Temp: 81F 27CMiles travelled: 77 nautical milesThe day of embarkation. We could see the MSC Lirica tied up in Port Rashid. This is the cruise terminal that serves Dubai. Although there were some very stunning yet very affordable hotels further down the coast near the Burj Khalifa and even further down near the Palm Jumeirah, we consciously ensured our hotel was in the vicinity of the port to allow us a relaxing morning and to minimise the transfer from our hotel ...

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...