Costa Serena in Dubai, anyone been yet??

[falldownalot]

Other than that we had a great time on this cruise and would recommend it to anyone.

[AmoMondo]

Thanks for all your help, am going to have a look in to all of them. I just had a quick look at Global Village which looks great. I'm guessing we can easily get a taxi there from the port?

Which brings me to my next question, if we were to go to Global Village, it doesn't open until 4pm, and say we want to spend the evening there, is there any kind of 'curfew' on the ship, or can we come back at any time?

 

A lot of people go to Miracle garden in the afternoon then on to Global Village as they are in the same area. Taxis are the way to go. No problem coming and doing at any time.

[tiggywig123]

A lot of people go to Miracle garden in the afternoon then on to Global Village as they are in the same area. Taxis are the way to go. No problem coming and doing at any time.

Brilliant, we're going to do exactly that on our last day. Are taxis easy to find outside Miracle Garden to get to Global Village?

[AmoMondo]

Brilliant, we're going to do exactly that on our last day. Are taxis easy to find outside Miracle Garden to get to Global Village?

 

Don't know for sure as I've not yet been. I've never had an issue though getting taxis anywhere in Dubai. There always seems to be a rank wherever there is a location where lots of people go.

 

If you have a tripadvisor account, you could try asking there. Alternatively email them at info@dubaimiraclegarden.com[/email] to ask if there is a taxi rank.

Edited February 9, 2015 by AmoMondo

[tiggywig123]

Don't know for sure as I've not yet been. I've never had an issue though getting taxis anywhere in Dubai. There always seems to be a rank wherever there is a location where lots of people go.

 

If you have a tripadvisor account, you could try asking there. Alternatively email them at info@dubaimiraclegarden.com[/email] to ask if there is a taxi rank.

Brilliant, I'll give the e-mail a try. Thanks for your help.

[AmoMondo]

Brilliant, I'll give the e-mail a try. Thanks for your help.

 

You're very welcome.

 

Besides, it helps me pass the time until my Serena cruise - just over 5 weeks and can't wait.

 

I'm haunting the UAE board on tripadvisor as well. It will be my 4th cruise and 5th trip to Dubai but I'm as excited about it as the first time. Actually more excited, since the first time I was a bit over anxious on what to wear and what it would be like for a solo female. Safest place every.

[CLAIRE CLARKE]

We had a great time - much better than expected. We had a balcony cabin this time which we loved. Bigger than many other ships. Similar formula to most other cruises except for no casual evening buffet. We had opted for late sitting so didn't really notice it. We also arrived from an overnight flight and just changed at the airport and got a taxi to port and dropped our bags off then taxi into Dubai. I noticed lots of people sitting in terminal building and some asking to get on at that time!!! They seemed a bit annoyed that they had to wait until 3pm, but no other cruise would let you on at this time so why would Costa?We returned about 6'ish and got straight on with no queues. We sat around for a short time as everyone was told that cabin entry would be 8.30pm. We thought this quite odd that they would all be ready at the same time so went and had a look and ours was ready and I'm sure others would have been too. Food the first night was awful but perfect after that so no complaints. We did take our travel kettle etc with us so that also made a difference. No problem taking water on board from ports. Great time for a great price - would now go with Costa again.

[AmoMondo]

We had a great time - much better than expected. We had a balcony cabin this time which we loved. Bigger than many other ships. Similar formula to most other cruises except for no casual evening buffet. We had opted for late sitting so didn't really notice it. We also arrived from an overnight flight and just changed at the airport and got a taxi to port and dropped our bags off then taxi into Dubai. I noticed lots of people sitting in terminal building and some asking to get on at that time!!! They seemed a bit annoyed that they had to wait until 3pm, but no other cruise would let you on at this time so why would Costa?We returned about 6'ish and got straight on with no queues. We sat around for a short time as everyone was told that cabin entry would be 8.30pm. We thought this quite odd that they would all be ready at the same time so went and had a look and ours was ready and I'm sure others would have been too. Food the first night was awful but perfect after that so no complaints. We did take our travel kettle etc with us so that also made a difference. No problem taking water on board from ports. Great time for a great price - would now go with Costa again.

 

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for reporting back.

 

There have been a few naysayers reporting huge drop in Costa standards recently, but all coming back from the Serena are reporting a positive experience. Even of there has been a bit of a decline, at the ridiculously low proces I won't complain. Certainly could not get a week full board in Dubai for that price for sure and not even treble the cost.

[falldownalot]

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for reporting back.

 

There have been a few naysayers reporting huge drop in Costa standards recently, but all coming back from the Serena are reporting a positive experience. Even of there has been a bit of a decline, at the ridiculously low proces I won't complain. Certainly could not get a week full board in Dubai for that price for sure and not even treble the cost.

 

I heard about the cuts and drop in standards but if that is true then they must have been out of this world before the cuts.we had a great time on this cruise and visiting dubai for the 1st time was brilliant.cant wait to go back.

[canny_cruiser]

Gala nights were saturday and wednesday and a good few men wore either suits or tuxedos,myself included.

 

Many thanks for this info.

[tomvet]

Don't know for sure as I've not yet been. I've never had an issue though getting taxis anywhere in Dubai. There always seems to be a rank wherever there is a location where lots of people go.

 

If you have a tripadvisor account, you could try asking there. Alternatively email them at info@dubaimiraclegarden.com[/email] to ask if there is a taxi rank.

 

We had trouble getting a taxi in Dubai on Thursday night at the Burjuman Mall. We were in a queue of about 20 at the Mall and when no taxi came for anyone in 20 minutes - we went onto the streets and took another 20 mins before we were lucky to get one that stopped to let a fare out. Friday night may also be the same as the Malls were heaving, traffic heavy but we used to Metro to make the final journey to the airport.