World Cup Cruise and changes to the itinerary!

[federalexpress]

Just caught up with this thread. Unfortunately, having had long experience of working in the Gulf across well over a decade, this is unsurprising. Governments are a rule to themselves, unaccountable, mostly incompetent and not remotely concerned about decisions affecting individuals, unless they happen to be nationals. 

 

Of course, this is not Azamara's fault. The mistake was giving Qatar the World Cup in the first place but we all know why that happened. I don't know what subsequently happened to those who booked but for sure, road transport to Qatar from Abu Dhabi is a non starter. Just about the only way to do it would be to charter a private jet- maybe the Qatari government could stump up for that! What Azamara can and should do is offer full cruise refunds to anyone affected. I hope they did so.

 

For those who were not going to the WC, I think they may gain rather than lose. Abu Dhabi is a bit of a soulless place like all these Gulf countries (perhaps excepting Oman) but a little less so than Doha. The golfers should be happy, the courses are in my view better than Doha, especially the amazing Yas Links. And that stop in Sir Bani Yas might be interesting,

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, federalexpress said:

For those who were not going to the WC, I think they may gain rather than lose. Abu Dhabi is a bit of a soulless place like all these Gulf countries (perhaps excepting Oman) but a little less so than Doha. The golfers should be happy, the courses are in my view better than Doha, especially the amazing Yas Links. And that stop in Sir Bani Yas might be interesting,

 

Don't forget the Louvre Abu Dhabi, for those interested in art.  Not sure if Whistler's Mother is still on display there, but it's worth the visit.

[federalexpress]

56 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Don't forget the Louvre Abu Dhabi, for those interested in art.  Not sure if Whistler's Mother is still on display there, but it's worth the visit.

 

Yes, that was completed after I left, quite a few years later. I recall there was going to be a massive arts and culture complex on Saadiyat, including a Guggenheim and national museum but it was all delayed way over scheduled completion time. In fact I think they have only built the Louvre so far. It looked to be quite an impressive venue, though obviously I only saw the models and drawings.

 

I think the problem with this part of the world is that there is basically no heritage and history and not even that much in the way of natural attractions. I guess that is why Dubai went the shopping and theme park route. To be fair, I always preferred Abu Dhabi, at least there is a sense of it being a real city connected to the coast. And there's the Grand Mosque, which is quite striking. You could certainly make a decent day of sightseeing there.