Uniworld's River Tosca?

[next trip?]

Opal 21,

You won't have any trouble doing the walk and the Bazaar on your own. We had the guide for 2 of our 3 days and on the 3rd day got a taxi right outside the door of the Marriott, went to the Bazaar for several hours, ate lunch at the Pancake House and then did a walk on our own. Except for the constant hasseling to buy something I felt perfectly safe. After the walk we went back to the Bazaar area and easily found a cab. that took us back to the Marriott. We spent from around 10 in the morning until 6 that evening just doing things on our own. No problem. The Egyptian people are very friendly and helpful ( except when they are trying to sell you something!) If you have been to the Grand Bazaar in Indonesian you are probably experienced with this. We had been to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and thought this was very similiar--maybe a little more aggressive or "insistent" but a very FIRM no thank you usually did the trick ( until the next vendor) I like to bargain and find it quite a challenge so it didn't bother me. It drove my husband crazy and he would just walk away and let me handle all the purchases!! Lots of fun!

next trip?

[jperkin1]

Speaking of a nice bottle of South African red, is it possible to bring any sort of alcoholic beverages with you on board the ship?

[opal21]

Thanks again next trip. That's just what our plan is. I collect miniatures from around the world. That's about all you can really bring back now with the weight limits. One of my grandsons asked me for a miniature mummy or pyramid. I'm hoping that will be an easy find. Did you find anything special at the Bazaar that you couldn't find on the rest of the trip?

Carol

[next trip?]

Hi,

No, you will pretty much find the same items all over Cairo and other places that you visit. Sometimes the quality was better in some of the local markets than the Bazaar, but not always. When you find something you like make sure it is from Egypt and not "made in China". Our Grandson also wanted pyramids, sphinx or other small reminders of Egypt. I found some very nice pyramid sets at the bazaar and found some very nice wooden sphinx and wooden carvings of Nepheteri . Our Granddaughter wanted an alabaster cat statue and they are all over. Very easy to find.

I collect perfume bottles and they are also all over. I purchased some beautiful glass decorative ones in the bazaar in all sizes. The little minature ones were in a small box of 5 for $15.00 ( after much bargaining). Now I wish that I had gotten more fo them. All my friends love them and they are very inexpensive gifts. They look much more expensive than they are. They are packaged in small boxes lined with cotton and I put them in my suitcase to ship home. None of them were broken. They come in all sizes and shapes. I think I finally got the price down on the very small ones to $2.00 a bottle and the larger ones to $3.00 a bottle. Also you will see hundreds and hundreds of Pashmina scarves and silk scarves. Very reasonably priced.

I purchased 6 cartouches ( one for myself and the others for our daughters and gradddaughter) I purchased them in Goulzans jewelry store in the Bazaar after reading many recommendations on trip advisor. They were very easy and helpful to deal with and the prices seemed to be very fair. I didn't find any I liked better throughout our trip. You can order them as you are going through the Bazaar and they will make them up for you in several hours. They were very busy and it was late in the aft. when we got there so they delivered them to the hotel around 6:00 in the evening. They were very prompt and told me to open them up while they waited to make sure they were what I wanted. I purchased a gold one for myself and then silver for the other 5. The silver ones were from $15.00 up to $30.00, depending on the design and the size. My gold one was a double sided one with my name in Hyroglyphics one side and Arabic on the other . ( My grandparents were from Beirut, Lebanon so I wanted the Arabic.) . You can also get your name in English on the back.

Well, this is probably more than you ever wanted to know but I got on a roll! (ha)

Forgot , one more thing. You will find pkgs. of wooden stautes of the pyramid, sphnix and Nepheteri as you see markets at the sites. They will start off at an exhorbitant price but our guide told us not to pay more than $5.00 for the 3 together in the pkg. That is what you get them for if you keep bargaining. My Grandson loved them. They are wooden and really nice quality .

The Pashiminas were purchased for $5.00 or $6.00 each depending on how hard you wanted to bargain and the silk scarves were $2.00 for a few but mostly $3.00. They come in all colors and that is also something I wish I had purchased more of. I bought 8 of them and thought I had plenty, but they are really very pretty and now that scarves are so in style I could have used more! But, as you said, you can only buy so much because of weight allowances. Luckily, all of things were very light weight except for the alabastor.

Hope this helps.

next trip?

[opal21]

Thanks again for all that info. It was very helpful. We're down to less then 5 weeks from leaving. About what was the price on the Gold Cartouche? That's probably the one I would be interested in. I will use your notes as a cheat sheet. One more thing. Did the gold store take a charge or were you using all cash? Was it better using US$ or EL?

Carol

[King Dodo]

Next Trip or anyone who has recently been to Egypt.

 

We just had our Hep A jabs and passed on the Typhoid jab (or pills) as I have read we should only have a slight risk.

 

Did you have the Typhoid jab or vaccination?

 

Thanks! Less than 3 weeks to go now!

[Fragile-Beauty]

Next Trip......thanks for your help with the shopping. I too like perfume bottles. When you say you got them for 2 or 3 ---is that dollars or egyption pounds?

 

Did you bargin with them in dollars or pounds? Just need to know so i can stay with the correct currency.

 

Thanks your report helps

[next trip?]

Hello all you future travelers to Cairo,

The $2 to @3.00 for the perfume bottles was in USD. Everywhere we shopped seemed to be happy to deal in either Egyptian lbs. or dollars. I also got some for 20 Egyptian lbs. in Aswan. That would have been equivalent roughly to $2.00. I used whatever currency I had handy. Just watch your exchange rate. I used 10 Egyptian lbs. = $1.00 as a rough guide.

My gold cartouche was $150.00. It is really pretty. Double sided with some fancy gold filigree on the sides. If you just want a one sided one they were less expensive. The salesperson spoke excellent english and was very happy to spend time with me and show me all the various cartouches. There were many, many designs and it was difficult to make a decision! It you can't find the store it is across from Mafoubs (sp?) Rest. in the Market and there are signs to that rest. I think if you ask someone they could also point it out. They have a large sign that says Goulanz. There is one store across from the rest. and then right across that "alley" is another branch of the same store.

We paid for all of those purchases with a credit card.

You will see hundreds of little stores in the market selling cartouches but Goulanz was highly recommended on Trip Advisor so I just priced a few at the other stores to get some idea of the prices. I was very happy with their service and helfulness.

next trip?

[next trip?]

Fragile Beauty,

When you bargain have in your mind, before you begin, the currency you will use. Stick with that or you may not get the bargain you want. If I thought I didn't have enough EL I would use dollars or vice-versa. They seemed to be happy with either. Just make sure when you settle on a final price that you have them state the price in Egyptian lbs. or dollars ( whichever one you were using) otherwise the vendors may say, ( for example if you purchase something for 20 Egyptian lbs.) when you go to pay they will say, " Oh. no that is $20.00.

Have fun. It was quite the challenge to bargain and the vendors expect you to do that.

next trip?

[opal21]

Hi Next Trip,

I looked at Goulzans on line and the 18K two sided cartouche with 6 characters was listed at US$212. Did you have to bargain with them? Also I've checked the exchange rate a few times in the past few months and it's about EL5.50 to the dollar. Could it have dropped that much since you were there?

Appreciate all your helpful info.

Carol

[next trip?]

Yes, I did have to bargain on the gold cartouch. I think he agreed to my price since I had already decided on the 5 others. I had 7 letters on mine, on each side. I think the price online might be more expensive though than the ones in the store. They do go weight though so maybe mine is not as heavy as some that they have. They have so many to choose from,some with much more detail than mine. Mine is a solid long gold piece with a cut out filigree going all around. If you want a gold one for yourself,but also want some less expensive ones, choose the less expensive first and then use them as your bargaining tool. You can say, " Look at how many I am buying, surely you have a better price for me for this one ( the gold one." ) Just keep at it. If necessary walk away and don't buy the other ones--usually they will call you back!

I am sorry that I gave you the wrong info. on the exchange rate. I looked in my scrapbook that I had made and it is listed as 5.8. Sorry about that ( DARN). I did look at my receipts though and all of those purchases were the prices I gave you.

Good luck!

nest trip?

[opal21]

Thanks again. You've given me some good ideas for souveniers. We leave a month from today. Now to the task of what to pack. Do they keep the dining room and lounge really cool in the evenings?

Carol

[next trip?]

Since we were on the River Tosca it will be different than what you may have, but I am a cold natured person and the temperature didn't seem to be too cool. I took a Pashmina shawl with me just in case and didn't use it. You can always buy one at the Bazaar too to throw over your shoulders if you get chilly. The bar area on our ship was a little cooler than the dining room but never uncomfortably chilly! Nothing like what we have found on the Ocean Crusies. I usually freeze on those unless I have a jacket on.

Wow! Only one month to go!!! I bet your anticipation is really building.

We leave Feb. 20th for a Caribbean Cruise on HAL's Eurodam ship and then when that is completed we will stay in Fl. for the month of March. Can't wait to get away from our COLD weather!

any more questions don't hesitate to ask.

next trip?

[49er]

Next Trip?

I just want to say "Thank You" for all the tips and useful information you have provided us future Miriam/Tosca cruisers. You have very responsive and helpful to us all:-) When I was younger and way before the internet age, traveling was an adventure into the unknown and planning was pack a map and a couple of Arthur Frommer guide books. Now that I am older and wiser (debatable) the more I know what's in store about a destination, the better it is.

Four weeks from This Thursday we will be heading over. Our flight leaves Sacramento at 6:00am so that means we will be up at 3:00am to drive to the airport. Scheduled arrival in Cairo is 6:40pm the next day (after plane changes at OHare and Frankfurt). So with there being a 10 hour time difference, I figure we will be traveling nearly 30 hours:eek: We will be mighty glad when we get checked into the Marriott.

 

Thanks again and enjoy your cruise in those nice warm Caribbean waters.

49er

[next trip?]

Thanks 49er! You will be sooo happy to fall into that comfy Marriott bed when you arrive. It was heavenly!!!

Have fun!

next trip?

[jperkin1]

Ditto what 49er said!!! I completely agree..

 

49er: sounds like quite a trip for you! In 10 days we will be on our way. We leave Houston at 4:30 p.m. (airport is just a 45 minute drive) to London, we arrive Heathrow the next morning at 7:00 a.m. and leave at 9:00 a.m. for Cairo. We'll arrive Cairo at 4:30 p.m. Sooo, not really too bad. The 2 hour layover in Heathrow makes me a little nervous, as that doesn't seem like very much time.... Hopefully the travel gods will be with us on that day:) We are so excited. My husband has been dutifully studying ancient Egypt for weeks now, so he'll be full of useful information!!

 

I leave tomorrow morning for NY until Sunday, the 31st, so will be doing my share of keeping the airlines in business for the next few weeks! I'm just hoping for decent weather the few days I'm in NY (keeping fingers crossed...).

 

Happy travels to all, I will be quick to report back when we get back to Houston on the 18th!

[opal21]

Jperkin1

Good luck with your travels. Two hours should be an adequate amount of time for your luggage to go through. Just make sure you only have one thing to carry on when you go through in London. They are really strict about it, especially now. We will travel from DFW to Frankfurt to Cairo and have a four hour layover. I still will be anxious until we see our luggage in Cairo. We will anxiously await your review when you return.

49er at least we know there are six of us on this cruise.

 

Carol

[49er]

49er at least we know there are six of us on this cruise.

 

Carol

 

Yes, just the six of us:-) I have a hunch there are quite a few "lurkers" out there after noting that this topic has had over 12,000 hits since next trip? first started it but only a very few that post.

We are so looking forward to this trip and seeing all the wonders that Egypt has to offer. BTW, the current Smithsonian Magazine has a great article on the Sphinx. Can hardly wait to see it "in person"

Haven't received our documents from UniWorld yet and from what others have said, I guess they show up about 3 weeks before departure.

 

49er

[next trip?]

Hi Everyone,

I so envy all of you who have trips coming VERY soon! We talked with some friends this AM that just returned from their trip to Egypt. They said they had such a great time! They were there the day it rained in Luxor and Aswan. Their guide told them this was the first time in 26 years that they had rain. They said it washed all of the dust off of the trees and everything looked bright and fresh. On a negative note though--it also washed many of the mud huts away. So many people live in those along the river banks and usually they were mud huts without roofs on them. That is the sad part though.

I guess everyone is busy trying to decide what to pack and keep the weight down. That was very hard to do since I have a tendency to want to take "everything."

Two hours should be enough at Heathrow so don't stress out. We had just about that amount of time and worried about it too but it all worked out!

Happy travels. May the travel gods be with all of you. I will be looking forward to your trip reports. We will take our laptop to Florida so I will check out CC to read your reports.

next trip?

[49er]

I was wrong. We received our documents via UPS yesterday afternoon, FOUR weeks ahead of departure, not three:-)

As the saying goes "we are good to go"!

 

jperkin1.. Have a great trip and like I always say, be sure to set your watch to "Vacation Time":-)

 

49er

[jperkin1]

Bags are packed, camera's are loaded and we're just about ready to roll :) We head on out tomorrow afternoon and will be in Cairo by dinner time on Friday! Hard to believe after months of planning that the time is here. Hopefully the travel and weather gods will be with us and all will be well.

 

Any last minute words of wisdom, please send them along. Otherwise, I'll get back on February 18th'ish and let you know how fabulous the whole thing was!

 

Ma’a salama. Rehla saeeda!!

(Goodbye & safe travels, I think....:)

[49er]

Have a great trip jperkin1. Looks like the weather in Luxor will start off in the 70s but end the week in the mid 80s. Cairo might be a little cool in the mid 60s. My tip would be to sync all your cameras date and times to Egypts' before you go. Makes the job of putting all the pictures together when you get back much easier.

Again, have a great time over there and we will be anxiously awaiting any comments about the Miriam and your tour when you get home.

 

49er

[opal21]

Jperkin1 have a wonderful trip. Hope you have great weather. We will be anxiously awaiting your review.:D

Bon Voyage

Carol

[jperkin1]

Thanks for your good wishes :)

 

Opal21: know that you mentioned earlier to make sure to have only 1 item to carry on in London. We pretty much always travel with carry on (just don't overpack, I guess???..). We both have a carry-on size bag and a backpack. Think we can do that from Houston to London (Continental), but wonder if we'll need to check our bag there. We will be flying BMI from Heathrow to Cairo. We have never flown with them before, so am not sure what to expect. I don't mind checking in our bags, we're just wondering if we should go ahead and check them in Houston and then not have to deal with them. It looks like there will be a lot of room on the Hou-Heathrow flight, so overhead baggage won't be a problem.

 

Decisions, decisions. Wondered if you had been to London recently. We were there last April and flew from there to Venice with our carry on, and it wasn't an issue. Wondered if you had any words of wisdom for us! Thanks!!!

[opal21]

JPERKIN1, I would definitely check the BMI site. We try to avoid London Heathrow if we can. The last time we did go through, about two years ago, we both had the typical roll aboard carry ons and I had a purse and my husband had a camera bag. They made us put the purse and the camera bag into the roll aboards and then put them in the frame. My husband cut his finger, trying to remove his bag as of course it was overstuffed. It's not neccessarily the airline, it's the British equivalent of our TSA that makes the rule. From U.S. it's been one carry on and one personal item. Europe has their own rules. Things change every day. We're going through Frankfurt. The last I heard it was one carry on!!! We'll be going through London in Sept. so I'll be anxious to know what's allowed.

Once again, Enjoy.

Carol