port Said - Alexandria, Costa Pacifica

[blueboo]

Hi everyone...does anyone have any idea how difficult or easy it is to get from Port Said to Alexandria independently ? We are booked on Pacifica and wanted to visit Alexandria especially but we have since found out that she docks at Port Said for a couple of hours then when everyone is away for the day moves to Alexandria and all the tours return there...BUT she is only in Alexandria for a couple of hours that evening then she sails..A bit of a swizz I think as we do not want to do the stultifyingly dull and expensive excursions with the visit to the papyrus shops etc !!!..I can't seem to find any info about getting to Alexandria under our own steam...the train takes 5 hours !..would be most grateful for any insight

thanks

Chere

[Peelboy]

I am planning to do Pacificia and the same itinerary. I get from the reading:

 

1. Don't do the ship excursions - too expensive.

 

2. Don't try to visit Cairo from Alexandria on your own. You need assistance from the local.

 

3. Independent tour operators run the same excursions at like half the price of those offered by the cruiselines. Cruise reviews provide tons of information of various independent operators.

[CtheW0rld]

you'll probably get better answers on the middle east ports section of CC.

 

the previous poster is correct about local guides. i had a driver pick me up in alexandria, then drive me to cairo where i met my guide. i did the museum, pyramids and sphinx for less than the cost of a ship tour (and i was traveling solo). be warned however, they local guides will still want to take you shopping. get that established upfront.

 

even though i had specified that, the guide still tried to get me to go the the perfume place. when i refused she got angry and abandoned me with the driver. :eek: her name was marwa something.

 

the driver was great. we laughed about it and he drove me back to the ship. the driver got the guides tip and was very happy about it.

[blueboo]

Thanks for the replies..I will check out the middle east forum for sure :)

Hubby wants to get off ship in P Said and just ask a taxi at the dock to drive us to Alexandria...I am NOT happy with that as who knows what could happen ( probably nothing but I am worry wart )

[Capricruiser]

For a transfer from Port Said to Alex (plus eventual tour of Alex) you'd be best to arrange everything through a reputable tour agency. I've used Ramses and had very good results. You'll see them mentioned extensively in both CC middle east forum and also Trip Advisor. You also need to ensure Costa knows you want to do this. Last and not least check out the timing of the whole adventure so you'll have plenty of time to get to Alex, do your tour, and get back on the ship before she sails! Are you sure Costa won't offer an excursion from Port Said to Alex with tour? The Pacifica itinerary is a bit unusual because normally the ships stay in Alex for at least half a day to allow excursions in that city. The Cairo excursions take at least ten hours whether it's Port Said-Cairo-Alex or just Alex-Cairo-Alex. From my signature you'll see I've been there done that several times!

p.s. Private tours are cheaper than the ship's excursions, but with a ship excursion if your bus is late getting back the ship will wait for you - with private tours if you're late you'll see it sailing off into the sunset while you're pulling up to the dock!

[blueboo]

Hi Capri..thanks for the answer..yes Costa do a day trip ( 12 hours ) but we hate being part of those big group tours and quite frankly some of the places they go to I have no interest in seeing...I will check out Ramses tours..the costa tour is 125 euros each which is reasonable I think..BUT I am never ever going to another papyrus or perfume shop in Egypt ( seen enough on our Nile cruise to last a lifetime ! LOL )

[blueboo]

oh forgot to ask..why do we need to tell Costa if we take an independent tour ?

thanks

[blueboo]

just sent an email to Ramses to request more info and a quote..will let you know what they say if you are interested.

[CtheW0rld]

oh forgot to ask..why do we need to tell Costa if we take an independent tour ?

thanks

 

you don't have to tell costa anything. be sure to take the copy of the today paper with you. it will have the port agent's contact info on it - just in case.

[Peelboy]

Very interesting. All independent tours say in their website they never have any incident of returning to the ship late. If this happens, they guarantee to take you to the next port.

 

Of course, I won't take their words only. Since customers don't have to pay at the end of the tour and nobody ever writes a complaint in their reviews or in the forums, it seems these tours are quite reliable.

 

I have decided to go for NCL Jade because of a better itinarery - two days in Egypt and two days in Israel.

 

Costa's time in Egypt is too short.

[Allawah]

Hi. Try www.memphistours.com or www.ramsestours.com

They I am sure will be happy to collect you at one port and drop you off at another. Do not do Egypt on your own unless you have been there before and know what to expect.

These guys can organise a fantastic private day trip for you for around the same price if not less as to what the ship is offering and pickup and dropoff from the ports.

We will be using them when we do the Deliziosa in April 2011 for many trips including Jordan.

Hope this helps

[debsemail996]

Hi Chere, I too, have been trying to find information about getting from Port Said to Alexandria. I am not at all into a two hour bus ride each way to Cairo. I've been there and would like to see Alexandria. I have searched Cruisecritic and the internet to no avail. I couldn't tell when your cruise was. Have you been yet? We depart on the Pacifica on Dec 9.

Debbie

[blueboo]

Hi Debs ! no we have not been yet..soon though ! 28 Nov..we will be getting off as you get on by the looks of it ! Still don't really know what to do about Port Said and Alexandria...oh well we go back to Eygpt in February as well so not too fussed about those ports anymore.

[billie5]

OP, I assume you understand that the very short stops in Port Said and Alexandria are just in order to let passengers off at the first stop who will mostly then reboard in Alexandria.

 

Bill

[blueboo]

Hi Bill..yes I do now ! When we booked I did not realise..I think we will stay on board and get off for a short while in Alexandria