Fishbait17
October 24th, 2009, 10:57 AM
My family of four (2 40's adults, daughters are 19 and 22) is sailing on the NCL Jade over the holidays and have been trying to come up with a custom itinerary (with Ramses) for our overnight stop in Alexandria. I think we have narrowed it down, but want to run it by those who know better to see if it will work (worried about timing, weekend hours, etc). All stops would be guided. Keep in mind that our two favorite activites are eating local food and drinking in the culture - the sights are important, but we hate the whole "let's see it all" mentality - so maybe you can understand why we are skipping some stops.
Our ship is in port from 7am Saturday to 6pm Sunday. We are planning to leave the ship ASAP and head to Saqqara first. We figure we will make the Dosjer stop and tour. Do we need to go to the Red or Bent Pyramid site as well? We are thinking you could see the others in the distance from the first stop, is it worth it to make the other stops?
Next we would head to the Museum for the afternoon, seeing both the Tut exhibit and the Mummy Room. While we would spend a few hours at the museum, I know we will be museumed out after a while, so don't want to spend too much time.
Late afternoon, we would head to Khan el Khalili bazaar. I know it won't be as great as Fna square in Marrakech, but this is one of our favorite things to do - just wander, look (maybe buy), and take in the culture. We will be spending quite a bit of time there, figuring on about a 4pm arrival and staying until early evening. We would like to have a local dinner nearby and are looking for suggestions. Does "Khan" have an evening personality? I hear the shops don't close until about 9pm, is this true during the winter?
For the night, we have the option of staying either in Cairo (Sheraton, Hyatt or Marriott) or Giza (Le Meridian). We are leaning toward the Sheraton Cairo, based on location and hotel benefits. Has anyone stayed there (or the other Cairo properties) recently? We really could go either Cairo or Giza, but think that Cairo would be much more convenient in case we stay out late and we don't mind giving up the pyramid view.
Next morning we would have a quick snack at the hotel and head to Giza for the Pyramids. After touring, we would like to have an early lunch at Barry's Oriental - we hear it's great but would love some input. We would head back to Alexandria after lunch, avoiding any last-minute rush. Depending on our arrival time, we would do a quick driving tour of Alexandria - possibly stopping at the mosque, catacombs, or library - any recommendations as to which? Back on the ship by 4-5 pm would be ideal, and by leaving Giza by noonish, I think we are safe.
Please advise if you think there are any snags in this plan, as we are still in the planning stage and can make any changes (mostly concerned about hotel reservations) to the entire itinerary direction. Thanks for your input!
Robin
Our ship is in port from 7am Saturday to 6pm Sunday. We are planning to leave the ship ASAP and head to Saqqara first. We figure we will make the Dosjer stop and tour. Do we need to go to the Red or Bent Pyramid site as well? We are thinking you could see the others in the distance from the first stop, is it worth it to make the other stops?
Next we would head to the Museum for the afternoon, seeing both the Tut exhibit and the Mummy Room. While we would spend a few hours at the museum, I know we will be museumed out after a while, so don't want to spend too much time.
Late afternoon, we would head to Khan el Khalili bazaar. I know it won't be as great as Fna square in Marrakech, but this is one of our favorite things to do - just wander, look (maybe buy), and take in the culture. We will be spending quite a bit of time there, figuring on about a 4pm arrival and staying until early evening. We would like to have a local dinner nearby and are looking for suggestions. Does "Khan" have an evening personality? I hear the shops don't close until about 9pm, is this true during the winter?
For the night, we have the option of staying either in Cairo (Sheraton, Hyatt or Marriott) or Giza (Le Meridian). We are leaning toward the Sheraton Cairo, based on location and hotel benefits. Has anyone stayed there (or the other Cairo properties) recently? We really could go either Cairo or Giza, but think that Cairo would be much more convenient in case we stay out late and we don't mind giving up the pyramid view.
Next morning we would have a quick snack at the hotel and head to Giza for the Pyramids. After touring, we would like to have an early lunch at Barry's Oriental - we hear it's great but would love some input. We would head back to Alexandria after lunch, avoiding any last-minute rush. Depending on our arrival time, we would do a quick driving tour of Alexandria - possibly stopping at the mosque, catacombs, or library - any recommendations as to which? Back on the ship by 4-5 pm would be ideal, and by leaving Giza by noonish, I think we are safe.
Please advise if you think there are any snags in this plan, as we are still in the planning stage and can make any changes (mostly concerned about hotel reservations) to the entire itinerary direction. Thanks for your input!
Robin