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Why are cruises to dubai/ uae etc so cheap compared to everywhere else?

mashisback

By mashisback,
in Royal Caribbean International

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cgncruiser

cgncruiser

Posted
Posted (edited)

yesterday 7 day new year cruise, balcony for 399€

 

The Americans are afraid and did not book/cancelled. Ship will be full of Brits and Germans.

I booked 5 weeks b2b. Here comes the sun.....

Edited by cgncruiser
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kernow "Live from...." Rare

kernow

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We've done several cruises in the area on different cruise lines and there are never many Americans onboard. Two years ago we did the Suez repositioning and while there were some Canadians there were very few Americans. We did have an American couple as tablemates and they confirmed that many people they know thought they were crazy to hoilday in that area of the world.

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screwcork

screwcork

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, cgncruiser said:

yesterday 7 day new year cruise, balcony for 399€

 

The Americans are afraid and did not book/cancelled. Ship will be full of Brits and Germans. And Norwegians!

I booked 5 weeks b2b. Here comes the sun.....

 

Edited by screwcork
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Joseph2017China

Joseph2017China

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Many people will not go to Dubai, or the Asian ports because they are "more complicated" than Europe, and "more different" than what they are accustomed to, and consider these out of their comfort zones.  They go to these places expecting it to be the same and as an example, disappointed that in Asia, the food is Chinese and no place to eat.  I'm throwing in Asian cruises because they are also generally cheaper.  Europe and USA are equal cultures.  Asia/MiddleEast are opposites.    I have been on Asian cruises and early next year I will be in Dubai.  I won't complain that I had a large price reduction on my cruise and got a refund!

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Tin can

Tin can

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4 hours ago, cgncruiser said:

yesterday 7 day new year cruise, balcony for 399€

 

The Americans are afraid and did not book/cancelled. Ship will be full of Brits and Germans.

I booked 5 weeks b2b. Here comes the sun.....

 

Complete opposite when we went a couple of years ago.

 

The ship was partially chartered by Americans who were singers and musicians and there were nationalities from all over the world. I'm British and remember from the Captains reception that there were only 15 of us on board!

 

One of the best cruises we have done with Royal and if the 2021 sailings were as cheap as the 2020 ones we would be booked.

 

It was really formal every night when we cruised with people even wearing tuxedos and ball gowns in the windjammer but I wont open that can of worms! 

 

Great cruise and a very interesting and different part of the world.

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normannna

normannna

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I hope they keep a ship in the Middle East but with their prices so cheap at the moment then it may not be profitable.  I've got 2 weeks late Jan/Feb on Jewel in a balcony for a really good deal.  I'd do New Year as well but the flight prices are too high!

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HBE4

HBE4

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Probably a combination of all of the above.  It's a long and costly flight to a costly city so people looking for a cheap cruise are far more likely to stay closer to home. Since Dubai is much closer to Europe, it'll make sense there will be more European travelers.

 

Most people I know that want to experience a different culture will almost never take a cruise as they consider it "too" artificial". More likely to do a land-based vacation.  Same for Asia.

 

I'm sure safety is a concern although Dubai is probably far more safe than many European cities and Caribbean islands.  More likely that some of the strict, conservatives rules are a bigger turnoff.

 

EDIT: Just wanted to add there might be little interest in seeing this part of the world. As noted above, the ships are sailing sold out, packed with Germans, Brits and Norwegian and are still cheap.  That should say something about the interest level.

Edited by HBE4
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voyager70

voyager70

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I'm from the US and did a Dubai cruise several years ago.  There were a total 150 North Americans on board. Apprehension about travel to the Middle East is certainly a factor, but I think more so the long flights to get there.  It was over 30 hours in the air for me (round trip) but I'm so glad I did it as it was one of my best cruises ever.

 

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cruisegirl1

cruisegirl1

Posted
Posted (edited)
54 minutes ago, voyager70 said:

I'm from the US and did a Dubai cruise several years ago.  There were a total 150 North Americans on board. Apprehension about travel to the Middle East is certainly a factor, but I think more so the long flights to get there.  It was over 30 hours in the air for me (round trip) but I'm so glad I did it as it was one of my best cruises ever.

 

I had a similar experience, also as an American who sailed from Dubai. Our cruise went to Oman, through the Gulf of Aden, the Suez Canal, and had stops in Israel Greece and Turkey. It was a fantastic cruise.   We started out with a land trip in Hong Kong,  then took another long flight to Dubai, then the cruise. The flight home from Istanbul to the East Coast of the US seemed short!
 

We enjoyed meeting people from other cultures as that is one reason why we like to travel.  

 

I meet many Floridians who won’t drive from Central Florida to Miami so I can’t imagine they will fly halfway around the world to take a cruise! 
m
 

 

Edited by cruisegirl1
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HBE4

HBE4

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, voyager70 said:

I'm from the US and did a Dubai cruise several years ago.  There were a total 150 North Americans on board. Apprehension about travel to the Middle East is certainly a factor, but I think more so the long flights to get there.  It was over 30 hours in the air for me (round trip) but I'm so glad I did it as it was one of my best cruises ever.

 

 

Good to know. I may try it some day but there are so many other itineraries I'd like to do first (Alaska, Europe, Hawaii, etc)

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Tree_skier "Live from...." Rare

Tree_skier

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, voyager70 said:

I'm from the US and did a Dubai cruise several years ago.  There were a total 150 North Americans on board. Apprehension about travel to the Middle East is certainly a factor, but I think more so the long flights to get there.  It was over 30 hours in the air for me (round trip) but I'm so glad I did it as it was one of my best cruises ever.

 

Honestly, that is what is keeping me from doing another Med cruise.  The long flight from the Westcoast of the US to Barcelona or Rome is just a little on the long side for me.  I'll probably do one again at some point but I'm just as likely to do a TA to minimize the the flight time.

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Tin can

Tin can

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3 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

As a rule Americans are reluctant to get a passport. You read about this all of the time on any CC board. Their  head would explode it they were told they needed a Visa.


Genuinely interested, do Americans need a visa for Dubai and the ports of call.

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zia100

zia100

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I would love to do a Dubai cruise! I don't think its advertised aggressively advertised here in the states otherwise it would be on my radar! The long flight is an added factor when we only just so much vacation days to work with.

 

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voyager70

voyager70

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1 hour ago, Tree_skier said:

Honestly, that is what is keeping me from doing another Med cruise.  The long flight from the Westcoast of the US to Barcelona or Rome is just a little on the long side for me.  I'll probably do one again at some point but I'm just as likely to do a TA to minimize the the flight time.

 

After those Dubai flights Europe is a piece of cake!  I'm on the east coast though.

 

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