Thought we would enjoy India more than UAE but in fact it turned out to be the other way around. I think a week in Dubai would be enough to see all the main attractions.
Cruise ship is fine and most service is of good standard. Excursions are a little overpriced in my opinion and you would be better off doing them yourself (Particularly Dubai). All passport controls take a very long time and you must get your passport checked at least 5 times in each country, or port. So time consuming in humid conditions.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Easiest embarkation we have had with Thomson, Tui, Marella
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Some nights were busy in main restaurants and had to wait approx 15 mins, other nights straight in. Always shared table to make the process quicker. Only used buffet restaurants for breakfast and always found a seat. Choice in all areas limited but food was of decent quality. Service not as good as last year and has dramatically diminished over the years. Waiters were constantly getting orders mixed up and waiting 2.5 hours to be served a 3 course meal was a bit much. Also on certain days wine waiters were non-existent, only one glass of wine offered over 2.5 hours, not good enough. Other than that the service on the deck was good.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Considering this was an adult only cruise and the majority of people were possibly 60+ the activities were naturally limited. Quizzes, dances, choirs, family game shows, Karaoke were the main benefactors.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
As always Marella entertainment is very good. Daytime and night time shows were of the normal standard.
Children's Programs
Adults only cruise.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Waiter service in restaurants below the previous Thomson, Tui, Marella standard. OK on the decks. Room cleaning was very good. All personnel very polite.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
All restaurants and night time entertainment mainly on floor 4 but toilets on floors 3 of 5. Seems strange. All toilets regularly cleaned.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Cabin was of adequate size. Beds were 2 singles pushed together, but created a "Kingsize" bed, very comfortable, particularly the huge pillows. Cabin was kept spotless by staff.
Ship tip
Get up very very early for a sunbed on days at sea
Port was a bit of a drive just to get out of it, but everywhere in Dubai is a bit of a drive!!
We had previously booked all of our excursions through the City Sightseeing Dubai hop on hop off bus for the 3 days we were meant to be in Dubai. They were very helpful, understood that our ship had electrical problems and was in the port 2 days earlier than planned, and allowed us to change our excursion dates to suit. They even allowed us access to the hop on hop off bus for the additional 2 days free of charge. This meant we did all the routes in Dubai and saw more than we had planned for.
We did a night time excursion to Burj Khalifa, a Dow cruise around the Palm, a Dow cruise up the "Creek", Aquarium in the Mall, Night time Sun-set dune safari, a visit to Abu Dhabi to the Mosque and F1 track along with a visit to the Mall. Spent 5 days in Dubai which wasn't expected
Port isn't pretty and we had a planned excursion to the "Crocodile Dundee Cruise and Spice farm". I would rate both as average. Not impressed with the areas of Goa we went to. Maybe should have gone to the beaches !! The street rubbish management leaves a lot to be desired and spoils the look of some places.
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