DUBAI // A bird's eye view of The Palm Jumeirah is an image well-publicised, but now the famous man-made island can be seen from a completely different perspective.
Nakheel is accepting the first bookings for its cruise service, which will from today carry sightseers on a trip inside the Palm's crescent and around the tips of the fronds.
A select few were given a preview of the tour yesterday and got a fascinating look at some of the remarkable villas from the water as the boat made its way around a circular route.
The striking design of buildings such as the Tiara Residence, which cannot be fully appreciated from the Palm's roads, was a particular surprise, while a number of ultra-modern villas stood out among the more conventional-looking homes on the fronds.
The Palm trips are the first to be offered under the "Cruise with Nakheel" banner.
However, Saeed Harib, the managing director of Nakheel Marine and Leisure, said expansion plans would include a cruise of The World islands.
"Next we will go to The World islands, then we are thinking of starting after-sunset cruises," he added. "The Palm Jumeirah project is almost complete and now we want to go to the second stage, which is providing water activities - and one water activity is cruising.
"In Dubai today most people staying in hotels like to go to the desert to see the dunes, the camels and the falcons. But here they can see another thing, so cruising adds value for tourists."
The trips begin at the Nakheel sales office on Al Sufouh Road.
The boats make their way past apartment blocks and the five-star hotels that are being built on the East Crescent before reaching the Aquaventure water park and Atlantis hotel.
They then head back, giving passengers views of new properties on the West Crescent such as the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray and One & Only. The route ends back at the sales centre.
Three sizes of boat are available for hire - 38ft, 52ft and 80ft, which can carry up to 12, 15 or 30 people respectively. The smallest boat costs Dh1,000 an hour to hire, the medium-sized one is Dh1,500 and the large double-decker houseboat costs between Dh3,000 and Dh5,000 depending on how many people are aboard.
Nakheel expect most cruises to last one, two or three hours and the company can provide catering for an additional charge.
csimpson@thenational.ae
* Cruises may be booked by email at info@nakheel.com or by phone on 056 177 0456.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
