Join us on our cruise to Dubai and enjoy the world's biggest adult playground. With year-round sunshine, gorgeous beaches, dramatic arid landscapes, and warm waters, it truly makes Dubai so alluring.

Salalah, Oman's second-largest city, blends history, beaches and luxury spas beneath the Dhofar Mountains and Arabian Sea. Khareef monsoon rains cool the heat, turning the landscape green with banana plantations, coconut palms, waterfalls and lush wadis, celebrated by an annual festival. Visit Al Mughsail beach, souqs scented with incense and spices, and Al Baleed Archaeological Park, an ancient frankincense-trade center with a museum on the region's Boswellia trees.

Petra, the ancient Nabataean city in Jordan, was rediscovered by Westerners in 1812 and is best seen early to avoid crowds and heat. Enter through the dramatic Siq, then admire the Treasury, Petra's most famous monument, carved into sandstone. The city's rock-cut buildings and advanced water system supported life in the desert. Don't miss the Monastery or the tougher climb to the High Place of Sacrifice for sweeping views.

From Safaga's Red Sea beaches and diving, many head inland to Luxor on the Nile, a vast open-air museum of Ancient Egypt. Explore the Colossi of Memnon, Karnak Temple, the Valley of the Kings, and the tomb of Tutankhamun. See preserved tombs, grand statues, and columned temples, or cruise the river past this legendary archaeological treasure.

Alexandria feels like a modern city built atop a vanished ancient one-and literally is. Founded by Alexander, capital from the 3rd century BC to AD 642, it still overlays old streets like the Canopic Way and the Street of the Soma. Once a rich, cosmopolitan port of Greeks, Arabs, Jews, Armenians, and Europeans, it inspired Cavafy, Forster, and Durrell. After the 1950s, many foreigners left, but Alexandria remains a charming, lively Mediterranean city.

Alexandria feels like a modern city built atop a vanished ancient one-and literally is. Founded by Alexander, capital from the 3rd century BC to AD 642, it still overlays old streets like the Canopic Way and the Street of the Soma. Once a rich, cosmopolitan port of Greeks, Arabs, Jews, Armenians, and Europeans, it inspired Cavafy, Forster, and Durrell. After the 1950s, many foreigners left, but Alexandria remains a charming, lively Mediterranean city.

Athens is a majestic, ancient city where elegance meets grit: highways wrap around ruins, museums and galleries stand beside street art, and its legacy spans philosophy, drama and democracy. See the Acropolis and Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum, Mount Lycabettus views, and the Old Olympic Stadium. Beyond the center, beaches and temples line the coast. Slow down for Greek coffee and souvlaki.