Arabian Adventure Onboard Brilliance Of The Seas

We flew to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates with Emirates Airlines. We spent a couple of days relaxing and acclimatising ourselves at the excellent Palm Tree Court & Spa Hotel, Jebel Ali before joining the ship for our 7 night Arabian Gulf Cruise. Jebel Ali is approximately 40 mins away from the main Jumeirah Beach/Marina/City area and is more suited to someone wanting a quieter stay in Dubai. The hotel is situated on its own private pristine white sand beach. It has an array of restaurants including a wonderful Asian restaurant. The hotel also has its own marina and 9 hole golf course and is an ideal place to relax.

Brilliance of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean's Radiance Class ships. She carries a maximum of 2,500 passengers and 869 crew. There are 13 decks for activity entertainment and accommodation with several formal and informal dining options. We dined most evenings in the main Minstrel Restaurant where both food and service were excellent. One night we went to the excellent speciality restaurant 'Chops Grille' where steaks are one of their many specialities and I can see why! There is also another speciality restaurant, Portofino where the dishes are mainly Italian themed. For breakfast and lunch we used the informal Windjammer Cafe which offers a great range of choices, buffet style. This restaurant is also open in the evening for less formal dining offering a different theme on each night. Accommodation choices range from Suites, Balcony, Ocean View and Inside staterooms. We had a Superior Balcony Stateroom situated at the very back of the ship with a huge balcony... much larger than those on the side of the ship. Entertainment comes in various shapes and sizes, from the Casino to West End style shows, Cabaret or Live music playing in the various bars which are scattered all over the ship. This ship also offer a superb spa and gym.

Our first port of call on this itinerary was Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman. A wide range of shore excursions are on offer with the main places of interest being the Grand Mosque and the Royal Palace.

The next port was Fujairah, another of the United Arab Emirates. Excursions here included a drive through the eastern UAE coastal area and the rugged and remote Hajar mountain range and a visit to the 300 year old Fujairah Fort with its heritage museum.

It was then onto Abu Dhabi, the richest of the UAE where the main excursions covered the main city area, the creek with its dhows and then onto to the magnificent Sheik Zayed Mosque.

The Kingdom of Bahrain was the next port of call. Bahrain was the first of the oil rich kingdoms and is a small island joined by a causeway to the mainland of Saudi Arabia. The main highlight here, apart from the lovely beaches, is the brand new Formula One Grand Prix circuit and facilities built out in the desert.

From Bahrain the ship then headed back to Dubai where the ship was docked overnight enabling us to enjoy the many activities Dubai has to offer, whether that be sunbathing, shopping in one of the many souks, a boat trip around The Palm or a trip in a 4x4 into the desert for a touch of Wadi bashing!!

All in all a great trip. This is an ideal cruise for regular cruisers who have already been to most of the Caribbean & Mediterranean cruise destinations.