Has anyone been on the MS Neptune on the Nile?

[drpatch]

Thanks for the info. Still waiting for the documents!!

[drpatch]

We definately did this........ I didnt book until we had decided on ALL the decisions...... upgrading, excursions etc. I booked our trip insurance seperately tho since I went with another company (on the advice of my TA). We also booked our air from Corpus Christi to New York and back seperate (even tho add-on was available from Houston) Still would have to get from Corpus to Houston so was just easier.

 

I have heard of many people waiting until they get there to decide on excursions and then book them there...... We knew exactly which ones we wanted from the get-go....... I don't like to leave stuff "undone".

 

7 WEEKS from today we leave NY for Cairo :D

We booked our own flight from WI to NYC (and back) (LaGuardia) and found a transfer co to get us to JFK for the EgyptAir flight. We get into NYC at 11:15 am so have plenty of time to transfer. We're staying near Times Square the night we get back from Egypt and flying home the next day.

[texancruzer]

We booked our own flight from WI to NYC (and back) (LaGuardia) and found a transfer co to get us to JFK for the EgyptAir flight. We get into NYC at 11:15 am so have plenty of time to transfer. We're staying near Times Square the night we get back from Egypt and flying home the next day.

 

We are actually flying into La Guardia the day before and staying in Manhattan at the Grand Hyatt that night. We stayed there our last trip to New York and it is a great location - right next to Grand Central Station. Next day we don't have to be at airport (JFK) for flight to Cairo until 3:00 (6:30 pm flight)....... so will have a nice dinner and relax. We have flown ALOT in the last 12 years........ can't remember one flight where we havent had problems causing delays, missed connections etc. We always fly in a day before. Was told if we missed the Egyptair flight we were pretty much on our own :eek:

 

Coming back - plane lands at 3:15 pm - customs, immigration etc. so will stay again overnight but this time near JFK - fly home from LaGuardia the next morning at 10:30. Just can't make connections all the way home so why kill ourselves to get to Houston and spend the night there ? It's a Friday anyway.....;)

[texancruzer]

I was so glad to find this thread, your excitement is contagious!! :D

 

DH and I are in the very preliminary planning stages of our Egyptian cruise and so like so many on this thread I'm looking for information.

 

We've been to Egypt, a quick in-and-out 36 hour shore excursion - see the avatar - but what we saw excited us so much that a return became a 'must'. We stayed at the Meridian Pyramids so if anyone wants to know about that, its something that I can contribute. My email is wandatp at rogers dot com.

 

I hope that all of you will post some kind of review for the rest of us. It would be so appreiciated because these cruises just aren't as popular as the mass market lines.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful time!! Egypt is an experience...especially the driving.

 

We are staying 4 nights at Le Meridien Giza........ with our Gate 1 tour. Any special tidbits ?? - great restaurant ?? - or any other "you should know" ?

Who are you going to use for your return trip ? We choose Gate 1 for a number of reasons. Will definately come back and post a review. We leave in 7 weeks :p

[alaggie]

Greetings from Alabama (originally from San Antonio, TX).

 

My husband and I have booked the 15-day tour with Gate 1 from Nov. 18 through Dec.2. I am thrilled to find this thread. We traveled with Gate 1 this past May on a Danube River cruise and were very pleased.

 

I do have one question (well, maybe more than one). What are you planning to do during the "free day" in Cairo at the end of the trip? Our return flight home does not depart until 11:25pm the following night, so we have almost 2 "free" days in Cairo and I'm trying to decide if we should hire a guide or wait and see if Gate 1 offers any additional tours. Thanks for any input.

[texancruzer]

Greetings from Alabama (originally from San Antonio, TX).

 

My husband and I have booked the 15-day tour with Gate 1 from Nov. 18 through Dec.2. I am thrilled to find this thread. We traveled with Gate 1 this past May on a Danube River cruise and were very pleased.

 

I do have one question (well, maybe more than one). What are you planning to do during the "free day" in Cairo at the end of the trip? Our return flight home does not depart until 11:25pm the following night, so we have almost 2 "free" days in Cairo and I'm trying to decide if we should hire a guide or wait and see if Gate 1 offers any additional tours. Thanks for any input.

 

Hmmmm. We are also on the Gate 1 15 day (Oct 28-Nov 11) We fly from Hurghada back to Cairo arriving at 10 am(ish) and have that whole day. The next day our flight leaves from Cairo to NY at 10:20 am......

 

You said your flight leaves at 11:25 pm ????? Are you flying Egyptair home ? Wonder why the flight times are soooo different ?

 

Glad to hear your Gate 1 experience was good. We are thinking IF we like this tour, we would like to use them for Thailand next year. We'll see.

[alaggie]

Our return flight is on Delta Airlines flight 85, and leaves Cairo at 11:25pm on Dec 2. I let Gate 1 book our air, but we made some modifications. Now I'm trying to decide what to do for most of the day while we wait for our flight home. Decisions, decisions...

[Carlisleboy]

Our return flight is on Delta Airlines flight 85, and leaves Cairo at 11:25pm on Dec 2. I let Gate 1 book our air, but we made some modifications. Now I'm trying to decide what to do for most of the day while we wait for our flight home. Decisions, decisions...

 

I also have a late Fight that last day.........(11:35pm) so I had Gate 1 Add on an extra "Night" at the hotel and plan on going to the pyramids again(Full Circle and all that) myself and maybe the museum again, since I don't think you can see it all in one afternoon like on the tour. I think after all that running on the tour it will be nice to "Sleep-In" one day as well. I'll let you know how that works out so you know in advance.

[Carlisleboy]

Our return flight is on Delta Airlines flight 85, and leaves Cairo at 11:25pm on Dec 2. I let Gate 1 book our air, but we made some modifications. Now I'm trying to decide what to do for most of the day while we wait for our flight home. Decisions, decisions...

 

Might also want to check out a Haunted House

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/baronspalace.htm

 

Any Maybe the Lost Pyramid

http://www.talkingpyramids.com/the-lost-fourth-pyramid-of-giza/

[Anubi]

We are staying 4 nights at Le Meridien Giza........ with our Gate 1 tour. Any special tidbits ?? - great restaurant ?? - or any other "you should know" ?

Who are you going to use for your return trip ? We choose Gate 1 for a number of reasons. Will definately come back and post a review. We leave in 7 weeks :p

 

A word of warning about Cairo...its the most polluted city I have ever been in. I recall stepping out on the balcony of our hotel and taking a deep breath and then choking...yes, its that bad. We did a lunch cruise on the Nile and you could really see the haze hanging over the city. We didn't let it bother us, but if you or anyone in your party has breathing issues you should let them know.

 

The Le Meridien was a good, but not great, hotel. There was quite a bit of security. The bus was checked before it could pull up to the front door and even then, it couldn't go too close to the front door as there were large cement barriers. We also had to go thru a metal detector to get into the lobby.

 

We had a pyramid view room and right after we got to the room, the lights came on at the pyramids! It was so amazing. However, when we got up in the morning we could see nothing, we figure it was the pollution, you don't get fog in the desert!!

 

We had asked for a non-smoking king bed room. We ended up with a smoking twin bed room. Not that we cared, we were so tired at that point we simply hit the bed and slept. I do recall thinking that the bed was comfortable.

 

The elevators were old and didn't move too quick. We had the buffet breakfast in the morning. I don't recall what I had but I do remember it wasn't typical breakfast food. The coffee was good.

 

We did not have dinner at the hotel, our group did an authentic Bedioun (sp) dinner at a nearby hotel and we had to be bussed less than a block to this hotel; they take your security VERY seriously.

 

There were some shops at the hotel and we bought some gold jewellery and the prices were pretty good. If you plan on doing shopping here, I'd suggest cash and not American dollars; they wouldn't take our American cash for some reason.

 

However at the Giza plateau, and for bathrooms, make sure you have a lot of $1 bills. There were quite a few vendors selling items as we were leaving the Giza plateau but I personally didn't feel that they made a nuisance of themselves. I think that's a personal call about how comfortable you feel in a crowd.

 

I have gone on quite long enough here :p If you have anything else you'd like to know, please ask.

 

I hope you have a wonderful experience and I'm very much looking forward to your review.

[drpatch]

Guess they feel they kept us in suspense long enough and decided we could go. Documents came through this morning. Yeah!!!!

[slimsloany]

I have heard that the Moghul Room in the hotel next door to the Meridien, is good. If you like Indian food that is.

I have also heard that Barry's Restaurant is close to the pyramids and several have recommended that instead of going to the laser light show, they scheduled dinner at Barry's and had a great view of the program and could sit in comfort and sip their drinks.

I wonder if we will be able to walk around our hotel, like to the Mena House where the Moghul Room is?

So, cash in EP is recommended for vendors and at the Khan al Khalili?

 

Suzie

 

:confused:

[texancruzer]

I have gone on quite long enough here. If you have anything else you'd like to know, please ask.

I hope you have a wonderful experience and I'm very much looking forward to your review.

 

Please continue....... good stuff you are passing on !!!

 

Guess they feel they kept us in suspense long enough and decided we could go. Documents came through this morning. Yeah!!!!

 

Finally !!!! Deep sigh :D

 

I have heard that the Moghul Room in the hotel next door to the Meridien, is good. If you like Indian food that is.

I have also heard that Barry's Restaurant is close to the pyramids and several have recommended that instead of going to the laser light show, they scheduled dinner at Barry's and had a great view of the program and could sit in comfort and sip their drinks.

I wonder if we will be able to walk around our hotel, like to the Mena House where the Moghul Room is?

So, cash in EP is recommended for vendors and at the Khan al Khalili?

 

I'm not postive - but I don't think the Mena house is right next door to Le Meridien.......close but not next door. I do know there is a nice shopping area next to Mena House so we plan to go shop then have dinner one evening.

Cash is always better in a bazaar setting. Altho some vendors in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul took credit cards. Of course it was in Turkish Lira.

I have read that for bathrooms an Egyptian pound is plenty for a baksheesh. An American dollar would be way high for that. But for luggage porters, etc. one or two $ is perfect. Correct ??

[alaggie]

I also have a late Fight that last day.........(11:35pm) so I had Gate 1 Add on an extra "Night" at the hotel and plan on going to the pyramids again(Full Circle and all that) myself and maybe the museum again, since I don't think you can see it all in one afternoon like on the tour. I think after all that running on the tour it will be nice to "Sleep-In" one day as well. I'll let you know how that works out so you know in advance.

 

Thanks in advance for the info. We too were considering revisiting the Pyramids or Egyptian Museum since there is so much to see and so little time. We were also considering a half-day tour of Islamic and Coptic Cairo. Ramses Tours seems to have a lot of options available.

 

Have a great trip!

[Carlisleboy]

Guess they feel they kept us in suspense long enough and decided we could go. Documents came through this morning. Yeah!!!!

 

Told you they Would!! How many Pages? Have you waded through them all yet?

[Mississippi1]

Hello to all! I want to jump on board here, as DH and I have recently booked with a group of 8 of our closest friends for a journey into the Land of the Pharoahs! The options for Egypt are endless...hotels, ships, # of days, tour companies, tours, sights, etc. I am seriously breathing sighs of relief now that I have that behind me.

 

We are booked for 4 nights on Movenpick's Radamis I. Anybody here been on her?

 

Also, traveling in January, and I'm really torn on whether I should pack a winter wardrobe, or a spring/summer wardrobe? :confused:

[shoshona2]

Hi,

 

If you Google or put in Yahoo Search "Movenpick Radamis I", you will see photos of this ship. There are so many ships that do the Nile -- so there will be at least four docked at one time so one has to remember the first ship at the dock to get back to their ship. We were on an A&K last November and it was docked with other A&K ships, so it was easy. If the Movenpick hotel organization runs these ships, it should be a beautiful experience. Their hotels in Egypt and Jordan are 5 Star.

 

Have a great time and don't brush your teeth with sink water. Use bottled water!!! Take Pepto-bismol or Immodium for tummy problems.

 

Sheila

[Mississippi1]

Hi,

 

If you Google or put in Yahoo Search "Movenpick Radamis I", you will see photos of this ship. There are so many ships that do the Nile -- so there will be at least four docked at one time so one has to remember the first ship at the dock to get back to their ship. We were on an A&K last November and it was docked with other A&K ships, so it was easy. If the Movenpick hotel organization runs these ships, it should be a beautiful experience. Their hotels in Egypt and Jordan are 5 Star.

 

Have a great time and don't brush your teeth with sink water. Use bottled water!!! Take Pepto-bismol or Immodium for tummy problems.

 

Sheila

 

Thanks, Sheila. Yes, these ships are run by the Movenpick hotel organization, built I wasn't familiar with the brand, and you've managed to quell that last doubt in my mind. (I've been fooled by internet pictures before.)

[texancruzer]

Welcome Mississippi..... we are a small group here, but an active one since we are all going to Egypt.....just at different times and different companies. But the info is great !!!! Lots of tips and "secrets" to be shared.

 

anyone notice that this thread has over 6000 views - way more than any other thread on this forum (river and canal cruises) ?????

 

I find that interesting as most river cruises are Europe ones. Seems there is so much interest in Egypt right now......I know our tour is almost full (40-45 people). It is such an interesting place and such a good value right now.

 

On another note: I bought an HP netbook yesterday. So small and light.....it does alot for its size but I really bought it for our travels - mostly to stay connected via internet as it has wireless card built in and also to download pics each day..... so now I just need to make sure it has all the software in it I need - yikes - one more thing to add to my list of "to do's" before we leave. Still need to pick up adapter and converter (Office Depot was out of them) at Radio Shack.

 

Well, have a great week..... TEX (aka Cheryl)

[Mississippi1]

Thanks for the welcome, Cheryl. :) I see we all have lots in common, from obsessing over the details (3-ring binders, anyone?) to all feeling like this is a trip of a lifetime!

 

After reading Seafun's amazing review, I have visions of myself sitting on the top deck of my Nile river boat, writing in my journal...although the HP netbook sounds much more practical, lol. However, I AM looking for a nice, leather-bound journal, and, at a minimum, will have a place to jot notes, and who knows? I may have a travel journal to rival Seafun's!

 

Who amoung this thread's group is leaving first? We'll have to throw you a bon voyage party the week-end before!

 

Carlisleboy, several pages back, you offered invite codes for beyond the rack. Do you still have any available?

[texancruzer]

I am the 3-ring binder Queen. Mine has 15 sections :eek:

 

Let's see - Carlisleboy and drpatch leave next week I think. Then Oct 28 is us and Buie.

 

There are others leaving in Nov - others in Jan, Feb and May next year. Hard to keep everyone straght in that respect.

 

The netbook has Microsoft Works already in it..... I can use that for a journal. That way I won't have to type from notes. I usually don't keep one as too busy - but will try to this trip.

[Carlisleboy]

Thanks for the welcome, Cheryl. :) I see we all have lots in common, from obsessing over the details (3-ring binders, anyone?) to all feeling like this is a trip of a lifetime!

 

After reading Seafun's amazing review, I have visions of myself sitting on the top deck of my Nile river boat, writing in my journal...although the HP netbook sounds much more practical, lol. However, I AM looking for a nice, leather-bound journal, and, at a minimum, will have a place to jot notes, and who knows? I may have a travel journal to rival Seafun's!

 

Who amoung this thread's group is leaving first? We'll have to throw you a bon voyage party the week-end before!

 

Carlisleboy, several pages back, you offered invite codes for beyond the rack. Do you still have any available?

 

Welcome Mississippi!

Anyone who wants to join Beyond the Rack can use this:

http://www.beyondtherack.com/member/invite/B18888BA

 

B18888BA is the Invite code. I got SO many of my outfits for this trip there From My Sean Jean Sunglasses to SBO Shorts and shirts to swim trunks and Tank tops. UNBEATABLE prices on designer names. Even my beloved Macy's does not do better. The ONLY downside is the Long Shipping time. After you order they wait for items to come direct from Manfacturers then it gets shipped to you. 2 to three weeks is the turnaround time. But again, the Prices are awesome. If you see an "event" coming up make sure you are online when it first goes up and get your stuff in your shopping bag. Once there you only have 20 minutes to decide if you want it or not or it gets put back out on the "floor". Good Luck!!

 

Yes, I do Leave next week. I leave Dutch Harbor on the 20th, spend a few days in Seattle then board a flight to JFK on the 23. Few hours layover then the SUPER LONG direct flight to Cairo. (Got Lunesta for that.....nice 10 hour nap) This week is going to be the longest one of my life!!

 

But then PLENTY of photos on my blog www.DutchHarborDirt.Blogspot.com

Live from Egypt! My Followers are going to go nuts when they see where I am, Keeping it a secret till then so if you stop by my blog before them don't say anything.

[drpatch]

Told you they Would!! How many Pages? Have you waded through them all yet?

We only had 26 pages. Not as many vouchers as you. We're also on tour bus #1. Is there a #2? All the info seemed to be correct. Some of the phone numbers were different than the ones I found online. Finally starting to pack. Have been packing in my mind for a couple weeks, now actually doing it, hoping to keep it light.

[Carlisleboy]

We only had 26 pages. Not as many vouchers as you. We're also on tour bus #1. Is there a #2? All the info seemed to be correct. Some of the phone numbers were different than the ones I found online. Finally starting to pack. Have been packing in my mind for a couple weeks, now actually doing it, hoping to keep it light.

 

We Should Really Talk on e-mail. Mine is Brian(DOT)StockmanATUnisea(Dot)Com

[Mississippi1]

Thanks for the code, Carlisleboy! Let the shopping begin, lol. Oh, and mum's the word on your blog secret. ;)

 

I can't imagine being just a week away from departure. Be ready to be bombarded with questions upon your returns, Carlisleboy and drpatch!