Jetstreamer

Does anyone have an update on when May 2025 itineraries for Japan will be released? Current sales go up until April '25 and are mostly sold out. Princess May '25 itineraries are on sale and getting increasingly tempted to book them if Celebrity don't show their hand soon for risk of them selling out. Japan is in high demand it seems!

When we had 2 Israel ports replaced by stops in Greece a few weeks ago everyone got $200 per stateroom (first 2 guests) non refundable OBC to compensate and a refundable $50 pp tax rebate. Just mentioning as a data point.

Just back from a cruise with 3 Turkish ports and don't get why people have any issues. Felt as safe as anywhere I've been. Istanbul was beautiful and no issues walking around day or night with my 2 year old. Unless things change, cruise lines are not going to be cancelling Turkish stops next year. In fact I predict the opposite as it makes a good alternative to other more volatile locations like Israel which may need to be cancelled depending on the situation.

Did Southampton to Norway earlier this year and no passport checks. The first port (Bergen) we were off the ship 30 minutes after docking and bang on the scheduled disembarkation time. Just walked off into the sunshine (yes it was sunny!) Didn't take passports ashore so nobody looked at them. Had passports in our safe so no behind the scenes checks either. Only time passport was required was at check in.

Hi all. I just wanted to share my experience of Ramasside tours (same as Ramses tours) based on my recent experience on the 1st November Norwegian Gem cruise. First thing to mention is do check you are indeed booked on a private tour if that is what you booked. I booked a private tour many months ago but as I started asking questions closer to the date the responses I got back made me think we were on a shared tour. When I asked the direct question this was confirmed. I shouldn't have accepted this but as we subsequently had to make changes to our numbers and I didn't even think we would get to Egypt, I let it go. One important point to note: In Alexandria RAMASSIDE DO NOT PICK UP INSIDE THE PORT. They advertise themselves as being the only independent tour company who are allowed to pick up inside the port. This is simply not true. Less than 48 hours before the tour I got an email saying that Alexandria port had introduced a $200 charge for pickups inside the port gate so pick up would be outside the port gate, next to the mosque over the road. This was an easy 10 minute walk but there were many other independent tour companies picking up inside the port. In fact it seemed pretty much all of them did except Ramasside!! I recommend people reconfirm the pick up point in advance. We got there at the requested time but we had to wait 30 minutes for others to show as they didn't get the email. Not their fault. Guide was waiting outside port gate with sign. No police escort like official ship tours got (not sure if other tour companies who picked up inside the port got this or not). Didn't feel this was necessary anyway and generally felt safe, except for one incident I will mention later. Vehicle was ok but some seatbelts didn't work. I'll make allowances for Egyptian driving standards being low anyway, but still the driving of our driver was dangerous, especially on the way back in the dark once the guide left the group in Cairo so he could get home earlier. Constantly one hand on mobile phone, one on the wheel. When brake light of car in front came on he would accelerate. That kind of thing. We felt it was more luck than anything else that we didn't end up in an accident. Tour itself was rushed, mainly so others on the tour would have time for quad biking at the end. The 30 minute delay at the start didn't help either. Tour guide was good but he kept taking pictures with himself in with our phones then was insistent we WhatsApped them to him. That was just strange. We did tick off the pyramids, Memphis and Sakkara as advertised though. Just very quickly. Where the day really turned sour was when the others in the group did the quad biking. This takes place in the kind of place I would not want to be roaming alone in the day, let alone at night. Three of our group (we made up six of the 10 on the tour) decided to do the biking to pass the time and three stayed behind. Those that stayed behind (2 ladies and a child) were simply left in the van alone without AC for one hour in the dark (was 6pm by this point). I repeat this was not a pleasant area - saw a dead horse on the street and a random camel leg! Tour guide said he would stay with them but neither he nor the driver did. We arrived back at the ship at 9:30pm. Advertised return time was 7pm. Fortunately the Gem was overnighting in Alexandria so no big issue. Those who are genuinely on a private tour will probably have a better experience but hopefully this will be of interest to those with upcoming Ramasside tours in Alexandria. Would definitely be looking at other independent tour companies if I came back to Egypt.

I agree although we won't be suing anyone! She will no show, still get taxes back and other passenger won't have to pay anything. If insurance have an issue I have in writing that every effort was made to cancel in the right way. I'm sure the insurance wouldn't want to pay out an additional £1200 by agreeing to NCLs nonsense.

Yes, I clarified that very point. Argument along the lines that one passenger cancels so they lose their fare (except taxes). Remaining passenger now has to pay the current single passenger fare with £1200 being the difference between that fare and what remaining passenger has already paid. Remaining passenger cannot use balance of cancelled passenger - that money is lost. It is robbery, particularly as now she will just no show and probably cause a bit more admin for NCL.

That is essentially what the TA said. Can still get taxes back if no show but worried insurance company will have some sort of issue with this.

Well as per the TA, NCL want £1200 more to cancel one person and have single occupancy in the room (to take it up to the full double occupancy fare apparently). I asked them to check again and not to do anything if they insist on this nonsense.

The doctors have said she definitely can't travel now so I'll get in touch with the TA today and report back. Someone else from our party will also not travel as a result. They are in a different room unfortunately so there will now be two 2 bedroom suites with only one person in each! Unfortunately as we are inside 7 days it will be too late to switch others who are in standard balconies into those rooms.

Thanks for the responses. This is just a regular booking, not CAS. I'm sure I saw something once where NCL did charge extra when double occupancy became single occupancy on the basis that when a passenger cancels, the booking is treated like they never existed. Would be wholly unreasonable to me and hopefully not the case. Insurance do indeed require to formally cancel and they will pay any unrecoverable costs.

Looking for some advice please. Departing next week on the Gem and one of our group has ended up in hospital and almost certainly won't be able to travel for medical reasons. They are in a room with one other person who is still travelling. How should we play this with NCL? Obvious thing to do is call and tell them one person is not travelling. We might even have to do this for the insurance claim. But will NCL then charge the remaining person a single supplement or would they update the booking with no extra charge (then the insurance can take care of the cancelled passenger). I know NCL won't give any refund at this late stage but we don't want to end up paying them more money! If anyone has any experience of what to do here it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I respect that you want to be able to move to a different cruise. But anyone booking this itinerary (myself included) must have known what they are booking. History tells you Israel was always a potential missed port and to a lesser extent Egypt, which thankfully hasn't been cancelled, but still might be. My point is that if you originally booked to travel to Israel you must have been OK travelling into an area that carries a heightened risk. And I still say that Israel 3 weeks ago was riskier than the areas we are visiting in Egypt and Turkey now. Look at all the missile defences it has!!

100% agree.

If people avoid the areas around Israeli embassies then they won't encounter most of the incidents people here seem to want to highlight as "proof" that this cruise is not safe. The above incident was in Nicosia (nowhere near the coast). Thousands of tourists continue to fly into Cyprus every day as they do to Egypt and Turkey. Israel has never been truly safe yet the same people happy to go there 3 weeks ago now complain that other ports on the itinerary are too dangerous! Always exercise caution when travelling. That advice never changes. Most of all look for the positives and have a great cruise.