We would avoid travel to Egypt

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by BridgeMates

Certainly understand what you guys are saying; however, we are very excited about our cruise that includes two overnights in Egypt in late October. Obviously we won't be able to go if things don't settle down in the next few months. I just hope Celebrity doesn't change/cancel anything this far out. We have put off going over there for the last few years and finally decided to just do it. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
I still have hopes.

Azamara has canceled Egypt on us 4 times (including 2011 - twice, 2012, and 2013). I had thought it was a RCCL decision. I just found out a couple of days ago that Celebrity is still scheduled to call on Egypt this year. I am surprised.

Note that HAL has not been canceling it's Egypt ports, but RCCL/Celebrity/Azamara has in the past year.

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by vakamalua

We just returned from a land tour of Jordan and Egypt. In Egypt, we spent time in Cairo and took a three day Nile cruise between Aswan and Luxor.

At no time in Egypt did we feel unsafe. In fact, it is an incredible time to be there and learn about the evolving political situation first hand. The sites are less crowded now and everyone is grateful for the tourist spending. We felt it was a win-win situation and a trip of a lifetime not be be missed.

Was this with A&K?

Ok, I see this was with A&K. We went with them to Antarctica.

[chrispb]

Originally Posted by Jade13

Was this with A&K?

Ok, I see this was with A&K. We went with them to Antarctica.

I'd cancel and re-book with another cruiseline if I were you. Or even better - book your own flight and then a Nile river cruise. You can then judge the situation in Cairo and book a day trip for the museum and pyramids. At least then you'd have a local guide with his ear to the ground.

[azevedan]

Originally Posted by chrispb

Or even better - book your own flight and then a Nile river cruise....have a local guide with his ear to the ground.

We were scheduled to visit Egypt (Alexandria, for an overnight) with Azamara last May. The port got pulled, but we stayed with the cruise anyway (we enjoyed the rest of the ports, and Azamara was great). We then went with a land tour (A&K) this past March. I can honestly say I'm *glad* it worked out that way. We got more time in Egypt, got to see more things, had a wonderful 3-night Nile cruise (stopping at various temples and sites along the way), and got to Jordan as part of the trip. I think Egypt honestly deserves way more than even an overnight port visit.

As a bonus, there are a lot of discounts being offered right now, precisely because tourism is down.

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by azevedan

We were scheduled to visit Egypt (Alexandria, for an overnight) with Azamara last May. The port got pulled, but we stayed with the cruise anyway (we enjoyed the rest of the ports, and Azamara was great). We then went with a land tour (A&K) this past March. I can honestly say I'm *glad* it worked out that way. We got more time in Egypt, got to see more things, had a wonderful 3-night Nile cruise (stopping at various temples and sites along the way), and got to Jordan as part of the trip. I think Egypt honestly deserves way more than even an overnight port visit.

As a bonus, there are a lot of discounts being offered right now, precisely because tourism is down.

We were suppose to be on the April repositioning cruise on Azamara last year and as you know Eqypt was pulled. We then switched to October and Egypt was pulled again but we stayed on the cruise since we had not been to Israel or Cyprus. We then booked Egypt and Jordan later this year and Azamara canceled and changed it to a Italy and Croatia cruise, and rebooked for next Oct 2013 and received notice from our ta that the entire itinerary (with Luxor) was being pulled and again changed to a Med cruise with Italy..

I had contacted A&K last week and am waiting for next years pricing, which they said was going up. We are still working and just got off a 22 night South America cruise. They are changing the Egypt Moment in History to a 3 night nile cruise next year instead of the 4 night. But, it is probably the same 3 night you went on with Jordan included. Do you have any idea what is skipped with the 3 night versus 4 night nile cruise? Are you glad you went to Jordan instead of spending more time in Egypt? Did your tour include the Seti I tomb in Luxor which is not open to the general public?

Another question, did you enjoy having a Tour Director with you? I know A&K is first class since we have traveled with them, but I put so many private tours together (including recent overnight to MP for a group of 6) that I am afraid it might be too much hand holding for me. I don't mean the local guides but "Tour Director" (Was this an American?). What was your impression? I like the idea of the 4 night (instead of 3 night) cruise if we are going to fly there.

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by chrispb

I'd cancel and re-book with another cruiseline if I were you. Or even better - book your own flight and then a Nile river cruise. You can then judge the situation in Cairo and book a day trip for the museum and pyramids. At least then you'd have a local guide with his ear to the ground.

I am having trouble finding the right itinerary. I don't trust Celebrity and feel they could pull the ports last minute. HAL would be a possibility but all of the other ports are repeats (No Luxor and/or Jordan on a 10-15 night cruise). So, still looking for the right opportunity, ideally in the beginning of 2013. I will take any suggestions.

[azevedan]

Originally Posted by Jade13

Do you have any idea what is skipped with the 3 night versus 4 night nile cruise?

You see the same stuff on the 3-night as you do the 4-night, it's just compressed within fewer days. Part of this is undoubtedly the river; I imagine it's slower going against the current - Luxor to Aswan, 4 nights, upriver vs. Aswan to Luxor, 3 nights, downriver. We didn't feel rushed. Well, I would've spent more time in the Valley of the Kings. Your ticket gets you 3 tombs, plus we got a couple of special ones on extra tickets. It's the kind of place I would've spent a full day at though, if we were on our own!

Originally Posted by Jade13

Did your tour include the Seti I tomb in Luxor which is not open to the general public?

It did not.

Originally Posted by Jade13

Are you glad you went to Jordan instead of spending more time in Egypt?

I definitely wanted Jordan. I *loved* Petra, and Jerash (vast Roman ruins that I didn't even know about until I read a guidebook before we went) was very nice. There were a couple of other stops that were interesting and might be even more so if you're religious (Mt Nebo, where Moses overlooked the promised land, and the River Jordan spot where Christ was baptized). A very old mosaic map of the area on the floor of a church. We spent a night at a resort by the Dead Sea, which was very posh. Truth be told, though, I would've rather gone to Wadi Rum and camped that night!

Originally Posted by Jade13

Another question, did you enjoy having a Tour Director with you? I

The Tour Directors are only there to do the arrangements for you - meet you at the airports (INSIDE security - that's pull! All the other tours met outside). Get you into the van; check you into the hotel. Deal with your luggage at the airport. Oh, heavens....boy did all that spoil me! I travel a lot on my own for business; it would be wonderful to have someone like that dealing with all the crap! They do not stay with you at other times. The guides handle things on the excursions - all the tickets, etc. Our guide in Egypt was Dina Omar - she was wonderful. Lots of insight into the current situation. She got us the tickets to go inside the Great Pyramid, and made arrangements with one of the camel touts because we all wanted to do a camel ride at the pyramids. Dealt with one of the souvenir sellers so that we wouldn't attract a crowd if we wanted something. Best of Egypt IMO are the temples at Karnak and Abu Simbel.

We also are still working, and our travel is constrained by my husband's vacation time (less so by mine). We wanted a trip that hit the highlights, and did it in an efficient manner.

If you email me at azevedan(at)yahoo(dot)com, I can send you our writeup about the trip and also links to my pictures, if you're interested.

[azevedan]

I should also add - we were very spoiled...only 6 on our tour, and all were nice. As I mentioned - tourism is down!

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by azevedan

I should also add - we were very spoiled...only 6 on our tour, and all were nice. As I mentioned - tourism is down!

Thank you for all the details. I will definitely email you, hopefully in the next week.

How lucky with only 6 on the tour!

[slidergirl]

Originally Posted by azevedan

You see the same stuff on the 3-night as you do the 4-night, it's just compressed within fewer days. Part of this is undoubtedly the river; I imagine it's slower going against the current - Luxor to Aswan, 4 nights, upriver vs. Aswan to Luxor, 3 nights, downriver. We didn't feel rushed. Well, I would've spent more time in the Valley of the Kings. Your ticket gets you 3 tombs, plus we got a couple of special ones on extra tickets. It's the kind of place I would've spent a full day at though, if we were on our own!



It did not.



I definitely wanted Jordan. I *loved* Petra, and Jerash (vast Roman ruins that I didn't even know about until I read a guidebook before we went) was very nice. There were a couple of other stops that were interesting and might be even more so if you're religious (Mt Nebo, where Moses overlooked the promised land, and the River Jordan spot where Christ was baptized). A very old mosaic map of the area on the floor of a church. We spent a night at a resort by the Dead Sea, which was very posh. Truth be told, though, I would've rather gone to Wadi Rum and camped that night!



The Tour Directors are only there to do the arrangements for you - meet you at the airports (INSIDE security - that's pull! All the other tours met outside). Get you into the van; check you into the hotel. Deal with your luggage at the airport. Oh, heavens....boy did all that spoil me! I travel a lot on my own for business; it would be wonderful to have someone like that dealing with all the crap! They do not stay with you at other times. The guides handle things on the excursions - all the tickets, etc. Our guide in Egypt was Dina Omar - she was wonderful. Lots of insight into the current situation. She got us the tickets to go inside the Great Pyramid, and made arrangements with one of the camel touts because we all wanted to do a camel ride at the pyramids. Dealt with one of the souvenir sellers so that we wouldn't attract a crowd if we wanted something. Best of Egypt IMO are the temples at Karnak and Abu Simbel.

We also are still working, and our travel is constrained by my husband's vacation time (less so by mine). We wanted a trip that hit the highlights, and did it in an efficient manner.

If you email me at azevedan(at)yahoo(dot)com, I can send you our writeup about the trip and also links to my pictures, if you're interested.

My Egypt/Jordan trip in 2009 was through AdventureWomen. AW had contracted out A&K to provide the hard product. It was absolutely fantastic!! We were treated like royal princesses! A&K had the "Tour Directors" like described above. Our Egyptologist traveled with us for the entire Egypt portion of the trip. She was amazing. Since we were a group of women, she was particularly keen to provide insight on the role of women in Egypt throughout history. One day on the boat (the Nile Adventurer - a small boutique boat), on our request, she met with those of us who were interested in discussing current politics and how women were involved. In Jordan, we had the "Tour directors" again to get us through C&I in both directions. Our Jordan expert again traveled with us the entire trip. He was excellent, providing us again with insight on the role of women in the country. I loved Jeresh and all the ruins. Petra was the main reason I really wanted this trip and it did not disappoint. Mt. Nebo did have some special meaning for me and I did enjoy visiting. The church with the mosaic is in Madaba. It's a small Greek Orthodox church, but the mosaic map is still extremely colorful and amazingly accurate for the time. We did the jeep thing through Wadi Rum and stopped at one of the tourist camps for lunch. It would have been so cool to have spent the night - I could only imagine what it was like to be out in the middle of the desert!!!

A & K provided a very polished product. I'm not a tour person - I prefer to go it alone. But, for this trip, I chose the group trip. I didn't feel like I was led around by the nose in a typical tour group. It was intimate and educational. Now, there were only 16 of us, so I can only speak for my small group experience.

[azevedan]

Sounds like a great trip, slidergirl! Thanks for sharing.
I wonder if they changed the Wadi Rum part in the past few years, or did you guys (girls ) request that specifically?

[Paul S]

We've just returned home form our cruise, which included a per-cruise overnight in Cairo.

We booked a guide for private evening tour which included the pyramids, a walk around downtown including Tahrir Square, a meal in a restaurant for locals, and a visit to an outdoor cafe where our guide introduced us to some of her friends.

We had no problems (apart from an upset stomach which was probably caught in the hotel as several others suffered likewise) and saw no signs of trouble. At all times we felt safe and in our comfort zone.

The guide and also her friends explained that life is carrying on as normal for the most part, and that if there is trouble it happens in certain locations only which they generally avoid - I suspect that's the same for most cities in most countries!

Paul S

[gloria_edwin]

No I dont advice you to avoid Egypt, I was there I had very good time and felt very safe

Originally Posted by Jade13

Azamara has canceled Egypt on us 4 times (including 2011 - twice, 2012, and 2013). I had thought it was a RCCL decision. I just found out a couple of days ago that Celebrity is still scheduled to call on Egypt this year. I am surprised.

Note that HAL has not been canceling it's Egypt ports, but RCCL/Celebrity/Azamara has in the past year.

[Mysticks1]

Originally Posted by Jade13

I am having trouble finding the right itinerary. I don't trust Celebrity and feel they could pull the ports last minute. HAL would be a possibility but all of the other ports are repeats (No Luxor and/or Jordan on a 10-15 night cruise). So, still looking for the right opportunity, ideally in the beginning of 2013. I will take any suggestions.

I don't know what ports you are looking for but we are booked on the Norwegian Jade for 4/6/13 - 11 night Med and Holy Land Cruise out of Civitivecchia. It might be an option for you.

It goes to :

• Alanya ,Turkey
• Limassol, Cyprus
• Haifa, Israel
• Ashdod, Israel
• Port Said, Egypt
• Alexandria, Egypt

It has two sea days on the front and back.

[Fblack]

Hopefully the new elections may bring some stability to the area.

New York Times: 5/23/2012:Security Plays Big Role Before Egypt Vote

" CAIRO — Parts of the ring road encircling the capital are dangerous no-man’s lands, unsafe to drive on, by day or night. Kidnappings and bank robberies are common around the city. And women report sexual assaults by taxi drivers, even in broad daylight....On the eve of the vote to choose Egypt’s first president since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, this pervasive lawlessness is the biggest change in daily life since the revolution... Across the country, carjackers have grown so bold that they steal their victims’ cellphones and tell them to call to negotiate the return of the cars. ...Amani El Sharkawi, 25, an English teacher, recalled a cab ride that ended abruptly when her driver saw men with chains and weapons stopping cars on a deserted stretch ahead;..."

and

5/22/1012: Security Plays Big Role Before Egypt Vote

"...Angst over the abiding lack of security, and its impact on Egypt's withering economy, has pushed its way to the foreground of Egypt's callow political dialogue....The uptick in crime that followed the abrupt withdrawal of Egypt's often brutal police forces during a revolution early last year has shattered the feeling of safety many Egyptians took for granted. ...But since the revolution, the media has treated Egyptians to horrifying scenes of brazen daytime bank robberies, violent protests, armed gunfights among rural clans and deadly sectarian violence. ..."The No. 1 issue is security. There's general chaos," said Ibrahim Al Ruby, a soccer coach...he was robbed at gunpoint while traveling with his team on a highway outside Cairo three months ago. "

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

[icat2000]

Originally Posted by Mysticks1

I don't know what ports you are looking for but we are booked on the Norwegian Jade for 4/6/13 - 11 night Med and Holy Land Cruise out of Civitivecchia. It might be an option for you.

It goes to :

• Alanya ,Turkey
• Limassol, Cyprus
• Haifa, Israel
• Ashdod, Israel
• Port Said, Egypt
• Alexandria, Egypt

It has two sea days on the front and back.

This is the same cruise that I am taking except I'm going on the 16 November 2013. Looking forward to going back to Egypt. It be my third visit.

[vakamalua]

I certainly agree that cruise lines often alter their itineraries and have to do so enough ahead of time to make alternate arrangements. That has become frustrating for cruisers wishing to see the few ports in the mid-east that are reachable by cruise ship, especially if that is your primary reason for choosing the itinerary.

That is one reason that I heartily suggest you choose a land tour if want to really experinece Egypt, Jordan to other parts of the mid-east. In addition, the long distances that a cruise excursion has to travel and the brief time you have, for example, in Cairo or Petra is merely a small taste of those countries wonders and, I imagine, ends up being quite frustrating. Also, you are at the mercy of the ship's excursion subcontractors.

We did A&K's Jordan & Egypt tour in April and felt the time devoted to these two countries and our experiences were invaluable and that we never would have had on a cruise's brief excursions. In Jordan--Jerash, Mt. Nebo, Bethany, floating in the Dead Sea, as well as two nights in Petra; in Egypt--in addition to the Egyptian Museum and the pyramids, Islamic Cairo and the souk, then a trip to Abu Simbel (NOT to be missed!), and three days on the Nile including Aswan, Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu and in Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and the Temples of Karnak and Luxor. All of this with guides who are at the top of their fields.

We never felt unsafe anywhere; in fact the local people were lovely and happy to talk to us about their lives and the political situation there. Our Egyptian guide was able to teach us the modern political history and sort out the current situation. A&K has full time, permanent employees on the ground and relationships with hotels which means they have instant access to information and can easily deal with any problems or a quick itinerary change.

There are places that we feel a ship's excursion is adequate to 'see' the sights; however, Egypt is definitely NOT one of them. Do yourself a favor and really experience this country. Book a land tour for the fall or winter (too hot til then anyway) and trust that the political situation will not cause any problems for tourists, no one in Egypt wants that.

[azevedan]

We were on the same tour in March, and I heartily echo everything vakamalua says.
Also, when debating whether to travel, consider, when reading news reports, what comes out of any large U.S. city.

[icat2000]

I agree that land tour is the way to see Egypt. I spent seven weeks in 2005 in Egypt and covered most of the country. I went back over Christmas and spent another three on land tour seeing Egypt and Jordan.

One of the main reasons why I booked this cruise because is it goes to Israel. The only country I didn't cover in my three months travelling in the Middle East and North Africa. I went everywhere else like Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by Mysticks1

I don't know what ports you are looking for but we are booked on the Norwegian Jade for 4/6/13 - 11 night Med and Holy Land Cruise out of Civitivecchia. It might be an option for you.


It goes to :

• Alanya ,Turkey
• Limassol, Cyprus
• Haifa, Israel
• Ashdod, Israel
• Port Said, Egypt
• Alexandria, Egypt

It has two sea days on the front and back.

We travel on HAL, Celebrity, and Azamara as far as cruise ships (have also been on a ship with A&K, and also Silversea).

The issue is that we were just in Israel, Cyprus, and Turkey, so looking to make sure we get to Egypt.