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| These are bowls full of different types of olives. YUM! |
Usually on a daily basis we are looking at our upcoming reservations to make sure everything is as it should be. Deposits paid, scheduling the next and final payments for our housing, cruises and hotels and constantly looking at airfare to get the right price before booking.
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| Various types of beans and seeds |
Our next cruise is on November 30th, leaving Rome and arriving 16 days later in Dubai. From there we booked a 16 night stay in a nice apartment in a hotel through Airbnb for a great price. The reason we chose this particular place one year ago is because we wanted to be there for the New Years Eve celebration with an amazing view of the Burj Khalifa.
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| The most amazing bread! When warmed up with butter and honey, they are to die for! |
At least that’s what the advertisement stated. Before paying the final balance to Airbnb, I looked at the site and noticed this particular rental group had many bad reviews in the recent weeks and months. The reviews basically said they were being scammed by the owners and others stated “Run, do not engage with this group”. Terrifying!
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| Prickly pear cactus. They are in abundance here in the desert! |
I sent an email last week to the owner as well as talked to the Airbnb company and although Airbnb said they can try to help us find a place if the owner backs out, it will cost us quite a bit more as it is now around $300-$1000 per night around the holidays that close to the Burj Khalifa.
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| Straw hats and purses |
The owner has yet to answer my requests and we don’t want to get off our cruise and hope that Airbnb can locate a place if the owner backs out. So we made an executive decision and started looking at other hotels close with similar criteria. Nothing under $500 with the same view.
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| This looks like a necklace for King Kong but I think its decorations for the home. |
If we wanted further away, it at least dropped to $300 per night but it was just a hotel, not an apartment as we are accustomed to so we can cook our own meals.
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| This and the next 2 statues are around the Medina but no descriptions. Maybe just for design. |
Nice, but we needed something for at least 14 days and would return back to Dubai. We found two cruises on the same ship that we arrive on from Rome for 7 days each. That will give us 14 days for the same price we paid for the 16 night hotel. We’ll just need 3 nights in a hotel when we return on the final cruise.
I found something close to the airport and much more reasonable for 3 nights. We can take a cab to the places we need and a shuttle to the airport when we leave on 1/2/2002. We will also book a 3 hour dinner cruise that will cruise around Dubai Creek for the New Years Eve fireworks.
With dinner included and the celebration, the cost will be $230. The hotel was $100 per night. So the difference will be around $500 but we wont be buying any groceries and will only eat out for 2 nights. It should all come out in the wash.
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| This is a first since we have been here. Men and women in separate lines at the Western Union. Chuck said the men were sending money and the women were picking it up! |
I’m sure we’ll see as much as we want to see in Dubai as we expected and we’ve added a few stops on our lists of ports on the cruises as well. Below are the three cruise itineraries for a total of 30 days.
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| The winds have been so strong this week the waves are being blown back. |
These are called B2B2B. “Back to back to back”. Due to the last minute bookings, we wont be able to keep the same room but the stateroom attendants will move the luggage and we wont need to get off the ship between cruises, unless we want to.
- 11/30 Rome, Italy
- 12/1 Sicily, Italy
- 12/2 Cruising
- 12/3 Athens, Greece
- 12/4 Santorini, Greece
- 12/5-12/6 Suez Canal Passage
- 12/7 Aqaba, Jordan
- 12/8-12/13 Cruising
- 12/14 Muscat, Oman
- 12/15-12/17 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 12/18 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- 12/19 Sir Bani Yas, Untied Arab Emirates
- 12/20 Cruising
- 12/21 Muscat, Oman
- 12/22-12/23 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 12/24 Cruising
- 12/25 Doha, Qatar
- 12/26 Bahrain, Bahrain
- 12/27 Sir Bani Yas, Untied Arab Emirates
- 12/28 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- 12/29-12/30 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
We’ll just need to go to the dining room or somewhere where they designate us. At least now we have peace of mind knowing we have a place to sleep each night! And I’ll stay on a cruise any day vs. a crappy last minute hotel or being upset that we had to pay twice as much than expected.
God has a way of making changes for us and protecting us. I’m thankful and blessed He let us know ahead of time this may be a potential issue!
May you also enjoy His many, many blessings!
Chuck & Lea Ann
WorldTravelReynolds 