You can board the ship at any time before 6:00 p.m. Cabins are ready by 2:00 p.m. Until then, you can enjoy all the services of the cruise ship.
At 9:00 p.m., the Opera sets sail for Abu Dhabi.
Cruise itinerary
You can book a city tour on the ship itself: representative who organizes groups for the tour. However, there are four adults in our group, and the cost for four is usually not much different from an individual tour. Therefore, I arranged in advance with Olga Grigorieva (the guide who gave us a tour of Dubai) that she would meet us at the ship and give us a 5-hour tour of Abu Dhabi.
We arrived in Abu Dhabi at 6 a.m. on Monday, April 10. The ship was scheduled to stay for 15 hours, until 9 p.m.
ABU DHABI
The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is a country in the Middle East consisting of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Ras al-Khaimah, Umm al-Quwain, Fujairah, and Sharjah.
Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate and the capital of the UAE. The president of the United Arab Emirates is the emir of Abu Dhabi.
The name Abu Dhabi translates from Arabic as “father of gazelles” (abu – “father,” “zabi” – “gazelle”). It is believed that this name came about because of the abundance of gazelles in the area and a folk tale. According to legend, Arab hunters from the Liwa Oasis were chasing a gazelle. The gazelle ran around the desert for a long time, then led the hunters to the shore of the Persian Gulf, jumped into the water, and waded across to an island. The hunters followed it, and the gazelle led them to a source of fresh water. In gratitude, the hunters did not kill the gazelle, but named the settlement founded near the source “father of the gazelle,” which in Arabic sounds like Abu Dhabi.
Al Ittihad Square
One of the landmarks of the capital Abu Dhabi. The huge sculptures located on the square are a brief history of the country.
Six impressive symbols of the Arab world are installed in the square: a coffee pot, a cannon, a bowl for smoking incense (bahur), a watchtower, a food cover, and a vessel for rose water. All sculptures are made of expensive white stone.
The cannon and watchtower are symbols of strength and military spirit.
The vessel for rose water represents harmony of the body and connection with nature.
Coffee pot – a well-known Arab symbol of hospitality and love for this ancient drink.
Food cover also speaks of Arab hospitality and the attitude of the peoples of the Middle East towards food and hospitality. This tableware item has always been used in aristocratic Arab families.
Bahurniya (incense burner) – also a tribute to tradition, symbolizing the Arabs’ passion for smoking aromatic varieties of tobacco
Abu Dhabi Heritage Village
A traditional oasis village has been recreated in the city center to give visitors a glimpse into Abu Dhabi’s past. It features narrow streets with an old bazaar (market), a mosque, and a camp modeled after life in the pre-modern UAE. You can shop, watch artisans make pottery, blow glass, and weave fabric on a loom.
The village also offers workshops on traditional crafts.
View from the Emirates Palace hotel of the nearby hotels Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel & Residences Emirates Pearl, Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, Bab Al Qasr Hotel
SHEIKH ZAYED GRAND MOSQUE
One of the six largest mosques in the world. Named after Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder and first president of the United Arab Emirates, who is buried nearby.
To get inside, you have to pass through several security checkpoints and several queues. You need a QR code to enter (our guide got them for us in advance).
The mosque was opened in December. Natural materials were chosen for most of its design and construction (due to their durability): marble, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals, ceramics
The carpet in the hall is the largest in the world, made by an Iranian carpet company based on a design by Iranian artist Ali Khaliki. The carpet covers an area of 5,627 square meters and was made by about 1,200 carpet weavers. The carpet weighs 35 tons and is mainly made of wool (sourced from New Zealand and Iran).
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has seven imported chandeliers from Faustig in Munich, Germany, which include millions of Swarovski crystals. The largest chandelier is the second largest known chandelier inside a mosque, the third largest in the world, with a diameter of 10 m and a height of 15 m.
FALLING TOWER (Capital Gate)
A unique skyscraper in Abu Dhabi, adjacent to the National Exhibition Center. At a height of 160 meters, the building has become one of the tallest in the city. The Capital Gate skyscraper has entered the Guinness Book of Records as the building with the largest inclination in the world (the angle of inclination of the building to the west is 18 degrees: the angle of inclination of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa is only 4 degrees).
The building houses the five-star Hyatt at Capital Gate hotel, offices, and service facilities
YAS MARINA (Yas Marina Circuit)
Yas Marina is a race track in Abu Dhabi, where the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix made its debut in the Formula 1 season. The track is located on the artificial island of Yas, covering an area of 2,500 hectares.
At the heart of the Yas Marina Circuit is one of Abu Dhabi’s most iconic venues, the Yas Conference Centre.
Louvre Abu Dhabi
The Louvre Abu Dhabi collection includes paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso, Gauguin, Manet, Magritte, and Bellini.
The collection is constantly being expanded. The museum acquired 167 new paintings by artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock, Édouard Vuillard, and Johannes Vermeer.
Despite my love of paintings, I did not go inside the museum, as it is closed on Mondays.
Opening hours
The Louvre Abu Dhabi is open from 10:00 a.m. to midnight.
The galleries and exhibitions close at 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and at 8:30 p.m. from Friday to Sunday.
The dome, cafes, and restaurants are open until midnight.
The museum is closed on Mondays.
We limited ourselves to an external inspection.
At 2:00 p.m., we were already on the ship and by evening we were hanging out without going into town… it was very hot outside 🙁
The next day, April 11, at 8 a.m., we arrived at Sir Bani Yas Island.
We had a 9-hour stop there until 5 p.m.
SIR BANI YAS ISLAND
Sir Bani Yas is an island in the Persian Gulf that belongs to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
On the ship, they offered jeep and bus tours of the nature reserve (to see animals) on the island. It was 80 euros, if I’m not mistaken, for an hour-long tour. I read about this tour and decided against it. It was hot (but there was practically no sun), so we spent our time on the beach.
The sea was so-so… shallow, and the entrance wasn’t very good.
Overall, the island didn’t leave a lasting impression. Maybe we should have gone to see the animals. Or just taken a walk… But, again, it was hot… we didn’t feel like going anywhere.
We could have had lunch right on the island: food was brought there from the ship, and a buffet was set up right on the beach.
But we went back to civilization :))) That is, back to the ship. And we had lunch at our buffet on deck 11 in the LE VELE buffet.
At 5:00 p.m., we set off again.
The next day, April 12, we spent the whole day on the ship… at sea. As I already wrote, there is plenty of entertainment on the ship for the whole day. Some people just sunbathed on decks 11-12 and swam in the pools, while others attended all kinds of master classes, dance lessons, etc. There was more movement than usual that day.
On Thursday, April 13, we arrived in the city of Muscat.
MUSCAT
Muscat is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is located on the Arabian Sea along the Gulf of Oman.
It has been known since the beginning of the 1st century AD as an important trading port between the West and the East. Muscat was under the rule of various foreign powers: the Portuguese Empire, the Ottoman Empire, etc. As an important port city in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign traders. In 1970, Qaboos bin Said became the Sultan of Oman. Rapid infrastructure development and economic growth began.
Muscat has been named a Beta Global City by the Global Research Network of Cities.
Muscat is surrounded by the rocky Al Hajar Mountains.
At 7 a.m., the liner arrived at the port of Muscat. We had an 11-hour stop in the city.
The ship offered city tours. I don’t know the price, I won’t lie.
We didn’t even have time to leave the cruise terminal before we were attacked by local taxi drivers offering rides around the city. We managed to fight them off with difficulty 🙂
We had our own plans.
I had contacted a guide, Victoria Malkova, in advance. She was very nice and smiling. She met us at the exit of the terminal.
We had a city tour planned. Once again, I regretted that I had gone in April instead of February or March.
The heat 🙁 Live and learn (c)
SULTAN QABOOS GRAND MOSQUE
The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, or Muscat Grand Mosque, is the main mosque in Muscat, Oman.
From the very first days of his reign, Sultan Qaboos began to care for the material and spiritual needs of his subjects: hundreds of mosques were built throughout the country at his own expense.
In 1992, Sultan Qaboos decreed that his country, Oman, should have its own Grand Mosque.
And in May, one of the masterpieces of modern architecture appeared in Muscat: the main mosque of Sultan Qaboos.
The main hall is lit by 35 chandeliers: the largest, made in Austria, has a diameter of 14 meters, 1,122 lamps, and weighs 8 tons. Each chandelier, made of crystal and Swarovski crystals, features miniature replicas of the mosque’s many minarets.
The Persian carpet in the main hall weighs 21 tons and was created from 1.7 million knots. Its patterns contain 28 colors, all of which were made using only plant-based dyes. The carpet measures 70×60 m and consists of 58 pieces, which were then joined together into one carpet. It took 600 women working in two shifts four years to weave it. It took several months to lay out the carpet.
When entering the mosque, only the hands, feet, and face should be exposed. Special respect to our guide Victoria, who prepared abayas for us to wear in the mosque.
An abaya is a long traditional Arab dress with sleeves; it is not belted. It is intended for wearing in public places. It is usually black, but there are also multicolored ones. Abayas are often richly decorated with embroidery, beads, and rhinestones.
They are so cool. I wish I could dress up like that 🙂
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE MUSCAT
The Royal Opera House Muscat is Oman’s main venue for musical arts and culture. It was built by order of Sultan Qaboos, who was always a fan of classical music and art. The sultan ordered the construction of an opera house.
We didn’t get inside. The guide said that they only accept cards. But I’m all business, so I said, “Great,” confident that my Gazprombank UnionPay card, which works perfectly in Dubai, would work here too. Yeah, right… It didn’t work. We didn’t go back to get Victoria’s card, which was in the car, even though the guide suggested we “leave one foot here and one foot there.” I decided it wasn’t meant to be…
AL MATRAH MARKET
One of the oldest in Muscat. It is located not far from the cruise terminal. It’s less than a kilometer away on foot.
A riot of colors :)))
OLD CITY (Old Muscat)
The old city of Muscat is separated from the rest of modern Muscat by coastal mountains. It is located along the coastal road of Mutrah Corniche.
AL ALAM PALACE
Al Alam Palace (“Flag Palace”) is a palace located in Old Muscat. It was used as a ceremonial palace by Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said.
It is one of the six residences of the sultan and has a history of more than 200 years. The existing palace with its gold and blue facade was rebuilt as a royal residence in 1972.
The palace is used for official events and receives distinguished guests. In January, the Sultan received Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands at Al Alam Palace during her state visit to Oman.
Al Alam Palace is surrounded by the Mirani and Jalali forts, built in the 16th century by the Portuguese. Another tower is located near Kalbukh Park and the Royal Court Affairs Royal Yachts military facility.
Next to Al-Mirani Fort is the Masjid Al-Khor
One of the oldest and most beautiful mosques in Oman. No one knows the exact year of construction of this exquisite mosque, but it was once known as Masjid Al-Shuhadaa, or the Mosque of the Martyrs, due to the dozens of memorial prayers recited in this mosque for the Omanis who died trying to overthrow the Portuguese when they attempted to invade Oman between the 17th and 18th centuries. The Al-Khor Mosque is located next to the Al-Alam Palace on the sea side of the palace.
Today, the official name of the Al-Hoort Mosque comes from the name of the inner bays formed by tidal waves breaking against the rocky coast of Muscat. The Al-Hoort Mosque is also widely known as the Family Mosque, as it is known that senior members of the Omani royal family pray there.
NATIONAL MUSEUM Bayt Greiza
Bayt Greiza is located in the old town of Muscat near Al Mirani Fort. It was built during the Portuguese occupation.
When Sultan Qaboos came to power, Bayt Greiza was rebuilt, and the sultan himself lived there for a short time.
EL HASAB
El Hasab is one of the cities in the Musandam province of the Sultanate of Oman.
The city of Hasab is located on the coast of the Strait of Hormuz, 100 kilometers from Ras Al Khaimah (UAE).
The inhabitants of this city are engaged in fishing.
The liner offers to “drop you off at the center” for €6 per person.
I looked at the map: there is nothing to see there, in my humble opinion. Secondly, it is not far to walk (if it is not hot).
So I took advantage of Natasha’s (Candy Spb) advice once again: get off the ship, turn right to the gate, and there are all kinds of boats and small ships that you can take for a ride through the fjords. That’s just what I needed!!! I marked this place on the map.
You can negotiate a reasonable price with the owner of a small boat. We got off the ship a little late (we slept in, had breakfast, did this and that, and didn’t get off the ship until after 11 a.m.), and there was no one around… And there were no boatmen either. We reached a small boat that travels around the fjords (Khasab Travel & Tours). The price was $25-€25 (or 100 dirhams) per person. We couldn’t get it any cheaper 🙂
But the trip was very enjoyable!!! VERY!!! A pleasant international group gathered 🙂
This is our boat for the next 3 hours.
We waited about 20 minutes for more people to arrive. First, they handed out water from a cooler. Then, during the trip, they handed out bottles of Fanta and Coke. After that, everyone helped themselves to whatever they wanted from the fridge. Then we were treated to tea. There were all kinds of fruit, including dates.
And a three-hour cruise through the fjords, with half an hour of swimming and feeding the fish. Pairs of dolphins jumped out of the water so beautifully.
It was such a pleasure to go on this trip.
On Saturday, April 15, we arrived in Dubai.
The ship stayed in port for a day. We disembarked on Sunday.
In the morning, we went to Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, and The Green Planet, then returned, had lunch, rested :))) and in the evening went for a walk in the Old Town. All photos are in the review about Dubai
Suitcases must be left in the corridor by midnight. The cruise ship offers a service where tourists can sign up for a bus transfer. Everyone was taken to the airport at different times. People started leaving at around midnight.
We left everything we needed, woke up in the morning, had breakfast, hung out until noon, and went to check into the hotel. We still had two days of fun in Dubai ahead of us.
