So it has been over a month since our return from the Arabian Gulf and in that time the temperature has dropped from Phew!!! to Brrr!!It is December in the UK and the nights are cold, they're damp, they're dark and miserable. During these winter months, looking back on yet another memorable holiday full of new experiences fills us with the warmth we felt throughout our trip. We have compiled all the photos from this blog in to a slide show so you can sit ...

We've been home for just over two weeks now and we feel like we have jumped from the frying pan and in to the fridge. I forgot what 'grey’ looked like!! This entry in the blog is really to tie everything up in a nice package. Look on it as an early Christmas present!!There was so much we had planned to see while we were in Dubai; a trip on a dhow across the creek. To watch the dancing fountains at the Burj Khalifa marina: the majestic Atlantis Hotel...

Our last full day in the Emirates started by travelling back to Dubai. We could have flown Etihad direct from Abu Dhabi to Manchester but Mrs H's research resulted in identifying that the flights were slightly dearer than other options, Feedback of the airline was not to our taste and she also had reservations about the aircraft configuration. As long as it has 2 wings and a couple of engines, that’s configured enough for me!!The option we chose was to ...

Later that afternoon (see previous blog) we were advised that we would be arriving in Abu Dhabi at 9pm to the tumultuous welcome of fireworks. This is to celebrate the MSC Lirica's first visit to the Emirates. As we are on the late sitting for dinner (at 8:30pm) this meant we would miss all the fun so decided to forgo our dinner and moving on to deck at 8:15 watching Abu Dhabi appearing ever closer.9pm came and went. Our first experience in Abu Dhabi was to w...

We arrived in Dubai at 2pm. The ship would stay berthed overnight and depart about 2pm the following day. Apart from that, we received no information about the port. No shuttle bus was laid on so I assumed that walking to the port gate was an option.Our plan was to head for the Burj al Arab, a 7 star hotel built on its own man made island. Since its construction in 1999, the sail like structure of the hotel has become as iconic as Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower. Fro...