How far?? How much??😀

[ohnonotmeagain]

At really early stage of planning but this caught my eye

14/01 24   -7 nights,Red sea, Msc Orchestra, including Petra and Sokhna,Sharm el Sheikh. 

Questions........

Petra by MSC excursion, how much approx for day trip and how far away from port is it?( not keen on spending 4 hours travelling on a coach for one hour looking around 😁)

Is it feasible to visit the pyramids from any of these ports......again what cost approx  and how long would the day be? Looks a fair distance when googled  but 1st hand experience  would be great. 

Any helpful advice/ information  on these ports please 

 

Thanks  in advance. 

[ohnonotmeagain]

Actually I had forgotten about the ports of call pages and now have idea of the distances involved but not the cost of the tours......any helpers?

[Ryan82]

I'm booked on this cruise from UK on 10 December.

 

If you tell me what excursions you're interested in I can show you screenshot from my account.

 

I've booked the Pyramids and Nile tour from Sokna. The submarine in Sharm el Sheikh. Wadi Rum from Accquaba and Jedda Corniche.

 

We did consider Petra but it was nearly 200 per person and we didn't fancy the long drive to get there.

[Ryan82]

Hey @ohnonotmeagain hope this helps.

[ohnonotmeagain]

Omg ,that's EXACTLY what I wanted ....thanks so much,your a 🌟

[Ryan82]

No problems @ohnonotmeagain when planning a cruise the excursions are good to see before so you get a sense of what you can do. Personally I like the MSC provided excursions and always find them well organised and relatively good value for money.

[ohnonotmeagain]

With such distances involved,I'm reluctant to do DIY!

Cruise line excursions seem safer.

[ohnonotmeagain]

@Ryan82

Since you are going on this cruise ,can I tap you for some information regarding flights? Have you been given departure times yet? What airline?

Thanks!

[Ryan82]

Of course you can @ohnonotmeagain it was a fly cruise package I booked.no idea of airline but times are showing in my MSC account. Not sure if this is now fixed or might change.

 

It was a bit of a spurs of the moment booking. I was looking at Virtuosa around this time in Middle East but been on her twice already this year (and Grandiosa and have Euribia booked) so went for this as different ship and the itinerary appealed more. 

[ohnonotmeagain]

@Ryan82

Once again ,thanks for your help 😁

[CruisingFox27]

16 hours ago, Ryan82 said:

Hey @ohnonotmeagain hope this helps.

We're going to Aquaba/Petra on our October repo, do you have two choices of excursions - The Wonders of Petra and Petra? The one I have just called Petra but, absolutely no explanation of what's included. Do you see anymore? I think we're going for the Wonders of Petra but I'm curious.  (It's one of the Wonders of the World so I'm just ignoring the 2 hour journey and £200 cost, likewise the pyramids excursion 😳).

[ohnonotmeagain]

@CruisingFox27

Perhaps @Ryan82could help you with that particular question. 

Essentially I feel the same way about the distance and costs involved,  probably never get to go again at my age 🙃 

[CruisingFox27]

@ohnonotmeagain It was my intention to direct that at Ryan in quoting his post, apologies for any confusion caused.

 

Indeed, sometimes you just think, this is a one-off opportunity, so I'm booking it and plan for a snooze on the coach 😂 And on the bright side for you, our option for the following day in Safaga is a 4-hour coach ride, each way to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings 😱

 

 

[ohnonotmeagain]

Well, I went ahead and booked it!!!

@Ryan82my flights are with Easy jet🙄but it is what it is.

@CruisingFox27 I think the difference between the two Petra excursions, one is lunch in restaurant and other picnic lunch.

I have booked Petra ex.but only getting  a few trips to Cairo/ other locations but not pyramids. I think they might have sold out already 🤨. I wonder if there's a wait list and how do we access that?!

[Ryan82]

Hey @CruisingFox27 rechecking I think difference is lunch. 

[CruisingFox27]

53 minutes ago, Ryan82 said:

Hey @CruisingFox27 rechecking I think difference is lunch. 

I think someone at MSC heard me. I did just have a blank page under full description but I now have words and a full description for both excursions, both include lunch. I've not properly compared them as I only logged in to take a screen shot if the blank page to post here 🤣

 

Edit: ohnonotmeagain is absolutely correct, one is a packed lunch and the other is a hotel lunch. 

[CruisingFox27]

On 7/27/2023 at 12:39 PM, ohnonotmeagain said:

Well, I went ahead and booked it!!!

@Ryan82my flights are with Easy jet🙄but it is what it is.

@CruisingFox27 I think the difference between the two Petra excursions, one is lunch in restaurant and other picnic lunch.

I have booked Petra ex.but only getting  a few trips to Cairo/ other locations but not pyramids. I think they might have sold out already 🤨. I wonder if there's a wait list and how do we access that?!

Our listed excursions generally mention the pyramids in the text description, the classic Cairo one does include a visit to the pyramids. I see 3 which cover the pyramids. It's possible they may add to your excursions list as you're a way of sailing yet. I've never known a wait list, more that you have to wait and book onboard. 

[ohnonotmeagain]

I think they had a bit of a glitch as I  couldn't see all the excursions but can today!!! Lol

[CruisingFox27]

Yay! As I said in another thread recently, MSC are brilliant at cruises and the ships are beautiful. Websites and computers, they're not as good with...🙄

[ohnonotmeagain]

@Ryan82 @CruisingFox27did you/are you getting a single or multiple tourist entry visa?

I'm confused as different people are telling me different things. 

Cruise line say contact embassy. 

Awaiting response from Embassy. 

Others say single visa.

[CruisingFox27]

1 hour ago, ohnonotmeagain said:

@Ryan82 @CruisingFox27did you/are you getting a single or multiple tourist entry visa?

I'm confused as different people are telling me different things. 

Cruise line say contact embassy. 

Awaiting response from Embassy. 

Others say single visa.

 

For Egypt? I'm not getting a visa for Egypt in advance, it's not necessary as we're in transit. This was the update on our roll call.

 

The visa will be handled by MSC on our arrival, details are on the website: https://www.msccruises.co.uk/-/media/global-contents/visa-and-documents-pdf/english/summer/document-visa-positioning-summer.pdf

 

All guest in transit in Egypt will receive a fast trip stamp which is
valid for 72 hours (free of charge).

 

Although this is from the UK website, it states that it is applicable to UK and US passport holders.

Edited August 18, 2023 by CruisingFox27