Costa Toscana - Dubai & Arabian Gulf
A week-long Gulf loop from Dubai with two overnights in the homeport, giving time for both the old souks and the Burj Khalifa before the ship heads out through the Strait of Hormuz. Calls at Muscat's corniche and forts, futuristic Doha, and Abu Dhabi round out a route that packs four countries into seven nights.
Price Range
$$
Mid-Range
*Prices vary by cabin type, sailing date, and availability. Confirm rates with Costa Cruises before booking.
Ship Details — Costa Toscana
View full Costa Toscana details
Year Built
2021
Tonnage
185,010 GT
Passengers
6,600
Crew
1,682
Decks
20
Class
Excellence
Itinerary & Route Map
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Where this cruise calls, day by day
7 ports and 1 sea day over 7 Nights.
- Day 1
Dubai
United Arab EmiratesDepartDubai is the region's main homeport, and ships use the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Mina Rashid, a purpose-built terminal on the old port close enough to Deira and Bur Dubai that the historic Creek is ten minutes away. The retired QE2 is moored in the same basin as a hotel. The Gulf season is a winter one; nobody sensibly cruises here in July.
- Dubai Creek - cross by abra for a dirham, then the Gold and Spice souks in Deira
- Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, the low wind-tower quarter that predates the towers
- The Burj Khalifa observation deck and the fountain show below it at Dubai Mall
- An evening desert safari into the dunes south of the city
- Getting ashore
- Hamdan Bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Mina Rashid (Port Rashid), about 15-20 minutes from Dubai International and ten minutes from the old Creek district.
- Best months
- Nov-Mar (May-Sep regularly passes 45C with heavy humidity - genuinely unbearable, not just hot)
- Day 2
Dubai
United Arab EmiratesPortDubai is the region's main homeport, and ships use the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Mina Rashid, a purpose-built terminal on the old port close enough to Deira and Bur Dubai that the historic Creek is ten minutes away. The retired QE2 is moored in the same basin as a hotel. The Gulf season is a winter one; nobody sensibly cruises here in July.
- Dubai Creek - cross by abra for a dirham, then the Gold and Spice souks in Deira
- Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, the low wind-tower quarter that predates the towers
- The Burj Khalifa observation deck and the fountain show below it at Dubai Mall
- An evening desert safari into the dunes south of the city
- Getting ashore
- Hamdan Bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Mina Rashid (Port Rashid), about 15-20 minutes from Dubai International and ten minutes from the old Creek district.
- Best months
- Nov-Mar (May-Sep regularly passes 45C with heavy humidity - genuinely unbearable, not just hot)
- Day 3
Dubai
United Arab EmiratesPortDubai is the region's main homeport, and ships use the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Mina Rashid, a purpose-built terminal on the old port close enough to Deira and Bur Dubai that the historic Creek is ten minutes away. The retired QE2 is moored in the same basin as a hotel. The Gulf season is a winter one; nobody sensibly cruises here in July.
- Dubai Creek - cross by abra for a dirham, then the Gold and Spice souks in Deira
- Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, the low wind-tower quarter that predates the towers
- The Burj Khalifa observation deck and the fountain show below it at Dubai Mall
- An evening desert safari into the dunes south of the city
- Getting ashore
- Hamdan Bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Mina Rashid (Port Rashid), about 15-20 minutes from Dubai International and ten minutes from the old Creek district.
- Best months
- Nov-Mar (May-Sep regularly passes 45C with heavy humidity - genuinely unbearable, not just hot)
- Day 4
Muscat
OmanPortThe best call in the Gulf, and not a close contest. Port Sultan Qaboos was converted into a dedicated cruise berth and sits in Muttrah, so you step off into a bowl of ochre mountains with the corniche and the souq along the waterfront. Muscat is low-rise and old, and has not been rebuilt for tourists the way its neighbours have.
- Muttrah Souq, right by the port - frankincense, silver and a genuine crush of people
- Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and its single vast Persian carpet (mornings only for non-Muslims)
- The Royal Opera House Muscat, worth a tour even with no performance on
- Al Alam Palace, flanked by the Portuguese-era forts Al Jalali and Al Mirani
- Getting ashore
- Ships dock at Port Sultan Qaboos in Muttrah; a short shuttle runs to the port gate, from which the corniche and souq are a 10-15 minute walk, and Muscat International is about 30-40 minutes out.
- Best months
- Nov-Mar (summer runs to 45C; the Khareef monsoon affects only the far south of Oman)
Day 5 · At sea
- Day 6
Doha
QatarPortDoha Port, rebuilt as the Grand Cruise Terminal after cargo moved out to Hamad Port, is about as central as a cruise berth gets - the Corniche and Souq Waqif are a short walk or a five-minute taxi away. Qatar packs its attractions into a small radius, so one day here goes further than in most Gulf ports.
- Souq Waqif for the falcon market, the spice alleys and dinner outdoors once it cools
- The Museum of Islamic Art in I. M. Pei's building on its own spit of land
- The National Museum of Qatar, Jean Nouvel's interlocking desert-rose discs
- Katara Cultural Village and the Pearl-Qatar for an evening walk
- Getting ashore
- The Grand Cruise Terminal at Doha Port sits on the downtown waterfront beside the Corniche, roughly 15 minutes from Hamad International.
- Best months
- Nov-Mar (Jun-Sep is brutal outdoors, routinely over 45C)
- Day 7
Abu Dhabi
United Arab EmiratesPortShips berth at Zayed Port on the northeast edge of the city, roughly ten minutes from the Corniche. Abu Dhabi is quieter and more spread out than Dubai, and the two headline sights - the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Louvre Abu Dhabi - lie in opposite directions, so a single day forces a choice unless you start early.
- Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque - free to enter, dress rules enforced, and mornings are far calmer
- Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, under Jean Nouvel's perforated dome
- Qasr Al Watan, the working presidential palace, open to visitors
- Ferrari World and the Yas Island parks if you are travelling with teenagers
- Getting ashore
- Zayed Port's cruise terminal is on the city's northeast side, about ten minutes from the Corniche and 35-40 minutes from Zayed International Airport.
- Best months
- Nov-Mar (summer heat here is dangerous for any sustained outdoor sightseeing)
- Day 8
Dubai
United Arab EmiratesArriveDubai is the region's main homeport, and ships use the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Mina Rashid, a purpose-built terminal on the old port close enough to Deira and Bur Dubai that the historic Creek is ten minutes away. The retired QE2 is moored in the same basin as a hotel. The Gulf season is a winter one; nobody sensibly cruises here in July.
- Dubai Creek - cross by abra for a dirham, then the Gold and Spice souks in Deira
- Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, the low wind-tower quarter that predates the towers
- The Burj Khalifa observation deck and the fountain show below it at Dubai Mall
- An evening desert safari into the dunes south of the city
- Getting ashore
- Hamdan Bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Mina Rashid (Port Rashid), about 15-20 minutes from Dubai International and ten minutes from the old Creek district.
- Best months
- Nov-Mar (May-Sep regularly passes 45C with heavy humidity - genuinely unbearable, not just hot)
What to know about this sailing
Two traveler threads mention Costa Toscana on the Gulf and neither describes the sailing in detail; these notes draw on them, 9 threads about Dubai-based loops on other ships, 15 about the ship generally, and the itinerary data.
Three of the eight days are spent tied up in Dubai, which is the shape of this loop and the reason to book it: embarkation day and two full days in the homeport before the ship moves, so the Burj Khalifa and the souks are done from the cabin rather than from a pre-cruise hotel, then Muscat through the Strait of Hormuz, a sea day back into the Gulf, and Doha and Abu Dhabi on consecutive days before the return. That is three foreign calls and one sea day in a week, with Muscat the only one outside the Gulf itself. Gulf loops have a record of changing shape: a 2022 poster on MSC's Dubai circuit lost Dammam to extra Dubai time after paying for a Saudi visa, and in late 2023 an Oceania sailing out of Dubai went from nine ports to four when the war in Israel forced calls to be dropped, so a loop that never leaves the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman carries less of that exposure.
MSC World Europa runs Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha for the same money, and the ship page covers how the two lines compare; Explora II covers Dubai and Muscat at four times the fare. Costa's own Western Mediterranean week on this ship lists at little more than half this price, and when a family asked in 2024 which to take, the one reply with both trips chose the Mediterranean, while another who had been on Toscana in Dubai found its service weaker than Costa Smeralda's. The two threads that mention Toscana here are a 2022 question about winter weather on the repositioning that brought her to Dubai and a 2023 request for tips that drew only the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and a Burj Khalifa viewpoint. This suits Europeans wintering somewhere warm on a budget with Dubai as the main event; it does not suit anyone who wants port variety, or who is coming a long way for the ship rather than the city.
Questions about this sailing
Can I use a local eSIM instead of ship Wi-Fi on the Dubai cruise?
Ashore, yes; at sea, no. A 2024 thread about the same Dubai, Muscat, Doha and Abu Dhabi loop on Costa Smeralda asked this, and the replies were that a Dubai eSIM works while the ship is docked, which on this itinerary is three days in Dubai plus the port days, but that land networks do not reach the ship at sea and maritime roaming through a home carrier produces very large bills. The 2023 Toscana Dubai thread asked for cheaper internet options too and got no answer beyond the ship's package.
Is Costa's Dubai cruise or the Mediterranean better for a family?
The one poster in the archive who had done both, asked in 2024, chose the Mediterranean for a family trip and said they had loved a Costa Med sailing the previous summer. A second reply had been on Toscana in Dubai and found service and organisation weaker than on Costa Smeralda, which that poster thought Costa had since moved to Dubai. The Gulf loop costs nearly double Toscana's Western Mediterranean week in this catalog, and offers three ports and three days in the homeport against six ports in the Mediterranean week.
Onboard Amenities
Cruise Highlights
About the Ship
What Travelers Say About Costa Toscana
Reviews of the ship itself — the same for every Costa Toscana sailing. Distilled from 29 traveler threads, Cruise Critic member reviews and travel blogs.
Costa Toscana is a large, modern LNG-powered ship and sister to Costa Smeralda, carrying roughly 6,600 passengers with a lively, family-friendly and distinctly Italian feel. The vibe is energetic Mediterranean resort - themed venues, late-night programming and a signature White Night party - and the guest mix is overwhelmingly Italian and broader European. That nationality and language mix is the single biggest factor for Americans and Brits to weigh, since English is a minority language onboard and many shows and announcements are in Italian.
What People Love
- Authentic, immersive Italian atmosphere - themed venues and decor make guests feel like they lived in Italy for a week
- Strong, well-priced specialty dining, with a roughly 110-euro three-night gourmet package widely called well worth it
- Excellent pizza and casual Italian options, with Pizzeria Pummid'Oro and Heineken Star Club & Bistro repeatedly praised
Common Complaints
- Significant language barrier for English speakers, as Italian is the primary language for many shows and announcements
- US citizens reportedly cannot download the Costa app, leaving Americans at a disadvantage for schedules and logistics
- Included and main-dining food is called mediocre and is frequently served cold when it should be hot