Cruise holidays are one of my favourites. Since Europe has practically closed its borders and direct flights, we opted for a visa-free cruise by Italian company MSC to the Gulf countries. We spent a couple of days before the cruise in Dubai, where we visited the famous fountain and Dubai Mall. Then boarding the ship and onwards to new impressions and adventures.
Our vessel
The adventure started when our luggage was not delivered to our cabin. We had to go to the assistant captain to find out. It turned out that the tags from our suitcases had come off, but the things were still taken away. We were presented with champagne and strawberries in our cabin as an apology for this incident.
The MSC Virtuosa is a huge new liner with 13 decks, six pools and 25 bars. So we had plenty of room to walk around. We had a cabin with a balcony and an alcohol package. Everything was cool, beautiful and delicious.
Stops
We had stops in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha and the beach island of Sir Bani Yas. We didn’t take excursions, we got there ourselves either on foot or by taxi. We saw everything we wanted to see. We were impressed with the Sheikh Zaydeh Mosque, but the rules are very strict: the body must be covered from head to toe. My ankles were a bit visible from under my long dress, so I had to pull it down from my shoulders to the floor. Good thing I had a shirt on top.
The beach island of Sir Bani Yas was not impressive. Of course there are sunbeds and umbrellas there, but it was very windy, so we didn’t feel like swimming. After wandering around the beach, we went back to the ship and had a great time by the pool.
In Doha we went for a walk on our own. We walked from the port to the centre, and saw all the sights on the way. We returned back by taxi as it started to rain.
In Dubai after the cruise we visited the Garden of Flowers. It was incredibly beautiful: everything was fragrant and blooming. We walked there for 3-4 hours.
Conclusion
There were performances on the ship every night, a beautiful sight. The food was very good, drinks in the bars were decent. The only disadvantage – a lot of people on the ship: during the day at sea we had to take sunbeds at the pools early in the morning. In Bahrain we decided not to go out into the city, it was a beauty: there were few people, as everyone left the ship to go out into the city.
In general, a cruise holiday is a very comfortable type of travel. Even if you don’t go anywhere in the anchorages, but just relax on the ship. I think it is possible to repeat the same route in the future.
