We paid the driver EUR 50 and then we had the rest of the day to ourselves. This part of Muscat is very compact and easy to walk around. There is a gold souk and the bigger "Muttrah Souk", which sells all the Omani souvenirs etc. We decided that we'd do the souks first because they were supposed to be closing from 13:30 to 16:30. The Muttrah Souk was quite busy when we got there, at about 12:00 noon.

 

Afterwards, we had a walk along the promenade.

 

 

 

And just as we decided to sit on a bench, a light drizzle started. So, we hurried back down the street to the souk area to take shelter and it was still opened (this was about 14:00), and not near as busy as before. We had much more pleasure walking in it this time round.

 

Inside the Muttrah Souk:

 

It was about 15:15 when we decided to head back to the ship. It took about 5-8 minutes to walk from the main area of town to the port gate. Many shuttle buses were waiting there and it was a straight drive directly back to the ship.

 

We got back on-board and had a light snack in the buffet. We decided to stay there until the ship started to move for sailaway. There was bit of a delay in leaving because there was a shore excursion late coming back, however we were eventually on our way at 17:25.

 

The sailaway from Muscat was very nice. The mountains which surround Muscat provide a nice backdrop to the town.

 

 

Goodbye Muscat!

 

That evening, I wasn't feeling well at all. I had to go to bed for a few hours. I wasn't able for dinner either so I skipped it, and I slept for most of the evening. Unfortunately, I could feel a cough developing, as well as sore eyes and a sore head!

[TeDaKi]

Day 10 (14th January 2016): Khasab, Oman (Docked 09:00-18:00)

Weather: Sunny, max temperature 24C / 75F

Free Wi-Fi: could not locate any free Wi-Fi

 

I slept through most of night, but I still wasn't feeling good this morning. I developed a bad chesty cough overnight and my body felt really tired. I got up for breakfast but I only had something minimal. We had a shore excursion booked (“City Tour of Khasab and coastal road to Bukha”) and I was wondering if I would be able for it. I decided that I would go on it because if I felt unwell on the tour, I would be able to sit down on the bus. Anyway, I really wanted to see this part of Oman, so I wasn’t going to let my cough and weakness stop me!

 

We met for our tour at 08:45AM in one of the main lounges and once our number was called, we proceeded out to the pier and got on our assigned bus. This was a nice and easy going 3.5 hour tour. We started off at the Khasab Castle, then proceeded to the town of Bukha along the coastal route, pausing for a photo stop on the way. Then we drove back to Khasab and had some free time in the centre of town.

 

Our tour left the pier at 09:05AM and we got to the Khasab Castle less than 5 minutes later. Our tour guide brought us on a tour of the castle, but he was rather boring and extremely detailed. We left the group and toured the small castle on our own. Many other people on our tour did the same. Also, our tour today is being conducted in both English and Italian, so whenever the guide says something in English, he repeats it in Italian, so I think that didn't help either. We had about 50 minutes at the castle and we were ready to go at 10:00AM.

 

Outside the Castle:

 

Inside:

 

 

 

Looking at MSC Musica from the castle:

[TeDaKi]

Day 10 (14th January 2016): Khasab, Oman continued …

 

After visiting the castle, we proceeded along the coastal road and it was very nice...mountains on one side and the sea on the other side.

 

On the way, we made a quick photo stop at a small village on the top of a hill with a view of the sea.

 

 

 

We reached the small village of Bukha at about 11:00AM and there, we went to see a fort (which was fairly similar to the Khasab Castle). There was a very nice view of the beach and mountains from the fort.

 

 

 

We had about 30 minutes here altogether and we left for Khasab at 11:30AM.

[TeDaKi]

Day 10 (14th January 2016): Khasab, Oman continued …

 

It took about 30 minutes to drive back to Khasab on the same coastal road. The scenery was equally beautiful on the way back.

 

 

 

We were brought into the centre of Khasab at 12:00 noon and we were given 30 minutes there. It was very small and not much to do there. There was a mosque (which we walked over to see) and a few shops, but that was it.

 

Khasab:

 

Mosque:

[TeDaKi]

Day 10 (14th January 2016): Khasab, Oman continued …

 

When everybody was back on the bus, we went back to the ship.

 

Feeling quite tired, I went to bed for about 3 hours to get some rest. Then, I got up again to get something small to eat and I was out for sailaway.

 

We left ahead of time, at 17:40. Sailaway was very nice with the mountains hugging the coastline and surrounding the little town of Khasab. There was a nice sunset too.

 

Ready for sailaway:

 

Khasab town:

 

Evening sky:

 

Tonight was the second Gala night, but just like the first night, we didn't take part in the "celebration", so instead we dined in the buffet and went to bed early.

[TeDaKi]

Thanks everybody for all the positive feedback. I’m delighted to share my report and photos on what was a really great trip.

 

This is my 2nd trip report on Cruise Critic and it is great to have all positive feedback once again.

 

This area is a really nice alternative to the usual “winter sun” destinations…it’s something different. :)

 

The final installments from Dubai will be up shortly.

[CRUISEBOY305]

Thanks everybody for all the positive feedback. I’m delighted to share my report and photos on what was a really great trip.

 

This is my 2nd trip report on Cruise Critic and it is great to have all positive feedback once again.

 

This area is a really nice alternative to the usual “winter sun” destinations…it’s something different. :)

 

The final installments from Dubai will be up shortly.

 

Thank you so much for all the amazing photos. Your review is getting me more and more excited for this cruise.

 

Question, how did you like MSC? I see from your signature that you do mostly Celebrity. I usually cruise Royal Caribbean and Celebrity but would consider MSC if the itinerary and price were right.

[CRUISEBOY305]

Thanks everybody for all the positive feedback. I’m delighted to share my report and photos on what was a really great trip.

 

This is my 2nd trip report on Cruise Critic and it is great to have all positive feedback once again.

 

This area is a really nice alternative to the usual “winter sun” destinations…it’s something different. :)

 

The final installments from Dubai will be up shortly.

 

Look forward to your take on Dubai. I'm still undecided on whether I want to spend any non-cruise time there or if just the 1 port day will do.

[TeDaKi]

Day 11 (15th January 2016): Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Docked 08:00 – overnight)

Weather: Mostly sunny, max temperature 23C / 73F

Free Wi-Fi: in the cruise terminal

 

The ship docked at around 07:00AM this morning. We were awake early so we got up and went for breakfast. The sight of the Dubai skyline made us think back to how quickly the week went by. We took our breakfast slowly, as we were not in any rush, seen as we had not much planned for today. Thankfully, I was feeling a little better today. The main part of today's agenda was to visit the Dubai Mall and go up on the Burj Khalifa tower, which we had pre-booked in advance.

 

At 10:30AM, we got off the ship. I used some free Wi-Fi for a few minutes at the cruise terminal to check up on some emails etc. It wasn’t overly fast, as many other people were using it too, however, it did the job!

 

After a few minutes, we got a taxi to bring us to the Dubai Mall. However when we got into the taxi, the driver was insisting that his meter was broken and instead, he would charge us a flat rate of AED70 / EUR 17 approx. to bring us to the Dubai Mall. Not happy with this, we insisted that he turn it on and after a few deliberations with him, he switched it on! The journey was not long, about 20 minutes and when we got to the Dubai Mall, the taxi fare ended up being AED48 / EUR 11 approx. on the meter!

 

At this stage we had a lot of free time, because our entry time for the Burj Khalifa "On The Top" was booked for 13:30. So, we wandered around the enormous Dubai Mall and saw its Aquarium, Football Pitch and Waterfall. We then went outside to the outdoor Lake area and we had a great view of the Burj Khalifa tower.

 

Burj Khalifa:

 

 

 

[TeDaKi]

Day 11 (15th January 2016): Dubai continued …

 

We decided to wait around to see a fountain show which would be on at 13:00, however it never happened.

 

Then, we went back into the Burj Khalifa ticket desk and entered the queue at about 13:20. There was a long line for security, and then there was another line for the lift to bring us to the top (it's not actually the very top of the tower, but the 124th floor). We eventually reached "the top" at 14:15, after a very quick elevator ride.

 

The view of Dubai was thrilling - desert, skyscrapers, roads, sea, "The World Islands". We stayed up on top for about 45 minutes and came back down again.

 

 

 

Dubai Mall:

[TeDaKi]

Day 11 (15th January 2016): Dubai continued …

 

Afterwards, we went around the lake and visited a nice modern souk. The area around the Burj Khalifa really reminded us of Las Vegas ... a lot is man-made and almost artificial-like. We sat outside on a bench for about 90 minutes, until the fountain and light shows began at 18:00. The first fountain show started at 18:00 and it was great, but it was very short, at only 2 minutes in length. The music was really loud and very Arabian.

 

 

Then, the light show started at 18:15 and the Burj Khalifa lit up in different colours and designs. It was also very good and we took some nice photos.

 

 

 

Then we waited for the next fountain show, at 18:30, and it was even better than the first one. We thought the fountains "danced" better to the music.

 

 

 

Afterwards, we decided to start heading back. First, we had to go back in through the mall. It was chaotic and extremely busy - people everywhere going in all directions. It was actually tiring walking through the mall, we were glad to get through to the other end of it.

 

We had an interesting journey back to the ship. We didn't take a taxi; instead, we took the Big Bus HOHO bus, for free! The Big Bus has a dedicated shuttle which brings cruise passengers from the cruise terminal to the Dubai Mall, and vice versa. We still had our Big Bus HOHO tickets since last week and when we saw a huge mass of people getting on the bus back to the cruise port, we said we'd chance hopping on board with our "expired" tickets. Nobody was checking tickets anyway … we only had to show our cruise card. It was very disorganised - no lines at all, just everybody pushing and shoving around. We eventually got on the bus and enjoyed our free ride back to the port!!! :D Back at the cruise port, we did a little bit of last minute shopping.

 

When we got back on the ship and back to our room, we found that our passports had been returned to our room. And, interestingly enough, there were stamps for each of the ports we visited. We dined in the buffet tonight, because we wanted to go to bed early (Main dining room dinner takes too long), as we were getting up at 06:00AM in the morning. Our luggage had to be outside our cabin door by 23:00.

[TeDaKi]

Day 12 (16th January 2016): Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Disembark AM)

Weather: Sun and clouds, max temperature 22C / 71F

 

Although we already spent 3 nights in Dubai before the cruise and one night on the ship, we were staying in Dubai for another night tonight. This was because flights were expensive to fly home today, so it was cheaper to stay an extra night in a hotel and fly home the next day. I’d rather stay an extra night in Dubai anyway than being back at home!

 

This morning, we had to get up early as we were being "kicked off" the ship at 07:30AM! After the usual breakfast, we gathered our belongings and left our room and headed for our meeting point at 07:30AM, which was at the theatre. However on arrival at the theatre, there was only a handful of people there and not even any member of staff. We guessed that they must have called our number early, so we went to disembark the ship and did so without a hitch. There were no customs or immigration so we just walked straight through the terminal and picked up our luggage.

 

After picking up our baggage, we took a taxi from the port to our hotel for the night: the Hyatt Place Baniyas Square. We chose this hotel because of good price for the three of us, good reviews, close proximity to the creek area and airport and because it was new.

 

We went to the taxi rank and got into the first taxi. Just like yesterday, this taxi driver also claimed that his meter was "broken" and that he would charge us AED70 / EUR17 approx. to go our hotel in Old Dubai. We insisted that he turn it on but he was very reluctant. Eventually, he turned it on and the journey to our hotel actually cost us AED50 / EUR 12 approx. on the meter.

 

We arrived at our hotel, the Hyatt Place Baniyas Square, at around 08:30AM, however, the rooms weren't ready yet, but they'd be ready in about an hour. So we waited around the lobby for about 50 minutes until our room was ready.

 

After checking out our room, we decided to go out and make the most of our last day in Dubai. We made our way to the Wafi Mall and Raffles Hotel. The Raffles Hotel is Egyptian based and is very luxurious.

 

 

 

[TeDaKi]

We then took a sightseeing tour to Sharjah, which left from the Wafi Mall at 13:00. This tour lasted 3 hours and was free of charge as part of the 48 hour HOHO bus ticket which we had since last week. The ticket is valid for 14 days. The tour was surprisingly good considering it was "free". The tour mainly comprised of a bus tour viewing the different attractions in Sharjah, but two stops were also made. We were given 25 minutes at the Heritage Village, and also 30 minutes at the Blue Souk. The tour guide was excellent and provided very detailed commentary and it was not boring at all.

 

 

Almaghfirah Mosque:

 

Sharjah Court:

 

Iranian Mosque:

[TeDaKi]

Blue Souk in Sharjah:

 

Al Noor Mosque:

 

Sharjah:

 

 

We arrived back at Wafi Mall at 16:00 and we took a taxi to the Gold Souk. It was quite busy there with many of the gold shops packed with people.

 

Then we wandered around and found ourselves in the Spice Souk and also the Creek. It was only about a 10 minute walk back to the hotel from the Creek. We really liked staying in this part of Dubai because it is really authentic and not commercialised…unlike the towering skyscrapers and modernity of new Dubai.

 

Spices:

 

Creek:

 

We were back in the hotel by 19:00 and we were all pretty tired. We packed up all our bags for the morning because we would be getting up early for our flight home.

[TeDaKi]

Day 13 (17th January 2016): Leaving Dubai / Arrive home

Weather: Temperature this morning: Hazy, 16 C / 61F

 

This morning, we had to get up early once again because our flight was leaving Dubai Airport at 10:05AM. We were the first three people down at the breakfast restaurant at 06:30AM, just as it opened. Breakfast was actually quite good (considering it was “free”). We checked out of our room at 07:30AM and proceeded outside to the hotel's entrance, where we hailed down a taxi.

 

Within a 10 minute drive, we arrived at Terminal 1 of Dubai's International Airport. The check in area was very quiet and we were pleased to learn that our flight was not full. It would be a quiet load with lots of room to stretch out. Once again, we were flying with Virgin Atlantic to London Heathrow, and onwards to Shannon with Aer Lingus. Boarding began at 09:15 for our 10:05 departure. Once on-board, there were many free seats with lots of people scrambling to get them. We had 8 seats between the three of us.

The flight to London Heathrow went very smooth and lasted 7 hours 45 minutes.

 

Flying over Iran:

 

Before we knew it, we had landed back into a colder climate. The temperature on arrival at London Heathrow was a chilly 2C / 35F. We had to wait 5 hours for our flight back to Shannon, but the time went quick enough. Boarding began at 19:15 for our 19:35 flight back to Shannon. Boarding was very quick as the flight wasn't busy. It was a quick one hour flight home and we landed back on home soil at just before 21:00, right on schedule. We passed through passport control, collected our luggage and were outside in about 20 minutes.

 

Our holiday was now over, as quick as that, and it felt like it just started yesterday!

 

End of report!

 

Thanks for following along. I really hope you enjoyed it and hope it gives you ideas on what can be seen in these ports.

 

Regards,

TeDaKi

[TeDaKi]

Question, how did you like MSC? I see from your signature that you do mostly Celebrity. I usually cruise Royal Caribbean and Celebrity but would consider MSC if the itinerary and price were right.

 

The itinerary and price were certainly right for us on this cruise, hence the reason why we said we’d try out MSC for the first time!

 

We thought MSC were good, though we didn’t get the “premium feeling” of other cruise lines such as Celebrity or Holland America…they are our favourites! Compared to X or HAL, we thought the food wasn’t fantastic, particularly at the buffet…main dining room was good enough.

 

The food was the only fault really and having said this, if the itinerary and price were right, we’d have no hesitations and would definitely go with them again.

[portofrome]

Great review and photos. Thank you for sharing.