Thomson Red Sea cruise - info please

[alid]

I am seriously thinking of booking this cruise for March / April next year. I've been to Egypt before and really want to do the historic sites and some diving. Couple of things bother me though.

What is the ship like - is it luxurious or not so much. Are there formal nights or not? What is the food / hygiene like (dodgy tummies seem inescapable in Egypt).

Some of the trips will be lengthy I assume, and not getting back on board until late evening - what happens to your meals. Also what happens to lunch when you are on an excursion - in Cairo for example.

 

I haven't looked into this nearly enough yet. If anyone can give their experience of this cruise I would really appreciate it. Thanks to anyone who can advise.

[jenny wren]

None of the Thomson ships are 'luxurious'...but Celebration is clean and comfortable, and has the best entertainment and staff we've experienced...the food is excellent and available all day and night. The hygiene is also excellent with alcohol gel dispensers all round the ship. We've done the Red Sea cruise twice and also Nile Cruise and relocation from Palma to Sharm el Sheikh and never had upset tummies.....so they can be avoided by scrupulous handwashing and being careful what you eat.

 

There is just one formal evening a week but if you don't want to take part just go to the buffet for your meal.

 

The trips to Cairo, Petra and Luxor are very long days but there will be food waiting for you on your return and lunch is provided on the full day tours.

 

If you go on the Thomson website click on 'cruises' and look for the 'ports of call' section look up your ports of call and there are full details of all the excursions available and the cost. The ports themselves are mostly industrial ports this cruise is mostly about the historic sites and the ports are just the 'gateway' to these sites.

 

I would highly recommend this itinerary especially if you are interested in the history of Egypt and Jordan.

[Cymro1953]

Hi Jenny,

Thank you for that excellent recommendation.

We are off to the Canaries on Island Escape this December and doing a B2B with Moorish Delights and Mediterranean renaisance next October.

Red Sea Magic is high on our priorities for the cruise after.

 

Berwyn

[Smee]

We are on the Red Sea Magic cruise over Christmas and really looking forward to the excursions, going to be a busy week.....:):)

[History addict]

Red Sea Magic is a superb mix of historic sights and underwater experiences. I did this itinerary a few years ago and took trips to Cairo and Petra which were both amazing. Long days but a big meal provided at lunchtime and coach trip about two hours each way.

 

The 'submarine' excursion from Safaga was great and we also went on a glass-bottomed boat trip around the bay in Sharm el Sheikh (Na'ama Bay) which visited 3 reefs all within the bay - saw loads of fish, some stunning coral and a manta ray.

 

In Aqaba we also did an afternoon 'try dive' where we had a tuition session in the swimming pool with scuba gear on for the first time and after only an hour or so were walking down the beach and off for a dive on the reef that lies about 300 yards from the swimming pool. We were fully supervised and it was rather scary but an amazing experience.

 

And all of the above was within 1 week on Red Sea Magic. We were considering doing it all again this year but have opted to forgo our winter cruise and just spend a week in Na'ama Bay snorkelling. We never thought we would be able to spend a week in one place after discovering cruising but the snorkelling in Sharm is that good that we couldn't resist it.

 

Thoroughly recommended.