Dubai/UAE

9.5.2024 Dubai

Today we docked so early that I was able to leave the ship at around 8:00 a.m. This time a spacious Toyota Previa picked me up and drove me to the "Museum of the Future". On the way I spotted some familiar buildings like the "Dubai Frame", the Fairmont Hotel and the Emirates Towers. The Burj Khalifa also flashed up occasionally.

According to my information, the museum was supposed to open at 9:00 a.m. So I was too early. Not only that, the actual opening time was only 9:15 a.m. That meant a half-hour wait and only 45 minutes of visiting time, as I had to be somewhere else by 10:30 a.m. When I was finally able to enter this futuristic building, I was informed that all "normal" tickets at around US$ 40.00 were sold out, but that VIP tickets for over US$ 100.00 were still available. I politely declined and was not at all dissatisfied with the development, as I could now head to my next destination in peace and quiet.

To my delight, Careem arranged for me to have a Lexus ES300H as my next vehicle. This one also looked new and clean and it was a pleasure to be driven to the Dubai Mall in it.

In the Dubai Mall, I was supposed to get an 11am ticket for the Burj Khalifa "lounge" upon presentation of my booking. Luckily, I didn't have to wait until 11am, but was allowed to go straight into a waiting room where I was provided with coffee, pastries and dates. There I got chatting to a nice young woman called Aubrey, who had also come to Dubai on the "Serenade of the Seas" but ended her trip there. We went up together in the first elevator. Then it was time to "change" because a second elevator was supposed to take us even higher. Unfortunately, we were separated here because Aubrey had not booked the lounge.

The second elevator took me to the 154th floor. Two other Serenade passengers were with me. Once we got to the top, we first enjoyed the modern amenities. We each had a free alcoholic drink, so I had a beer brought to me.

From this height you can see the whole of Dubai. I could see the Burj Al Arab in the distance and the Palm Island behind it, as well as our ship, the museum and much more. Stairs led to the two floors below, where non-alcoholic drinks, sweets and snacks from ARlMANI were waiting for us. We had a great time and of course visited the outdoor area. A balcony at a height of around 580 meters - that's something!

We went downstairs with stops on the 148th, 125th and 124th floors. While we saw relatively few other visitors in the lounge, the lower floors were very lively. To celebrate this wonderful experience, I bought myself a T-shirt in Burj Khalifa.

The line to get to the elevator all the way down was long, but thanks to my VIP sticker, I was led past the line and straight to the elevator, and soon after I was back in the Dubai Mall. Here I searched for and found two items: camel milk chocolate and filled Bateel dates. I also discovered and bought camel milk powder as a continuation of an ongoing joke with Janice, who, as the bartender at our fitness bar, had confronted me with a list of available milks, to which I had replied with the question "Don't you have any camel milk?"

Careem came into action again, and this time it went wrong. I was waiting for the Tesla to pick me up at the exit of the shopping center, in a convenient place for boarding, opposite parking lot P1. I was instructed to go to parking lot P3. I couldn't find parking lot P3. I saw in the app that the Tesla must be very close to me and went towards it, but didn't see it. The captain of the Tesla seemed to be looking for me and couldn't find me. Finally, he canceled the trip.

Finally, I discovered our problem. The P1 parking lot was so huge that I assumed it was divided into several zones. But it wasn't. I couldn't see that there were two more parking levels above it. So the Tesla was driving directly above me. A little annoyed, I decided not to use Careem again and instead took a taxi that was waiting, a Lexus.

In the evening, the comedian Rocky Osborn performed in our theater. Unfortunately, his humor wasn't my style and I found him only moderately funny.