AVOIDING BEING RIPPED OFF IN DUBAI... MSC World Europa Episode 3

Hi all!
Welcome to the third part of my vlog series from my recent 21-night cruise onboard MSC World Europa, one of the newest cruise ships from MSC Cruises. This cruise took me from Dubai (UAE) to Marseille (France), via the Suez Canal, so I have so much to show you!
In this episode, I'm onboard the ship (we were docked overnight in Dubai), but heading ashore to explore the 'old town' of Dubai. This part is a far cry from the skyscrapers of downtown, which is actually only a short drive away from here - let me show you what's going on here!
If you're new to my channel, hello! I'm Fraser, and I want to use this channel to showcase to the world the cruise industry. I'm spending the rest of 2023 mostly living on cruise ships (as a passenger), and I hope to share my passion with you! So, for now, hit the subscribe button and let's go - I've got SO MUCH to show you!
Video chapters:
Introduction - walking to breakfast: 00:03
Complimentary Dining Room breakfast - Bubbles restaurant: 01:23
The plan for today: 02:42
View from the ship in Dubai Port: 05:50
Avoid this taxi scam! 10:10
Spice Souk: 12:07
The cheapest 'river cruise' in the world?!: 15:21
Al Seef: 18:49
The Gold Souk: 21:55
Walking back to MSC World Europa: 24:28
Back in the cabin / Muster Drill: 28:45
Pizza & Burger - NEW from MSC! 32:41
Sailing out of Dubai: 34:16
Passing MSC Opera: 34:55
Dinner at Bubbles, Main Dining Room: 36:38
Closing off today: 38:08
#cruise #msccruises #mscworldeuropa #mscworldcruise #msccrociere #cruiseship #cruisevlog #travel #travelvlog #travelvlogger #lifestylevlog #lifestyle

[@ColinOBear]

Loved seeing the old part of Dubai - I never knew that it existed! The music was a lovely choice too. 😀How exciting it must be to see such a different culture to your own.

[@FraserAtSea]

Thanks for watching! Agreed - seeing different cultures is one of my favourite parts of travel generally, but it makes cruises amazing when you can sometimes same multiple very different cultures from one ship!

[@FraserAtSea]

Thanks for watching! Agreed - seeing different cultures is one of my favourite parts of travel generally, but it makes cruises amazing when you can sometimes same multiple very different cultures from one ship!

[@karenbignell7094]

We were on the same ship, the cabin steward gave directions to old town Dubai, it took approx 30 mins walking having to go down a subway under the water which brought us very near the Gold Souk, we had a taxi back as too hot to walk. The official taxi only cost 35 dir.

[@FraserAtSea]

Ah, we did the opposite to each other - I couldn’t find the walking route (as you know) for love nor money, ha! Glad you paid the real taxi price!

[@SoloSueTravels]

The gold market would be so dangerous for me! I do love the sparklies.

[@FraserAtSea]

You’d better take your credit card then… haha!

[@stephenm8818]

That was so so interesting Fraser. Thank you.

[@jenniferpratt3854]

Living the life love it😊❤

[@dimplestraveldiary8954]

Oh my Fraser! what an adventure you’ve had! It’s a Good thing you like walking. It’s always great to save some money, whenever possible. Great tips for future travelers. Also, great music for the markets!

[@CruiseLife22]

We watch a lot of Vlogs and your presenting, content and editing is possibly the best, great episode!👍

[@FraserAtSea]

This is SO lovely to hear - oddly, I’m always really self conscious when I release anything, so thanks so much!

[@joycesmith8354]

You deserve a big slice of cake and massive coffee.

[@tammy_oh_nevermind]

What an amazing day! Oh, dear Fraser, the mother in me was yelling...DON'T try to WALK that far in the heat! 😂 Glad it worked out for you, but...wow! 🤣 An amazing place, for sure.

[@marklittle6408]

I must have missed you by moments in the gold souk. Well done for finding the walking route. I too did battle with the taxi drivers over the meter. Ended up being way less than half what they quoted. - little bunch of rascals 😂😂

[@FraserAtSea]

Ha, the shocking thing is they must make a fortune off tourists by doing that… So annoying! Also, very funny if we were there at the same time!

[@tammy_oh_nevermind]

So excited to watch this, but it must wait for a few more hours tonight. 😊

[@FraserAtSea]

Thanks Tammy - hope you enjoyed!!

[@stevewilliams9753]

Enjoyed that a lot. Very well edited vlog and very informative. Looking forward to seeing the next ones.

[@FraserAtSea]

Thanks so much for watching, Steve - glad you enjoyed!

[@joyturnbull-eb8hh]

Another great video Fraser, we cruised with MSC from Dubai about 8 years ago, your walk around the old town brought back memories 👍

[@FraserAtSea]

Ah, amazing to hear - did you see differences here to 8 years ago? I get the impression it’s a city that’s always changing!

[@joyturnbull-eb8hh]

@@FraserAtSea we took a little ferry across the river too and that and market looked as I remember it. Like you we stayed in Dubai for a couple of nights before joining the ship ( a hotel not the QE2 😀)

[@elizabethgillingham8781]

Hi Fraser, we love Dubai and much prefer the old town to the newer glitzier places. Where you were walking around the Heritage town there is a good museum with lots of interesting things and facts about Dubai. If you ever go there again check it out. We found the metro was a really great way to get around as well. Enjoying watching your videos and looking forward to the next instalment.

[@FraserAtSea]

Thanks Elizabeth, and great tip - I didn’t know there was a museum there! I found that area so great for exploring, and much more ‘real’ than the big glitzy centre a few miles down the road! As always, thanks so much for your support!

[@claudiareynolds3977]

Thank you so much - this is exactly the kind of info we were looking for. Thanks for going through all the struggles & walking on our behalf 🥵😂

[@FraserAtSea]

Ah, I’m so glad you found it useful - thanks so much for watching, Claudia!

[@shawnryan8345]

Very much enjoyed the whole experience 😀. Format and music was right on ! I was always wondering Re; Dubai. Exciting to hear the good word about the NSC way while on board. Stunning ship indeed - C U the next 1 ✅

[@FraserAtSea]

Thanks so much Shawn! Had a comment re the volume of my voice being low - could you hear me okay in this episode?

[@shawnryan8345]

@@FraserAtSea not noticeable on my part- did watch again however - maybe during a couple of segments when in the dining room and walking about in the ally way in Dubai a slight dip in volume - I usually watch with high volume and I do take a cue to listen up when I can tell when speaking a bit lower in confined areas - so long story short - NP regarding volume issues -😀

[@markcrabtree6793]

Hi Fraser, did you get chance to upload the Costa livestream from about a week ago…. I can’t see it anywhere? Cheers

[@FraserAtSea]

Hey Mark, think I caught you on live, but I think this one is lost in cyberspace somewhere. Fear not - I’ll go live on my next Costa ship for sure! :)

[@AfonbachDesigns]

You couldn’t be more Scottish if you tried. Bless you, honestly no one ever walks in the emirates except around the shops! I hope you didn’t get heat stroke, loved this Vlog though. And the food looked fab on there. PS. The gold is the dowry for your daughter, you’re supposed to buy pieces to add to your collection so you can have the best choice of husbands for her 😂

[@FraserAtSea]

Ha, proudly tight…!! That’s amazing re: the daughter point - need to make sure I don’t have any of them - can’t afford the gold… :) Thanks for watching!

[@mayavandoorn261]

Hi Fraser, really nice vlog in the old town. It's good to see how it looks and how to get there safely. I have one request: is it possible to get your voice louder when editing? I must set my speakers all on max to understand you. (I'm dutch). Maybe some others folowers have this problem to? However, great ship, did you meet other solo-travellers yet? And tnx to the other comments about transportation in Dubai, subway seems good option too. Have a great day all!

[@FraserAtSea]

Ahh, let me do some playing with future episodes and see what I need to do. For this trip, I bought new microphones, so it’s maybe taking a bit of ‘getting used to’… Thanks for the feedback!

[@marecianoble5826]

I'm shattered just watching you 😅

[@FraserAtSea]

Ha, I’m just getting started…!! Haha

[@mrclaypole]

Whilst Dubai is seen as a place for those with deep pockets, would you recommend it for the budget traveller? Also, are there any alcohol restrictions onboard the ship on port days during the Middle East sector of this cruise (Us Celts need to know these things 🤔🍺🍺🍺). Great vlog btw 👍

[@FraserAtSea]

Excellent question! My pockets aren’t deep either, and I had a great time! Alcohol is something I did avoid when on land - they charge a fortune for it due to import taxes etc, but you’re fine on the ship! The only port we had restrictions was Saudi Arabia, where the whole ship had to be dry… Outside of there, no issues!

[@VITRAVELINGTHEWORLD]

When you took the little boats across the river, did they charge the correct amount? I'm just wondering because in some ports around the world, when a card is used, they add on 2 or 3 00 on to the amount and rip people off

[@FraserAtSea]

They charged exactly the right amount - I always check the card terminal screen before I accept a contactless payment - better safe then sorry!

[@StaffordPublishing-g6l]

Just one thing, Sunday is a normal working day, its Friday Prayers and Saturday is a day off. In Muslim countries the weekend is Friday & Saturday.

[@FraserAtSea]

Very useful point to note - thanks for this!

[@elizabeth-annecelebrant6155]

Great videos... Dubai is not the best place to visit for me from LGBT point of view, but great watching the videos to see what I would miss lol

[@Marioooma92]

in middle east cruise what currency did they take ?? dollars or dirham

[@FraserAtSea]

Hey! Each country would accept its' own currency obviously, but we paid in Euro's onboard this cruise. MSC often charges Euros unless the ship is based in the USA :) All cruise lines will differ though!