Alexandria and port said

Hi just wondering if anyone whos been to Alexandria and port said can help .

because of the situation in egypt were holding off booking shore excursions .but wondering if we can just leave the ship when it docks to look around . is there anything to view close by ? will it be safe ? our first cruise so have no idea.

Alexandria is a beautiful city. I don't remember if there is anything in walking distance, but certainly a cab can take to to the sites. The new library is amazing.

I do not know if the city is safe with the recent problems. Most likely the ship will skip the port(s) if they are not safe

Thankyou for your reply Paul

There is not much to see in Port Said, unfortunately. If you do a search on that name you may find a few older posts where folks suggested a few things to do around the area (not necessarily walking distance from the ship), but they are second-rate, at best, compared with going into Cairo or to Giza to see the pyramids.

Other, more adventurous individuals might not agree but we wouldn't go anywhere in Egypt unaccompanied and we are veteran independent travellers. Port Said exists primarily because of the Suez Canal and there's not much to see there. Alexandria has a lot to offer and is a little more tourist-friendly but we would still recommend an organized tour. A couple we met on board decided to wander about on their own in Alexandria and while they were not accosted, they were stared at suspiciously and felt very uncomfortable because of that. Now it could be that they were wandering through a neighbourhood where tourists don't normally go but in our opinion, caution is the watchword in Egypt, especially in this time of unrest. All ships' tours in Egypt have armed escorts for a reason.

Hi !

I agree with everything that has been written so far on this thread ! To get some data about the location of the ship versus the closest point of interest which would be the Corniche , refer to the following link :

http://www.whatsinport.com/Alexandria.htm

thankyou for the replys . and good advice .

Don't even think about it

Don't even think about it

To be fair, the OP posed this question long before the current situation in Egypt. I think few would recommend walking around Alexandria or Port Said on one's own at this particular moment.

state dept. in usa just released a new travel warning asking all americans to leave Egypt, or not to go at all. so im sure cruise company's will start cancelling those ports very soon

thankyou for all the replies . due to the current situation all excursions to Egypt are no longer being booked through Thomson which is understandable . I dont even know if our cruise will be going to Egypt anylonger we sail in Nov . but when I asked as far as I was aware these ports were open for booking excursions since then things have changed . but thanks again .

Back in 2010 even before the recent crisis, it was not advisable for westerners to walk unaccompanied in many parts of Egypt. While taking a nile cruise we docked for the night in a small town of Esna near the lock. After dinner a couple decided to take a walk, they later found out they had made a huge mistake. They got swarmed by locals demanding money and they had to run back to the boat. Security on the boats gangway had warned before they left not to walk alone because they might get robbed!

I just hope that the wonderful sites of Egypt are not destroyed. So many sites around the world are lost forever due to civil wars. There is already reports of the ransacking of Malawi National Museum.

I'm just glad i have had two opportunties to see the wonders of Egypt. Same with Syria as that country lays in ruins now.

It is possible to walk out of the port at Alexandria and then work your way into the best part of town...but the area immediately around the port is not a particularly good neighborhood. DW and I spent 2 days walking around the city last November, but then we know our way around. As to cruises to Egypt, we would not hold our breath for any major cruise line calling at that country for the foreseeable future. The current unrest in Egypt is a very bad situation with millions of Egyptians on each side of the mess. It is imagine either side giving-in on their issues.

Hank

Not a good idea, the area around the port is pretty rough. The city is not for the faint hearted, it is pretty filthy, you will see dead dogs and other animals. It's not really safe for westerners. Take a tour to be safe.

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