Egypt & Israel

Welcome home to those on the 7/19 Rivieria cruise. I am booked on the Marina on 9/24 with same itinerary. What were the conditions in Egypt? Were you on Oceania or private tours? Did you feel safe?

We are booked with private tour guides in Israel. Did you feel safe in Israel? And what, if any, additional precautions were taken. My darling wife is very concerned and very nervous about taking the cruise. Any information would be useful. Thanks.

Back from Riviera's cruise.

Egypt & Israel safe, but HOT.

Most chose O's excursions, more buses than the Port Authority Bus Term in NYC. Alexandria & Port Said excursions went with convoys. Very full days for all. By the time we left those who opted for all day excursions were very tired but happy.

We took a private tour of Alexandria with Ramses and were quite pleased. In Ashdod just took local shuttle bus for some shopping. In Haifa took free bus around town which stopped for photo at Bahia gardens and was a guided tour. We also had a private tour to Acre and points north.

Just hope conditions continue for your voyage.

Welcome home to those on the 7/19 Rivieria cruise. I am booked on the Marina on 9/24 with same itinerary. What were the conditions in Egypt? Were you on Oceania or private tours? Did you feel safe?

We are booked with private tour guides in Israel. Did you feel safe in Israel? And what, if any, additional precautions were taken. My darling wife is very concerned and very nervous about taking the cruise. Any information would be useful. Thanks.

Also just got back. We felt safe in both Israel and Egypt, although the vendors in Egypt are VERY aggressive. In Egypt, just about everyone on the ship did Oceania tours. Port Said (Cairo) set the record for longest shore excursion we were ever on (left around 7 and did not get back till close til 8). Brace yourself for a very long day.

Anyway, in regards to Egypt, it is a big DUMP, especially Alexandria. Alexandria and Cairo are basically used as two big trash cans. You can not walk more than a block without seeing a huge pile of trash on the streets. As for as eating, only eat cooked foods. DO NOT eat anything that is not cooked, like vegetables or fruit. Also, I am sure you know this, but do not drink the tap water in Cairo. IMO, the only thing worth seeing in Egypt are the pyramids -- they are AMAZING. The only thing that dampened the experience at the pyramids were the vendors. You hardly have any time to take a picture before one of them comes up to you offering a camel ride or selling souvenir books. Like I alluded to earlier, some can be extremely aggressive and make you uncomfortable. Some will follow you around for a few minutes (they will eventually go away if you ignore them long enough) and put books right in your face. One hit me hard in the face with a book and it took every ounce of restraint in me to not smack him. You will know what I am talking about once you get there.

As for as Israel, the county is amazing. The big mistake we made is taking only one private tour of the three days in Israel. The other two were with Oceania. The private tour was to the Golan Heights (it was a Saturday so were limited on options because of the Sabbath). It was great -- drove all over the Golan Heights and saw four countries in one day. Our driver knew a place to cross the border in to Syria. We have a nice picture of our family with half of us in Syria and half in Israel. Also, drove along the borders of Jordan and Lebanon. The scenery ascending up the Golan heights is magnificent. There was a great look out point we stopped at where we saw the whole Sea of Galilee. You really see a whole lot more and go to places the cruise tours can not go on a private tour.

The other two days we went to the Dead Sea and Massada and Jerusalem. The Sunday in Jerusalem we went to Yad Vashem (one of my most favorite parts of the trip). You can easily spend a week in there and still not take in everything. Quite an amazing place. The other half of the day we went to the Western Wall and Jewish quarter. Unfortunately, as we were about to enter the Zion Gate, Mitt Romney showed up at the exact same time (he was In Jerusalem that day). His presence at the wall dampened and shortened are experience of really enjoying the wall because of the security, photographers, and crowds, but what can you do? I guess we will have to make another trip in the near future. This is where we really messed up and should of done a private tour. We felt rushed through Yad Vashem and the Jewish quarter and did not get nearly as much time as we would of liked.

This was our first time in Israel and even if we did all private tours, three days is not nearly enough time to see everything. We tried to pack in as much as we could, but it is just impossible to see everything. We really wanted to see Tel Aviv but did not have the time to include it. Next time, we will do a land trip Israel.

Anyway, have a great trip, and if you have any additional questions about the ports/boat feel free to PM me.

Andy

IMO, the only thing worth seeing in Egypt are the pyramids -- they are AMAZING.

 

Andy

I think there are many that would argue with this sweeping statement.

IMO, Luxor, with its temples and tombs, is even more amazing than the pyramids - try to see them next time :)

I think there are many that would argue with this sweeping statement.

IMO, Luxor, with its temples and tombs, is even more amazing than the pyramids - try to see them next time :)

Sorry, what I meant was Alexandria and Cairo, not Egypt. On a cruise though, it was not possible to see Luxor. As you know, too far away, so I wouldn't know. Heck, Cairo was 3 hours away from the port. Some might also argue the Cairo Museum is worth seeing. Other than that, I do not know what is worth seeing in Alexandria or Cairo. A lot of people on our cruise we very upset we even stopped in Alexandria because it was such a dump and because of the lack of sights.

We did Luxor and the temples and tombs last year with another cruise line and overnighted in Luxor with a wonderful room on the Nile. Yes, it was a long coach ride - about 3 hours from the port of Haifa, but worth it. We did not get to Cairo so still have the Pyramids on and museum on our list. But they are doable from the ship. We did the overnight to a v oid the same journey twice and have more time to spend. Concur with the aggressive of the vendors and children. Our guide was good about talking to the children and telling them they should be in school. He asked us to please not buy from them as it encourages them to not go to school, which is where they should be.

As my DH posted (sitraveler) we had a full day tour in Alexandria for 10 people. It was wonderful. The new Library is amazing as is the Palace of Farouk and Pompey's Pillar. But for us, the highlight of the tour was the Catacombs. I can't even begin to describe it, but after descending a well-like structure, we emerged into huge underground burial chambers with fabulous frescoes and carvings - really up close and personal. (No photos allowed) :mad: Lunch at a terrific sea food restaurant was included in the price. We got back to the ship at about 5 p.m. There was only one short stop for shopping at a store - but only because one of the group asked for it. I would highly recommend this tour.

In Port Said we did not tour because we had done a land tour of Egypt previously. We walked to the free ferry across the canal, took some photos then came right back and returned to the ship. You have to run the gamut of vendors set up on the pier but if you don't make eye contact and keep walking it's not too bad.

As DH said, our tour from Haifa was also wonderful -- Zipporis, Acre and Rosh Hanikra (on the Lebanese border). You descend by cable car and walk through caverns with the waves of the sea crashing all around you!

If you want details of either tour, check out the July 19th Roll Call - you'll see posts describing the private tours people arranged.

Enjoy!

I suppose Italy should also be ruled out as a country to visit because there is trash on the streets of Naples. And forget India. Who could be bothered to seek out the majesty of its culture and architecture when there is garbage everywhere? I know of only two places where certain travelers will be happy....Orlando and Anaheim!

I suppose Italy should also be ruled out as a country to visit because there is trash on the streets of Naples. And forget India. Who could be bothered to seek out the majesty of its culture and architecture when there is garbage everywhere? I know of only two places where certain travelers will be happy....Orlando and Anaheim!

You obviously have not been to Egypt, so you have no idea what I am talking about. To compare Naples to Alexandria or Cairo in terms of cleanliness of the city would be an insult to Naples -- and that is saying something. India I can not speak of because I have not been there. As far as the place I have traveled -- and there have been a lot -- Egypt, specifically Alexandria and Cairo, rank at the top in terms of the most dirtiest and unsanitary cities that I have ever been, and it isn't even close.

Also, did I ever say not to visit Egypt? I was just giving my opinion and a majority of the people on the cruise would agree with me by far.

Yes, Cairo is a huge, sprawling city with many overwhelmingly-poor areas. But there are still amazing sites more than worth a visit.

I didn't let the less-than-spotless aspects of Cairo temper my enjoyment of the pyramids, the souk, the mosques, and the Egyptian museum. All were wonderful. And the temples in Upper Egypt (Abu Simbel, Philae, Luxor, Karnak) and cruising along the Nile in that part of the country were all simply incredible.

You see what you look for, I guess.

We we're on the alexandria tour with Loum140 and agree what a fantastic experience it was. We did not take the Cairo excursions as we had already been there- as we have to India and many other developing countries. We toured a bit around Port Said with a taxi and a buggy and found the sights and people to be interesting and welcoming. The people we spoke to thought Cairo was an amazing experience. We are very fortunate to have traveled most of the world and do find that there are places we would not return to, but that does not lessen our enthusiasm for travel. We were in China in the 80s and returned 20 years later to find a vast difference. I believe that you that felt Egypt was a dump were not happy about Oceania. We do prefer the smaller R ships but O is a great product. Our biggest complaints are the unruly children which we did experience in the July 19 th cruise and lack of respect to the rather lenient dress code. Ps. There are places in the US that I would avoid but the enrichment we get from travel far surpasses the small hardship we encounter.

AEGBRG,

I have been to Egypt three times, spent quite a while in Cairo, once in the middle of the worst sand storm they had experienced in 2 years. Yes, it's dirty but I choose to look past that and concentrate on the history, the people and the culture.

Also on the July 19 cruise.... Six of us did a private tour to Cairo with Ramses Tours...roomy van , with guide and driver....did the museum first, then an add on of a 30 minute felucca (native sailboat) ride on the Nile ....a highlight of the day!!! We elected to get box lunches and ate them on the van on the way to the pyramids area(no down time that way in the restaurant). Got back in plenty of time and got many personal insights from the guide about life in Egypt today ....

One great excursion from Alexandria is El Alamein...having done an extensive land trip to Egypt...we found ourselves wanting to do something different. Very interesting, if you are interested in WWI events.

But the unstable nature of the politics and unrest would keep me away. I also have no desire to visit Syria, Bagdad, Yemen, Pakistan or Afganistan. Somalia.

Proably some wonderful things, there, but the times they are a changing.

But the unstable nature of the politics and unrest would keep me away. I also have no desire to visit Syria, Bagdad, Yemen, Pakistan or Afganistan. Somalia.

Proably some wonderful things, there, but the times they are a changing.

How do you feel about Libya? :D

We were fortunate enough to visit some of those places before things "went wrong" - just have to do the things you want to do before you cannot anymore.

We had a cruise with a Libya itinerary for 2011 - needless to say we cancelled that.

Royalco, we just returned from Lands of Time. Our experiences in Egypt and Israel had quite an impact on us. They were both among the most amazing places we had ever visited due to the sights, the history and the people.

In Egypt we did Oceania excursions. In Alexandria we visited the Roman ruins. In Port Said we went to Giza, Memphis and Saqqara. Practically speaking, Egypt is very chaotic and you must keep your eyes and ears open while there. Even something as simple as getting off the bus can be tricky. Sometimes we were parked in precarious spots and you have to remain alert to traffic (which can be anything from cars to donkeys to buses to scooters). You should be fine as long as you listen to your guide and pay attention to your surroundings. We found that our guides gave us solid advice as to how to handle each situation we encountered. They were also very open about talking about living and working in Egypt and discussing the political climate.

As far as the aggressive salesmen at all of the sights in Egypt, our guide was very clear in what they will attempt to do. Her best advice was to ignore them and not engage in any conversation. Even saying, “No. Thank you,” will get them started and it’s hard to get them to stop following you in order to sell you something. Again, just be alert and hang onto your camera. If they offer to take a picture for you, just know they will ask you for money. The guide’s point was that you have limited time to view the sights, so don’t get deterred.

The first few minutes on the bus were an eye-opener, but once we started to look beyond the traffic and the conditions, we really started to see the people. They are warm, friendly and proud. They were so excited to see the tour buses, enthusiastic smiles and waves were everywhere. And the sights were unbelievable. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have seen these things that up until now, we had only read about.

In Israel, we had a private guide. We visited Masada and the Dead Sea from Ashdod and then Jerusalem on our first day out of Haifa, and Galilee on our second day out of Haifa. We saw many groups from the ship’s tours as we visited. So as far as sights go, you can have an equally good experience whether you go with a ship tour or private tour. What we liked about the private tour was that it allowed us the opportunity to have conversations with our guide that covered every topic. We really learned a lot from her and enjoyed her storytelling as well. By seeing all three of these regions, we felt like we had a very well-rounded introduction to Israel. We experienced no safety concerns while in Israel.

One more practical bit of advice, think about what you are going to wear. We had thought about wearing clothes that were light, but we hadn’t considered how dusty you will get. Personally, I would avoid whites and very light colors. You want materials that you can wash easily. Some people wore micro fiber wicking shirts that were a very good idea. Of course, have a hat that will cover your neck as well. Comfortable and sturdy sneakers or hiking shoes (with a non-slip sole) were good to have. In Israel, check with your guide about how to dress for each day. There are times that shoulders and knees need to be covered. Surprisingly, Galilee was more conservative than Jerusalem.

Something that we found interesting was the fact that we were on a ship full of people that engaged in a range of similar travel experiences over the course of those five days. Everyone had a story; each person had a meaningful experience, different things stood out for different people. It was very nice to have shared these two countries with others and to swap stories. For us, it was a part of the overall learning experience.

You and your wife are doing the right thing in researching and learning about the areas that you will be visiting before you go. If you have reasonable expectations, you will be able to enjoy your time in Egypt and Israel. Safe travels!

In anticipation of a few days in Israel in November, I am looking for a good private guide for my first visit to that country. AEGBRG and jagger16, it sounds as though you had excellent guides in Israel. Would you mind sharing their names and contact info? You can email me privately at sukey2 (at) gmail (dot) com

Also, regarding Egypt, we’ll be docking at Safaga. I’ve been to Luxor twice before and don’t care to make that trip again. I've also done a ship's tour to the Bedouin camp near Hurghada. Are there any other suggestions for something cultural to do nearer the port?

-Sukey-

In anticipation of a few days in Israel in November, I am looking for a good private guide for my first visit to that country. AEGBRG and jagger16, it sounds as though you had excellent guides in Israel. Would you mind sharing their names and contact info? You can email me privately at sukey2 (at) gmail (dot) com

 

Also, regarding Egypt, we’ll be docking at Safaga. I’ve been to Luxor twice before and don’t care to make that trip again. I've also done a ship's tour to the Bedouin camp near Hurghada. Are there any other suggestions for something cultural to do nearer the port?

 

-Sukey-

Sure, his name is Moti Bar Tuv and his website is http://en.travel-israel.info/. His e-mail is moti@travel-israel.info. If you have any further questions about Israel, do not hesitate to ask.

Andy

Thanks, Andy. I'll pursue this lead.

-Sukey-

I would reccommend Gideon Shor---he is GREAT!!

He is Perry Stones personal guide and also Robert Kraft of the Patriots!!

his email is gshor@netvision.net.il

frank

I would reccommend Gideon Shor---he is GREAT!!

He is Perry Stones personal guide and also Robert Kraft of the Patriots!!

 

his email is gshor@netvision.net.il

 

frank

Does he charge "Robert Kraft" prices? :D

Seasoned, our guide's name was Nurit Greenberg. Her e-mail is nuritgre@gmail.com. We would highly recommend her and would use her again if we ever returned to Israel.

Thank you, everyone, for the guide recommendations.

jagger16, I also appreciate your notes on what to wear. I had to toss out a new pair of white socks after my first trip to Jordan. The red sand in Wadi Rum did them in—even straight Clorox didn't help.

Thank you, everyone, for the guide recommendations.

 

jagger16, I also appreciate your notes on what to wear. I had to toss out a new pair of white socks after my first trip to Jordan. The red sand in Wadi Rum did them in—even straight Clorox didn't help.

Well, thank you for the tip as well! We hope to make it to Jordan someday. Too bad I didn't pick up on how to dress for the dust in any of the guide books.