Okay, so I’m excited to be cruising the Middle East. I had thought of this as just a little interlude. I had to get past Christmas first and this was booked a while ago and then put aside in my mind for consideration after more pressing things. Now we’re off and I’m ready for a break. It’s been a big year and although we had a wonderful summer holiday visiting Italy, Greece, the UK and France only a few months ago, I definitely feel ready for a change of scenery, if not a holiday. I say this because, for me, travelling is all about the destination, rather than the journey. Most people get excited about fancy hotels and luxurious resorts. I’m not adverse to these at all, but my enthusiasm is for exploring and I’m most looking forward to visiting new places. This time around it’s a bit more ‘local’. We are cruising with MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) ex Dubai and visiting Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas Island, Bahrain and Qatar. I have my Arabian Peninsula Lonely Planet marked and ready and a planned itinerary of what I want to see and do in each port.
We arrive at the Cruise Terminal at Port Rashid late afternoon. Our check in was originally scheduled for 8:45pm but we don’t want to stretch the children that late on the first night and we’ve asked for an earlier time slot. It was moved forward to 5pm. We arrive at 4pm. Our luggage is whisked away efficiently on a trolley from the taxi. We wander into the cruise terminal and it’s like an airport. Except there are no lines and no boarding gate. We are processed without a wait and on deck before we know it.
After anticipating a long line up and check in process we’re impressed. We step into the main guest reception and my eyes are drawn straight up, past the bar and lounges, up the sparkly steps adorned with mistletoe, up to the top of the Christmas tree and to the lifts going up and down. I’m sold and I buzz with excitement, catching up with the enthusiasm of the children. It’s big and we look around at the shops, bars, cafes and restaurants as we go.
We find our cabin, put our bags down and head off to explore. Our cabin is at the back of the boat so we head outside and up the stairs to see what we can find. One level up, on level 14, is the Bora Bora buffet (location noted for future reference) and one more flight of stairs, up to level 15, we discover a pool and bar. We walk a bit further, there is a water slide. We climb a little higher and find the solarium complete with cabanas for hire, catching the last rays of the Dubai afternoon.
We take in the views over the main pool area and my husband returns with welcome cocktails – strawberry daiquiris for us and tropical smoothies for the boys. They’re delighted. So am I. Then the children are begging to go to the kids’ club, despite the youngest protesting just a few days ago that he didn’t want any part of a kids’ club. This one turns out to be a Lego Club and they’re sold. We don’t mind in the least.
We take them to the buffet where the pizzeria is in full swing, even if dinner is only just being set up. They have some excellent pizza, worthy of any pizzaria in Rome and then we drop them off at the kids’ club. It turns out we have a compulsory safety briefing at 8:30pm so they’re not getting to bed early anyway. The kids were bar coded (by way of wrist band) the second we got onto the ship so they’re all set. We fill out a quick form each and they’re gone. My husband and I breathe a sigh of relief and head to dinner.
We’re seated and order our meal. The food is excellent, as is the service. We talk about the ship, our itinerary and expectations. We’re able to have an actual conversation with each other, no interruptions or pausing to answer questions/explain/discipline. It’s nice. I feel like a real person, not just a mum.
Eventually we have to pick the boys up and get to the safety briefing. We find the Aft Lounge and realise we haven’t brought our life vests. We sit down anyway and although they’re still bouncing around, the boys are not going to last much longer. The briefing is repeated in five languages (English, Italian, French, German, Spanish) so it takes a little while. When it is over, we make a bee line for our cabin and get the boys straight to bed. Jason is tired too and gives me leave to go exploring. It’s 9:30pm and I know that there is a show on at the Strand Theatre so I head straight there.
There are dancers on stage and I seat myself to take it in. After the dancing there are two guys that juggle their way through taking off and putting back on their clothes – a 3 piece suit and shirt down to their underwear and all back on again, including shoes! They don’t miss a beat and not one of the batons is dropped. The next is a dance and magic performance combined with a lady and gent that change their costumes seven or so times during the piece with little more than a shake of a tail feather. There is a guy who sings “I did it my way” with a very convincing French accent, then he switches to French and I figure the accent is perhaps authentic, rather than convincing. More dancing and singing with a total cast of a dozen, at a guess. Not bad for my attendance on a whim.
After the show, I take a wander around the boat and check out the restaurants, lounges, bars, cafes and clubs. There is the Purple Bar, the Jazz Bar, the Sports Bar, the Aft Lounge, L’Apertivo, L’Espresso, La Piazetta (above) the Splendida Bar and the main reception lounge. There is live music in every one. There is also a casino, a cigar lounge and a band playing next to the main pool. The atmosphere is lively but nothing feels overcrowded. I swoon at the discovery of Venchi gelato available at La Piazetta. Made on board, no less.
I consider sitting somewhere and having a night cap but by now it’s nearly 11pm and I am feeling weary too, despite the excitement, and know that I should get some sleep. I navigate my way back to the cabin and get changed in the dark. As my head hits the pillow, my mind swirls with excitement and anticipation. Perhaps this time around, the journey will count as much as the destination.
Would I Return?
Yes. MSC Cruises offers something for everyone. We chose this particular holiday arrangement as it suits our family and all our individual desires for a perfect getaway – entertainment for the children, downtime for my husband and new places for me to discover. I have a feeling we will be cruising for a few more years, until the boys are old enough to appreciate new places for what they are – an opportunity to learn and explore – rather than seeking constant entertainment but being unwilling to walk 20 paces when it doesn’t suit them. Perhaps it might be a more than a few years….
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