The cruises compared here
People searching for a Marina dhow cruise usually mean the evening dinner boat. In this catalogue that boat is not described as a dhow at all, and it does a different job from the yacht. One is a restaurant that moves. The other is a sightseeing trip that may include a meal.
Both are run by Xclusive Yachts and leave from the same stretch of Al Hubob Street, so the choice comes down to what you want from the time on board.
1Route: inside the Marina or out to sea
The dinner cruise stays in and around the Marina for 90 minutes. The listing mentions the towers, Ain Dubai and a distant Palm Jumeirah.
The yacht has three lengths. The one-hour option promises views of the skyline. The two-hour option heads for Bluewaters Island and names Palm Jumeirah and the Burj Al Arab. The three-hour option follows the same path with extra time around the Palm and the Atlantis hotel.
2Food and drink
The dinner cruise is the generous one: a buffet with a printed menu, an open bar and live music.
On the yacht, the one-hour option includes no food or drink at all. The two-hour sailing at 9 am comes with breakfast of pastries, coffee and juice. The other two-hour sailings and the three-hour one include a barbecue. Drinks, where included, are non-alcoholic.
3Timetable and flexibility
The yacht wins easily. The listing shows one-hour departures at 10 am, 11 am, noon, 1 pm, 5 pm, 6 pm and 7 pm, plus the longer options spread through the day. You can choose morning light, sunset or night.
The dinner cruise is an evening fixture. The operator lists it at 8:30 pm, with a separate sunset sailing at 5 pm sold as its own listing from €51.
4Where the speedboat fits
The speedboat tour from Dubai Marina Walk costs from €25 and is the only Marina boat here with a guide named in the inclusions. Its 90-minute route goes along Palm Jumeirah to a view of the Burj Al Arab; the 60-minute route at 6:30 pm stays with the Marina, Ain Dubai and JBR.
It has 59 reviews, fewer than the yacht's 224, though the score is 9.5. No food, no drinks, minimum age 3. The pier is a different one, about 1.6 km from the Xclusive Yachts stand.
5The practical differences
The yacht listing requires a valid passport for every passenger at boarding. The dinner listing does not mention one, but it does close check-in 15 minutes before departure. All three Marina boats are listed as not wheelchair accessible.
On reviews, the dinner cruise has the bigger sample, 666 at 8.6. The yacht has 224 at 9.2.