Dumped in Dubai BUT Saved by the Wizard of Bos

Our last evening on the ship and in Dubai featured a beautiful sunset over the skyline of this amazing city. We packed our bags and went to dinner for our last dinner in the Compass Rose Dining Room with Kathy and Bos. The people from Reception came and picked up our luggage to get it to the Luggage Free folks. None of this outside the door stuff for us. Yeah!!!

Bos waiting-but he really didn't look like that

Tuesday morning we were up by 7:00AM (10:00PM  Eastern Time on Monday) and at Compass Rose together for breakfast by 8:00 and then off the ship quickly and easily at about 9:15. Our car was to meet us at 9:30 for an 8 hour tour of the city and then the airport. Having no luggage we took a shortcut right into the terminal. Bos was drafted, begged or volunteered to go in search of the car. The car didn't come and didn't come. Bos checked outside about every 10 minutes looking for our sign and we waited.

Seafood Restaurant at Dubai Creek

In this age of modern communication and with three cell phones between us, none of them had service in the port terminal. Finally the Executive Concierge of the ship, a kind man named Jorge, offered to use his cell and make contact with our emergency people. He was so patient and called several numbers until he got a real person. The car showed up. We determined the driver at been waiting at the wrong ship. We were off and going at about 10:15AM (which was 1:15 AM in Florida).

Thank goodness for the Regent staff who, even though we were off the ship and not their responsibility,  took care of us. We will always be grateful to Jorge!!!!

Our car was much better than the day before- a van. We had a driver who hardly spoke at all and a guide who was Indian, spoke all the time but couldn't be understood most of the time. BUT we were off to see the city!

Dubai is one of the emirates in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is the largest in population with 2.1 million citizens. It is the second largest in land territory after Abu Dhabi. Dubai was formelly established on June 9, 1833 when Sheikh Maktoum bin Butti Al-Maktoum persuaded around 800 members of his tribe of Bani Yas to follow him from the Second Saudi State to the Dubai Creek. It remained under the tribe's control until the United Kingdom agreed to protect the Shiekhdom in 1892. It joined the United Arab Emirates upon independence in 1971. As in Fujairah and Abu Dhabi the Independence Day of December 2 was being celebrated with flags flying from homes, buildings, cars and any other place you could see. They were celebrating 42 years of independence and doing it with great pride and festivities.

Each Emirates has a Shiekh. Women in the royal families are called Sheikha. The family connections must be a challenge for one trying to create a family tree for anyone born into the family- cousins, nephews, nieces-  are considered royal and there is lots of marriages between families. We must have seen in the two cities 30 huge palaces for members of the royal family.

Atlantis Hotel at Palm Island

Palm Island

Dubai has recently attracted attention through many large and innovative construction projects. We saw Palm Island- a creative multi use project with condos and commercial hotels.
There is also a multi-island man-made project called The World we can faintly see. The developer plans to have 100 islands representing the major countries in the world. The one for Lebanon was the only one with construction on it at the moment.

We saw the Jumeirah Mosque built in 1978. We saw the famous twist building where each condo can be turned individually toward the view of your choice. Cars are kept in the car garage but come to your door when you are ready to leave.

Twisty Building

Jumeirah Mosque

Burj Khalefa

We went down into the old city and saw the many shops in the Karama district.

Everywhere you looked the buildings just took your great away...or they did take my great away. So beautiful. It is truly a city built from the desert by oil. In 1971 there was only one tall building.

We saw the tallest building in the world the Burj (which means tower) Khalefa named for the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi who ended up providing the funds to complete the building. It is 2,716 feet tall. We were to go to the observation deck on the 124th level but the smog was so thick we settled for a viewing of the whole building.

Dubai is attempting to prepare itself for the time when the oil runs out. Tourism is a big business. The majority of tourists are from Spain, Russia and China.

Our last stop before the airport was to enjoy High Tea at the 7 star (only one in the world they claim) Hotel Burj Al Arab.

Burj Al Arab

The building itself is an amazing sight. The lobby was dominated by a huge 3-story fountain decorated with UAE flags made with red, white, and black roses and green leaves.

Fountain at the Burj Al Arab Lobby

At the appointed time we rode the escalator beside the giant aquarium to the top of the fountain and went in search of the elevator to the Skytop Bar. Elevators to the hotel rooms were guarded by security folks so no one could wander around that area.

Kathy waits to be called

Second stage for waiting

We waited for our time to go into the bar and what a memorable experience we enjoyed. We had a marvelous view as we remembered the fun times on our cruise and enjoyed 7 small courses of tasty food including, dates stuffed with almonds, champagne, a carving of beef with mustard sauce, an assortment of sandwiches, an assortment of pastries and scones, tea selected from a 6 page menu of tea choices,  and sorbet.

Our view at tea

We learned that the tradition of High Tea was believed to have been crated by Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford in the early 1840s. During this period, dinner was not served until 9:00 PM and the Duchess often became hungry. She would secretly order a small meal of bread, butter and other incites to be brought to her boudoir. When the Duchess was exposed she was not ridiculed as she had feared, instead her habit caught on and the concept of a small meal of cakes, tarts, biscuits and tea became popular and eventually known as "afternoon tea." The whole experience for us took almost 2 hours...and we loved every minutes.
Our car returned and we were off to the airport. The time was now about 4:30 and now was the time for the real Wizard of Bos to go into action!!!!

We arrived at the airport and our driver got a cart and took the carry-on across a busy street and deposited us in the lobby. No sign of anywhere to stop or sit down. We thought we could check in at 7:00 PM and that was a long way away. An official told us it would be 8:00 and that was even worse. We went upstairs to the food court where there were some chairs. In a little bit Bos went wandering to scout out where we would check-in with Delta and he learned there was a Delta office near where we were sitting that opened at 5:00PM.

At 5:15 he went over to see if there was anything those folks could do for us...especially since none of us were checking any luggage. He came back for the passports and low and behold he returned with Boarding Passes, arrangements made for three wheelchairs to transport us the unknown distance to the Marhaba Lounge. By 6:00PM we had ridden wheelchairs, two carts and three elevators down long corridors surrounded by lots and lots of shopping opportunities and with beautiful decorative features. One section had about 24 artificial palm trees and carpeting that looked like sand.  One section had huge overhead lights that reminded me of flying saucers with their many and varied patterns of lights and colors. There were fancy shops for everything you could imagine and every kind of food you could think of. AND LOTS AND LOTS OF PEOPLE!!!

With many, many kudos and sincere thanks to Bos we were able to spend the next 5 hours in a comfortable place and without the hassle of lines. Truly the Wizard of Bos!

UAE Flag made with flowers

Our flight to Atlanta was long- 16 hours long- but as pleasant as it could be. Some spurts of sleeping occurred but mostly TV watching and reading. Our trip from Atlanta to Tampa was perfect, the Leisurelimo driver was right there and we were home by 11:00AM (8:00PM in Dubai)- a total of 37 hours of travel!!!

The cruise was wonderful, the sights were amazing, most experiences were perfect and the time shared with friends unforgettable. We traveled a total of 4327 nautical miles on the ship, lots of miles on planes and many miles in a variety of kinds of cars and vans. 

How privileged we are to be able to see and experience the world!

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Sunset last evening as we sailed away from Fujairah was beautiful- reminding us of the Beautiful sunsets we see at home. We watched and sipped wine as the city disappeared into the fog.

Terminal Tent at Dubai

This morning we sailed into Dubai. We’ll be aboard today and tonight and then off the ship tomorrow morning. Been a great cruise.

No we are not at a snow mountain. The Sheikh wants the children to experience all of life so during the winter holidays he sponsors a snow festival. This sign greeted us inside the port.

 The emirate of Dubai is often misperceived as a country in its own right. Dubai is a city in the United Arab Emirates, whose capital city is Abu Dhabi. The UAE was formed in 1974, following independence from the United Kingdom. It is a federation of 7 emirates. Money and population determine the numbering of the Emirates but it seemed to me it is mostly money. As we departed Dubai for a day visit to Abu Dhabi, the capital, we saw a billboard that said “Money built the buildings; ambition built the skyline.” We also saw amazing tall, mirrored buildings reflecting the sun. Saw a completely round building.

Dubai has 3 million people and Abu Dhabi has 3.5 million. Seemed like there was also lots of competition between the two emirates.

Today we will visit Abu Dhabi, which means “Father of Gazelle.” Tomorrow we will be off the ship and spend a looooong day visiting Dubai before we begin our even longer journey home. You could tell when we passed from Dubai into Abu Dhabi because there were lines of trees. Since this emirates has lots and lots of money the Sheikh doesn’t hesitate to spend money on all things beautifying.

We passed a stadium for Camel Racing   also a place for Falcon Racing. Ali, our driver, also pointed out a hospital for falcons. We saw

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi was huge- one of the largest in the world. It is made of gleaming white marble and can accommodate 40,000 worshipers. The landscaping around the mosque was beautiful. When you consider what a little bit of rain this area gets it was really amazing. We also saw the Sultan’s palace. Plus we saw lots of big fancy house for the royal family. Ali told us no one really even knows how many people are in the royal family because there are many brothers and cousins and the people cannot talk about all of that. BUT there were a lot of houses for the family.

Dubai covers 1,588 square miles. It’s population exceeds 2 ½ million people with only 17% being of Emirati origin. The city is home to the tallest man-made structure in the world, the Burj Khalifa standing 2,722 feet tall. Construction began in 2004 and was completed in 2009. Tomorrow we’ll be going up in a fast elevator to the top of this building.

We depart the ship in the morning, tour all day, board a Delta flight at 11:00PM and arrive in Atlanta at about 6:00 AM. We will get home about noon.

Been a great trip and I’ll finish with what we learn about and experience in Dubai when we get settled at home. Thanks for reading along.

Fujairah, UAE- Dec 1

Sailing away from Muscat

The sail away from Muscat last evening was so very lovely. There were ships in the harbor working hard to get loaded and unloaded and the lights in the city were beautiful. You cold clearly see the strings of green, white and red lights as part of their Independence Day celebration. The city gate, the fort and the huge incense monument to Frankincense were brightly illuminated. Made for a festive sailing out to sea.

Muscat City Gate

Likewise the sunrise as we sailed into Fujairah, United Arab Emirates was beautiful this morning.
In between we had a great dinner at Sette Mari, the Italian Restaurant. Kathy had not gone with us yesterday so we were glad to catch-up with her.

Fujairah is the 5th largest of the 7 United Arab Emirates. They were part of the Trucial States until 1971 when the UAE was formed. Portugal, the Dutch and the British have occupied Fujairah in the past. From 1958-1968 oil was discovered in this area and life began to change. Currently there are 8.2 million people in the UAE with 130,000 of them living in Fujairah. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the two largest emirates and only the Emirate of Umm al-Quwain has fewer occupants.

Sunrise at Fujairah

Josie-our guide

Power is ultimately help by the ruler of Fujairah, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, who has been in power since the death of his father in 1974. Fujairah’s economy is based on subsides and federal government grants distributed by the government of Abu Dhabi (the seat of power for the UAE.) Local industry consists of cement, stone crushing and mining.

Jim’s knee was bothering him today so he stayed on the ship.

Car Decorations to honor the Sheikhs

We met our guide Josie and driver Ali and were off to see and learn about the history, customs and life.

 ^nd and is their Independence Day. Houses and business were all decorated with UAE flags, pictures of the Sheikhs and the number 42. Never saw so many flags flying. The flag has a vertical red stripe standing for strength and courage, and horizontal stripes of green for hope, white for peace and black for oil. Many, many cars along the way were also decorated with flags or painted the colors of the flag. Even many cars were decorated for the celebration. There are 231 nationalities in the UAE.
Tomorrow is December 2

We rode by many flags painted on the mountainsides and there were two with the same slogan meaning “May my country live long. “

Emirate citizens (not people from other countries like Josie and Ali) receive a free house, free medical care, and free education here and abroad. If an Emirate citizen marries another Emirati they receive 300,000 Dirham (almost 4 to a US dollar) as a promotion to have more Emirati babies born. 

Fujairah Fort

Our first stop was the Fujairah Fort located on a hill at the edge of town. It is surrounded by date gardens and is about 350 years old. It is believed to be the first stone building on the Fujairah coast.

Oldest Mosque

We saw the oldest mosque in the UAE built in 1446. A small fort stood on the hill on top of the mosque. The mosque is built of mud and local stone. There are four domes supported by a central interior pillar. The internal decorations consisted of stone carvings and wall niches for the Quran.

We had a wonderful trip to the beach area of Dibba Al-Fujairah and a drive through the magnificent mountains- including one stop at a tall peak and deep valley called the Grand Canyon. As in Oman, construction abounds. At the beach there were more luxury hotels being built. This is apparently a great place for both snorkeling and scuba diving.

We also made a stop at the Friday Market- which happens everyday. Got its name because Friday was the beginning of the week-end and so most often in years gone by a time for a visit to the market.

Friday Market

Josie told us about drinking coffee. They use tiny cups so the coffee stays very hot to the bottom. It is strong and you drink it black. If you have had enough coffee you just shake your cup and they stop pouring….if you don’t you get at least 7 cups of this brew. You said you must eat dates along with the coffee to add a sweet taste. Josie also said a favorite way to drink coffee is with a little saffron, pistachio nuts, cardamom and almonds.

People are so proud of their country. It was fun to ride among the many, many flag draped buildings and even the traffic circles with huge number 42s in the center. Many signs said “42 Spirit of the Union.”

Men at the Market

This seems to be a much more liberal area than I would have thought. Women drive, vote and can own property. Most women work outside the home. Josie has twin 12 year old sons and her mother-in-law takes care of the boys. She was a fount of knowledge and had a great sense of humor. Originally from India, she has lived in Qatar and Germany also.  She is Hindu but said this area is so accepting of almost anybody and any religion. The Sheiks, mainly the President of the UAE- the Sheik of Abu Dhabi, provide lots of money for the welfare of all the people. The Arab Spring caused the powerful seven sheiks to worry and to even provide more the keep people happy.
Stopped by a huge mosque that is under contraction.

Instead of the normal 5 minarets this one will have 6. Guess men and their efforts to be the best of the bunch appears in many ways.

We got back to the ship about 15 minutes before the first wave of bus tours and were so thankful. The staff and crew were setting up for a welcome back aboard with cold towels, champagne and music. We were just as happy to get aboard quickly. The poor staff and crew stood outside for at least an hour, but at least they had umbrellas to protect somewhat from the hot sun.

Welcome Home

Jim’s quote about Oman was ,”this is the most progressive medieval country I’ve ever seen.” Seems to also be true for the UAE.