Christmas 2016 Cruise to India Onboard the Constellation

[GeorgeCharlie]

Thank you for taking the time to give such a full and very useful reply to my question. Sadly, I don't have any UAE contacts, but will follow up your hotel suggestion with some online searching. The prospect of a 6pm to 4.30am downtown adventure doesn't appeal, so we may just have to settle for the restricted view from the ship!

Very grateful for your help.

If you'd like, I can try and contact the person in UAE and see if she would be willing to help you set something up.

[bludevil]

I was one of those people who saw the fireworks from the nearby hotel balcony and it was amazing! We arrived back at the ship at about 4 or so, but it was totally worth it!

 

Before I found out about this opportunity, I did some research and found the Four Points Sheraton had a good balcony with a nice view and a festive event package to go along with it. If you can, I highly recommend either staying in a hotel room in Dubai or making arrangements to get to and from the city and back to the ship. As a previous post mentioned, the roads shut down so you can't get in or out.

[emcee-el]

If you'd like, I can try and contact the person in UAE and see if she would be willing to help you set something up.

What a kind offer! I would appreciate any help/suggestions that she could give - but I'm aware that this is a very big favour to ask on behalf of strangers, so will fully understand if she would prefer not to become involved. Thanks again for your help and advice.

Marion

[emcee-el]

I was one of those people who saw the fireworks from the nearby hotel balcony and it was amazing! We arrived back at the ship at about 4 or so, but it was totally worth it!

 

Before I found out about this opportunity, I did some research and found the Four Points Sheraton had a good balcony with a nice view and a festive event package to go along with it. If you can, I highly recommend either staying in a hotel room in Dubai or making arrangements to get to and from the city and back to the ship. As a previous post mentioned, the roads shut down so you can't get in or out.

 

So grateful for all the help and advice being offered - what a useful forum and kind sharers! I'll do some online research re hotels. Thank you.

Marion

[GeorgeCharlie]

What a kind offer! I would appreciate any help/suggestions that she could give - but I'm aware that this is a very big favour to ask on behalf of strangers, so will fully understand if she would prefer not to become involved. Thanks again for your help and advice.

Marion

Hi Marion,

 

Got a reply back and she would pleased to help you. She mentioned the sooner you book the better, as prices will go up dramatically by November.

 

Sent me an email (bill at hegy dot ca) and I'll put you in contact with her.

 

Bill

[GeorgeCharlie]

A couple of final pictures from New Years Eve (2016) in Dubai.

 

This is a picture taken from our ship looking towards the downtown area of Dubai, where the fireworks would be held.

 

 

You can see the Burj Khalifa (world's tallest building) on the right side of the picture. The fireworks would be going off at that tower and the beach areas beyond it. The Burj Khalifa is about 12kms (7.5 miles) away. This was taken at sunset Dec 31 and you can see the fog was already starting to settle in.

 

For the ones who may be interested, the ship in the foreground is the QE2.

 

QE2 was retired from active Cunard service on 27 November 2008. She had been acquired by Istithmar the year before by the private equity arm of Dubai World, which planned to begin conversion of the vessel to a 500-room floating hotel moored at the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. The 2008 financial crisis however intervened and the ship remains laid up at Port Rashid. Subsequent conversion plans were announced by Istithmar in 2012 and by the Oceanic Group in 2013 but these both stalled. As of January 2016 the ship remains laid up in Dubai while the port operator claimed that there were future plans for the ship and no intent to scrap her.

 

 

This picture was taken at a 12x telephoto setting and the light gathering capability of the camera lenses is not that great in the low light conditions. This is likely what you would see through binoculars.

 

 

 

 

You can see the fireworks which are going off from the Burj, along with some of the beach ground level fireworks at the bottom right. With the ship being so far away from the fireworks you could not really hear them going off and with the naked eye, they were not very clear to see - but still enjoyable.

[GeorgeCharlie]

As requested.

[Bimmer09]

Wonderful, absorbing and interesting review! Thanks for all the time you have put in to telling your story.
Much appreciated!

Norris

[crazyman3]

We were on the same cruise.

Thank you for your reflective comments and photos. You brought so much of that wonderful cruise flooding back to us.

[emcee-el]

A cautionary word if you're heading to the Burj for New Year's Eve, 2019 ~ it is now a sound and light show, no fireworks, so sadly the wonderful Shangri La Hotel is no longer a vantage point for viewing. If it's fireworks you want, then choose one of the many other venues. 

[GeorgeCharlie]

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 8:28 PM, Bimmer09 said:

Wonderful, absorbing and interesting review! Thanks for all the time you have put in to telling your story.
Much appreciated!

Norris

Thanks

[GeorgeCharlie]

In case anyone may be interested, here is a link to another cruise photo review we recently did.

 

Fall 2018 cruise to Norway, Iceland, and Greenland