Q – Our friends in Boise will be joining us for a nice cruise next year celebrating my husband’s retirement as a school superintendent. He has always wanted to go to Dubai and our agent has come up with a sailing on Azamara aboard the Journey on November 14th next year. But I doubt she’s ever been to “Middle” anywhere unless it’s the midwest so I’d love to have you look over the itinerary. If someone is going to this part of the world, are there better itineraries? This seemed like both a good deal and the right amount of time but, I have to tell you, our only international travel has been to London and Scotland. Thanks so much.
A – We thought we would show everyone your proposed itinerary so they can be in on the conversation:
| Day 1 | Dubai | ||
| Day 2 | Dubai | 10:00 PM | |
| Day 3 | Khasab | 7:30 AM | 2:00 PM |
| Day 4 | Muscat | 7:30 AM | |
| Day 5 | Muscat | 6:00 PM | |
| Day 6 | At Sea | ||
| Day 7 | Al Manamah | 7:00 AM | 9:00 PM |
| Day 8 | Doha | 7:00 AM | 6:00 PM |
| Day 9 | Abu Dhabi | 7:30 AM | |
| Day 10 | Abu Dhabi | 1:00 PM | |
| Continued | Dubai | 8:00 PM | |
| Day 11 | Dubai |
We particularly like the double overnight at each end in Dubai. This will likely save you money on pre/post cruise hotel nights. The overnights in Muscat and Abu Dhabi are also quite unusual and they will enable to you to see these fascinating locations at night without any transportation or security fears. We won’t spoil what awaits you in Doha, but we expect it to be the highlight of your trip.
We think that the Journey is a good choice for your first Journey out of the comfort zone. You will be visiting countries with a significantly higher standard of living than our own country will much better roads, hotels, shopping, and infrastructure. Crime is pretty much a non-issue. We do suggest a reading of the Koran before the trip to gain an understanding of the underpinning religious belief in several of these Muslim nations. We suggest that you arrive two nights early and book the best hotel available – even if you feel it is too expensive. That is part of the Dubai experience and you need to both rest up after your long journey and then do some local exploring. Yes, there are more expensive, more inclusive five-star cruise options but we think, for this trip, your agent has placed you on a comfortable ship with a wonderful program that will enable you to arrive early and still be under two weeks. Try to fly up and back on Emirates with a connection to Boise. You will have several gateway options.
Best to avoid too many Jerry Seinfeld references while you are there.
