fred111

OK.  Here goes. 

We arrived in Cairo on the 18th (one day after the cruise officially started) since we were on a tour of Israel and Jordan.  We were met at the airport as soon as we got off the plane by a representative who took us through the passport and customs lines and straight to the van.  We arrived at the Four Seasons about 10:30 at night and went to our rooms since we had an 2:30 wakeup call for an early flight to Luxor.  

That morning, our Egyptologist, Ossama, met us and briefed us on the tour.  We travel a lot and have had many tour guides, but, without a doubt, Ossama was the best ever.  Knowledgeable, personable, and professional; he went out of his way to help everyone enjoy the trip.

The flight to Luxor was uneventful but the Egyptian airports have some rules which are "different".  First, you must put everything through a scanner before entering the terminal building.  Then seating for the flight is given as you check in.  Then you go through security again and board in do discernable order.  The planes are well maintained and the flight attendants are very good.

Arriving in Luxor we went to our buses.  There were two groups of about 25 each.  The buses were large, comfortable, and had plenty of leg room.  

First stop was the Temple at Karnak.  I won't describe each temple/site since the information is online.  Ossama did a great job explaining the Temple and its background.

Sorry I haven't been able to write day by day.  Uniworld conducts the most amazing tour in Egypt.  Totally super!!!!  Our tour guide, Ossama, was the absolute professional.  The ship and her staff were top notch.  We leave Egypt at 3:15 tomorrow morning so I will write when we get home.

I must say that the agent Uniworld uses in Egypt is outstanding.  We are arriving a day late for our tour so I have been in contact with them for a couple of months to insure that we are met at the airport and all the optional tours are taken care of.  They answer emails quickly and professionally.  Looking forward to meeting them in a couple of days.

Jerash was unbelievable.  Better than Ephesus.  Petra today and tomorrow.  Packing now.

We have been in Israel the last 10 days or so.  Just got to Jordan yesterday.  Heading to Jerash today and Petra tomorrow.  Leaving for Egypt and our Uniworld cruise on Sunday.  We are having a great time.  We got to see everything that we wanted to and are looking forward to our bucket list item -- Petra.  I will try to post as we are on our Uniworld cruise but not promising anything.  

Don't hesitate to visit Israel and Jordan either before or after a Nile cruise.  It is well worth the experience.

If a persons luggage was lost enroute would they refuse to feed a passenger because they didn't have a jacket?  

We leave tomorrow for a two week Tauck tour of Israel and Jordan.  After that, we fly to Cairo to join the Uniworld Egypt tour.  I will post a review when we get back home.  I will also TRY to post throughout the trip but good intentions often go awry.  

We are on this trip in November and looking forward to hearing also.

My wife and I were on this cruise and really liked it. Staff and ship were great. Absolutely no complaints and never heard any from other passengers. If we didn't have so many other places we want to see I would not hesitate to take this trip again.

We are going on this cruise this Nov. A private dock is not important to us. The quality of service provided by Uniworld is our number one consideration.

I should have mentioned previously, all our meals in the MDR were top notch, as was the service. No complaints there at all.

We were on the May 20 cruise also. QSine was outstanding. Food and service were both great. Tuscan Grill was hit or miss. Server and sommelier were super. Dinner - not so much. There were six in our party and two received poorly cooked pasta. One was so raw it was crunchy. The other was so over cooked it was mush. It is time for the ship's executive chef to inspect the Tuscan Grill's kitchen standards.

On the Uniworld River Tosca Nov 2018. I reviewed all options and the Uniworld cruise came out on top.

Just off the Summit. No bad water taste or smell. Great ship and super crew.

Just got off the Summit yesterday. Great ship and a great crew. Food was outstanding also. The Summit is as good as it gets.

I just left New Orleans yesterday (vacation) and toured St Louis Cemetery One. It would be extremely hard to see in a wheel chair. Gravel walkways in some places, narrow pathways, etc.

I highly recommend the WWII museum and the movie - well worth the visit. A trip down Royal Street would be interesting with a side stop at Jackson Square would be doable. I would stay clear of Bourbon Street (parallel to Royal). It is a mad house. There are also a couple of paddle wheel boats that give a good overview of the area during a two hour cruise. One even stops at the battlefield where US forces beat the British during the war of 1812.

If you want to eat lunch in town, I recommend the Court of the Two Sisters. Have fun. New Orleans is an interesting city.

There are plenty of things listed there I would appreciate - paperless, WhatsApp connectivity, widely available (i hope) wifi, interesting excursions, sharing of the social media wall...and I'm cautiously optimistic about the dining concept.

Four of us are on the same Egypt Cruise. We are coming from an Israel and Jordan tour and will be arriving in Cairo a day after the Egypt tour starts (the evening before flying to Luxor). This will be our 12th Uniworld cruise and we are looking forward to returning to Egypt and seeing the upper Nile.

Thanks a for the great review. We are on this cruise in November.

On this cruise in November. Thanks for all the good information. Please keep it coming.

We were on the Solstice a couple of weeks ago. I agree with going to Waiheke Island if you have the time in Auckland. We went to Batch Vineyard and it was well worth the trip.

On the Solstice right now. No Noro problems and one of the best cruises we have ever taken. Great ship, great crew, super food.

Please keep the good information coming. We are on this cruise Nov 2018. Thanks.

We are also docking on Dec 21st and have a late flight. We booked a day tour with drop off at the airport with http://www.shoretripsandtours.com They are very helpful and will help you put together a list of things to see. I am very happy with their service.

Several years ago on a Med cruise, we took a ship's bus to Florence. It was sold as a round trip transit and "Florence on your own." Needless to say, the driver decided to stop at a leather store in route so people could use the bathroom.

It was supposed to be a ten minute stop.

One women decided she would be fitted for a leather jacket and would not leave until they did the fitting, arranged for delivery to the ship, and she had the opportunity to buy matching gloves, etc.

The driver didn't want to leave until she was done with her shopping. Guess he wanted his finder's fee. We told him the bus was leaving in five minutes with him driving or not. He dragged the shopper to the bus and we got to Florence 45 minutes late.

That is what encouraged us to take tours only with people we know.

Thanks for the information about the Egyptologist. Looking forward to in-depth explanations at all the sites.