Has anyone been on the MS Neptune on the Nile?

[Anubi]

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

 

There was one other thing, if you get the chance, do a camel ride...its surreal. There you are humping along on these smelly beasts, a very different ride from a horse LOL, and you look up and see the pyramids, or if you look the other way you see nothing but endless desert. Of course the city is cheek-to-jowl with the pyramids, that was a disappointment but the pyramids and the Sphnix do not disappoint, they truly live up to the hype.

[buie]

I have a stupid question. Are you guys bringing a hair dryer with you? I noticed that in Fort Arabesque it doesn't list it as an amenity. I doubt I'll bring one since we'll have to pack light, but I was curious what everyone else is doing. :)

[texancruzer]

There was one other thing, if you get the chance, do a camel ride...its surreal. /quote]

 

Absolutely on my list of "to do".......dh wants to go inside pyramid - I want to ride a camel.

 

Are you guys bringing a hair dryer with you? I noticed that in Fort Arabesque it doesn't list it as an amenity. I doubt I'll bring one since we'll have to pack light, but I was curious what everyone else is doing. :)

 

I have a wonderful dual voltage very small (but powerful) travel dryer. I have to have one...... not a pretty sight if I don't blow dry my hair :rolleyes:

[Carlisleboy]

There was one other thing, if you get the chance, do a camel ride...its surreal. /quote]

 

Absolutely on my list of "to do".......dh wants to go inside pyramid - I want to ride a camel.

 

 

 

I have a wonderful dual voltage very small (but powerful) travel dryer. I have to have one...... not a pretty sight if I don't blow dry my hair :rolleyes:

 

I actually just cut my hair very short so a hair Dryer is not necessary for me. It's Great Being a boy!

I am bringing two Voltage Converters with me. Between My Laptop, And I-Phone it's a must. It even looks like I can get a SIM card for my phone there since I have a Hacked I-phone so I will be able to call people right from the pyramids!

[texancruzer]

Just purchased a nice converter and adaptor set from Best Buy. Even though my travel hair dryer is dual voltage - we need one for camera battery chargers and new netbook charger. Oh, and cell phones ---- at least right before we leave Egypt so we call when we land in NY.....

 

Anyone ever see George Carlins skit on "stuff" and how people take their "stuff" with them....etc etc..... funny funny skit - has some racy language tho...... just a heads up.

 

 

I have begun my "stuff" collecting to set aside to pack. I am sure I will have to make adjustments to the "stuff" stack though...... :D

[dawcruiser]

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.

 

I agree with everything except bathrooms. Two Egyptian pound is more than enough to tip. When I was there in June of 2010 a US dollar was 5.5 pounds.

 

Don

[slimsloany]

I AM in with the right crowd here. LOL, have a 3 ring binder, but only 7 tabs in mine. ha.

Love this website and love you bloggers.

I am taking my Barnes and Noble Nook so I can read, hear music and surf the web.

I leave Feb 17th, when do you all leave. We know some of you leave next week. Can't wait to hear the stories.

[texancruzer]

Let's start a list:

 

September - Carlisleboy and drpatch - September 23

October - Texancruzer and buie - October 28

November - alaggie November 18

December -

January - Mississippi1 - January date?

February - Slimsloany February 17th

March -

April -

May - Simpjo - May 5

 

OK, that's it. A few others are researching but have not booked.

[drpatch]

I have a stupid question. Are you guys bringing a hair dryer with you? I noticed that in Fort Arabesque it doesn't list it as an amenity. I doubt I'll bring one since we'll have to pack light, but I was curious what everyone else is doing. :)

 

 

I'm not bringing one. I guess I'll take my chances for the two days we're in Hurghurda. I am taking a dual voltage curling iron in case I need it. I used to take a butane curling iron until I fried two sections of hair during one trip awhile ago.:eek: You couldn't adjust the temperature.

 

Only concerns I have about a camel ride were the posts I read about the camel owners getting you away from the tourist police and other people and not letting you off the camel until you gave them more money, after they had agreed on the price. One lady jumped off and broke her pelvis and ended up in the hospital. Someone else suggested making sure you rode where there were other people, especially the tourist police, to avoid this problem.

[Mississippi1]

Wow, this is a busy little thread! It's great having someone to obsess with! :D

 

No hairdryer for us. It's listed as an amenity for all of our "places." My curling iron and camera battery charger are both dual voltage, so I only need an adapter. I haven't checked my phone charger, I have an iphone, anybody know if the charger is dual voltage?

 

We leave January 13, celebrating a milestone (half a century :eek: ) birthday I have coming up. Ten in our party, taking a 10-day private tour with STI Travel, 3 nights Cairo, 4 nights cruise, 1 night Cairo. According to my desktop countdown clock, I have 121 days to go!!!!!!

 

Slimsloany, I see you are leaving in February. What kind of clothes are you taking? (I'm really stressing over this...)

 

A question for you all...I have read that small Egyptian pound notes are hard to come by. So what's the best way to accumilate them for those pesky little bathroom tips?

 

Cindy

[slimsloany]

I checked Tripadvisor and sent an email to Ft. Arabesque...........the rooms have hairdryers!!!! I was stressin' too, I can't make my mop look like anything presentable without a dryer. Whew.......so relieved. I have not taken a dryer with me on any trip forever. In fact, a friend and I bought one locally and left it in our room once. It was cheap and not worth taking one or leaving with it.

As far as clothes go, Seafun went on his trip about the same time of year and I am doing what I usually do, layer, layer, layer. I wear capris with tunic tops and take a light jacket during the day. In the evening, I take one skirt and one pair of good slacks and mix it up. Shoes........one pair of good, comfie closed-toe shoes (I bought Dr. Scholl's with gellin' soles and rockers), a pair of good sandals for evening and flip flops for the pool/beach. A good hat and plenty of sunscreen.

Hey, thanks for the list!!!! It helps to see who is going and when. You all leaving next week, don't forget us! We are researching maniacs here. This is the longest river blog! I think we are raising the bar.

Regards to all!

Suzie

[Anubi]

Only concerns I have about a camel ride were the posts I read about the camel owners getting you away from the tourist police and other people and not letting you off the camel until you gave them more money, after they had agreed on the price. One lady jumped off and broke her pelvis and ended up in the hospital. Someone else suggested making sure you rode where there were other people, especially the tourist police, to avoid this problem.

 

Our tour operator arranged the camel ride so all we had to do was show up and get on. I have heard some horror stories about the camel owners but there are a lot of cops...we called them the camel cops :p because they were up on camels and riding around haranging people, it just struck us as funny. I think the problem would stem from you trying to negotiate the ride yourself. Its my understanding that you will be touring Giza in a group and if so your guide should do this for you.

 

I also read somewhere recently that the Giza Plateau is being, or is already, fenced off for security and that only "certified" vendors could be there.

[drpatch]

I'm glad you got a reply from Ft. Arabesque. I had e-mailed them a long time ago about the hair dryer and never heard back. I was just going to wing it. Nice to know they have them. Anyway, once I put a hat on, it'll have to stay on for the day because of a bad case of "hat head" but the evenings will need the curling iron! I'm still trying to decide if I've packed too much or not enough. What can I live without and what do I absolutely need?

[texancruzer]

Good morning ya'll. OK I just checked all our places too.....seems I don't need to take hair dryer either. Le Meridien - MS Neptune - Fort Arabasque all have them. Yeah. Less "stuff" to take :)

 

Just got off the phone with HP re: my new mini 110 notebook. He assures me the converter/adapter I have will work just fine. Geez. Never had to deal with the adapter/converter issue before....even in Europe.

 

OK.... just checked one of my cameras manuals (we have 2 Sony cybershots) .....says NOT to use a converter. I am going to need a master list of what to use and what not to use the converter with..... how confusing :confused: Still need to find underwater cameras manuals..... and phone manuals. OOO and my curling iron......must have curling iron !!!

 

Guess I am going to be busy today. :)

 

Was told camel rides will be arranged by our guide. Planning on using our guide for lots of stuff..... was told that is what they are for. Have never done a "tour" like this so really a learning process. Mike and I like to do our own thing in most ports when we cruise but Egypt is altogether different.

 

As for clothes.... have a very good friend who is from Cairo, in fact her sister still lives there and is visting here right now..... definately cover up in Cairo and larger cities - pants or much longer capris with long sleeve or longer sleeved tops. I plan to have a few button down collared (oxford type) shirts to put over a shell top. I get hot easily so I can leave the shirt open for air...... and still be covered up. Have bought a few longer capris that roll up and button for the sightseeing in more rough areas....Abu Simbel, Valley of the Kings etc. Am still working on putting outfits together that do double duty...... will use the laundry on the Neptune for slacks about half way thru the trip.

 

Seems we are all on different length trips..... see a range from 10 day to 15 day so that affects packing too.

 

Was told best way to exchange US$ to Egyptian pounds is at the hotel when you arrive. The bank kiosks at the airport can get very busy and I was told to wait until we get to hotel...... less hassle. Taking lots of $1 bills also.

 

OK, I better get busy. Have a great day.

[shoshona2]

To texancruzer,

 

I have traveled all over the World with my curling iron that is 220/110. They have them at every drugstore -- mine is a Conair. The hotels and ships are probably afraid you will blow the fuses or cause a fire with a regular curling iron -- thus the caution about bringing them. It has a wide barrel (220) and only needs the plug from the hotel or ship to work. Have a good time and don't forget a hat, a scarf and some meds such as pepto-bismol or immodium. Brush your teeth with bottled water.

 

Sheila

[texancruzer]

To texancruzer,

 

I have traveled all over the World with my curling iron that is 220/110. They have them at every drugstore -- mine is a Conair. The hotels and ships are probably afraid you will blow the fuses or cause a fire with a regular curling iron -- thus the caution about bringing them. It has a wide barrel (220) and only needs the plug from the hotel or ship to work. Have a good time and don't forget a hat, a scarf and some meds such as pepto-bismol or immodium. Brush your teeth with bottled water.

 

Sheila

 

My curling iron is a heavy duty one......has temp settings up to 400 degrees :eek: My hair is V-E-R-Y straight and regular curling irons don't do much good. I plan to check it and make sure it, or the socket, won't blow up ;) I just hadn't really thought a whole lot about the whole 220/110 and converters/adapters etc etc situation up until now...... knew it was an issue but put it on the back burner up until now. I know I will get it all figured out :o - just another chore.

[slimsloany]

Hi All,

Just wanted to share a story about hairdryers outside of the USA. I spent a couple of weeks in Peru a few years back and while there we traveled to Cusco to go to Machu Picchu. My friend plugged her hairdryer with a plug converter into the plug and was drying her hair when, all of a sudden all of the lights in our wing of the hotel went out. A major blackout. She was complaining that the electricity went out when I informed her that she was probably the cause! A knock came on our door of our room and the desk staff was checking in on everyone and asking if anyone was using a curling iron or a hairdryer without a current converter. My friend, gave them a blank stare and a sheepish grin. They knew it was us, we were the only gringas in the joint! The hairdryer was toast and, luckily, we didn't get billed to have the electricity fixed. From that time on, I take no curling irons, flat irons or hair dryers with me when I travel.

Suzie

[shoshona2]

Dear Texancruzer,

 

Leave it home!!! You will only have problems with it. It has to be a 220 curling iron. I have straight hair also and use the hair dryer in the hotel room/ship cabin and a round hair brush. No one will care about your hair. You are there to see the fantastic sights of Egypt!!!!!!!

 

Sheila

[Carlisleboy]

LOL at all the replies over hair dryers/Curling Irons.

 

I love being a boy with Short Hair!!!:p

[dawcruiser]

Wow, this is a busy little thread! It's great having someone to obsess with! :D

 

No hairdryer for us. It's listed as an amenity for all of our "places." My curling iron and camera battery charger are both dual voltage, so I only need an adapter. I haven't checked my phone charger, I have an iphone, anybody know if the charger is dual voltage?

 

We leave January 13, celebrating a milestone (half a century :eek: ) birthday I have coming up. Ten in our party, taking a 10-day private tour with STI Travel, 3 nights Cairo, 4 nights cruise, 1 night Cairo. According to my desktop countdown clock, I have 121 days to go!!!!!!

 

Slimsloany, I see you are leaving in February. What kind of clothes are you taking? (I'm really stressing over this...)

 

A question for you all...I have read that small Egyptian pound notes are hard to come by. So what's the best way to accumilate them for those pesky little bathroom tips?

 

Cindy

 

There is nothing smaller than a 5 pound note which is just under $1.00 US. You need to get 1 pound coins for bathroom tips. You can get then at any bank. I got mine at the airport. There are several banks in the airport lobby.

 

Don

[texancruzer]

Dear Texancruzer,

Leave it home!!! You will only have problems with it. It has to be a 220 curling iron. I have straight hair also and use the hair dryer in the hotel room/ship cabin and a round hair brush. No one will care about your hair. You are there to see the fantastic sights of Egypt!!!!!!!

Sheila

 

I know no one will give a hoot about my hair....... but all the pictures my dh will take will matter ;) and we will be showing them to ALOT of people on our return...... Perhaps I will head to Sally Hair Care next week and find me a nice 220 curling iron.

[Mississippi1]

Okay, about that curling iron...Wal-Mart has an inexpensive (Revlon) dual voltage (110/220) curling iron with a silicone travel pouch, comes in different barrel sizes, around $15. Also has automatic shut-off, which is helpful for those of us with an aging memory, lol.

 

Magellans has an awesome electrical connection wizard, which tells you if you need an adapter, converter, or both. It's been helpful for me, you can try it here: http://www.magellans.com/store/util/ElecWiz?Internal_ID=EW?Args

 

I'm anxious to hear about the laundry charges on board the ship, so y'all take notes! This will greatly affect the way I pack, lol. I'm so glad some of you are going before me to get answers to all these questions. :)

 

Don, thanks for the currency exchange info. I will take care of that immediately upon arrival!

 

Camel ride - yeah! We had the option to pre-book this, so it's a done deal for us. One more check for the ole bucket list!

 

Y'all have a great day!

 

Cindy

[Mississippi1]

In the evening, I take one skirt and one pair of good slacks and mix it up.

Regards to all!

Suzie

 

:eek: ONE SKIRT AND ONE PAIR OF SLACKS FOR EVENING.......Suzie, you are my packing hero, lol. I'm trying to narrow it down to three of each in my mind...

 

Now I'm sure I'll need to know the laundry charges on board!!!!

 

Cindy

[slimsloany]

Thanks, but I am not going to be the fashionista on this trip. LOL. Don't care. I'm goin' with great friends and not trying to be the best dressed.

I will be the one with the light suitcase!

I must make amends about a comment that I made about Gate 1 and the upgrade to a Cat B cabin. I got in on the sale rate and did not pick the upgrade to Cat B. Now, after finding out that water splashes up on the windows of Cat C, i decided to upgrade and Gate 1 said instead of the published $100 upgrade, I would have to pay $200. Well, I wrote my TA and said that I felt I was being punished for booking early and that they were nitpicking. My TA forwarded my email to Gate 1 and they gave me the upgrade for $100!!!! I am lovin' Gate 1! YEA!!!

Suzie

[texancruzer]

Nice to hear they have good customer service.....

 

We tried to decide on all the details before we booked. We upgraded to Category A and even requested a specific cabin (which our TA told us we could do) altho it is not a guarantee to get that cabin. Also decided on all the excursions and booked them at the same time. We went with a different travel insurance company based on our TA recommendation. She is a good friend and we normally don't use a TA.....but she has been a big help on this trip. We booked our Air from Corpus to NY and back on our own as well as hotels in NY since we are flying in early and staying one night on the return.

 

Anyway, I think from the base price we paid $200 pp to upgrade to Cat A.

Saw the sale that everyone was talking about - but our date (10/28) was not included in that sale. But we feel that this trip for the price we paid is a really really good deal :D

 

One pair of slacks and one skirt ...... OMG :eek:

I just can't do that. This is coming from a woman who took 13 pairs of shoes on one cruise ;) But I am being careful and each pair of slacks will be worn with 2 blouses (or more) and I do like to wear something different in the evening for dinner - a little dressier. I am leaving all my good jewelry at home. Will take a few key costume pieces to wear and plan on buying some jewelry while I am there :)

 

As far as laundry charges - I just look at it as something that needs to be figured into the budget. Like tips or food :o

 

OK. 6 weeks from right now I am sitting in NY hotel........ Yeee haaaw !