coldell

Thanks to all contributors. I found this forum very informative. Have booked today on 2019 cruise also.

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Absolutely terrific report. Sooooooo glad you had a great time. This review will be so helpful for other 'solos'

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Hi there, Yes we were in the same situation and really loved the med as well but have now booked the baltics for next year and so looking forward to it. I have been reading the post cruise reviews from a recent cruise and they sound amazing. We're also from down under. Bite the bulletin.

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Thank you for the review of this cruise. So worthwhile as we will be taking this cruise in 12 months time. Did you use any tour companies in other Baltic capitals or have any recommendations.

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Yeah....really looking forward to it. How is this cruise going for you.

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We have also booked Norwegin Fjords in 2016 and we are so looking forward to recommendations re shore excursions.

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What do people do with their camera Equipment as it is not allowed inside the museum.

Our guide took the cameras to a secure dropoff area at the museum. No trouble at all collecting same on leaving. They were quite strict with people inside caught using phones to take pictures. They were escorted outside quickly.

In Egypt, we arranged a customized overnight tour for 4 couples with Ramses Tours (AKA Ramasside Private Tours). Our tour was a modification of their “Port Said Overnight I” (base price $250 pp). The customization included a visit to an additional pyramid site (Dahshur; $20 pp extra), the Solar Boat Museum at Giza ($10 pp extra), and a felluca ride ($15 pp extra, but complimentary for our group). Some of the group also added a 5-star dinner cruise on the Nile ($55 pp extra) and others took a 15-minute camel ride ($15 pp extra) at Giza. Payment was in cash (USD) at the end of the tour.

 

It was quite easy to make the arrangements by e-mail. Most of my correspondence was with Ahmed El Attar, Senior International Sales Executive. Mr. Ahmed responded promptly to all my questions and sent copious information about the tour. Nevertheless, several points of confusion arose during the tour. For example, our guide had not been informed that the felluca ride was to be complimentary for our group; a quick call to Mr. Ahmed straightened that out. Also, the dinner cruise (with Nile Crystal) was not the one that had been listed (Nile Maxim) in the itinerary, but Mr. Ahmed had good reasons for suggesting the substitution and was ready to change the reservation to the original venue if we wished.

 

None of the tour companies was allowed to pick up passengers inside the gates at Port Said. Our group walked down the quay to the port gates, where our guide (Karim Serry) was waiting for us with a sign. He got us into the nice Toyota van that had extra seats for the 8 of us to spread out and introduced us to our driver (Mohammed). Then our van moved into position for the security convoy to Cairo. Karim said we would be second in line for the first convoy, which would be the independent tour vans; the buses for the ship’s excursions would be in the second convoy. The first convoy was ready to leave at 7:30 a.m. and we were off on our Egyptian adventure!

 

It takes about 2-1/2 hours to reach Cairo. Factoring in the wait for the convoy to depart, this was too long for some of the group. Fortunately, Karim knew a gas station with relatively clean toilets that was about halfway to Cairo, so we left the convoy and stopped there. After the pit stop, there was no sign of either of the convoys. No problem though, we continued on to Cairo without incident. Along the way, Karim gave us a continuous commentary about Egypt’s history and the sights we would be seeing. He pointed out that Saturday is a holiday, while Sunday would be the first day of the work week; thus, the traffic in downtown Cairo would be somewhat lighter today. Also, we would be entering Cairo from the west side of the Nile, where the downtown attractions are, and the pyramid sites are on the east side (towards Alexandria) and away from downtown. For these reasons, Karim wisely suggested that we see the sites planned for the second day today and save the pyramid sites for tomorrow.

 

Karim also taught us the two most important words in Egyptian, “Laa, shukran” (No, thanks!), and advised us how to deal with all the vendors we would encounter. He also told us that the toilets at tourist locations were supposed to be free but that the attendants would be more or less aggressive about requesting/demanding “baksheesh” (tips). We found that this behavior ranged from simply jingling coins to remind us that a tip was expected to shoving towels at us with the exclamation “Money!” followed by loud complaints (in Egyptian) when we did not comply. John found the male attendants to be particularly demanding and he felt compelled to part with some small coins (0.10 euro) in order to escape.

 

Our first stop was at the Mohammed Ali Alabaster Mosque, which is inside the Citadel of Saladin. After the mosque, we drove to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. The museum is huge and deserves much more time than the 1-1/2 hours that we had to visit it; in retrospect, we should have asked to spend some of our free time there. Karim rented headsets so that none of us would have any difficulty hearing his explanations of the most significant exhibits. Later Karim suggested that we take a motorboat from the museum to the lunch restaurant instead of sailing on a felluca. The motorboats can travel further on the river because they can go under bridges that are too low for the fellucas; this also allowed us to bypass a lot of traffic.

 

After lunch we had some free time. The ladies caucused and decided to do some shopping now so that we would be able to devote all of the time tomorrow to seeing the pyramid sites. One couple was interested in buying some cartouche jewelry, so Karim took them to a jewelry store that was next to a papyrus shop (the Merit Center). He helped that couple place their order while the rest of us enjoyed a demonstration of papyrus-making and admired the various papyrus articles for sale. Following the papyrus store, we went to a perfume factory, where we were served hibiscus tea while learning about Egyptian perfumes.

 

After everyone had their fill of shopping, we set off for our hotel, Le Meridien Pyramids. This hotel was the same one being used by the Princess overnight shore excursions. It is in an excellent location, with fine views of the Giza pyramids. Karim helped us check in and called each couple after we had gone up to the rooms to make sure everything was in order. The room was very clean and had a large bathroom equipped with huge bath towels plus Egyptian cotton robes to use during our stay. The king bed was actually two twins pushed together with no bridge to fill the gap; however, it was comfortable for a one-night stay.

 

After about an hour to freshen up and relax, Karim collected three couples for the Nile dinner cruise and show aboard the Nile Crystal. The dinner cruise lasts two hours (8:00-10:00 p.m.) and features a buffet with salads, hot dishes, and desserts. The food was quite good, especially the vegetables stuffed with seasoned rice. The buffet line opened just as the boat started sailing and the first hour of entertainment was a duo performing Egyptian and international songs. After we finished eating, we went out on the open deck to enjoy the city lights and the other boats on the river, which were brightly illuminated. The second hour featured a belly dancer, a whirling dervish and some other traditional dances.

 

Upon our return to the hotel, the lobby was filled with singing and dancing people. This turned out to be a wedding celebration. We were only able to watch the festivities for a short time before exhaustion forced us to retire for the night. Needless to say, we slept very soundly.

 

The next morning, we were not hungry, so we skipped the included breakfast. Others in the group said the breakfast buffet was good and included the typical egg dishes, bacon/sausage, cereals, fruit and coffee/tea/juice. The plan was to meet in the lobby at 6:45 a.m. so we could be on our way by 7:00 a.m. and arrive at the Dahshur pyramid site by the time it opened at 8:00 a.m. We would then work our way back north to Memphis and Saqqara, have lunch, visit the Giza pyramids and then head to Alexandria for brief tour (photo ops at the new library and waterfront) where we would reboard the Pacific Princess with plenty of time to spare.

 

Before visiting the Giza Pyramids, Karim gave us very explicit instructions about how to behave during our visit. He emphasized that absolutely NOTHING is free at the site and that we should not touch anything, let anyone touch us, give anyone our camera to take pictures of us or even allow ourselves be drawn into a conversation. Although it is difficult and unpleasant to have to charge ahead, ignoring people and constantly saying, “Laa, shukran!” over and over, this is the only way to survive Giza with your wallet intact. The fact that tourism is down in Egypt made each of us even more of a target.

 

Thanks to Karim’s excellent guide service and Mohammed’s excellent driving, we had a fantastic two days in Egypt. We highly recommend Ramses Tours for your shore excursions in Egypt.

Many thanks for a terrific review Carolyn. We are taking this tour in October and really appreciated you taking the time to write this review.

would be interested to know from someone who has been was the bazaar worth the visit?

This past summer, we had the good fortune to take a Holy Land Cruise, with overnight stays in both Egypt and Israel. We arranged for a group to tour Egypt thru Ramses

Tours. Ramses Tours did a magnificent job. Our tour guide picked us up at the port, and immediately started to talk about his country. We stayed overnight at an unbelievable 5 star hotel. Everything was perfect from start to finish. When our first day had ended, our tour guide handed us his cell phone number and said if we have any need at all, we are to call him, no matter what time! He was extremely knowledgeable about every site we saw. We cannot believe how lucky we were

to use Ramses Tours!

Adrienne and Bob

Thanks very much Adrienne & Bob for your review. It was most helpful. Who was your tour guide? We too have booked on this tour Option 1 for the NCL Jade sailing in October, 2012. Really looking forward to it.