A Floating Restaurant Experience

Lou and I recently discovered the pleasures of dinner cruises, so I decided to book a dhow in Dubai. The one I had researched and had in mind was run by the Radisson Blu, but the concierge at the Marriott recommended the Rustar because the price included transportation to and from the boat and wasn’t much more than we would pay for the Radisson. We were little nervous after reading a few of the negative reviews on Trip Advisor, but it turns out we had nothing to worry about. The experience was well worth the cost. The van picked us up at 7:45 then drove to two other hotels to pick up other passengers before taking us to the dock. The doors to the dhow open at 8:30 and it leaves the dock at 9:00. During the half hour wait you are free to wander about the dhow, which is billed as the largest in the world. It is beautifully constructed and has three levels: the bottom level operates as a meeting room or dance floor and has disco lights and a water fountain built into the stairwell. The middle level is glass enclosed for other than perfect weather, and the top level is exposed. Half of it has a sail-like roof while the other half is entirely exposed. As the dhow leaves the dock, a brief recording of the history of the dhow and the area of river its sailing is given. Throughout the remainder of the tour, you are entertained by a violist, a jazz singer, and two traditional dance acts. Also available is a henna tattooist. Beer and wine is available, but cannot be served until the cruise is underway. Meanwhile, the staff bring anything else you want to drink to you along with a selection of nuts the moment you select your table. Shortly after taking off, they invite you to approach the buffet. The night we went there were only enough people to partially fill the top floor so the wait for food wasn’t too bad and everyone was civilized. The food was plentiful and delicious. It was a nice balance of traditional and western so there was a good selection to satisfy multiple taste preferences. When we returned to the dock the same driver who brought us was waiting on the sidewalk to take us back to the hotel. It was a really great experience; one that we would recommend to others. In fact, we’re doing a different, smaller dhow, tonight with the conference attendees. There are enough of us that the organizers probably rented it out just for us.