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Anyone Recently Used Ramses Tours?


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We used Ramses last November for an overnight excursion to Cairo from the Alexandria port. We highly recommend both Ramses and the Mena House. Our guide was excellent and the Mena House was excellent, although I did not care for their breakfast buffet. Pesonally, the pyramid view was not worth the upcharge, but I do not regret our choice to book it. We did the Nile diner cruise, which was OK , but the low point of a wonderful trip. We never felt unsafe during our entire trip.

 

Do the pyramid view rooms have private balconies?

Edited by Jade13
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We are planning a tour in Egypt and have contacted Ramses based on recommendations in Trip Advisor. Has anyone taken the Felucca boat ride and is it worth doing or is your time better spent at the Pyramids?

 

We had two wonderful days in Egypt August 10th and 11th, 2012 (Port Said and Alexandria). Ramses Tours kept its promise that all things are possible and made my dream trip come true.

 

We enjoyed the Felucca boat ride very very much especially my 10 year old grandson, the operator let him stir the boat for about 5 minute. We all took turns having our pictures taken standing need the main sail mast. The boat ride cost $15.00 USD each.

 

The Tour Guide, Karin Serry was professional, polite and very knowledgeable. The itinerary was what I requested, completed in a timely manner and Karin added a walking tour. It was a 3 day tour completed in two days!!

 

We took the Pyramids Sakkara Memphis and the Half Day Alexandria Tours, they were Great!!! We also took the camel ride for $15.00 USD each, it was worth it.

 

Mohamed was an excellent, friendly and safe Driver.

 

I would recommend Ramses Tours to anyone who is going to visit Egypt.

Edited by goldenmck42
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We just returned from Egypt and used the private services of Ramses Tours for a 2-day overland trip from our cruise docked in Alexandria. The guide, Hany was excellent. Always punctual, very attentive and knowledgeable. Ramses Tours responds to all inquiries promptly, and they don't require payment until youa re satisfied at the end of the tour. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

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I booked Mena House through Ramses Tours for our tour. I didn't receive a confirmation number for the hotel. Our guide came inside with us and we sat at the bar and were given a "welcome drink" while our guide took care of the check in process.

 

We had a great tour. Our guide, Hamdi, was waiting at the dock as promised. We didn't dock until around 10 in Alexandria so we got a late start. The first day we went to the citadel, alabaster mosque, and Egyptian museum then had a felucca ride before going to the dinner cruise on the Nile. The second day we saw the Giza pyramids and went inside the smallest one, rode a camel, went to Memphis then Saqqara before going back to the ship.

 

It was a long couple of days, but Ramses Tours really came through on all their promises. We had a wonderful time and greatly enjoyed Egypt.

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We have just returned from our Eastern Med. cruise, during which we had a one day stop in Alexandria. The cruise ship tours were going to Giza but not into Cairo. We had arranged a day with Ramses, to the pyramids and the Cairo Museum, with a felucca trip on the Nile. Ramses were easy to deal with for arranging the trip and we were met on arrival, as promised. The drive to Cairo was comfortable and passed quickly as our guide chatted to us about life in Egypt. We have been to many poor and dirty countries, but were still very surprised at how dirty Egypt is, especially with the large amount of litter lying thickly everywhere. Driving out of the dock gate gave quite a contrast between the clean dock with it's beautiful cruise terminal and the streets beyond the gates, covered in litter, with huge pot holes in the road.

We stopped at a petrol station on the way to Cairo, allowing us to use the toilet. Having small change is helpful here but you could always buy a drink or something of the sort there, to get some change. Our guide gave us an Egyptian pound each, as we only had larger banknotes. It may be worth carrying some extra toilet paper too, as it is rationed. The toilets were clean.

The cruise ship company informed us of a WHO concern over contaminated bottled water in Egypt, using this as an excuse to sell lots of overpriced bottles of water to anxious passengers. They did not tell us however, that only certain brands were affected; our guide assured us that well known brands such as Nestle and Aquafina had no problems.

The Cairo Museum was interesting and we did not find it to be too hot. There were lots of European tourists, but I am sure that we benefited from it being a lot quieter than usual. The only negative part of the trip was that our guide, who was very pleasant, knowledgable and helpful, did not have great English, so I found it quite difficult to follow what he was saying, partly due to the background noise in the museum. My wife translated some of the commentary for me, but I eventually gave up listening and just read the notices.

I found it interesting to see the burned out National Party headquarters next door! A quiet sail on the Nile followed, which was scenic and a pleasant contrast to busy Cairo. It was interesting to see Cairo and we felt quite safe.

We stopped for a Doner Kebab, take away lunch, which we ate in the van (cheap and quick) before going to see the pyramids. We would have enjoyed a little longer to spend there. People were friendly and the hawkers were not nearly as bad as I expected, being less persistent and aggressive than I have seen elsewhere. The locals wanted to take our pictures, standing with their families, which was touching but we had to call a halt due to the time.

We did not want to go to the market or go shopping, so we got back to the ship early (over two hours before the ship's tours). We felt that we had had a good day and had done and seen quite a lot, without it being exhausting. It was also very good value for money. It was far cheaper and I am sure,far better an experience than was had by the masses on the ship's tours. We are certainly glad that we went into Cairo.

If you get the chance, I would say 'go for it'.

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We booked with Ramses tours on the recommendation from people on the Cruise Critics website. We secured a 2 day tour with them, the first 12 hours into Cairo and the second a half-day city tour of Alexandria. We had Mohammad and Mohammad for driver and guide. I can't say enough nice things about these young men. While the driver concentrated moving through the horrendous traffic with ease, the guide filled us in on the economy, relationships, life in Egypt and briefed us prior to stopping at each site. Ramses Tours - these two men are golden - they made our trip to your country a most memorable one - the trip of a lifetime.

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After a WONDERFUL experience on a two day Ramses trip to Cairo in 2010, I booked a half day trip with them for Alexandria this past October. Again, I was not disappointed. Mohammed was our guide and he was terrific. Young, enthusiastic and VERY knowledgeable, Mohammed not only showed us the sites, he gave us his personal insight into life in Egypt. We thoroughly enjoyed asking him questions and learning about his country.

 

Ramses, you scored highly again!

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  • 3 weeks later...
I am really torn about which hotel to choose. I am leaning toward the Oberoi Mena House next to the Giza Pyramids but am not sure

what do you think?

 

Any reason not to book there? It's a stunning property, quite historic. We stayed there during an overnight tour with Ramses three year ago, and my only regret is that we did not have enough time there! We were in the new wing, and it was wonderfully luxurious.

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Quick question for you guys...I've been getting quotes for excursions almost double what the cruise ship is charging for the same excursion. Has this happened to anyone? I asked to join a small group but they said there were none on anything from my cruise leaving this week which seems weird. Any thoughts??

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We are a group of 4 and we have booked Ramses Tours for 3 trips--one from Safaga (Luxor) and two from Alexandria (Cairo and the city of Alexandria). I have been corresponding with Eslam AboGazia of Ramses. He has been very prompt in replying to my emails and seems very eager to provide us with enjoyable and informative tours. We will be visiting Egypt in April (hopefully) and are really looking forward to our trips with Ramses.

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Quick question for you guys...I've been getting quotes for excursions almost double what the cruise ship is charging for the same excursion. Has this happened to anyone? I asked to join a small group but they said there were none on anything from my cruise leaving this week which seems weird. Any thoughts??

 

Check out Ramses. I've been working with Ahmed Al Attar to organize tours. An overnight from Alexandria staying at Mena House with Pyramid view rooms, a day trip to Luxor from Safaga and a trip to Petra from Aqaba. He has been very professional and a great help in planning our tours. The Egypt tours were cheaper and the overnight in Cairo is nearly half the price of what the cruise line is offering. Only the Petra tour, which is for a very small group, was more expensive but only by $40.

 

Jo

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Any reason not to book there? It's a stunning property, quite historic. We stayed there during an overnight tour with Ramses three year ago, and my only regret is that we did not have enough time there! We were in the new wing, and it was wonderfully luxurious.

 

Did you have a confirmation number from Ramses so you could confirm the room directly with the hotel? We are actually flying into Cairo (Nile cruise) and arriving at about 2:30am in the morning.

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I am in the process of booking a private tour with Ramses for May. The website says that Ramses is the only tour company that lets you pick your guide. Does anyone who has used Ramses before have a specific tour guide (Egyptologist) that you recommend?

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I am in the process of booking a private tour with Ramses for May. The website says that Ramses is the only tour company that lets you pick your guide. Does anyone who has used Ramses before have a specific tour guide (Egyptologist) that you recommend?

 

I haven't used Ramses, but it's not true that they are the only agency that will let you pick your guide. I was able to do that with Egypt Private Excursions, also well recommended here on Cruise Critic.

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We used Ramses for a tour from Port Said to Cairo in 2011 on the Dawn Princess World Cruise. Our guide was a lovely enthusiastic young gentleman named Memo (I think that is how it was spelled.) He was wonderful in making sure that our group was all comfortable and was very knowledgeable about his country and shared lots of information with us as we travelled - he was very willing to answer all our questions. We had lots of fun with him - even dancing to Egyptian music on our felucca ride down the Nile. It is a long drive in each direction and was very hot, so he even stopped at a roadside service station and bought ice creams and cakes for everyone!! I have never been on another bus tour where this has happened.

I have now booked three tours - Luxor and Valley of the kings, Alexandria and Sharm el Sheikh through Ramses for our upcoming cruise in August/September.

Cheers

:)

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Wondering if anyone has recently used Ramses Tours for an overnight tour while in Egypt? Will be using them in a few months and was wondering if someone could give a review of how their recent tour was with them. I have read many posts from people who are booked with them for upcoming excursions, but not from anyone who has actually used them recently. Did you visit everything as planned? Any info will be most appreciated.

 

We used them in 2010 for a Pyramid, Mephis one day tour. They did a good job and van was modern and air conditioned. They were a real stickler about getting back to the cruise ship prior to two hours before sailing and did not want to stop for "dinner at a local resturant" that we had ordered as part of our tour. They did make a point of making two "unscheduled" stops at so called specialty "museums" and were told later that it was so they could get gas coupons. This was a waste of time in my opinion. The other problem, was the guide could not enter the tourist sites and waited at the van rather than guide us. Overall, they are a safe and adequate tour guide so I would have no problem using them again.

 

In fact, we plan to use them this coming May for a three night Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor, debarking in Alexandria and ending back on the ship in Safaga after snorkling at Guftin Island. They will provide all the transfers and air to Aswan, but will not be acting as "tour guides."

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Can anybody tell me what the vehicles are like driven by Ramses Tours. There will be 8 of us. I believe it is approx. 100 miles each way from Port Said to the Pyramids so I am hoping the transport will be comfortable.

 

We used them in 2010. Vehicle was late model air conditioned minivan for only the two of us.

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We used them in 2010. Vehicle was late model air conditioned minivan for only the two of us.

We used Rameses for Luxor trip last November. Just the 2 of us. Had heard of problems of tour guides not wishing to take a small group because of the limited tips. Decided to chose our guide, he wasnt available. They promised the best. The car was a small and cramped, not a minvan. Beside going the wrong way when we started we didnt travel in a convoy as advised. The reson we used Rameses was all the good reports out of Cario but Safaga is not Cario.

Would I use them again, no. It is cheaper than the ship but suggest if you do have a small group and ensure you have extra room in the van. We are not going to Luxor on our next trip in July and at Alexandria we wil use the the ship's tour. We have in the past been on a mixture of ships and private tours without problems but getting there and back to Luxor with Rameses I would not repeat

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