Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal: location, getting there and transfers to DXB and DWC

Where is the Dubai Harbour cruise terminal?

Dubai Harbour gives its address as Marsa Dubai, Dubai Marina. The terminal stands on the peninsula where Palm Jumeirah meets Bluewaters Island, facing the towers of JBR. The Dubai Media Office dates its opening to 2021, and Shamal Holding owns the development. Skydive Dubai shares the peninsula, with a 770 m runway that runs 550 m out into the Gulf.

The last turn in for cars is from King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street. In June 2024, RTA awarded a direct link with Shamal Holding: a 1,500 m bridge with two lanes each way. It runs from the fifth interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road, near the American University in Dubai, to Dubai Harbour Street.

RTA said the bridge would carry 6,000 vehicles an hour and cut the drive in from 12 minutes to 3 once complete. We have not confirmed an opening date. Your chauffeur takes whichever way in is open and quicker on the day.

Which ships use Dubai Harbour rather than Mina Rashid?

The Dubai Media Office describes Dubai Harbour as able to handle the largest cruise ships. It reported 300,000 passengers there in the 2022 to 2023 season, about four times the first season, with 40% more ship calls.

The office lists cruise lines for Dubai as a whole, not for each terminal. Your cruise documents decide which port you use. Mina Rashid is about 32 km away by road, roughly 36 minutes without traffic, so a mix-up costs real time. Our guide to Mina Rashid at Port Rashid covers the other port.

If your ticket is unclear, Dubai Harbour lists its cruise team at [email protected] and on +971 4 389 5600.

Getting to DXB or DWC after disembarkation

Times below assume free-flowing roads, from the OSRM route planner on OpenStreetMap data (17 October 2026).

From Dubai Harbour to	Road distance	Without traffic	Usual roads
DXB Terminal 1	about 32 km	31 min	Sheikh Zayed Road for 21 km, then Sheikh Rashid Road
DXB Terminal 3 (Emirates)	about 36 km	35 min	Sheikh Zayed Road, Umm Hurair Road, then Al Quds Street
Al Maktoum International (DWC)	about 35 km	41 min	Sheikh Zayed Road south, then Al Maktoum Airport Street
Sharjah International (SHJ)	about 58 km	51 min	Sheikh Zayed Road past DXB, then Al Khawaneej Road and the E311
Zayed International (AUH)	about 98 km	1 h 6 min	Sheikh Zayed Road to Ghantoot, then Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Street

DWC is not the shorter airport run by road. It is about 3 km further than DXB Terminal 1 and about 10 minutes longer, because the last stretch leaves the motorway. Check the airport code on your ticket before you book.

Dubai Airports wants passengers at the terminal at least 3 hours before departure. For a 4pm flight from Terminal 3, aim to reach the terminal by 1pm. With a 35-minute drive and 15 minutes to load cases, leave the harbour at about 12.10pm. Your cruise line sets the time your group leaves the ship.

Our pages on DXB pickups and drop-offs, Al Maktoum International transfers and Zayed International transfers cover each departures kerb. The toll side of a Sheikh Zayed Road drive is explained in our Salik guide.

Drive times to hotels in the Marina, the Palm and Downtown

From Dubai Harbour to	Road distance	Without traffic
Dubai Marina	about 3 km	6 min
JBR	about 3.5 km	6 min
Jumeirah Lakes Towers	about 7 km	11 min
Palm Jumeirah, the trunk	about 7 km	11 min
Jumeirah, by Burj Al Arab	about 8 km	13 min
Al Barsha, by Mall of the Emirates	about 10 km	15 min
Atlantis, The Palm	about 11 km	17 min
Business Bay	about 20 km	21 min
Downtown Dubai	about 21 km	22 min
Expo City Dubai	about 25 km	27 min
Deira, at Al Rigga	about 30 km	29 min

Downtown is reached on Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Mustaqbal Street. A Marina hotel is close enough that the luggage, not the distance, decides the vehicle.

Four people with four large cases fit one Mercedes-Benz V-Class, which seats 6. A family of 6 with 6 cases needs the 13-seat Sprinter, or two cars. Our group transport page lists the larger vehicles, and the seats and luggage guide gives the boot space of each car.

With a free afternoon before the flight, the car can wait by the hour. Our Dubai city tour runs to the old town, about 29 km from the harbour, and our chauffeur service covers a day with the same car.

Parking and drop-off for people seeing passengers off

We could not find parking rules or charges for the cruise terminal on the Dubai Harbour website in October 2026. Ask the cruise team before the day, at the email and phone number above. Dubai Harbour’s main reception is open from 7am to 8pm.

With a chauffeured car, parking does not come up. The car stops at the terminal kerb, the chauffeur unloads the cases, and you walk in with them. If friends come to wave you off, book the car by the hour and it takes them back to their hotel.

Booking a Dubai Harbour pickup or drop-off

1. Send the ship’s name, the date and the time your group leaves the ship, or your hotel and boarding time.
2. Add passengers, large cases and any child seats.
3. Tell us where you are going: an airport and flight time, a hotel or another emirate.

You get one quote for the vehicle on WhatsApp. On the morning your ship docks, the chauffeur messages you with the waiting point outside the terminal. Mina Rashid and the Abu Dhabi terminal at Zayed Port are on our cruise terminal transfers page, and the airports are compared in our UAE airports guide.