Anyone Recently Used Ramses Tours?

We are in the Greek Islands now and wonder if Ramses accepts credit cards for payment.

When I was booking an excursion with them, they said that the final payment was in cash, USD preferably.

We booked an excursion with Ramses to see Luxor from Safaga while on a cruise. This is not to be missed and shouldn't be put off. The ship excursion cost more than twice what we paid. You have no fear that you will miss the ship or be stranded, as Ramses is a long established, professional group just as concerned as you are with safety and timeliness. We had an excellent guide and a comfortable bus. Ramses was waiting at the port to pick us up. We drove in a convoy with the ship's buses both ways. The big advantage, besides price, was that we saw more than the ship's excusions and had a smaller group. We were able to get to the Valley of the Queens in addition to entering 3 tombs at the Valley of the Kings. We had plenty of time at Karnac Temple in Luxor and were treated to a ferry ride across the Nile while there. We felt completely safe and had no problems at all. We had been to Egypt 2 years ago also. The sites are amazing and the Egyptians are very supportive of Americans. Coming from Safaga for the day is a long, full day but there is no way around that if you are on a cruise. The Nile cruise is far preferable and far more relaxing was to see the sites. They had plenty of cold bottled water for us on the bus. Just a lunch reminder, if it isn't cooked or you can't peel it- you can't eat it. Thumbs up to Ramses.

:)My husband and I have just returned to the US after being out of the country for two months and would like to post our opinion of Ramses Tours which we booked online prior to our arrival in Alexandria at the end of September. They were GREAT. We were met promptly at 7.30am by Karim Serry and his ;)driver for our day tour into Cairo. We were the only two guests on the minibus and we can't say enough how pleased we were with the whole day. Karim is most knowledgeable and we were very impressed with him, his suggestion that we go to the Egyptian Museum first (to avoid later crowds) worked out very well as there were very few people in the museum at that time, hardly anyone in the King Tut exhibit. The rest of the day went very well, we stopped whenever we requested and of course seeing the pyramids and the Sphrinx were memorable. We would highly recommend Ramses Tours to any of our friends who wish to visit Egypt, :)

We have just completed our Holy Lands Cruise on the Pacific Princess. We used Ramses for a group of 8 for a tour out of Port Said to Cairo and Giza and on the second day for a tour of Alexandria. Our driver, Mr. Samir and guide, Karim, with both great. The library in Alexandria was closed because of a strike so they substituted visits to two Coptic churches and a mosque. But if we had wanted to go to the museum, they would have done that. They were very flexible. It is a long drive to Giza from Port Said, so another time we would consider the overnight option. We returned to the ship in lots of time and felt safe the whole time. I would highly recommend Ramses. Great value for the cost which was half of the cost of a ship's excursion.

Liz

Nova scotia

Thanks for posting all the comments; we are booked with Ramses and will be keeping many of the suggestions noted in mind.

We enjoyed a cruise in late November visiting Alexandria & Port Said. We booked a half day city tour in Alexandria and a Pyramids and Cairo museum tour from Port Said, both with Ramses Tours.

All communication with George at Ramses was prompt. We requested Karim as our guide as he had been recommended on these boards and he guided us on both days.

Karim was excellent-very professional with an incredible knowledge of Egypt and great sense of humour. He always kept asking us what we would like to do so we felt in total control. As we had been on a Nile cruise a few years ago we did not want to visit papyrus factories etc and he respected that. We also did not have lunch on the Cairo tour; we just had a good breakfast before leaving the ship. Karim had bought some typical Egyptian sweets which he let us sample.

When we left the UK on 23rd Nov the demonstrations had resumed in Egypt so we were unsure whether the ship would dock there. We docked in Egypt on 26th in Alexandria & 27th Nov in Cairo, the day before the elections but felt completely safe the whole time. The ship's tour had cancelled the Cairo museum visit but Karim asked us if we would still like to visit it if the people were not demonstrating in Tahira Square. He said he would only take us if he felt it was safe to do so and if we were happy to go. He had a contact at the museum and he phoned him just as we were approaching the outskirts of Cairo. All was quiet so we decided to go. We saw the demonstrators but they were peaceful. The museum was much quieter than normal which benefited us. The museum was fantastic and we were so pleased to book with Ramses or we would not have seen it. There were no queues to visit the room to see Tutankhamun’s mask and other items buried with him. This was the highlight of our trip to Egypt-fantastic.

We continued to the pyramids and the Sphinx. Karim bought us Arabic headdresses which we wore for photos in front of the pyramids and Sphinx.

We actually arrived back at the ship well before the ship’s tours.

Happy New Year and good afternoon everyone.

My name is Sam and I am a newbie on this forum. I try to book a vacation package with Ramses Tour which includes hotel, Local air fare, Nile cruise and lots of sightseeing and transfers. I think it is a wonderful package and a very good price.

Ramses Tours ask 20% deposit for reservation via bank transfer and the rest on arrival. So my question is will I get questioned or harassed by TSA for carrying a good amount of currency with me?

Thanks everyone in advance for answering my question.

Thanks

Happy New Year to you too Sam and all others, with many wonderful cruises :D

Ramses Tours ask 20% deposit for reservation via bank transfer and the rest on arrival.

Strange, that is the first time I've heard Ramses Tours asking a deposit. I booked with them too for an overnight tour and I was not asked to make any deposit at all. Just give the guest names and cruise details, and was told that I'd be paying the entire tour after it had ended. Are you sure you booked with the 'real' Ramses Tours?

This is the website, and tour, that I booked.

cruiserke;31791223']Happy New Year to you too Sam and all others' date=' with many wonderful cruises :D

 

 

 

Strange, that is the first time I've heard Ramses Tours asking a deposit. I booked with them too for an overnight tour and I was not asked to make any deposit at all. Just give the guest names and cruise details, and was told that I'd be paying the entire tour after it had ended. Are you sure you booked with the 'real' Ramses Tours?

 

This is the website, and tour, that I booked.

Ramses "no deposit" policy is generally for cruise shippers...they also offer land-based tours that DO require a deposit. Since he mentions " hotel, Local air fare, Nile cruise and lots of sightseeing and transfers", I'm guessing he's either taking a land based tour, or the deposit is being required because of the air transportation inclusion.

Thank you Zukini and thank you [g]cruiseke for the answers.

Thanks

Sam

I try to book a day tour to cairo with Ramses Is it possible to see Saqqara, Memphis, Dahshour, Giza Pyramids all in one day? or is that too much?

I'm not sure where Dashour is, but the rest most certainly. That was what I did. They're a great company! We had Baseem, if he's available I'd request him. Very personable, smart and funny.

Enjoy your trip!

Originally Posted by larryelianos

I try to book a day tour to cairo with Ramses Is it possible to see Saqqara, Memphis, Dahshour, Giza Pyramids all in one day? or is that too much?

Yes. It is very easy to do all of this in one day. They are all close to each other. The only hold up is the traffic in Cairo which can get hectic but understandable given that 20 million people live in the city.

For those of you who have used Ramses in the past, how did much did you tip?

After doing extensive research on overnight tours from Port Said, my husband and I have chosen Ramses. We liked the flexibility afforded us by choosing a private tour for 2 persons and were given the guide we requested. The communication was rapid and they seem to want to accomodate our requests. We absdolutely can't wait for our cruise to the Holy Land and especiallly this tour.

We are planning to use Ramses Tours on a cruise that stops in Alexandria, Egypt in October. We have an option to take a dinner cruise on the Nile. Has anybody taken this Nile cruise? If so, did you enjoy it?

Panajachel

my wife and i were in alexandria last year, and i had booked a full day tour with ramses tours over the internet before we left australia.no deposit required, and the cost was $100.00 aus each for the whole day,left port alexandria in a virtually new 8 seater mini bus (my wife and i with driver and tour guide)we were the only ones in the last mini bus so we got it good.

stopped for a drink /relief stop about half way to giza,went to the pyramids entry included in $100.00 took camel ride (extra cost) then had old boat ride and superb three course lunch ,all included in $100.00.the guide and driver could not have been better,and the guide will keep the touts away from you at the pyramids.

amazing to lean against and touch something 4000 years old.

it was a wonderful 14 hour day,vehicles are well kept aircon mini vans or cars.

behind the streets in alexandria . cairo ,giza ,are not that clean,but hey it's their country

we were so pleased with the day we gave the driver and guide an extra $50.00 usd each

it would have cost us $400.00 usd booking this trip from our ship,and that would have been in a big coach with another 40 or so people,so $300.00 all up was good for us.

go with ramses they are excellent

I can never post enough about how wonderful our time was spent with Ramses. Our overnight in Cairo will always be the highlight of all our cruises thanks to the magnificet tours given to us by Kareem and the perfect customer service we received from George from the first email to the last good-bye.

We booked the Nile River Dinner Cruise with great hestitation as we had read mixed reviews from people that said the Nile smelled funny, the food was no good and the entertainment was very phony. But we booked it as George assured us it was not to be missed. HE WAS RIGHT! We loved every minute of it. The food was delicious and all custom to the land, it was a great experience. The evening views standing on the outside of the boat were beautfiul and there were NO smells at all. The entertaiment was very authenic and amazing. The belly dancer was so beautfiul and her moves were not phony. We were very happy we listened to George and booked it as we now have fantastic photos and great memories of that night. We truly enjoyed it and would recommend it.

As for tipping, we tipped very high, however what we have read in the past and spoke to others, they were tippiping between 15 and 20 percent of what the tour cost.

The best thing you can do in Egypt when planning your tours and what you are going to see. I know you think you may never be there again and want to see it all, however, it is really best to plan on seeing the most important and stay there longer to really absorb it all, rather then to try seeing so much but but then you end up seeing so little of everything.

I did two tours with Ramses last summer while my daugher and I were in Egypt and loved them. The tour company was wonderful. I have just booked them again for a trip this summer. Can't recommend them enough. They are very easy to work with and answer emails quickly. We had Kareem Serry as our guide last summer and I have requested him again.

Can't wait for May :)

We went with Ramses last November and had Islam as our guide. Cunard had cancelled the tours to the museum because of safety concerns. I asked Islam if everything was safe and he said that there is nothing going on in Cairo that day. The traffic is something you will not believe. They drive by horn, honk and drive. You have two highways crossing with no traffic control devices. Cars just crept through pushing their way in. I don't think I saw a car without dents. It took 3 hours each way to get from Alexandria to Cairo. We went to the museum, had lunch, pyramids and Sphinx and a little bit of shopping. Islam began to rush us at the pyramids because he was worried about getting us back to our boat. We made it back about 40 mins early but many ship bus tours got back late and we were 2 hours late leaving port. I could of taken more time at the pyramids and done without the shopping.

I have just booked with Ramses and I would like to say thank you to everyone who posted information on their tours. It sounds like I have booked the best tour and just can't wait until October!

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 opted for the felluca ride and did not regret the decision for a minute. Of course time at the pyramids is great, but those couple of hours sailing around the big river after hours in jammed traffic were sweet.

We did the overnight tour in Cairo with Ramses and we were able to get so much in. Pryamids, Felluca Ride, Nile Dinner Cruise, Egyptian Museum, Memphis Ramses Museum, and so much more. We loved the Felluca Ride, it was really a great experience cruising up the Nile River. The Felluca was very authentic. If you have enough time to see both, I would do the Felluc Ride, but if your time is limited to only one day and you have to choose between the two, Even though we loved our ride on the Nile and got great photos, the pyramids would be my choice.

We went with Rameses in May last year and like amost everyone else we had a great tour. We opted to stay overnight in Cairo (at the Mena House) and were glad we did because it meant we were able to see the evening show at the pyramids.

A couple of comments about paying and tipping. We chose to pay in USD and although they didn't say so, I think that was the preferred currency. We probably overtipped our driver and guide but we had left all the small transactions (entrance fees, lunch etc) up to them and I just gave them $100 over the tour price to cover it all. The total was still less than Princess wanted for a much less comprehensive tour.

We did a 1 day tour with Ramses before our Uniworld trip started, and our guide Mohammed was fantastic!

A few suggestions to get the most out of your trip: ALL of the guides stop at several shops: a perfume essence shop, an Egyptian cotton shop, and a papyrus shop. Those stops take quite a bit of time, so if you are not interested, let your guide know in advance. We did the essence and papyrus, and even bought a beautiful one, only to have those duplicated on our Uniworld tour.

We had an airconditioned mini van and driver, and just the 2 of us and our guide. We were able to leave items in the van, they always had cold bottled water for us, and were very flexible. I wanted to make a stop at the Hard Rock cafe (I collect the pins) and they worked it out to do a quick stop there for me to run in.