Feb. 2008-S.S.Karim Nile River Cruise (all-gay)

[Bayotter]

I just wanted to see if anyone else is going on this all gay Nile River Cruise or is interested in going. I have booked with Hanns Ebensten on their "Nile in Style" tour which they have been doing for many years. I know there has been a lot of talk about the treatment of gays in Egypt, but not in the context of tourists in a group like this. So I am taking my chances. The crew is gay-friendly, anyway. I am not sure I am allowed to post a website link here, so just do a search for Hanns Ebensten Tours. Hans, the original owner, passed away recently and the company is now partners with Alyson Adventures. The S.S. Karim is an old restored luxurious paddlewheeler that is similar to the boat in the movie "Death on the Nile". Check it out.

[TravelingMan47]

Interesting that you should mention the ss karim. there is another company out there that uses a ship that is the one used on death on the nile. that ship is the ss sudan run by a french company on 4 or 5 night cruises from aswan to luxor. some clients of mine just returned from that trip and loved it. we should definitely meet on the qm2. i can tell i will get many ideas and pointer from you bayotter. as soon as i find out what cabin i'm in, i'll let you know but its probably 11.137 or 11.135 or 11.139, one of the 3 for sure

 

Bob

[RMS Olympic]

You will love the Nile. I went to egypt a few years ago with A&K...loved it. I sailed on the Sunboat 4, run by A&K....was treated like an Egyptian Princess. Out of all the placed I have had the pleasure to travel...Egypt was the most overwhelming......I will go back once retired and have more time.

Enjoy everything.........if you know what I mean.

Tom

[Bayotter]

Just realized I received no e-mails that I had replies. I didn't know you guys answered my posting until now.

 

Hey RMS, I used A&K for an independant trip to Singapore, Thailand and Nepal, including a few days on the Eastern & Oriental Express. I know they are first rate. I would have considered using them for Egypt but for the gay group choice I had. And they have chosen the perfect hotels for before and after the cruise: the Oberoi Mena House in Cairo, and the Old Cataract in Aswan.

 

Hey Traveling Man, I wish we could have spoken more about travel on the QM2. Hope the remainder of your trip was a pleasant one.

[Bayotter]

Just bumping up the message. Still looking.

[Prince]

The Mena House is amazing. My partner and I stayed there two years ago and they put us in a suite overlooking the Great Pyramid. It was incredible. The service at the hotel was very friendly and the food was very good at both restaurants. The hotel is in Giza--a good 40-60 minutes from Cairo--but has a great aura of history about it. Have fun!

 

Prince

[Bayotter]

Thanks for the review, Prince. Many years ago when I first decided to go to Egypt, I detemined that the Mena House would be the place to stay after learning about the history of the hotel. So, I am looking forward to it.

[Bayotter]

Still looking for some traveling companions. Anyone out there going?

[Bayotter]

Less than 3 months away. Just bringing this forward to see if there is anyone else on Cruise Critic going.

[RMS Olympic]

I hope you have a great time.....curious about the temp in Egypt that time of the year.

Me...I sail the Millenium with Atlantis March 2nd.......time to defrost from winter.

Please write about your cruise....want to hear everything.

I looked at your cruise history...seeing we sailed together on the RSVP Diamond Princess. Of your ships the one that fascinates me.....was the World Rennaisance. Always wanted to sail her, but never made it. Sailed the Odysseus.....now there was a fun bucket!

Tonight I got my cruise tickets for the Paul Gauguin sailing Dec 1...back to Paradise.....bless the job that pays for this.

Ciao

Tom aka bertha

[Darrell6t]

My partner & I took that trip with Hanns about a decade ago. The Karim is a great way to travel. We were supposed to stay at Mena House but some government meeting took over the entire hotel and we ended up at the Marriott. Egypt is a fascinating place. Have a wonderful time.

[Bayotter]

The weather in Cairo is high's in the upper 60's and low's in the lower 50's. Aswan is a bit warmer, but I was surprised by how low the temperatures are. I expected it to be warmer. But it will make for comfortable sightseeing temperatures.

 

The Mena House is an importnat consideration for me. Of course, not as important as the antiquities. But it would be a disappointment if I didn't get to stay there. We are supposed to stay at the famous Old Cataract Hotel too. But the itinerary qualifies with "based on availability". So I don't have my hopes up for that. Just seeing the pyramids will remove any sort of disappointment I may feel, because ultimately that's the point of being there.

 

Hey Tom, one of the worst sea days I ever had was on the World Renasissance. It was a bright, clear day on the Mediterranean and we were being tossed from side to side. No one was eating. Our port calls at Crete and Santorini were cancelled. We were in a suite with a queen bed, and the matteras kept sliding onto the floor. We eventually left it there for the night. It was almost 24 hours of pure hell. (I did eventually get to Santorini on a subsequent trip.) Have fun in Paradise!!

[Bayotter]

The weather in Cairo is high's in the upper 60's and low's in the lower 50's. Aswan is a bit warmer, but I was surprised by how low the temperatures are. I expected it to be warmer. But it will make for comfortable sightseeing temperatures.

 

The Mena House is an importnat consideration for me. Of course, not as important as the antiquities. But it would be a disappointment if I didn't get to stay there. We are supposed to stay at the famous Old Cataract Hotel too. But the itinerary qualifies with "based on availability". So I don't have my hopes up for that. Just seeing the pyramids will remove any sort of disappointment I may feel, because ultimately that's the point of being there.

 

Hey Tom, one of the worst sea days I ever had was on the World Renasissance. It was a bright, clear day on the Mediterranean and we were being tossed from side to side. No one was eating. Every now and then we heard crashing sounds. Our port calls at Crete and Santorini were cancelled. We were in a suite with a queen bed, and the matteras kept sliding onto the floor. We eventually left it there for the night. It was almost 24 hours of pure hell. :eek: (I did eventually get to Santorini on a subsequent trip.) Have fun in Paradise!!

[Bayotter]

Sorry. Posting glitch it seems.

[Bayotter]

Still looking.

[Bayotter]

Last call. Just a few weeks away!

[VKMcCarty]

Hello, hello!

 

I'm signed up for the S.S.Karim with Ebensten as well,

but all the way next Thanksgiving. But still, I can't wait to hear

how you like it, and I have several truly silly questions

I can't wait to ask you, or anyway familiar with these cruises.

 

Bon Voyage!

What an adventure!

V.K. McCarty

(counting the days until Tgiving. . .)

[Bayotter]

That's great! I had considered the Thanksgiving one in order to bring along some friends and family since the February trip is for gay men only, but I just couldn't wait that long. I booked this one about 7 months ago! I've been counting down the days. I will get back to you when I return and post a small narrative about the experience. Thanks for replying to the post.

[VKMcCarty]

Any chance you'll write to us LIVE FROM THE S.S. KARIM ?

 

Wouldn't that be a lark? Oh, I hope you are having a wondeful time and will write and tell us ALL about it. I have so many questions for you.

 

Bon Voyage and have a marvelous time!

VK

 

PS -- Hello to Phil, who I think is onboard with you from Ebersten.

[Bayotter]

Hi all,

 

I forgot to reply when I returned from my cruise. (Yes, VKMcCarty, Phil was on board and I didn't get your request in time to say "hi". My apologies.)

 

The boat was fantastic and the food was wonderful. We stayed at the finest hotels. The staff treated us very well. Despite concerns from members here, and my family and friends, we were treated very well by the Egyptians. So many people make their money through tourism that hey don't seem to care about the politics. In fact, a number of them expressed concern if they were to have a more fundamentalist Islamic government. No one onboard experienced any homophobia. I even had a date with one of the crew! Well, alright, it was just a trick. :rolleyes: But nonetheless....

 

We were on this boat for 7 nights. Most of the Nile River cruises are 3 or 4 nights. We even had a private tour in a small village with a long (so-called) forgotten pyramid. Only our boat stopped there. We had an Egyptologist on board that accompanied us wherever we went. From hot air ballooning at sunrise to camel rides, we did it all.

 

I can highly recommend this trip to anyone who has thought about going on a Nile River cruise.