If you’ve read Part One and Part Two of our Cruising the Arabian Peninsula stories, you will know that so far in my recount of this ten day cruise we’ve visited Dubai, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar. In this final part, we conclude our cruise with Azamara by visiting Abu Dhabi and returning to Dubai.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
We were docked overnight in Abu Dhabi, departing at 1:00pm on day two. This gave us one and a half days to explore this amazing city.
We opted to spend the first day doing our own sightseeing, and the second day taking an Azamara shore excursion. By sightseeing independently the first day, we didn’t need to rush back to port, as the ship would be docked overnight. This eliminated the stress of potentially missing a departure if something unexpected happened while we were out and about.
I wrote about our time in Abu Dhabi in our previous story – Highlights from our time in Abu Dhabi. Click the link to read in more detail about the fantastic things we did. I’ve outlined them briefly below.
Day One
First on the agenda was a visit to the Falcon Hospital, roughly a 35 minute drive from Zayed Port. We took a taxi from the port, which unfortunately broke down about five minutes into the journey. Our second taxi got us there in time for our 10am tour. We got to see the falcons up close, including holding one. The insight into their veterinary care was really interesting.
That afternoon we splurged on a beautiful High Tea experience at Emirates Palace were we indulged on delicious savoury and sweet treats in opulent surrounds. We would definitely treat ourselves again if we are back in Abu Dhabi.
As mentioned, refer to our Highlights from our time in Abu Dhabi story for more details and additional pictures of the Falcon Hospital and High Tea.
Day Two
The following day, we joined a shore excursion to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, accompanied by a local guide who walked us through the Mosque and shared a lot of information about its construction and significance. We loved this Mosque so much that we’ve given it its own dedicated story – Blown Away by Abu Dhabi’s Grand Mosque. Visit this story for the photos alone!
That afternoon, we departed Abu Dhabi later than the scheduled 1.00pm time, as a couple of passengers had failed to return to the ship. The captain did wait as long as he was able, and to this day, I still wonder how they got on making their way via road to meet the cruise back in Dubai.
Return to Dubai, United Arab Emirates
We sailed to Dubai arriving at 5.30pm. We were up on deck to watch our arrival into port. The view of the city in the late afternoon sun was magical!
This was our last night of the cruise, and in the morning we would be disembarking. We had one last set of pre-dinner drinks in the Living Room lounge, and dinner at the specialty Italian restaurant ‘Acqualina’ (making the most of the inclusion of specialty restaurant dining).
Disembarkation – Saying Goodbye to Azamara Journey
Suitcases had to be placed outside the cabin by 11pm on our last night onboard. We were then able to leave the ship at our leisure prior to 10am, and collect the bags from within the terminal. We filled up on a buffet breakfast in the Discoveries restaurant.
Out of interest I kept a note of how far we walked each day. It totalled 74.18km over the 10 night cruise. Not bad for a cruising holiday!
A couple of tips from our experience include booking your shore excursions as soon as possible to get the ones you want. Also book any specialty restaurants as soon as you can to avoid missing out. Importantly, double check that you know for sure when the cruise departs each port, as if it is different from the usual routine, you may get caught out like the unlucky couple on our cruise.
Our holiday was continuing with more time in Aub Dhabi, staying at the Four Seasons Al Maryah Island. We received an sms saying our arranged transfer had arrived, so said goodbye to Azamara Journey, and what had been a fantastic way to see the Arabian Peninsula.
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on this cruise. Unpacking just the once while visiting multiple cities was definitely a positive. Being kid-free and a smaller ship made it more enjoyable for us and we’d certainly sail this way again. All the countries we visited were very hospitable and we felt safe the entire trip. The staff onboard Azamara Journey were lovely too. They made us feel welcome and we genuinely felt they wanted us to have an amazing holiday. Would we cruise on a small ship again? Its a definite yes!