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Middle East Cruise, Dubai to Dubai
 
Reviewed By: Moroney, Hemel Hempstead on 8th Feb 2010
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean Cruises Times cruised before: 10+
Cruise Ship: Brilliance of the Seas Sailed: January, 2010
Destination: Dubai Age: 56-65
Cabin: Balcony
We booked this cruise in February 2009. We had BA airmiles so booked the cruise only with Cruise.co.uk and booked the flight to and from Dubai directly with BA. We did however book an airport to dock transfer with Royal Caribbean as we wanted a smooth as possible embarkation. The first problem hit us when we arrived at Dubai airport and reported to the Royal Caribbean representative who was holding a board outside customs. He looked up our name only to see that a pen line had been put through name and the words no transfer written against them. I explained that we had booked, paid for and had a voucher for the transfer he said we could get a taxi or pay again, which you may imagine did not please us after a long overnight flight from London. We got a taxi to the cruise terminal where we had to wait for an Hour for the check in to open despite being told that ours was the flight which was due to meet the ship. The check-in, once started, was a nightmare, they had no key cards for us and a lot of other guests. Nobody could use the machine to produce duplicates so we had to sit for another hour waiting for someone who knew how to use the machine. Eventually we were allowed on the ship only for our stress levels to go up when a visit to the dinning room revealed that my sister and her partner who were on the same booking as us were seated at a different table for the late dining sitting. I meet with the dinning room staff who told me that the late sitting was full and all they could offer was a table together at the main sitting at 6 o'clock. This I found quite incredible, we had booked on the same booking nearly 12 months earlier and they couldn't arrange that the 4 of us sat together for dinner. We had cruised many times before but never experience this before. Next was a visit to Guest Relations where I explained that we had paid for a transfer and also a taxi and I wanted to know why our names had been crossed off the list and requested a refund for the transfer we did not receive. The next question from the Guest Relations Office was really amazing "do you have a receipt for the taxi" I explained that we had been on a 7 hour overnight flight had our transfer canceled, had to wait for check-in to find someone able to produce our cards, been told we couldn't sit for dinner with our traveling partners and had to queue to ask for a refund for a service that hadn't been provided, I wasn't interested in a taxi receipt. I was really just interested in having the restful, relaxing time the brochure had advertised. I left with a promise of a refund for the transfer( it was never explained why our names were crossed off the list and it took 3 attempts and got to the penultimate day of the cruise before the refund was correct) and promise to do whatever they could with the dining arrangements. 2 hours later my wife returned to the dining room where the assistant manager showed her to a perfect table for 4 that we could have each day for the late sitting. A good end and a very pleasant evening followed but the stress and irritation of that first day lingered. The food was very good, we have been on this ship before, some 5 years ago when the food was average however this was a big improvement. The restaurant staff were excellent as was the cabin steward. Our cabin was very comfortable with a very large double bed and a balcony with room for 2 chairs, a table and 2 reclining beds. The ports of call were a little disappointing, we visited Bahrain on a Friday which is their Holy Day and it was mostly shut, perhaps a day at sea, which was not on our schedule, may have been a good idea. Dubai however was excellent, it was 5 years since our last visit and it has changed considerably, our favorites are still there, the Roof Top Bar at The One and Only Royal Mirage, Spectrum One at the Fairmont and Mina Al Salam. The new Burj Khalifa, which has changed name from Burj Dubai is spectacular. In the evening at the base is a fountain show with lights and music which can be enjoyed whilst sitting at one of the outside coffee/restaurant. The entertainment on the ship was very poor with the notable exception of the Irish night and the Argentina Tango show.
Quality of Food4
Main Dining Room most. Lunch when on board at the Wind jammer and breakfast in our room.
Entertainment1
Argentina Tango show and the Irish night were good. The rest was pretty awful
Shore Excursionsn/a
Staff2
Our waiter was excellent. The Guest Relations ineffectual
Children's Facilitiesn/a
Onboard Activities2
Cabins4
Overall Rating3
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Opinion: Agree Comment by collinson, ALYTH (10 Feb 10 03:27) about this REVIEW
I have just returned from the same cruise, and have to agree with the poster Guest relations were appalling, i asked a simple ? about the exact vicinity the drop off was in Muscat as we were meeting our son, he looked at me as though i'd asked him who the next president was going to be! then directed me to the explorations desk only to be met by an extremely rude women. 2 formal nights, shows weren' t bad but the dancers and singers wear ridiculous wigs. Terminal is about 20 mins from the airport, if you are arriving early in the morning you have a long wait to board ship, they take you off to a large resturant where there is food and drink we were there for over 2 hrs but they do the check in procedure there. We did Splendour of the `seas last summer and much prefered that ship. Disembarkation for you would be about 0945 that was the latest time on our day of departure we had an early flt so were off the ship by 0715.
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Question by GARDNER, WOLVERHAMPTON (08 Feb 10 20:24) about this REVIEW
WE GO ON 4TH APRIL , AND ARE ON DECK 8 , BALCONY . WHAT DECK WERE YOU? WHAT OTHER SHOWS WERE ON ? WHAT NIGHTS ARE THE FORMAL NIGHTS? WE FLY BACK AT 1500 , WHAT TIME DID YOU DISEMBARK ? HOW FAR IS THE AIRPORT FROM THE SHIP ? ALTHOUGH I BELIEVE WHEN WE GO ITS THE NEW PORT RASHID CRUISE TERMINAL . APART FROM THE SHOWS WHAT ELSE IS WORTH IT IN OTHER BARS ETC. WE HAVE BEEN BEFORE ON THE JEWEL OF SEAS [BALTIC] HOPE THEIR IS NOT TOO MANY QUESTIONS . AS WE ARE BRITISH THRU AND THRU WE DONT NEED VISAS ,. SO WHAT DID THEY GIVE YOU ON ARRIVAL ? THANKS
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