Cruise Shop - sea cruises. Persian Gulf Cruises Costa Cruises from UAE

What can be seen on a cruise from the UAE

During sea cruises from the UAE in the Persian Gulf, you can visit ports such as Muscat, Salalah, Doha, Aqaba, Ashdod, Haifa, Mumbai, Mangalur, Cochin, Colombo, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Mormugao, Al-Khasab, Al-Manama , Khor-Fakkan, Eilat. The most popular destinations among tourists from all over the world are cruises from Dubai to the Persian Gulf, no less interesting and exciting routes are cruises on the Indian Ocean and cruises to Singapore.

A cruise by sea from the UAE is much more convenient than traveling by land, as tourists move around in a 5 * floating hotel and every day find themselves in a new port in the UAE or another Arab country. A cruise in the UAE and Oman is much more profitable economically than staying in a hotel, since very often the liner costs several days in the port of Dubai or Abu Dhabi and serves as a 5 * floating hotel with an All Inclusive food and entertainment system, which allows, while living on the liner, visit beaches, tourist attractions, shopping centers in Dubai or other cities. The hotels on the shore do not offer such a food system. Very often, cruise lines or cruise operators will offer cheap cruise packages or seasonal cruise sales, as well as special deals on Arabian Gulf cruises. It is always possible to buy a cheap cruise from the Emirates for a promotion. The duration of the cruises is very varied: from mini-cruises to round-the-world cruises, which start and end at one of the seaports in the region.

Cruises from the UAE on the Persian Gulf allow you to get acquainted with several countries of the Persian Gulf at once. For example, in Doha (Qatar), you can go on a jeep safari in the real desert and visit a traditional Bedouin camp. In Aqaba (Jordan), excursions to the famous Petra are offered - an ancient city with gigantic buildings carved right into the rocks. In addition, Aqaba is a magnificent resort on the Red Sea. The Heritage Village in Fujairah (UAE) will be curious to see traditional ayala dances and get to know ancient Arab crafts.

When to cruise around the region

The climate of the Gulf countries is mild, sunny with high temperatures in summer and mild winters. Cruise lines start the cruise season in the region in November. The best period for cruise travel in the Persian Gulf is from November to March. During these months, the Gulf countries are no longer as hot as in the summer months, and warm enough to swim and bask on the beaches. Cruise companies offer the largest number of inexpensive tours of various lengths in December-January: this option, like cruises in Southeast Asia, is considered an excellent choice to get out of the Russian winter into summer. By the way, a beach holiday in the Gulf countries will be quite comfortable in the winter months, and for sightseeing this is generally the most suitable time.

Cruises from the United Arab Emirates across the Persian Gulf in November and April can only be taken on the liners of luxury and premium cruise companies - these cruises are slightly more expensive, but they offer significantly more interesting routes, for example, cruises from the Emirates to Singapore.

It is also interesting to go on a cruise to the Gulf countries for New Year or Christmas. New Year's Eve cruises in the region are some of the most popular itineraries, including the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain.

What liners go on cruises from the UAE

A number of standard, premium and luxury cruise lines organize routes in the region. Cruises from Abu Dhabi and Dubai from such cruise lines as Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises are very popular. Exclusive and very interesting routes are offered by premium and luxury companies - Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The difference between cruises of different companies is in routes, cost and level of service. While standard cruises in the region include visits to Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas, Muscat, Doha and some other ports, the liners of premium and luxury cruise companies visit such attractive places as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bali. , Seychelles (Mahe and Praslin), Maldives (Male Island), Mormugao (Goa) and even the African ports of Mombasa (Kenya), Zanzibar (Tanzania) and Maputo (Mozambique). Long-term cruises from the UAE to Europe are also very popular.

The Russian tour operator Cruise House offers cruises of the most popular sea cruise companies of different classes: standard, premium and luxury, as well as cruises on the Ultra All Inclusive system. The Cruise House offers not only to buy a cruise ticket for any ship, but also to arrange a full-fledged cruise package with transfer, air travel and excursions with discounts up to 15% compared if you choose the cruise separately.

• Cruises with up to 75% discount
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Customer Reviews

Arabian Gulf Cruises

Persian Gulf located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, and cuts deep into the land. On its shores there are 8 countries and each is special in its own way. The best way to see them is to go to gulf cruise... You will get to know the rich region, spend sunny days on the best beaches, feel this unique fusion of centuries-old traditions and modern luxury. And you will get all this in one comfortable trip on the liner without tiring transfers from one hotel to another!

What to see in the Persian Gulf?

The most visited country in the region can be safely called. The emirate impresses with its palaces, gardens and a whole island of entertainment. On the artificial island of Yas, there is a Ferrari amusement park and a Formula 1 race track. - this is the concentration of entertainment, shopping, beaches and all other tourist benefits. Its unimaginably high skyscrapers, such as the Burj Khalifa 828 meters high, have become the emirate's trademark. Sharjah is the complete opposite of Dubai. This emirate is called the cultural capital of the country. There are no bars in it, you cannot walk in revealing clothes, but there are many theaters, museums and markets.

Bahrain Is an island nation known for its natural beauty. Here you will find nature reserves, untouched deserts, protected archipelagos and a transparent sea. It is in this country that there is an amazing "tree of life" - acacia, standing in the desert without water for several hundred years.

Another stop on Arabian Gulf cruises - Qatar... Tourism in this country is developing rapidly, but is not yet as popular as in the UAE. Prices and, accordingly, shopping there is much more attractive.

Oman Is a unique eastern state that has preserved its Arab identity, but at the same time has a high standard of living. Oman has very interesting excursion programs that tell about the rich history of the country and demonstrate the picturesque nature.

In addition to the listed countries, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Iraq are located in the Persian Gulf.

Arabian Gulf Cruises

Most of this direction begins in the UAE and enters ports such as Manama, Doha, Muscat, El-Khasab. For the convenience of tourists, various duration options are offered from 3 to 33 nights.

Cruise companies

The largest number of offers can be found from MSC, Costa and Azamara. Their modern cruise ships are equipped not only with everything you need, but also with casinos, theaters, swimming pools, entertainment complexes, spas and much more.

Best time to cruise the Arabian Gulf

On our website there is a wide list of lucrative offers designed for an audience with different interests and various financial capabilities. These are cruises on the Persian Gulf, which in 2020 are no less popular than in previous periods, and, on the contrary, have become more in demand.

Where do cruise routes start from?

In the overwhelming majority of cases, a sea cruise starts from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, then the route is laid along the Persian Gulf, while in either case the prices depend on the duration of the trip, as well as on the number of places that are planned to be visited. Also, the tour price initially includes:

• accommodation in a cabin with the selected parameters;
• meals on board the ship in accordance with the chosen boarding house (full, incomplete, etc.);
• accompanying services of a Russian-speaking guide;
• public entertainment programs;
• access to swimming pools, fitness clubs and other public areas;
• visiting children's clubs, etc.

Route features

Popular sea cruises in the UAE are designed in such a way that their routes include visits to the most popular places and notable resort towns. This allows you to inspect most of the famous sights within one, even not the longest, tour:

• visit one of the largest mosques in the global ranking, which is located in the capital of Oman;
• see the sights and modern skyscrapers of Qatar, which rise along the coastal zone of the Doha Gulf;
• visit the "capital of luxury" - the city of Dubai, which is the leader in quality and living standards in the world.

The most popular among fans of the Persian Gulf are cruises from Dubai, which are organized for the new year. The advantages of such tours are clear without further ado, and experiencing them in practice is a dream that every self-respecting traveler should strive to achieve.

Cruise on Persian the bay on the liner MSC Belissima of MCS Cruises, including a visit to Oman and three emirates within the UAE - Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Dubai- a real oriental tale

A sea cruise from Dubai is an opportunity to see the Middle East from the ocean side, to touch the secrets of the East, to reveal the mysteries of the eastern soul, to see the greatness of mosques with your own eyes, to visit the famous markets of the region. All these opportunities open you a cruise to the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain from Dubai on the MSC Splendida

On a cruise in the Persian Gulf, you will see:

Dubai, Abu Dhabi, about. Sir Bani Yas, Bahrain, Doha

Mosques and modern skyscrapers

Crystal clear sea, white sand beaches and deserts

And the Russian group on the cruise will give you friendly team of compatriots, as well as excursions from qualified guides in Russian!

RUSSIAN GROUPS ON PERSIAN GULF CRUISES

Excursions in ports of call in Russian

Children (under 18) when sharing with 2 adults travel free

Only port dues are paid

Requirements for visas for citizens of the Russian Federation:

- To visit the UAE, obtaining a tourist visa upon arrival in the UAE is free. Children must have a separate passport.

- You do not need a visa to visit Qatar on this cruise. The decision to grant the right to enter Qatar always rests with the Qatari immigration officers.

- Visa is not required to visit Bahrain on this cruise. The decision to grant the right to enter Bahrain always rests with the immigration officers of Bahrain.

Were from 11/29/13 to 12/15/13.
Rest in the hotel "FUJAIRAH LE MERIDIEN AL AQAH BEACH RESORT" 5 * from 30.11.13 to 08.12.13.
Cruise on "Costa neoRiviera" 4 * in the UAE and Oman from 08.12.13 to 15.12.13.
Cruise itinerary: Dubai (UAE) - Dubai (UAE) - Muscat (Oman) - Muscat (Oman) - Abu Dhabi (UAE) - Abu Dhabi (UAE) - Dubai (UAE) - Dubai (UAE).
As always, having started preparations for the next vacation scheduled for early December in advance, after some deliberation, they opted for the United Arab Emirates. Good weather, comfortable hotels, interesting sights and a lot of active entertainment - all this thoroughly reinforced the correctness of our choice. On our new journey, we gathered not alone, but like a year ago in the Caribbean in the close company of our best friends: Elena and Edward.

PREPARATION.
Immediately I would like to thank Doppelsauger (Saratov) and Veronica (Kazan) for useful information on the UAE, as well as our wonderful travel agent Anna for her assistance in preparing the trip.
So, tickets for the plane to Dubai were independently purchased at a limited special offer of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA). Seduced by the price tag, do not fall - 5170 rubles from the nose for a round-trip flight, albeit with an hour and a half docking at the Borispol airport (Kiev). So as not to return to this question, I will share my impressions of this flight right away. In principle, there are no serious complaints about him, except for one of our friends' suitcases that did not fly to Moscow. Unfortunately, he got a little stuck in Kiev, which caused serious unrest in our ranks, adding a small fly in the ointment to the barrel of our vacation full of Arab honey. Two days later, the prodigal suitcase was without incident delivered directly to his home address, thereby turning the last page of our eastern wanderings. In general, as it turned out, the problem with luggage on this particular UIA flight is nothing new, be careful, keep your luggage receipts until the end of the trip! The rest of the Ukrainian airline did not disappoint, small Boeings 737-400, 737-800 and 737-900 flew strictly on schedule. In-flight catering is not worse than that of Russian air carriers, and in general, the service is generally the same.
It was decided to spend the first week on the Indian Ocean at the "Le Meridien" 5 * hotel, which is considered the best in the emirate of Fujairah. Further in our program was an eight-day cruise on the "Costa neoRiviera" in the UAE and Oman. The most delicious price for this cruise (598 euros for an inner cabin for two, including all taxes and port charges) was found thanks to the efforts of our main search engine Eduard on the German website Kreuzfahrten.de, where, without thinking twice, we booked two neighboring cabins in the middle of the 8th deck. Having dealt with the cruise, we started to apply for visas. Then it turned out that we needed not an ordinary, but a double-entry visa to the UAE, since after leaving for Oman, where a visa is not required, "Costa neoRiviera" will return to the Emirates again, and this will be a repeated border crossing for us. At the visa center, everything was issued in the best possible way, and about ten days later, all the necessary documents came to us by e-mail, completely opening the way to the mysterious world of the Arab East.
Following the beaten track of our "tourists", they purchased tickets to the Burj Khalifa tower and to the Oceanarium and Aquaventure Water Park at the Atlantis Palm hotel via the Internet on the official websites. This is really more profitable than buying tickets directly on the spot .... But the site of the water park "Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi" issued tickets without a fixed date, valid for only 7 days from the date of purchase. Therefore, we purchased them already being in Fujairah, so successfully getting on the share of 4 tickets for the price of 3.
Then the question arose with the transfer to our transcendental "Le Meridien". Weighed. Examined. Taking into account the night landing, a taxi will cost $ 100-120 one way. We thought. Resolved, we rent a car! Through the website of the same UIA we order at the "Dollar" rental office of Mitsubishi Lancer. The price is 136 euros for 9 full days. Receiving upon arrival at Terminal 1 of Dubai airport. Taking into account the fact that we arrived 3 days earlier than our friends, and thus got the opportunity to meet them with honor at the airport, the rental benefits were considerable. To feel completely confident at the ultra-modern interchanges of the country, we also rented a navigator in the "Dollar", the pleasure is not cheap ($ 10 per day), but I really didn’t want to wind my nerves on vacation.
Finally, the long-awaited day of departure has come. All the excitement, fees, conversations are behind. Let's sit down on the path and go!
Domodedovo Airport - Kiev Boryspil Airport - and now our small Boeing is moored to the pipe of the First Terminal of Dubai International Airport. The dead night reigns in the city, or rather about half past three in the morning. Local time coincides with Moscow time, so there is no particular discomfort, besides, I managed to get some sleep on the plane. Together with the people we overcome all the airport labyrinths of halls and corridors, go through passport and customs control, get luggage and, having filled up the duty-free with "fuel", we taxi to the dollar rental car counter. A smiling Arab gentleman, having received our voucher for a five-door Mitsubishi Lancer, proceeded to the registration. International and Russian driver's licenses are in order. A credit card with a three-dimensional number and the owner's surname is ok. The amount of the deposit for the car and the navigator have been successfully blocked. All the necessary documents have been signed, the keys have been received. Accompanied by the manager, we go out to the parking lot. The silver machine is already waiting! The final touch is an examination of the appearance for the detection of mechanical damage with entry into the protocol and recording the level of filling of the tank. It took no more than half an hour to complete everything about everything, and now the odometer is counting the first kilometers of Emirati roads, which, by the way, have accumulated as much as 900 over the entire travel time.

DUBAI - FUJEIRA.
The hotel "Le Meridien" 5 *, located in the north of the emirate of Fujairah on the shores of the Indian Ocean, is a long way, about 140 km. Check-in at 14-00. Accordingly, there is nowhere to rush. With pleasure we admire the pre-dawn landscapes of the rocky desert spreading around, framed on the horizon by the sharp-angled Jabal al-Hajar mountains, from behind which the hot Arabian sun is about to rise. Sunrise found us at the pass. Indescribable beauty! Descending from the mountains, we enter the capital of the emirate of the same name - the port city of Fujairah. Modern high-rise buildings made of glass and concrete, a huge snow-white mosque, an old, well-worn fort and a wide embankment - a place of folk festivities, the city has something to boast to its guests. We will come back here, but for now the road leads us further along the coast of the Indian Ocean to the hotel "Le Meridien" located forty kilometers to the north. Outside the window is not so picturesque. Cozy coves, framed by palm groves, now and then give way to rows of huge oil tanks, emphasizing the country's belonging to the world leaders in the extraction of "black gold".
Having emerged from the next mountain turn, we finally saw the snow-white tower of our hotel with blue trim. In a valley surrounded on one side by mountains and on the other by the ocean, it rose like a lonely iceberg in the depths of the sea. The neighboring hotels "Rotana" and "Miramar", completely lost in the lush greenery of palm trees, were found right on the way to "Le Meridien".
Despite our early arrival, the reception desk treated us with understanding and kindly provided us with the standard on the eighth floor.
I will tell you more about the rest in the hotel and about Fujairah in general later in a separate review, but for now I will just note that, in principle, we really liked everything.
After three days, exactly on the 42nd anniversary of the UAE Independence Day, we made a night car rally to Dubai airport for our friends: Eduard and Elena, who arrived on the same night flight of UIA as we did. We left early and with a good margin of time. The roads of the emirates are well lit at night and practically deserted, so we expected an easy pleasure walk across half of the country. However, as it turned out, adventure awaits us at every turn. When it was 60 kilometers to Dubai, the car at full speed and completely unexpectedly for us burst into a veil of impenetrable fog, thick as condensed milk. The first impression was that we stupidly flew into a white wall, but for some reason did not crash against it, but ended up in zero gravity and soar in the clouds like birds, then I thought it might be a sandstorm, but having opened the windows we were convinced: there is no wind, and this is not the sand turned everything around into milk shores, and a simple fog, only of extraordinary density!
We turn on emergency lights, fog lights, high beam, drop the speed to 20-30 km / h and still see how my wife is worried, peering intently at the white wall right in front of the car. Visibility from the force of 4 meters. The inner voice of self-preservation demands to stop and wait out the unexpected element, but we have no time left for that. The sides are not visible, only the light of the nearest street lamp of the road lighting mast slightly breaks through the fog and that's it ...
Fortunately, the situation is changing for the better on the way to Dubai. First, we begin to see two lanterns, then three, five, and now only a light haze whitens the night sky.
Our guys have already arrived and, not finding us at the agreed place, are sending worried SMS. And in the meantime we are already close, we send in response a laconic "Wait!" and literally screwing into the bends of the next ultra-modern multi-lane interchange on the approaches to the airport. Finally it happened. Here is the long-awaited meeting! Embracing and kissing, we lead our friends to the car, vying with each other to talk about our road adventures. How will it be on the way back? No wonder they say - two are good, but four are even better, even more fun, even the fog again surrounding the car is no longer a hindrance to us! True, to our delight, it was already pretty much worn out and less than "three lights" no longer thickened, allowing you to keep a weighty 60 km / h on the speedometer.
The days of rest in the magnificent "Le Meridien" 5 * have passed imperceptibly, according to our common opinion with friends, the hotel did not disappoint expectations and presented wonderful days of rest, full of sun and sea. Now our way lay back to Dubai, to the cruise terminal of the port of Rashid, where the cruise liner of the Italian company "Costa Cruises" - "Costa neoRiviera" 4 * was waiting for us at the berths. And we did not keep ourselves waiting long, having already arrived at the place by three o'clock in the afternoon. The departure of the liner is scheduled for 13:00 tomorrow and it seems that there is no need to rush, but we have internet tickets for the Burj Khalifa at 16:00. We quickly and quickly drop off our luggage without entering the ship. rushing towards Dubai Mall and the tallest tower in the world!

DUBAI. BURJ KHALIFA. FOUNTAIN DUBAI. DUBAI MALL.
Having overcome with the help of a navigator, albeit only from the third time, the intricacies of the interchanges of the 24-lane Sheikh Zayed Road, we finally park on the fifth level of the parking zone "Cinema" of Dubai Mall. At the entrance to the tower (level LG) we were forty minutes late, although they swept through the halls of the shopping center like a hurricane. Fortunately, there were no consequences for being late. At the reception, our printout was easily exchanged for four cherished tickets and sent to the queue for the high-speed elevator.
A lot has already been written about the tallest tower in the world (828 m, 163 floors), and yet. The construction lasted 6 years and cost the Emirates $ 1.5 billion. In just a year, the money paid off. The explanation is simple: the glory of the tallest building in the world allowed already at the first stage of construction to sell areas at $ 40,000 per square, in addition, the observation deck "At The Top", located at an altitude of 452 meters (124th floor), is very popular with tourists bringing in considerable income.
American architect Adrian Smith used the principle of "vertical city" - the floors are arranged in blocks designed for different functions. The tower accommodates 900 apartments, a five-star hotel "Armani" with 304 rooms, the world's highest restaurant "At.mosphere" (442 m, 122 floor), 35 floors are given for offices, a huge underground parking. There are 57 elevators in the skyscraper, on one of which our company took off at a speed of 12 m / s to the observation deck "At The Top" to admire the panoramas of the city. We spent two hours, imperceptibly it got dark and Dubai opened with its one of the brightest facets: with fireworks of city lights streaming in knotted roads, in numerous skyscrapers, fiery candles resting against the night sky. The beauty!
After leaving the tower and again in Dubai Mall, we decided to wander around its boutiques a little, and taste Mexican cuisine in a huge food court.
Of course, we did not miss another powerful attraction located right next door - the Dubai Fountain. Every 30 minutes every day from 18:00 to 23:00 there is a magical show of water, sound and light! The height of the jets of the fountain at times reaches 150 meters, and the system of movable nozzles allows you to spray water in the most bizarre way, creating unique light and music compositions, of which there are over a thousand in the fountain's arsenal!
For the last time on our own, taking a breeze ride through the sparkling lights of Dubai at night, we arrive at the airport. It's time to return our rental Mitsubishi to its rightful owner. The machine did not disappoint and proved to be quite economical and very agile person. Now we have to change the "wheels" for the "propellers" of the cruise liner, overnight replacing the earth's firmament with the water element. Departure tomorrow, at exactly 13:00, but already at dinner at the ship's restaurant "Cetara" we unanimously decide to stay on the ship the next day, devoting it to studying the infrastructure of "COSTA neoRIVIERA" 4 *, where I am pleased to invite you, dear friends!

"COSTA neoRIVIERA" 4 *. DEPARTURE.
Everyone aboard 12:30.
The ship was built in 1999, renovated in 2013.
Class Standard. Home port Genoa (Italy).
Tonnage 48200 t. 14 decks. Roll stabilizers.
Captain of the ship Andrea Bardi.
With a length of 216 meters, this is one of the smallest ships in the Costa Cruises fleet. Team 670 people, passengers 1600 people
This is our third cruise and we are taking the inner cabins all the time. So, believe us, we have something to compare with, if there was something to compare. Full identity on the face, there are differences only in the color scheme of the cabins, as well as a TV, a refrigerator, a safe, a hairdryer, and an air conditioner, and beach towels and other useful things for the household are available in the cabin in full, even the layout is the same. In one word, swim and enjoy life!
"Costa neoRiviera" by today's standards, although a small ship, is seriously equipped - a very beautiful "Ravello" theater, where gorgeous show programs are held in the evenings, and after all, the cruises of the "Costa" are famous for this, I would even say that it is their main strong point. There is also a casino "Saint Maxime", a disco, a spa center "Portovenere", a gallery of boutiques, a library, several bars, a nightclub, a swimming pool, 2 jacuzzis, a solarium and a photo gallery "Cannes", where you can see your photo in passing, and, even more than that, buy a copy you like ...
Meals on board full board - breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, all kinds of snacks throughout the day, a buffet for night owls, as well as coffee, tea and water in the buffet restaurant. The a la carte system has two main restaurants on decks 5 and 6, "Cetara" (breakfast, dinner) and "Saint-Tropez" (dinner), respectively, the buffet pulls on itself "Vernazza Buffet" - that's almost everything food, except for dinners, and right there on the same deck 11 he is helped by "Monterosso Pizzeria" (fresh pizza) and "Manarola Grill" (grill - sausages, hamburgers, etc.). The visit to the restaurants is free, due to the incomplete workload of the liner on our cruise, the traditional meal changes were canceled.
Both the quality and the variety of the dishes themselves made the most pleasant impression on us! Nicely decorated, and most importantly, deliciously cooked! Bravo!
All alcohol on board is paid, but there is a way to slightly reduce your expenses by purchasing a so-called "package" in any restaurant or bar of the ship, which entitles you to a certain wholesale discount. The choice of "packages" is quite rich and allows you to take the optimal set of drinks, including alcoholic ones. If I'm not mistaken, we settled on this - 6 bottles of wine + 7 bottles of water. It turned out to be profitable. We ordered a bottle for every dinner for appetite and raising the general tone!
At exactly one o'clock in the afternoon, almost all the passengers of our ship, sticking to the balconies of the suites and the railings of the upper decks of the "Costa neoRiviera", traditionally said goodbye to Dubai. The music was playing, the liner gave long beeps and slowly departed from the pier, everyone was waving to each other with handkerchiefs and caps, but what is there - just hands. This is such an old cruise tradition. We also waved, and not just like that, but our native Russian tricolor, who had been with us on many trips and everywhere bringing good luck!
The last skyscrapers and towers of futuristic, shrouded in a light haze, Dubai have melted behind the horizon. The cruise has begun! "The meeting continues, gentlemen of the jury. The ice has broken!" - the unforgettable Ostap would have said if he had stood next to us on the deck and would have been absolutely right, but he was not with us and therefore these words, without knowing why I said. .....

MASKAT (OMAN). The first day.
BEACH "HAY AS SARUJ". NATIONAL PARK "AL QURM".
Arrival at the port 09:00. Night on board.
Lying in the rays of the morning Arabian sun, our yellow-tube "Costa" slowly docked in the port of Sultan Qaboos of the capital of the Sultanate of Oman - colorful Muscat.
Surrounded by a dense wall of rocky mountains, snow-white, full of greenery, the city looks very picturesque. Having breakfast on the open deck 11, and looking down on all this beauty, we involuntarily fall under its charm, unnecessarily delaying the process of disembarking. And now, finally, we are already at the exit from the port territory, attacked from all sides by excessively "shy" Omani taxi drivers, we make our way to the nearest city blocks. Our goal is exchange. Dollars are also popular, but local rials are still more profitable to use. Course 1 OMR = 2.6 $. Having acquired Omani money, right next to the Corniche Matrah embankment, we take a taxi from the parking lot and go to the beach.
The "HAY AS SARUJ" beach in al-Qurm area, considered one of the best in Muscat, is located about 20 minutes from the port.
Its vast territory is not particularly landscaped, there are no umbrellas or sun loungers. In fact, a typical "wild beach". The sand is fine, very pleasant to the touch, but, unfortunately, not a very advantageous grayish shade. After wandering a little along the deserted coast of the Indian Ocean, we spotted a pretty place near a small grove of coconut trees. Hanging over the beach with their lush crowns, they invitingly lured our bodies heated in the sun with their life-giving shade promising a comfortable coolness. It's time to finally swim!
The water in the ocean turned out to be very warm, but not very transparent, some slightly greenish tint, indicating the presence of a large amount of plankton in it. To get to the depth at least up to the chest, I had to move 150 meters away from the coast, this is an extremely shallow entrance here, just like a child's entrance into the water.
In December, in these latitudes it gets dark quite quickly, and we still have plans for the National Park "Al Qurm", so at three o'clock in the afternoon, having collected our simple beach belongings, we set off. Expensive, of course, we admire the city. I like Muscat! Lots of flowers, greenery, amazing cleanliness and well-groomed around. The original oriental architecture pleases the eye, the building of the New Royal Opera is worth something! Palace, and more!
When, at last, we got to the place, it was already beginning to get dark.
And it's not that Al Qurm National Park is famous for anything special, I even suspect that there are few tourists who have been to Muscat and have visited it at least for a short visit. And in vain, there is something to see here without exaggeration. Firstly, the most picturesque man-made waterfall, and secondly, a huge amphitheater overlooking an artificial, absolutely round, reservoir, ringed by a massive, I would even say pompous, embankment with a dozen oriental-style belvederes around the perimeter. If it were not for the slight swampiness of the lake, the complex would look very, very impressive. In addition, the guide told us about the color and music fountain, launched here in 1995 in honor of the National Day, but unfortunately, it works quite rarely and we were not destined to admire it.
We also managed to find in the park a fully recreated life-size Arab settlement of the 17th - 18th centuries with a small impregnable fortress at its head.
In general, we barely made it to dinner for our dear "Costa", unexpectedly getting stuck in a traffic jam (where they just don't exist!) On the way back to the port.

MASKAT (OMAN). Second day.
HISTORICAL CITY. MATTRESS MARKET.
Everyone aboard 12:30.
An early departure stimulated our early disembarkation into the city. In addition to exploring the center of Muscat, we also planned a visit to the ancient Matrah market located near the port, or in the local way - Souk Matrah al-Kadim, which sells almost everything: from spices to jewelry.
So, just ten minutes by taxi and we are on the spot, in front of us is the Al Alam Palace (Al Alam Palace), translated as the Palace of the Standard, one of the six residences of Sultan Qaboos, the ruler of Oman. Built in 1970 in a neo-Islamic style with elements of Indian architecture, it has become a symbol of modern Muscat. The palace is used by the Sultan to receive guests of honor and to meet with the heads of state, so it is not possible to admire its interior decoration, but you can take a picture against its background at the front gate! With its other facade, al-Alam faces the Muscat Bay, surrounded on both sides by rocks, which are crowned with powerful forts that first appeared here in the 16th century. If you stand facing the palace and with your back to the ocean, then on the right will be the Mirani fort, and to the left of it, at a distance of 800 meters, will be the Jalali fort. The forts look very impressive and practically inaccessible, at one time they were armed with batteries of heavy guns, the power of which was tested on the ships of the Turkish and Portuguese invaders.
Having admired the beauty of the historic center of Muscat, we move closer to the parking lot of our liner in the Matrah area. The name "Matrah" is an abbreviation for makyan khatt arrihal, which means "caravan campsite". The Corniche Matrah embankment, curved in a majestic arc, makes a great impression, as it outlines the harbor of the main port of Muscat, named after Sultan Qaboos (Mina Qaboos). Here, in addition to cruise ships and graceful old bagals and dhows scurrying back and forth, His Majesty's yacht "Fulk al-Salamah", a former amphibious landing ship in service with the Royal Omani Navy, is moored here in 1987 in Germany. There are apartments on the ship to accommodate guests, and a helipad and a hangar are arranged at the stern! The Fulk al-Salamah yacht often accompanies the Sultan's other favorite, the Al Said yacht. Launched in 2006, it was the second largest in the world, now it is the third, but it nevertheless makes a very impressive impression. Both yachts were at the port and, of course, were captured in memory by your humble servant.
Above the far end of the embankment, the most powerful defensive structure, the Matrah Fort, seems to grow out of the rocks, behind it the territory of the Riyam Park begins with the White Observation Tower in the form of a huge, traditional for Oman, round incense burner, but we will not go there. We will devote the remaining time before sailing to the wonders of the eastern market. In Souk Matrah there are several passages from the side of the embankment. We enter through the main one, decorated in the form of a tower-gazebo with a dome. Before us is a typical Arab market with narrow covered galleries. What is there just not! Spices, antiques, silver and gold products, national clothes, souvenirs, incense, coffee, weapons, fabrics, furniture .... Surprisingly, many sellers, in addition to English, are able to communicate a little in Russian. They bargain willingly, trying not to miss such overseas "rich" guests, hung with parcels and packages, like us! But now the rials are finally over, and with their end it's time for us to say goodbye to the hospitable Sultanate of Oman! All aboard, "Costa neoRiviera" will not wait for latecomers!

ABU DHABI (UAE). The first day.
GREAT MOSQUE OF SHEIKH ZAYED. PALACE OF THE EMIRATES.
Arrival at the port 14:00. Night on board.
To be in Abu Dhabi and not to visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque of amazing beauty and scale is an unaffordable luxury for every self-respecting traveler!
Therefore, as soon as our "Costa neoRiviera" finished off in the Abu Dab port of Zayed and threw its battered gangway onto the pier, we wasted no time going to this, I'm not afraid to say, Wonder of the World! Again we go by taxi, otherwise we will not get out of the port at all. Payment on the counter cost us 52 dirhams, which is about $ 14. For four, it turns out, in principle, inexpensive.
The mosque, opened in 2007, is named after the 17th Emir of Abu Dhabi, founder and first president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. His ashes rests right there, by the walls of the temple. The structure itself has some kind of bewitching, mesmerizing beauty. Snow-white 107-meter minarets, domes, graceful columns, numbering more than a thousand, artificial reservoirs lined with dark tiles, marble floor shining in the sun, decorated with colored mosaics, simply overwhelm with their unreal elegance. Having admired the appearance of the temple, we set off to inspect its depths.
To visit the interior of the mosque, the beauty of our beloved women had to be hidden a little (if at all possible, it seems they have only become even more beautiful) with black abayas with rented hoods, so that they would not inadvertently overshadow the delights of oriental architecture.
According to the Muslim tradition, the insides of mosques are decorated quite austerely, but here the Arab architects managed to surpass themselves, decorating the floor in the prayer hall with a magnificent Iranian carpet with a record area of ​​5627 m2 and weighing 35 tons, and a huge, ten meters in diameter, chandelier made of colored Swarovski crystals! From the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, take a taxi to the western end of Corniche Rd., To the Emirates Palace Hotel 5 *, opened in 2005 by the Kempinski chain and owned by the government of Abu Dhabi. This one of the most luxurious hotels in the Middle East cost the sheikhs $ 3 billion! And it’s no wonder, it was built in order not only to surprise, but downright stun their guests. The fifth floor is reserved for the presidents' suites, and the eighth floor has been allocated personally for the heads of state of the Persian Gulf.
At a leisurely pace of seasoned tourists, we enter this nest of luxury and glamor. The first who meets us inside is the ubiquitous huge portrait of Sheikh Zayed, then, in the huge foyer, sparkling with gold and Swarovski crystals, we see a huge Christmas tree, decorated with the latest Christmas fashion! In short, the entire first floor turned out to be a unique museum in chic interiors. There is a whole gallery of paintings, all kinds of exotic sculptures in glass cases, and exquisite flower arrangements. To complete the picture, the girl, playing the cello, creates a musical background for this whole orgy of riches.
Since we are still at the hotel, we decided to visit the local toilet on the "path". And it’s not in vain, I must say, it turned out to be a very refined institution, everything is in marble and gilding.
Before heading to the ship, we walked a little through the night city, admired its bright lights, felt the beating of its heart pulsing in the streams of cars and people on its streets ...

ABU DHABI (UAE). Second day.
AQUAPARK "YAS WATERWORLD".
Everyone on board is 17:30.
They regretted only one thing, they spent too long on the ship, they had to come directly to the opening, by 10:00, there would have been an hour or two more time for the break!
Yas Waterworld is located on the artificial island of Yas, on the eastern outskirts of Abu Dhabi, adjacent to the unique Formula 1 YasMarinaCircuit, Warner Bros. Amusement Park, Ferrari Park and the futuristic Du Arena concert venue.
This water park, which opened in 2012, is considered the largest in the Middle East, it contains 43 breathtaking water attractions, which are very compactly assembled into one single unit with the Jebel Dana tower in the center. At the top of the tower is a white pearl, eight meters in diameter, a visiting card not only of the water park, but of the entire Yas Island. The Lost Pearl is an Arab legend that has become the theme of the park's attractions. Just like a young Arab girl is trying to find the legendary pearl, so we, traveling from hill to hill, go through more and more tests with her, finding the joy of victory over ourselves and our fears!
How do you like the 550-meter "Bandit Bomber" suspended slide, a roller coaster ride through the entire territory of the water park with a set of dashing turns and sharp steep descents and falls?
In a word, we got off to the full, fortunately, and there were surprisingly few people that day. It so happened that we have not been to the water parks for probably a hundred years and have already forgotten how beautiful and useful this active kind of rest, full of adrenaline and joyful emotions, is!

DUBAI, UAE). The first day.
OCEANARIUM "THE LOST CHAMBERS". AQUAPARK "AQUAVENTURE WATERPARK".
Arrival at the port 08:00. Night on board.
At the very top of the unique artificial island of Palm Jumeirah, the inimitable Atlantis rises. A five-star fairy tale hotel, a dream hotel! There are many wonders in his vast domains, but today we are only interested in two of them. Oceanarium and Aquapark!
First of all, we go to the oceanarium, the name of which can be translated into Russian as "The Lost World". It is easy to guess that this is the sunken Atlantis with its fantastic, truly unearthly civilization. And we are here, at the bottom of the ocean! Before us are not aquariums, but, as it were, porthole windows into the mysterious world of the depths of the sea, full of unusual inhabitants. The mysterious twilight of the halls, strange-looking alien sculptural compositions, muted music full of cosmic motives - all this leaves a very vivid and memorable impression! This is a complete immersion! It was very atmospheric, especially when, as we did, there were just one or two visitors.
Now next in line is the most famous water park in Dubai, located right next door. Aquaventure waterpark - your water adventure begins! Caught up in the whirlpool of modern water attractions, only in the late afternoon did they carve out half an hour for swimming in the Persian Gulf and a photo session against the backdrop of the world famous "Burj Al Arab" 5 * hotel or simply Sail.
Tired, but contented, with voices slightly planted from shouting, we decide to take a ride on the Dubai metro for the sake of completeness. We reach the nearest station of the red line "Nakheel" by taxi. Then we do not go down underground as usual, but rather take the elevator up a couple of floors and find ourselves on the platform. Metro in Dubai is automatic, in other words, without a driver! The distances between the stations are small. Until we got to ours, we drove through 13 stops, we were already tired of driving out of habit. And besides, the people were getting drunk, as in Moscow during rush hours. In general, we got an idea ...

DUBAI, UAE). Second day.
LANDING.
Departure home from Dubai International Airport at 15:30, so using the hospitality of the liner, we enjoy the pool to the fullest. The suitcases have been packed since the evening and languish in the cabin. And we had a good breakfast and lunch, walked around the most beloved corners of the ship, traditionally threw coins into the waters of the Persian Gulf, took a photo for memory against the background of Dubai and did not notice how the time had come to leave our beauty "Costa neoRiviera".
Everything spun, spun with terrible force - disembarkation, taxi, airport, duty free, transfer in Kiev, takeoff, landing ........ Moscow! Here at home! The rest was a success! A curtain!
P.S.
I thought about cruises. Why are they so popular? Why are we drawn to the sea over and over again? Yes, there is not much time to explore the cities, but the impressions from what he saw are brighter, fresher or something. And most importantly, in essence, a cruise is also a journey, only in very, very comfortable conditions and by sea. The ship goes from port to port, it can be on the open sea for several days, or vice versa to stay in some port for a longer time, and that's great! This is adventure! Constant movement attracts, and sea romance brings additional flavor to the rest! A cruise is a whole event, it does not rush to separate countries and cities that fall on its route, but is perceived as a kind of single, fantastically pleasant link in a series of everyday life, keeping in mind in one of the most honorable places ...
It is almost impossible to deduce a universal formula for a good rest, all people have different tastes and needs, but for ourselves we have deduced it. She flaunts in the title of the review. And it has everything: the beach-culinary feast of the Le Meridien hotel, and the night, shrouded in thick fog, the UAE road bands, and the ultramodern urban landscapes of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which appeared in the desert like a mirage, and the romance of a sea cruise, shrouded in mysterious veil of the ancient East, and splashes of joy and adrenaline fountains of "crazy" water parks, and fantastically beautiful mosques and palaces, luxury surpassing their fabulous counterparts from "1001 Nights", and the sun, and the sea, and friendship, and love ... ....