Holy Land & Egypt

[Got2Cruise]

Holy Land and Egypt is the only place left on my bucket list. Which itinerary travels there in 2022 or 2023? 
 

If you had a positive experience on another cruise line any suggestions welcome. Thank you! 

[DavidTheWonderer]

I have friends who did a day tour of Luxor, Egypt, as part of a Regent cruise.  It involved a long-ish bus ride from Safaga on the Suez.  There is a day trip and an overnight. Both are sort of expensive add ons. They thought it was really nice.
However we did a 2-week tour of Egypt with Uniworld, including a river cruise on the Nile from Luxor down to Aswan and back, and a few days in Cairo on either side of the river cruise. From Aswan we flew to Abu Simbel for the day. Of all the trips I have been fortunate to have taken, this is the one I am most happy not to have missed. And of all the highlights of that 2 amazing weeks, Abu Simbel particularly stands out. And Uniworld offers a fantastic experience in every way.
That said, when we were going to do the 2021 World Cruise on Regent Mariner, we debated whether to do the bus trip to Luxor to see it again: it really is a spectacular place to visit. Of course, that cruise was cancelled, so we never had to decide.

Edited July 3, 2021 by DavidTheWonderer

[Ladys Mom]

The first cruise we took that included Israel and Egypt was on the Azamara Journey a number of years ago.  We had overnights in both countries and were able to see a fair amount over the four days.  The cruise itself was wonderful.  That being said, we received a much more comprehensive experience when we took a two week land tour of Israel several years later.

[mj_holiday]

We did an Istanbul to Luxor (safaga)  The Suez Canal was on my bucket list.  This cruise did 3 port days in Israel and port in Alexandria and the Safaga, and we had a 3 day add on in Egypt. The Port of Said was cancelled due to safety.  Looks like current ports in Israel are different than when we did our cruise, and these can always change with the political situation.  As we were sailing out of Israel rockets were launched toward Israel.   Search on Africa and Arabia should get you several cruises with ports in Israel and Egypt.  Yes, bus trips in Egypt are long with lots of traffic but I spent my time looking at the scenery and watching all the various modes of transportation.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

We booked a private extension on an Israel trip 25 years ago. We spent 3 days in Cairo…lots to see. Then we flew to Luxor, had a private guide and spent 2 days there. It was a memorable experience… not to be forgotten!

sheila

[Wendy The Wanderer]

If you have always wanted to see the amazing antiquities of Egypt, do it on a river cruise or private tour, not as an adjunct to an ocean cruise from Safaga.  As David said, our river cruise with Uniworld was absolutely amazing and topnotch.

[Jimmcdaniel]

Thanks Wendy and David. Since our Dubai-Istanbul cruise on the Explorer was cancelled we booked a Uniworld river cruise to see the Egyptian antiquities and a land tour with Tauck to see Isreal and Jordan. I’m glad to hear your positive comments about Uniworld. It will be our first time with them and we booked with them on a recommendation from our TA. I think we will be happy with a much more relaxed pace with more time to enjoy the sights. The Suez Canal will stay on the list for another time. 

[Got2Cruise]

9 minutes ago, Jimmcdaniel said:

Thanks Wendy and David. Since our Dubai-Istanbul cruise on the Explorer was cancelled we booked a Uniworld river cruise to see the Egyptian antiquities and a land tour with Tauck to see Isreal and Jordan. I’m glad to hear your positive comments about Uniworld. It will be our first time with them and we booked with them on a recommendation from our TA. I think we will be happy with a much more relaxed pace with more time to enjoy the sights. The Suez Canal will stay on the list for another time. 

I think this is a brilliant solution! I have been on several RC including Uniworld. Coupling it with top of the line Tauck is a perfect. I’ll be waiting for your trip report. Bon Voyage!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 7/4/2021 at 10:25 AM, Jimmcdaniel said:

Thanks Wendy and David. Since our Dubai-Istanbul cruise on the Explorer was cancelled we booked a Uniworld river cruise to see the Egyptian antiquities and a land tour with Tauck to see Isreal and Jordan.

That's great, I'm so jealous!  What month did you choose?

[Jimmcdaniel]

We were trying to fill in the same time slot as our cancelled cruise so we signed up for March departures for both. Kind of a back-to-back with maybe time for a couple of days in Aqaba in between—we have heard there is good diving there. 

[amusea]

Even though we are booked on the Explorer cruise leaving Istanbul on Oct. 31 next year which includes Safaga/Luxor in its itinerary, we felt that the overnight from Safaga with the long ride each way to Luxor was not the best way to experience the wonders of Luxor in depth.  So we have booked a flight to Cairo early next year and after a few days there we will proceed to Luxor for about four days. 

 

We also wanted to travel at the coolest time of year.  Even though the Explorer will dock in Safaga in mid-November it is still very hot and evidently the tombs can be quite stifling.  The coolest time of the year in the Middle East is January and we have booked our flight at the very beginning of February.  If the Dubai World Expo finally opens we will also stop in Dubai to see what that is all about.  And there is also the possibility that the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo will FINALLY open by the end of the year.  That would be another bonus.  But the main focus is still on Luxor.  Of course everything depends on the control of the Covid virus which caused the opening of the Dubai World Expo to  be delayed from its original opening date in October 2020 to (hopefully) October 2021 through March 2022.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

22 hours ago, amusea said:

The coolest time of the year in the Middle East is January and we have booked our flight at the very beginning of February. 

 

Nice, hope that turns out well.  We went in late October, and yes, it was still really hot.  Of course January is also high season (which might not be an issue right now of course.)