Just Off Legend Of The Seas

[Landlords1]

Hi, just returned from legend of the seas ( greece and eygpt) any questions? will try to write a review shortly but meanwhile if anyone has any questions fire away.:D

[BaumD]

What were late seating dinner times?

Any problems using Euros or $$ in Egypt and Turkey?

Did you dock at all ports?

[AF-1]

Are you planning on writing a review under member review thread or just write a review on this thread? Looking forward to hearing about your trip. I may do Egypt next year.

[threeofus]

Just wanted to know if the seas were rough - now that we heard they are no longer using stabilizers.

 

Also - dining room times.

[surroundedbyboys]

What? No more stabilizers!? Where did you hear that, threeofus?

[cdrcruisin]

I'm anxious to read your review, since we leave on the same ship/itinerary in only 114 days!

 

Initial question: I have read on other threads that there is no need to get an Egyptian visa ahead of time, as the ship takes care of this. Was that true for your sailing? Thanks.

[worldsbestcandles]

I was on the Legend on teh cruise before (Italy & Croatia) and there were two dinner timesfor each seating.

 

The main seating had a 6pm on the main level (even numbered tables) and 6:30pm on Deck 5 (odd numbered tables)

 

The late seating was 8:30pm and 9pm respectively.

 

The waitstaff told us it was the same for both itineraries but I could be wrong.

[surroundedbyboys]

Never mind about the stabilizer question- just read in depth about it. thanks.

[xeriod]

Hi, just returned from legend of the seas ( greece and eygpt) any questions? will try to write a review shortly but meanwhile if anyone has any questions fire away.:D

 

Is the shuttle on Mykonos still $8.00 each way ? With that figure in mind , I was thinking you might as well eat dinner on the island if its not much more than that $16.00 shuttle to get to the ship and back to town.

[cindymouse42]

We are sailing on Legend of the Seas in Aug - 12 night med cruise. We have tons of questions. Can't wait to read your review. How was the ship? Cabins? Food? Heard getting a table at late seating was difficult. Shore excursions - we are going on a 13 hour one in Egypt, riding a camel, etc. Anything you can tell us would be appreciated!

[rdo123]

We just got back from this crusie also, after wedcruise has posted a review we will add any experiences we had that were different. We had a great time and the ports were awesome.

 

Rick

[gedam]

We are sailing on Legend of the Seas in Aug - 12 night med cruise. We have tons of questions. Can't wait to read your review. How was the ship? Cabins? Food? Heard getting a table at late seating was difficult. Shore excursions - we are going on a 13 hour one in Egypt, riding a camel, etc. Anything you can tell us would be appreciated!

 

Hi

You are on our cruise:) Come and join us on the roll call forums!

Check out the Europe board aswell.

 

One word of warning though, after travelling to Egypt (although not on a cruise) It is one thing paying to get on a camel but the bargaining to get off it-is a different matter!!!:( :(

[cindymouse42]

I have heard a lot about riding a camel and having to pay to get down. We are doing this excursion through the ship - we should be okay? My daughter is already afraid of doing this, I don't want her to right!!!! She's 21. Thanks everyone. Can't wait to go.

[39august]

My friend was on this cruise last fall on Legend, took the ships' Cairo tour, and was told NOT to take a camel ride. I would not risk doing anything in such a foriegn port that was not monitored by the cruiseline.

[tomko2]

My friend was on this cruise last fall on Legend, took the ships' Cairo tour, and was told NOT to take a camel ride. I would not risk doing anything in such a foriegn port that was not monitored by the cruiseline.

 

We were on that cruise last August (photos and review in the links below); some people said they did have to pay extra to get off the camel which we had been warned about. Also do not give your camera to anyone else to take pictures of you unless it is someone on your cruise. Locals also want to get paid for any pictures you take of them ---- including the police! My DH thought it would be OK to take a picture of the policeman at the Pyramids but no, no, no, the policeman followed him and demanded money.

 

So very glad we finally got to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx but it is a definite once in a lifetime experience for us.

 

Kathy:)

[charleysmom]

Add me to the inquiring minds! We're on the August trip as well and I'm particularly interested in info on the ship and her condition as well as the excursions you did... did you do ship's tours, private guides or on your own and were you happy with your choices?

 

Thanks!!

 

Ann

[CAT GIRL]

Add me to the inquiring minds! We're on the August trip as well and I'm particularly interested in info on the ship and her condition as well as the excursions you did... did you do ship's tours, private guides or on your own and were you happy with your choices?

 

Thanks!!

 

Ann

 

I did this cruise last year and used all private tours. If you have any

specific questions I'd be happy to try to answer them. It was my

all time favorite cruise!

[rdo123]

We used $$ in both Turkey and Egypt without any problems although credit card charges were in turkish lira and egyptian pounds.

 

The ship docked in all the ports but it was announced that Mykonos was limited dock space and they didn't know if we would dock or anchor until we got there, anchoring would have been better as they tender you right to town and no need for shuttle. We did the Delos tour so didn't have to get shuttle tickets but if I recall they were $6 per person one way.

 

They took our passports at embarkation and kept them until the day before Egypt. We picked them up already stamped for Alexandria and had to show them to Egyptian guards after leaving the ship on the way out to tour buses. The day after Egypt we turned them back in for Athens.

 

We were also given warnings against riding camels or at least the story about one price to get on and another to get off. If your doing the ship tour that includes camel riding then it shouldn't be a problem, didn't talk to anyone that did this tour so not sure how it was.

 

We did a mix of private and cruise line tours for different reasons. We were happiest with the private tours but there are some advantages with the cruise line tours. Coming back from Cairo we sat in traffic on the main road for close to an hour because of an accident, when you see how they drive you'll wonder why there aren't more accidents, and got back to the ship after 9pm. Ship departure time was 10pm and several buses were later than we were. This was why we booked the Egypt excursion through RCL so we didn't have to worry about getting back late.

[Landlords1]

What were late seating dinner times?

Any problems using Euros or $$ in Egypt and Turkey?

Did you dock at all ports?

hi sorry i was slow replying as back to work etc, dining seating was main seating 6pm and 6.30pm and late seating was 8.30pm and 9pm, we were on 9pm and for us this was ideal as 10 out of 12 shows were for us pre dinner( 7 or 7.15pm) you could then get a drink or we often did trivia in the schooner bar at 8.15pm then dinner at 9pm and then after dinner 10.30pm game shows or party nights! we did dock in all ports and we used us dollars in turkey and in egypt. the only time this was a problem was in egpyt as we took a private tour (which was fantastic will write more in my review, which i intend to write tonight) which took us to a cafe for a rest stop on the way to cairo and these only excepted egyptain dollars, lucky for us our tour guide swapped some of his money for us dollars at the going rate. in turkey we paid for a private trip in us dollars but didn't stop or purchase anything (as it was only a half day tour) so can't answer that one.

[Landlords1]

Are you planning on writing a review under member review thread or just write a review on this thread? Looking forward to hearing about your trip. I may do Egypt next year.

i will write it here to night.

[Landlords1]

Just wanted to know if the seas were rough - now that we heard they are no longer using stabilizers.

 

Also - dining room times.

i am sure they still use stabilizers but the sea was very carm. Dining was 6 and 6.30 8.30 and 9pm your time will be printed on your sea pass along with your table number

[Landlords1]

I'm anxious to read your review, since we leave on the same ship/itinerary in only 114 days!

 

Initial question: I have read on other threads that there is no need to get an Egyptian visa ahead of time, as the ship takes care of this. Was that true for your sailing? Thanks.

no need for a visa , they take your passports at embarkation and give you a reciept they then announce before egypt to collect passports from the dining room at a certain time ( this was a sea day so no problem)and your passport is already stamped with an egyptian stamp. on arriving in egypt you had to take your passports with you, as you got off to show(i assume someone from egyptian immigration) that it had been stamped. this was no problem and no queues etc to get off. As always rccl well organised.

[Landlords1]

Is the shuttle on Mykonos still $8.00 each way ? With that figure in mind , I was thinking you might as well eat dinner on the island if its not much more than that $16.00 shuttle to get to the ship and back to town.

cannot remember exactly how much it was for the shuttle but it was i remember thinking a fair amount to keep going back and forth so if you want to have dinner in mykonos then maybe get off the ship later in the afternoon and stay there into the evening as you don't dock until 1.30pm anyway. you may be lucky and tender in as the tender takes you directly to town ,then you can go back and forth with no problems at all.

[Landlords1]

Add me to the inquiring minds! We're on the August trip as well and I'm particularly interested in info on the ship and her condition as well as the excursions you did... did you do ship's tours, private guides or on your own and were you happy with your choices?

 

Thanks!!

 

Ann

really happy with our egypt private tour they were fantastic they were called nileblue i will write more later as i have to shoot off to work now.

[Wilba]

Hi. I did a similar itinerary at Christmas, different line, & can confirm Egypt & Turkey will take Euro's, US Dollars & any other currency they can get their hands on. Take plenty of small denominations as every body in the Pyramids is there to relieve you of cash. If you take the cruise bus trip, take food & water as there were long periods of travel & a long time before you get fed, so I'm told. I have also read good things about 'Nile Blue' tours but being one who hates 'organised' tours, even in dodgy places like Cairo, my experience on this subject may be of some interest to the more adventurous cruisers.

 

The Ships Tours from Alexandria to Cairo for the Pyramids are done in convoy by coach with armed guards following on in theirs army trucks.

We did the trip by Blue Private Hire Car. We started with the intention of doing taxi to the train station & then train & taxi into Giza. On reaching the exit of Alexandria Port we were accosted by a taxi man who spoke good English & given the spiel that a car for the day would be quicker & more convenient than our original plan & we would see & do far more by risking life & limb with him. The’ taxi’ was a Peugeot 7 seater Estate of an unknown vintage & looked like it had entered a Demolition Derby on the previous day. Off we go into the streets of the town where no traffic rules apply & 5 minutes into ride we hit traffic, literally, as a Yellow & Black Cab had not left enough room for our man to get into the next lane, he ‘booted’ him up the rear to make sufficient space to drive through. The drivers never even looked at each other as we drove past.

Onto the desert toll road for 140 miles to Cairo with 4 lanes each side, but with a squeeze 5 & 6 cars can often be overtaking each other, any speed, any lane. We passed the tour bus convoy with their armed guards following in trucks. After an hour or so we stopped at a service area with typical facility’s & the added bonus of waiter service, a small zoo park with Deer, Llamas, Flamingo’s etc. Eventually we reached Cairo where the traffic is even worse & the local ‘centre’ busses had to be seen to be believed. We stopped at the Papyrus Museum & local Bazzar for 30 mins & then onto Memphis (Giza) to the Pyramids. 50 £Egp pp to enter (5 Quid in English) & this is where the taxi came into its own, as we could drive to the top of the hill (about a mile) for photo’s of all 3 pyramids, back into the taxi down to get close up & touchy with the 2 smaller pyramids & then taxi again down to the Sphinx. If you are on a coach this means a lot of walking or camel/horse/donkey ride at your expense. By now our bravery is reaching heroic proportions, so we tell our man to take us for a local meal. He took us to a small restaurant in Giza where the owner spoke good English. We had salad, brown rice, sheesh kebabs, lamb & chicken, cooked on a charcoal grill plus bottled water, Cokes & Fanta. You would think we had never eaten for a week as we devoured the overladen plates & left nothing.

Back onto the desert toll road, flat out in the taxi, 120 kms an hour in lane 4, 2 tuk tuks come the other way, facing traffic, side by side in lanes 1 & 2 taking a ‘short cut’. Our drivers only comment…….. ‘Crazy People’

On reaching Alexandria we went to a large out of town shopping mall for about 30 mins. & then a final tour of the city before going back to the ship. We were out about 10 hours in total. The whole day including all our entrance to the pyramids, food & drink, taxi fare, tip, came to £35 GBP per person for five of us. The Cruise tour fare 118 Euro p.p. say no more

The Egyptians are a most welcoming race of people & everyone we had contact with, including police, security & shopkeepers said welcome to our country & none of us felt the slightest bit threatened at any point in the day. It will certainly go down in our memory as one of the highlights of our cruising background. So if your adventurous, streetwise & travel savvy, give it a go, it’s more fun than tour bus, that’s for sure.