Welcome to the Dubai cruise port guide. Dubai is that tiny emirate with 2,1 million inhabitants and without doubt this is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. An army of men is working around the clock to build the city that the whole world will look up to. 40 years ago Dubai was barely a small village in the middle of the desert. It was located in one of the hottest and inhospitable places on earth and little known as a simple trading post in the Arabian Gulf. And than they found oil… Today it is a metropolis, oasis in the desert and a concrete jungle with hundreds of skyscrapers. Luxury has a different meaning in Dubia and you about to discover how far this can go. This city of many faces can be modern and deeply traditional, but also extravagant with strict rules. Only about 17% of the inhabitants of Dubai are Emirati. The rest is either expat or a hard worker from India. All of this gives the city of Dubai a unique flavour and a atmosphere that is not met anywhere else in the world.
This is the port of Rashid where cruise ships dock when calling into Dubai. There is a set of 6 docking locations all equipped with high end cruise terminals.
Arab language
Good day – يوم جيد – yawm jayid
How are you? – كيف حالك؟ – kayf halk?
Thank you – شكرا – shukraan
Cruise ship – سفينة سياحية – safinat siahia
Port – ميناء – mina’
About United Arab Emirates
Inhabitants – 9,3 million
Official language – Arabic
Capital city – Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
Government – Federation of 7 hereditary monarchies
Travel information United Arab Emirates
Official currency – UAE Dirham
Accepts Us dollars – are often not accepted
Creditcards – are widely accepted
Drives on the – right
Timezone – UTC +4
Cruise Port Guide Dubai – UAE: docked
Cruise ships dock at the Port of Rashid. Dubai’s cruise port is the largest cruise terminal in the world. It can accommodate 6 ships at any given time. There are several cruise docks behind on another and they are all connected to the cruise terminals: Terminal 1, terminal 2 and terminal 3. These cruise docks have all the facilities a cruise guest could want: Tourist information, postal services, mall representatives, currency exchange, wi-fi, souvenirs shops and taxi stand. Depending on where your dock it is usually a few km to the exit of the port. It is not recommended to walk from the cruise terminal to the city of Dubai. The way to get out of the port area is by excursion, taxi or shuttle.
Taxis in Dubai
The official taxis of Dubai are beige with a coloured roof (usually red, green or blue) and they have a meter. Taxis are allowed to drive in and out of the port. Sometimes it can be tricky to have them take you out of the port for a reasonable price. They usually want to negotiate a price rather than to drive on the meter and this usually results in a price of about 40 US dollars (depending on your bargaining skills) to Deira, which should be about 20 dirham if you drive on the meter. Officially your starting rate should be 5 dirham starting fee (starting fee from port is higher though) and 1,72 dirham per km after. Coming back to the port driving on the meter is usually no problems, but check with the driver before you step into the taxi.
Shuttle service
Your ship should provide a shuttle service into town although this is not the case with every cruise line. Check with your front office on board if they will provide one and what the details are.
Mall shuttle service
In the cruise terminal there are usually these booths like you see on the right hand picture. They are representatives of several shopping malls in Dubai. These malls usually provide a free shuttle bus service to their mall. Keep in mind this service usually starts at 09.30 am. Check the schedule of the shuttle service for that specific day at the booth in the terminal.
Public Transport
When you are travelling by public transportation in Dubai it is essential you get yourself a NOL card. This public transport card is valid on Dubai’s metro and bus. Buy a single ticket of a day pass (22 dirham) at the machine with Dirham cash or credit card (visa or master card). Traveling by metro is a fast, cheap and easy way of doing it. From the ship it is wise to take the taxi or mall shuttle to Burjuman shopping mall / metro station. Pick up the metro here and cover large distances within no time. This system will work well for you because Dubai is quite stretched out, it goes frequent and you won’t be stuck in traffic.
Hop on hop off bus
There are hop on hop off buses in Dubai and there are even several companies. Usually the 2 biggest will come to the terminal building with their buses. These buses are quite expensive and here is some special advice from our side: when you are in the terminal negotiate with the representatives of the hop on hop off buses!
Destination and distance from port:
Deira = 13 km to the east
Burj Khalifa = 13 km to the south
Dubai Mall = 13 km to the south
Dubai Fountain = 13 km to the south
Burj Al Arab = 20 km to the south
Mall of the emirates = 23 km to the south
Atlantis hotel = 35 km the the south
Also visit our cruise port guides for:
The Dubai Mall, Ground & Level 2, The Dubai Mall - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
Fashion Parking - Dubai Mall، Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard - United Arab Emirates