I traveled on the Costa Favolosa from Dubai in April. I had planned to book through a travel agency but I booked shortly after the sink sank off of Italy and the two agencies I would have used was no longer booking Costa. I found that the Costa agent didn't have a good idea of the embarkation process in Dubai which was frustrating. My flight didnt arrived in Dubai at 9 pm and she told me I would not be able to board that late in the evening , I would have to book a hotel and go to the port first thing in the morning. I found out, via a cruise critic member, that was not the case and I could board at anytime as the ship did not leave until 2 pm the next day. The info saved me a couple hundred dollars as I cancelled my hotel reservation. The embarkation process was smooth as there were very few people boarding at 11pm. The ship itself is relatively new and well maintained although I did find the layout a bit confusing. I traveled alone and opted for the cruise excursions.

Muscat - I took the city and mosque tour. I enjoyed the tour but we spent entirely too much time at the souk. Reminded me of the American flea markets, just a bunch of junk made in China. We went to a historical museum as well. We only had 15 minutes which was disappointing as it seems to give a lot of info about the Omani people, their cultural & history, could have skipped the souk and spent the remainder of the time at the museum. We also visited the mosque. Be sure to bring a headscarf, I paid 10 euros for a crummy piece of fabric that I would up donating to Goodwill. I was hoping to buy a really nice scarf but no such luck.

Fujairuh - I opted for the 4x4 tour here. This was an absolute blast!!! We drove quite a distance to the mountains and drove around for a bit, stopped for a photo op and then headed to the sand dunes. Along the way we stopped at a camel farm. I am a huge animal lover but I thought they looked a little rough. They offered camel rides but I do not recall for how much. From there we headed to the red dunes, one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! I would recommend not wearing flip flops as the sand is smoking hot! We went up and down through the dunes, stopped for another photo op and then headed to a park for lunch. They provided a fabulous box lunch and we relaxed in these huts. From there back to the ship. This was probably my favorite excursion from the trip! Read more