Explora II - Emirates & Oman from Dubai

Where this cruise calls, day by day

5 ports and 3 sea days over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Dubai

   United Arab EmiratesDepart

   Dubai 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)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4

   Muscat

   OmanPort

   The 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)

5. Day 5

   Khor Fakkan

   United Arab EmiratesPort

   An unusual UAE stop: Khor Fakkan is a Sharjah exclave on the Gulf of Oman coast, on the far side of the mountains from Dubai, and the cruise berth shares a working deep-water container terminal. The town is modest but the setting is not - a curved bay with mountains behind it and a beach that is genuinely good.

   • Khor Fakkan Beach, a long crescent with coral close enough in to snorkel
   • The Khor Fakkan Amphitheatre and the engineered waterfall behind it
   • Al Suhub Rest House, high above the town, for the view down over the bay
   • Rifaisa Dam, where a submerged village resurfaces when the water drops

   Getting ashore

   Cruise ships share the deep-water container port, so you leave by shuttle rather than on foot; the beach and town centre are a few minutes' drive.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr

6. Day 6

   Khasab

   OmanPort

   Khasab is the capital of Musandam, Oman's exclave at the tip of the Strait of Hormuz, cut off from the rest of the country by the UAE. The draw is geography: sheer limestone cliffs dropping into inlets everyone calls fjords, reachable only by boat. The town itself is small and there is little to it beyond the harbour.

   • A dhow trip into Khor Ash Sham, usually with dolphins running alongside
   • Telegraph Island, the abandoned Victorian British telegraph station in the inlet
   • Khasab Fort, a restored 17th-century Portuguese-era fort by the water
   • The Jebel Harim mountain road by 4x4 if you want height instead of water

   Getting ashore

   Ships berth at the small port a short drive from town; the dhow harbour and fort are close by, but the fjords need a boat trip booked in advance.

   Best months

   Nov-Mar (summer here is extreme and the boat trips lose their appeal fast)

7. Day 7 · At sea

8. Day 8

   Dubai

   United Arab EmiratesArrive

   Dubai 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)