Egypt travel warning issued

[4774Papa]

The M Brotherhood is very angry with Morsi's ouster. If things don't go their way, jihad is likely.

 

This is just another chapter in the story. It is not over yet.

[Pushka]

The M Brotherhood is very angry with Morsi's ouster. If things don't go their way, jihad is likely.

 

This is just another chapter in the story. It is not over yet.

 

Not so much the jihad, but its interesting the military can overthrow an elected government and there's celebration? And given the majority elected him, that is a lot of disenfranchised people right now.

[Pirateskigirl]

State Department issued another travel warning for Egypt last night. It covered all the main tourists areas and Cairo and Alexandria. Basically, it said it is not safe for Americans to travel in Egypt at this time.

[cruisemom42]

Not so much the jihad, but its interesting the military can overthrow an elected government and there's celebration? And given the majority elected him, that is a lot of disenfranchised people right now.

 

It seems a good many who voted for him no longer support him. But of course, I'm sure there is still a large core who do.

 

Egypt has a very different relationship with their military. Traditionally they are extremely well respected and thought of as a stabilizing force.

[4774Papa]

Not so much the jihad, but its interesting the military can overthrow an elected government and there's celebration? And given the majority elected him, that is a lot of disenfranchised people right now.

True, but Hitler was elected and wouldn't it have been better if he was removed from office?

 

Morsi was a disaster for Egypt. Trying to institute Sharia Law. Allowing the radicals to burn down Coptic Christian churches and rape the women.

Also, his fiscal policies were a disaster.

 

However, like you said there is a large number of people that are not happy with his removal.

[Pushka]

It seems a good many who voted for him no longer support him. But of course, I'm sure there is still a large core who do.

 

Egypt has a very different relationship with their military. Traditionally they are extremely well respected and thought of as a stabilizing force.

 

Yes, that is really interesting. I think our Egypt tour will have to be land based. In a while now.

[PaulMCO]

What is going to happen is that military is going to start rounding up the Muslim brotherhood leaders, tighten control and put in a puppet to head the government (not the current puppet from the Supreme Court) and you are back to a Nasser, Sadat, Mubarak type of leaders. Remember they were all Generals in their past and closely tied with the military.

 

I would not be surprised to see Mohamed El Baredei eventually assume a role in the new government.

[pris993]

Have been lucky enough to visit Egypt twice. Did wait, tried to go in l998, problem developed port was cancelled. Did not make it there til 2007 and 2009. We are booked for 2014 in the fall, that is a long way off.

 

Cruise lines will cancel the ports if it is not save. We had Egypt cancelled on our 2011 cruise because of unrest. I would not go if there is unrest.

[paumarier]

What do the cruise lines do when they cannot stop at scheduled ports? We are scheduled to stop at Alexandria and Port Said on our cruise. Any ideas on where they will go instead?

[4774Papa]

What do the cruise lines do when they cannot stop at scheduled ports? We are scheduled to stop at Alexandria and Port Said on our cruise. Any ideas on where they will go instead?

They will probably divert to Cyprus, one of the Greek islands or even Istanbul.

[pris993]

What do the cruise lines do when they cannot stop at scheduled ports? We are scheduled to stop at Alexandria and Port Said on our cruise. Any ideas on where they will go instead?

 

On our first attempt in 1998 Egypt was dropped and ship went to Istanbul instead. On our last trip in 2011, cruise was booked for Egypt and had two ports in Israel (Ashdod and Haifa). Ship dropped Egypt, we went to Cyprus instead and we spent two days in Haifa and dropped Ashdod. Israel is a small country, it is easy to take tours from Haifa for all sites.

 

We were advised in advance of the changes in both cases. One exception, while on a similar tour on the Queen Victoria, the ship dropped Ashdod andI spent two days in Haifa. We were advised enroute from Turkey to Israel. It is easy to see any site from Haifa so it is not a big impact to make this change enroute.

[dabear]

Our 2011 cruise was diverted 1 day before our stop in Alexandria and we instead went to Istanbul. My dw loved it.

[ROCruiser]

So glad that we visited Egypt and Israel last November on the NCL Jade. They took Ashdod the night before we were scheduled to be there and had two days in Haifa. Now hoping that Turkey will be OK for our visit this November.

[buggins0402]

So glad that we visited Egypt and Israel last November on the NCL Jade. They took Ashdod the night before we were scheduled to be there and had two days in Haifa. Now hoping that Turkey will be OK for our visit this November.

 

Same here - we're in Istanbul in November also, during a land trip to Dubai and Qatar through Istanbul and just made our Istanbul hotel reservations today. Our friends joke with us that we bring civil unrest wherever we plan a trip. Not overly concerned though - been to Istanbul before and I can't imagine anything like what's going on in Egypt now.

 

Hope you're doing well! Jade was a great cruise despite the issues!

[Keel Haul]

What is going to happen is that military is going to start rounding up the Muslim brotherhood leaders, tighten control and put in a puppet to head the government (not the current puppet from the Supreme Court) and you are back to a Nasser, Sadat, Mubarak type of leaders. Remember they were all Generals in their past and closely tied with the military.

 

I would not be surprised to see Mohamed El Baredei eventually assume a role in the new government.

It does not matter who is in power they will still receive $1.3 billion p/a in military aid from the US.

[Karennella]

Same here - we're in Istanbul in November also, during a land trip to Dubai and Qatar through Istanbul and just made our Istanbul hotel reservations today. Our friends joke with us that we bring civil unrest wherever we plan a trip. Not overly concerned though - been to Istanbul before and I can't imagine anything like what's going on in Egypt now.

 

Hope you're doing well! Jade was a great cruise despite the issues!

 

We started calling our cruise in Sept 2011 our Cruise to the Warzones. We went to Cairo, Port Said, Ashdod and Haifa. After changes back and forth we actually did get to all ports. Much to my surprise.

[ROCruiser]

Same here - we're in Istanbul in November also, during a land trip to Dubai and Qatar through Istanbul and just made our Istanbul hotel reservations today. Our friends joke with us that we bring civil unrest wherever we plan a trip. Not overly concerned though - been to Istanbul before and I can't imagine anything like what's going on in Egypt now.

 

Hope you're doing well! Jade was a great cruise despite the issues!

 

Hi, Buggins, what a coincident! We will be on a week-long land tour in Turkey starting November 12. So nice to have met you on the NCL Jade last year. Hope you'll have a great trip in November!

[beckaboo]

Silversea just adjusted upcoming itineraries... We are on #1326 Istanbul - Athens in Sept... Alexandria & Port Said dropped, and they added an extra day in Haifa (we were already going to Ashdod), and added Marmaris, Turkey.

[buggins0402]

Hi, Buggins, what a coincident! We will be on a week-long land tour in Turkey starting November 12. So nice to have met you on the NCL Jade last year. Hope you'll have a great trip in November!

 

That is funny - we're flying out on the 12th! When I added a few nights in Qatar to our itinerary (flying Qatar Airways for the Arabian Gulf part of the trip), it meant only staying in Istanbul for our first and last nights, so we won't see much of city this time.

 

You have a great trip also!

[pdmlynek]

You might not be able to visit the Egyptian Museum, which is on Tahir square.

Also, if you must go, suggest taking an international cellphone, so you can call for help if you need it. Have the phone numbers for the local embassy, airline, etc.

Suggest staying with your tour group, don't wander off by yourself.

 

Thanks for your rapid response, ‘Papa

 

We are aware of the history of protests at Tahir Square, and of course, we will avoid any such protests. It just amazes me that some people would go to watch a protest, or a tsunami, or a wildfire, etc.. If there is a problem or a potential problem, we just get the heck out of there, no matter how interesting it might be. I am risk-averse when it comes to travel.

 

The possibility that the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities might be closed when we visit, is something that we consider. There is always something that is closed, or a bridge is washed out, or there is a rail strike, or plane is delayed, or hotel/hostel lost our reservations and money and is full, or a boat’s engines give out, etc. There is always something unexpected that happens. That is just part of travel. We deal with it quite simply by preparing to visit 3 times as many sites as we have time for.

 

As far as international cell phone goes, yes we normally take our cell phones with us. It is 2013, and cell phones are a normal part of our everyday lives. But as far as having it to “call for help”, I really do not think about it that way. The problem is that if a person consider a cell phone as a safety device, then the person will more apt to take risks, counting on the safety device (a cell phone, safety helmet, or anti-lock brakes) to get him out of trouble that he can get into. And anyway, I am not sure what I could expect to happen if I were to call the US Embassy if I were in trouble.

 

And no, we do not do guided tours. We do our own planning, and visits. It is just going to be our kids, my wife and I. Though you are probably right in not letting our two younger kids “wander off by themselves”.

[4774Papa]

Thanks for your rapid response, ‘Papa

 

We are aware of the history of protests at Tahir Square, and of course, we will avoid any such protests. It just amazes me that some people would go to watch a protest, or a tsunami, or a wildfire, etc.. If there is a problem or a potential problem, we just get the heck out of there, no matter how interesting it might be. I am risk-averse when it comes to travel.

 

The possibility that the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities might be closed when we visit, is something that we consider. There is always something that is closed, or a bridge is washed out, or there is a rail strike, or plane is delayed, or hotel/hostel lost our reservations and money and is full, or a boat’s engines give out, etc. There is always something unexpected that happens. That is just part of travel. We deal with it quite simply by preparing to visit 3 times as many sites as we have time for.

 

As far as international cell phone goes, yes we normally take our cell phones with us. It is 2013, and cell phones are a normal part of our everyday lives. But as far as having it to “call for help”, I really do not think about it that way. The problem is that if a person consider a cell phone as a safety device, then the person will more apt to take risks, counting on the safety device (a cell phone, safety helmet, or anti-lock brakes) to get him out of trouble that he can get into. And anyway, I am not sure what I could expect to happen if I were to call the US Embassy if I were in trouble.

 

And no, we do not do guided tours. We do our own planning, and visits. It is just going to be our kids, my wife and I. Though you are probably right in not letting our two younger kids “wander off by themselves”.

It is not a great idea to tour on your own in Egypt. Just taking a taxi is a risk. Make sure you take taxis from the hotel and have the hotel call the taxi and keep a record of the taxi and you departing. Don't take taxi's from the street. Tourists have been taken into the desert by taxis with all kinds of bad things happening, including death.

[icat2000]

 

And no, we do not do guided tours. We do our own planning, and visits. It is just going to be our kids, my wife and I. Though you are probably right in not letting our two younger kids “wander off by themselves”.

See if your hotel can organise a driver and english speaking guide for the day or even just a driver. But they might not speak much English, unless you can speak some Arabic? That's what a friend and myself did for three days while in Cairo and we travelled up to Alexandria and then on to El alamein to see the war graves.

 

Next day did a another tour to Wadi Natrum

 

And on the final day went to Saggara, Memphis and Dahshur

 

Make sure you plan plenty of travel time in your journey as the traffic in Cairo is a nightmare. And if there is protests happening, then certain areas will be severley restricted.