We wanted a local cruise since we live in the Middle East and saw that a lot of cruises start in Dubai. After some research, we saw that Pullmantur was by far the cheapest option and, after further digging, couldn't really find out a lot about the ship, her cabins, onboard food, etc. What we did find sounded discouraging but, being the unfussy folks that we are, we thought, "Let's give them a try".

I'm glad we did. It was an excellent cruise. We arrived at DXB and took a taxi straight to the Port Rashid cruise terminal. We hopped out and found virtually no one there. It transpires that Pullmantur keep the Horizon in port between cruises for two whole days, meaning, statistically, half of the cruisers embark/disembark on one day and half on the other. You can rock up virtually any time. For us, it took about 10 minutes from taxi to being on board. It may be longer if you arrive with a plane load of Spaniards from Madrid, but we were locals so it was very pleasant. We wandered around the ship for about half an hour and then went to our cabin. Our bags were already there. Best embarkation we have ever experienced.

We were very pleased by the quality of food. Both the main dining room and buffet offerings were tasty and varied with only a few, small misses. The free drinks package definitely makes you feel like you're getting good value and we found the wait staff invariably friendly and helpful. Read more