These long travel itineraries generally draw the most readers.  Many will not get to Dubai or take a cruise on Regent Seven Seas.  Living vicariously provides sufficient satisfaction for some, as they've now been to the top of the Burj Khalifa and visited the largest mall in the world.  On the other hand, it's still best to live vicariously through your own life. After an up and down Dubai stop, which included highlights like the tallest building in the world and low lights like food poisoning, we headed off to the port in seven buses, first passing the Queen Elizabeth II.  If you keep up with these things, the city of Long Beach in 1967 bought the  Queen Mary,  which was converted into a museum, restaurants and hotel.  It was closed in 2020 and might never be again re-used.  The Queen Elizabeth II entered service in 1969, was retired in 2008, and acquired by Dubai World, which had plans for a 500-room hotel.  It was opened to visitors in 2018 as the new QEII Heritage Exhibitio