Epitomizing an oil-rich sheikhdom isn't a bad life, but what Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, really wants is to entertain visitors.
Dubai's tourism appeal includes big-time horse races and sporting events, a monthlong shopping festival and a skyline that commands the attention of Dubai's visitors—not to mention such fascinating hotels as Dubai's own Burj Al Arab. For jaded, been-there-done-that tourists, Dubai, on the Persian Gulf, can throw in camel racing, sand boarding, sand skiing, ice-skating, snow skiing and unique cultural activities.
Dubai's rapid transformation has left it with a slice of old Arabia and a chunk of modern infrastructure. In Dubai, you'll find souks selling gold jewelry and traditional wares not far from modern shopping centers selling electronics and luxury items. Visitors to Dubai will also see wind towers and minarets rising up from old neighborhoods, dwarfed in turn by Dubai's office and hotel towers.
But the biggest contrast can be seen in Dubai's landscape: A splendid coastline and beaches are backed by an expansive desert, which in itself is a magnificent paradox of impressive sand dunes and starkly beautiful mountains.
Location
The Dubai Cruise Terminal is located at Port Rashid, a 15-minute drive from the center of the city. It has space for two large cruise ships to dock directly. The terminal has been widely praised for its ultramodern design and extensive facilities, including golf carts for the transport of passengers with disabilities, palm-tree gardens, regular cultural exhibits, a currency exchange and a tourist-information center. Passengers disembarking at the terminal can use the Internet, shop in the duty-free area and eat in the pleasant cafe before being whisked into town by taxi. The terminal's inaugural docking was by Cunard's
QE2 in 2001.
Shore Excursions
Cruise passengers typically have a variety of shore-excursion choices, including shopping, activity and cultural tours. Shopping tours include trips to Deira City Center Mall, Mall of the Emirates, the Gold Souk and the Spice Souk. Activity tours focus either on the shore or the desert, offering Jet Skiing, windsurfing and diving, or sand boarding, dune buggying, camel rides and a desert safari in a 4x4 to visit a re-creation of a traditional Bedouin campsite. Cultural tours include Bastakiya and Shindagah, two pockets of old Dubai with a high proportion of the city's museums and galleries, and perhaps a cruise along the Creek.
