As expected, the arrival into Dubai was about 10am and as soon as you stepped out of the air conditioned atmosphere, the heat just hit you. The Princess Patter said that it would be about 33 degrees, but watching the world weather on the television, it was pretty obvious that it would be over 44 degrees.
We were ready to disembark and in the queue for deck 5, we were issued with pink landing cards. Just at that very moment, whilst in the forward stairwell/lift area, Angus opened the stairwell to deck 4, so we didn’t have to queue at all and just walked straight off, into the terminal building and straight outside where, as expected, there were representatives from the two HoHo bus companies. We always opt for the red one. The rep led us to the shelter of one of the buses to try and process the credit card. No luck. So we walked over to a shuttle van they were running and unsuccessfully tried two more terminals. The deal was half price anyway, (normal price is 240AED – so barter! 48 hour ticket is 295AED) so we dipped into our USD stock and paid just $66US for the day. We were issued with a bottle of water each straightaway and the minivan took us to the Dubai Mall, where we swapped over to the full sized double decker doing the ‘Blue’ route. (I think a swap to the red route is from a slightly different location at the mall, but the staff are always in attendance.)
We didn’t have to wait more than two minutes and we scored the upstairs front seats.
Again, for future cruisers, note that some of the red buses have a split upper deck and the brown buses and some of the red buses have a totally open top deck, with just a canvas top. The split red buses have an air-conditioned front of the upper deck so you get the best of both worlds. A great view, plus cooler air. There is another bonus, and that is that with modern buses being rear engined, sitting upstairs at the front is surprisingly quiet. The recoded commentary is fine but the bus driver’s sound system announcement at each stop was dreadful!
What I did notice though, was that whereas the brown bus stops were clearly marked at the pavement, the red bus stops were not, though at times they did share the stops.
The blue route takes you right out along the coast as far as the palms and the Atlantis Waterpark. If you wish, you can transfer here to the ‘Golden Route’ which takes you even further out, to the Marina Mall area. However, the marina area is also on the metro line which seems very popular and a good alternative. We may try that one day.
We stayed on the bus and hopped off at the ‘Mall of the Emirates’ – which is the last stop on the route before returning to the Dubai Mall. This is the mall with the indoor ski-field. It would be wrong to describe it just as a ski slope, as there is so much more and a real kids winter paradise. At the entrance, was a Ferrari – and a McLaren MP4, the sort of car we don’t often see in Birkenhead… Ferraris, yes, McLarens, no.
We’d eaten here before and exactly as last time, had a turkey, ham and cheese crepe. We knew they accepted USD, and give change in Dirham. Three coins change – but we swapped them for a bottle of water! I think the price for the crepe was 28AED – which is more than reasonable. I even managed to buy a couple of UV30 protection shirts for 79AED and 80AED.
After a stroll around, we went to the exit to catch the bus, but there is no marked bus stop and no real shelter either, but thankfully, it was only a three minute wait. This time, we rode downstairs, but the driver didn’t have the air con on very often, so it was just as well it was only one stop.
Dubai is now a massive sprawl and the traffic getting worse and worse, despite the Metro and a fair few 4 and 6 lane roads. We hopped off at the Dubai Mall and had a stroll through, but we were still a bit peckish. We managed to avoid a ‘Fatburger’ and managed with a slice of pizza and a drink – another total of just $10USD. The food range is impressive but I suppose we should have had a Kentucky Fried Camel, as they had outlets everywhere.
Talking of major outlets, if I’d known that Costa coffee was so readily available (even in the port terminal) I would have taken my Costa loyalty card with me.
Once again, we strolled through the mall, enjoying the people skating, but the minimum entry fee for the aquarium was 100AED, which seemed a bit steep. There is a good view from outside and the picture of the underside of a ray was quite comical when a diver held it up to the glass wall!
We were getting a little weary by this time, so headed for the bus stop and once again, they used a shuttle van back to the port. We’d only just walked into the building when we bumped into Drina from the 2012 trip and this time, with hubby. Johnny, the ten year old dancer from 2012 is of course now 12, so was resting on the ship. We’ll no doubt see him before long. Up until now, I don’t think there were any children on the ship, certainly, not after Fremantle, so the pitter-patter of little feet clomping along the upper deck is probably to come.
Although the terminal building is massive and modern, it only has a few small stalls. Good prices on some souvenirs and the duty free sells tobacco, but of course, no alcohol, much to the disappointment of some. (Our bottle of port remains virtually untouched, but maybe tonight, I’ll take a swig instead of another Coldral capsule. It has to be a healthier alternative as after all, it is fruit.
By the time we returned to the cabin, the mini bar had been restocked, so we rang and requested the removal and substitution of two coffee cards. Far more useful to us.
After a shower, we headed up to the buffet, as it was open dining anyway. Always decent food up there!
It was still very hot outside so we stayed inside and even had a few dances in the Wheelhouse bar, even though I was in shorts and sandals. Only two other couples were dancing. Regular cruisers will know only too well that often, we tend to name individuals or couples, without even talking to them. One of the two couples dancing had already been named ‘ Get-a-room!’ due to their dance style.
We managed to stay up until 10:45 and tomorrow, Friday, being a Muslim country, means that not much will be open anyway, so we’ll stay on the ship, as it is sail-away at about 1pm.
Dubai is still growing and there is evidence of even more building work going on. If only the immigration at the airport was as friendly and efficient as at the port, it would be a viable stop off on the way to Europe, but Singapore airport is so much more friendly, that it would still be our preferred stop over if travelling in that direction. It is also a cooler at about 32 degrees.
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