SteveA bit of background
I had always fancied trying a cruise. Amy had been on a couple with a friend and had told me how good they were. I’d been hankering to visit Dubai anyway, so I thought why not try a cruise around the Middle East?
By doing the cruise, we would kill two birds with one stone. I’d get to try out a cruise for a week or so, and also get a taste of some Middle East spots for future holiday ideas.
At the time we took the cruise, there were only a couple of companies offering these from the UK. We chose MSC, as I preferred their itinerary. The other company only had half-day stops at a number of destinations, and that seemed a bit pointless to me.
We booked a fly-cruise direct with MSC. One of the hidden benefits of this was an Emirates return flight to Dubai was included. Even better, it was on an A380. Being a plane geek, this mattered to me as it was my first time on one!
We flew out at the end of November, leaving a cold, damp England behind. It was the morning of the next day when we landed and faced a pleasant 30oC in Dubai with full on sunshine. We were then ferried away on a shuttle bus from the airport to the dock and checked into the ship pretty quickly.
Our cabin was not quite ready when we checked in, due to it being early, but as we had our wristbands on we could start to make use of the facilities and grab breakfast. It’s odd really because we ate back at Heathrow, then again on the plane (twice) and we were still hungry! Probably as we had not really slept.
The Ship
The ship was the MSC Lirica. It is not the newest in the MSC fleet, but as I had nothing to compare it with, it seemed perfectly acceptable with decent sized cabins, and plenty of things to do onboard. The ship began sailing in 2003 and weighs in at just a shade over 65,000 tonnes. Not that I’m an expert on cruise ships, but I’d say that this is probably a mid-sized cruise ship compared with others I’ve read about.
There are 992 cabins onboard, with the majority being interior and ocean view (with or without a window). There are a good number of balcony cabins too, but maybe not as many as newer ships. At top speed, the ship will do 22 knots, although it isn’t often that ships cruise at their maximum. What we found was that the ship would tend to cruise at night and arrive at the next port early in the morning, except for the sea day that we had.
Food and Drink
On our cruise, all meals were included. Non-alcoholic drinks were also included, but alcohol was extra. As was ice cream. Before booking we bought a drinks package that gave us beer, wine, standard spirits and cocktails (oh, and ice cream). There was a ‘premium’ drinks package too, but the only real difference for us here was choosing between Johnny Walker and Jack Daniels, so it didn’t work for us. We worked out that just by having a couple of drinks per day, it paid for itself. A no brainer really. This post gives a great guide and advice on the drinks packages on MSC ships.
On the subject of food, you are given set times for breakfast and evening meals so the ship can accommodate everyone. The evening meals were over two sittings, and show performances were geared around these which was useful. We had chosen an early sitting for breakfast, and the later sitting for our evening meal. Whilst not guaranteed until boarding, we were lucky with our choices. It meant we could maximise our time away from the ship, and have time for a shower and get dressed for the evening.
The breakfasts were prepared to order, and they had cereal, muesli, any kind of eggs, and other hot items to make an English breakfast. In the evening, there was usually a few main course meals to choose from that varied daily as part of the 4 courses. The thing that surprised me the most was just how good the food was. It was full à la carte, with many knives, forks and spoons on the table! We were given a table when we boarded that we would use for the duration of the cruise. It was a six-seater, so we met some other guests to chat to and found it really sociable.
Outside the main meal times, there was also a cafeteria and a self-service burger bar. Additionally, the ship had a speciality restaurant that was an extra charge, but we didn’t bother with this. The food was so good that there didn’t seem any point paying for more.
The Lirica has 5 restaurants and 5 bars/lounges onboard. One of the restaurants is a speciality place, although we didn’t bother with it as it was an extra charge. We found the food of such high quality that we didn’t feel the need to pay for something else. Even the self-service buffet was amazing quality. I was so happy when I found out I could grab a burger and chips mid-afternoon between meals!
The bars and lounges were great too, with something for everyone. All were table service, and each had a different theme. When we did our cruise, they were all no smoking except for one. One of the lounges had a piano in it too, which was pretty nice. With so many bars, we never found them to be too busy and was always able to grab a table. Of course, not everyone wants to be in a bar at night. Some guests are happy to roam the ship, whilst others are watching the show or having their evening meal.
The Itinerary
Our itinerary included Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Khor Fakkan and Khasab, and then back to Dubai for a full day before getting the plane back the next day. You can read more about what we did in Dubai for a day here.
One of the reasons why we chose a cruise around the Middle East was because a lot of cruises go to places that are nowhere near the port that the ship actually docks in. This means you are committed to buying an expensive shore excursion if you want to see the sights. Our Middle East cruise had destinations based close to the water, maximising our time exploring and saving us some money.
For Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat, we used the Big Bus tour to take us around the cities on a hop-on, hop-off basis. This was great value, and the buses even picked us up from the cruise dock right by the ship. It was a good job they did, as most of the shore excursions were fully subscribed.
For Khor Fakkan and Khasab, we grabbed a shore pass and disembarked to have a wander around ourselves. You can read a little more about what we saw in Khasab here.
We had a sea day halfway through our cruise, as we travelled from Abu Dhabi to Khor Fakkan through the Strait of Hormuz. Being baking hot, we took the opportunity to relax by the pool and have some snacks throughout the day. That’s the other thing about the cruise we were on – you can grab food pretty much 24/7!
The Service
The service by the waiting staff was second to none. This should be expected though as for a ship that can take around 2,000 guests, it carried another 700 staff! In fact there was staff everywhere, but at no time did they feel intrusive. They had staff cleaning the ship, even painting the ship constantly. Waiters, porters, chefs, bar staff, performers, croupiers and cleaners were all there doing their jobs constantly. The best thing yet, they all seemed to have a smile on their face and made us feel special when they dealt with us. We didn’t get to meet the Captain, but we did see him stroll through the ship a couple of times. He exuded gravitas, and he too had a smile on his face.
The Entertainment
Our ship also had plenty of things to do onboard. Namely a gym, a theatre, a library, spa treatments, disco and an arcade. I was a bit disappointed that the F1 simulator had been moved to another ship, but as it turned out it wasn’t missed. The ship had clearly been designed to keep all ages occupied at all times, even on sea days. The Lirica had plenty of shops, some of which were duty-free. It also had a casino and an onboard photographer. During the day there was a couple of pools to play in, which was initially quite bizarre. I couldn’t quite get my head around swimming in a pool whilst the ship was sailing along!
Kids were also well catered for with Lego play areas, and other dedicated places for different ages. We hardly saw any kids on our cruise, but this may have been because of our itinerary and time of year we sailed.
Every evening there was two show performances to allow for the different dining sittings. Singers, cabaret, and tribute acts. We only saw a couple, but one was a Michael Jackson tribute that was genuinely brilliant.
The originally named ‘Las Vegas’ casino on board was pretty good too, with a handful of table games and some slot machines. Amy and I were both happy as they had Video Poker, although I must admit I did enjoy the blackjack table on a couple of evenings.
In Summary
For us, seeing lots of places in the Middle East and enjoying a cruise at the same time was fantastic. The weather was great, we ate and drank well, and even won a bit of money in the casino! It was a really good value way to see a few places and figure out if we wanted to have a future holiday there.
The ship was awesome. So much to see and do onboard. Nothing on the ship looked cheap, and the decor was very elegant. It was a place to feel special, and at times it felt like we were spoilt for choice. Where to eat, where to drink, shall we see a show or pop into the casino?
The only downside was sometimes getting a bit lost on the ship due to its size. With 13 decks it was a little bit like a three-dimensional maze at times.
For us, it was like a floating 5-star hotel, with the choice of high-quality meals all day long and plenty to do onboard. Great weather, intriguing places to visit. Do cruises get any better? This is why you should cruise around the Middle East!
