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Which Middle East Itinerary is best for me?


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Wife and I are looking at taking a Middle East Cruise in February 2020. There are two different itineraries we are looking to choose from and need a little help deciding which might suit us better.

 

Both leave from Dubai:

 

Option #1

Doha, Qatar

Bahrain, Bahrain

Sir Bani Yas

Abu Dhabi

 

Option #2

Khasab, Oman

Abu Dhabi

Sir Bani Yas

Muscat, Oman

 

What's the major differences between these two itineraries and any info would be helpful! Thank you!

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I agree with the other posters, the itinerary with the Muscat port call. However, I’m guessing this is one of the 7 night Dubai roundtrip cruises being offered by one of the cruise lines that will be basing one of more of its ships here through the winter months? If so then both itineraries will give you just a brief overview of the region unless they have single or double overnights in ports such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat as they all have more to offer then you can experience in a day… Sir Bani Yas Island and Khasab are both ‘at leisure’ days – Sir Bani Yas Island was formerly a private wildlife conservation area established by Sheikh Zayed many years ago which has now been developed into a resort open to the public and is a popular weekend away spot for residents. Likewise with Khasab which is a very small port located almost at the tip of the Musandam peninsular and is a small enclave that is ruled by Oman but from a map looks as though it is within the UAE. It too is aweekend away spot for residents who usually go up there through the cooler winter months to spend time up in the mountains and wadis or dhow cruising the many bays and/or fjiords within the mountainous coastline either diving, snorkeling or dolphin watching…

 

Anne..

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Another vote for the itinerary calling at Muscat. Our 10-day Azamara trip last year called at all the ports you listed except Sir Bani Yas, and of them Muscat was our favourite and Bahrain the least, except for its stunning National Museum. As Jayayeff said, Khasab is small and hasn't too much to offer, but for us it was our first call after spending four days in the hectic Dubai, and a bit of peace and quiet was very welcome!

Compared with the other cities, whose main aim seems to be to build bigger and higher and better than the others, we found Muscat to have a more human scale feeling, and was the friendliest of the ports we visited.

Hope this helps.

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