Anyone Recently Used Ramses Tours?

[ny cruisequeen]

also-- it takes at LEAST 3, to 3 1/2 hours just to get to the pyramids and from the bazaar even longer to return. So, figure a lot of time in the car. The roads:

imagine a major highway with three marked lanes that become 4, and even 5 at times with cars suddenly carreening across all of them. And no lights or stop signs! And across all of this, people walking in front of these moving cars and between them at every and any point!

 

Also--I have been thinking about this-- the company is only as good as the guide and driver. This is pot luck unless you have the name of recommended people here. We had Ayman Khalifa dn our driver extraordinaire was Mohammed Bkhit. Bright, interesting, excellent English, very responsive to our needs and very honest- coming back to port after we were dropped off because I left my camera case in the backseat of the car! The officers at the front desk of the ship did not expect him to come back after I called them. You don't get better than that. The Ayman took great photos of us and paced the day perfectly.

 

You can try to run around to see a lot of things and wind up not really seeing and enjoying anything, or you can carefully choose a few and really enjopy them.

That is how I see it anyway. Whatever you do, have wonderful time. You will love it.

Edited August 21, 2010 by ny cruisequeen

[binky&jane]

also-- it takes at LEAST 3, to 3 1/2 hours just to get to the pyramids and from the bazaar even longer to return. So, figure a lot of time in the car. The roads:

imagine a major highway with three marked lanes that become 4, and even 5 at times with cars suddenly carreening across all of them. And no lights or stop signs! And across all of this, people walking in front of these moving cars and between them at every and any point!

 

Yes, this is a type of insanity that cannot be explained. Only witnessed. [/color]

 

Also--I have been thinking about this-- the company is only as good as the guide and driver. This is pot luck unless you have the name of recommended people here. We had Ayman Khalifa dn our driver extraordinaire was Mohammed Bkhit. Bright, interesting, excellent English, very responsive to our needs and very honest- coming back to port after we were dropped off because I left my camera case in the backseat of the car! The officers at the front desk of the ship did not expect him to come back after I called them. You don't get better than that. The Ayman took great photos of us and paced the day perfectly.

 

I have to attest to this also. I planned 6 tours with Ramses. Every single person loved their guide. Each tour did something a little different and that change was not made until the groups were on the buses. I had no knowledge of the tweeking until the day after the tour. That is how flexible the guides are.

You can try to run around to see a lot of things and wind up not really seeing and enjoying anything, or you can carefully choose a few and really enjopy them.

That is how I see it anyway. Whatever you do, have wonderful time. You will love it.

 

Again, if anyone has any questions please feel free to email me.

Edited September 4, 2010 by binky&jane
Cannot see comments

[lorgisca]

We're considering booking with Ramses, but are concerned that payment for the overnight tour is at the end of the tour. I don't understand how they can book hotels, etc. with no payment beforehand. For those who have already taken tours with Ramses, how have you paid for them?

 

Thanks.

[Turtles06]

We're considering booking with Ramses, but are concerned that payment for the overnight tour is at the end of the tour. I don't understand how they can book hotels, etc. with no payment beforehand. For those who have already taken tours with Ramses, how have you paid for them?

 

Thanks.

 

We paid them exactly as you said -- at the end of the tour. Cash, U.S. dollars. That's what they insist on. (And they maybe booking the hotels beforehand, but they aren't paying for them then. In any event, I'm sure they have incredible relationships with all the hotels they use. They are certainly giving them plenty of business.)

[Marie-Claude]

... I don't understand how they can book hotels, etc. with no payment beforehand...

 

I wouldn't worry at all... it's not any different than when you book a hotel, you don't have to pay until you check out. You leave a credit card number as a guarantee, but payment isn't until departure.

 

Ramses is a tour operator and they have rooms allotment with several hotels.

 

They have built their reputation on guaranteeing shore ex passengers complete satisfaction and they did that by asking payment at the end of the tour should you not be completely satisfied. I think this goes to show that they have your well-being and satisfaction at heart.

 

I can only speak for my personal experience but I only have good things to say about Ramses, and all that was promised was delivered.

 

Have a great time in Egypt!!

MC

[ny cruisequeen]

We're considering booking with Ramses, but are concerned that payment for the overnight tour is at the end of the tour. I don't understand how they can book hotels, etc. with no payment beforehand. For those who have already taken tours with Ramses, how have you paid for them?

 

Thanks.

 

We paid at the end of each day for the excursion we had. I wore a money belt under my skirt band and was very secure. It is not detectable. I recommend it.

Enjoy and relax...you have the trip of a lifetime ahead of you!!!!

[2009trip]

my daughter and I took a trip in Jan 2009 and we paid at the end of trip in dollars... We liked them so much that we have just scheduled them again for our upcoming trip next feb. Why not ask if they could take the money at the beginning of the trip, that way you would not have to walk around with money, I know how you feel about that. You would have to keep separate and not with your spending money. I try to carry for spending, small bills, in different location. Have a great trip..

[Needtannow]

We recently sailed on Navigator of the Seas and booked a 2 day Ramses Tour a couple months before sailing. I booked the standard 2 day tour to Cairo and ended up having 25 people in total on the tour.

 

I can only speak for my own experience over the 2 days and being the coordinator of the tour. My dealings with Ramses leading up to the tour were great. Their is a language barrier but nothing that cannot be overcome and overall the communication is great. I did not deviate very much from the standard tour they offer however I wanted to make sure we went to the bazaar, which we did.

 

Immediately after disembarking from the ship, I saw our tour guide holding up a sign with my name on it. The tour guide's name was Mimmo he totally exceeded my expectations throughout the tour. Once our group assembled we were led to our bus which could have held about 40-45 people so was fantastic for just 25 of us. Lots of room to stretch out and the air conditioning was heaven! Please note, there is a washroom on the large busses. Small, not easy to "maneuver" in when the bus is going around corners but at least it was there.

 

When we arrived in Egypt, it was the second day after the end of Ramadan and was considered a holiday. Egypt, including Cairo is well known for it's massive amount of traffic however there were very few cars on the road in Alexandria, the highway to Cairo and Cairo itself. In fact, the place looked like a ghost town but this was a bonus for us as our travelling time was probably cut in half. Due to this holiday, Mimmo asked if it was ok to switch our itinerary and do the Day 2 activities on Day 1. I agreed that this was a good idea and would benefit the group by allowing us more site time and less travelling time.

 

In my opinion the value of our tour was exceptional given the amount of sites we visited, the knowledge of our guide and the incredible suites that we all stayed in at the Sheraton Cairo. Our tour included lunch the first day, and then breakfast and lunch the second day. Our guide provided us with water on both days and snacks on the second day.

 

What most impressed me was the ability of Mimmo to control, entertain, socialize and patiently explain everything to a group of our size. I never once felt that I was in danger and we were duly warned about merchants at the bazaar, the souvenier guys at the pyramids and what customs we were to follow when going to a mosque.

 

After 2 wonderful and exhausting days, we arrived back at our ship 2 hours early and sad that it was all over. Ramses truly lived up to their outstanding reputation especially after hearing about other fellow cruisers experiences in Cairo which were not nearly as favourable as ours.

 

Lianna

[Zukini]

I loved Egypt but a few others in our group and I, found the guide severely lacking.

 

What most impressed me was the ability of Mimmo to control, entertain, socialize and patiently explain everything to a group of our size. I never once felt that I was in danger and we were duly warned about merchants at the bazaar, the souvenier guys at the pyramids and what customs we were to follow when going to a mosque.

Lianna

 

It seems that both of you were on the same cruise, the 9/5/10 Navigator of the Seas, and both were in a group of 25 with Ramses Tours, so I'm going to go out on a limb and presume you were actually in the same group.

 

If so, your impressions of the tour guide were certainly very different.

 

For what it's worth, we're booked with Ramses for May, but we're doing it as a private tour for two, specifically so that we have the full attention of our guide.

 

Arty, thanks for your input. It's rare that anyone has anything negative to say about Ramses, but I think negative input, in perspective, can be very informative, and I appreciate it.

[artypharty]

For what it's worth, we're booked with Ramses for May, but we're doing it as a private tour for two, specifically so that we have the full attention of our guide.

 

 

Arty, thanks for your input. It's rare that anyone has anything negative to say about Ramses, but I think negative input, in perspective, can be very informative, and I appreciate it.

 

Zukini,

 

I have booked private tours (never with more than 10 in the group though) many times and never before have I been disappointed. I am usually the first to give accolades for a job well done. I almost didn't write about my bad experience, but perhaps if I'd read of someone elses negative experience, I'd have changed my tour to a smaller group. As an example of my disappointment: when we reached the Sphinx, our guide said...there it is, go take your pictures and meet me back here in 10 minutes...that is not what I was looking for nor was it what I thought I had signed up for. (I wasn't alone in this thought)

 

I believe having a smaller group will make a big difference for you. I can't believe that so many people are wrong and my research showed that Ramses has provided wonderfully informative tours for many.

 

Ramses provided a wonderful room (actually, it was a beautiful suite) for us and there were free meals...my only complaint was lack of knowledge and attention from the guide. I am very glad that others in our group were well pleased.

 

Arty

[artypharty]

oops - duplicate post

Edited September 21, 2010 by artypharty
Duplicate post

[dog]

Thanks to all who have posted about their experiences. I think is it so important that we read about both positive and negative views, like I see on tripadvisor. This way we will be aware that to get the most out of our guide we will ask questions if he/she doesn't offer to tell us about what we are seeing.

Thanks,

dog:)

[Needtannow]

It seems that both of you were on the same cruise, the 9/5/10 Navigator of the Seas, and both were in a group of 25 with Ramses Tours, so I'm going to go out on a limb and presume you were actually in the same group.

 

If so, your impressions of the tour guide were certainly very different.

 

For what it's worth, we're booked with Ramses for May, but we're doing it as a private tour for two, specifically so that we have the full attention of our guide.

 

Arty, thanks for your input. It's rare that anyone has anything negative to say about Ramses, but I think negative input, in perspective, can be very informative, and I appreciate it.

 

Yes, we were both on the same tour and Arty, I was quite surprised to read your review as I was did not hear of any problems and I can pretty much guarantee that if our guide received a complaint, he would have addressed it immediately.

 

There are definitely challenges with a large group and it is virtually impossible to meet the needs of 25 people. I sort of saw the whole experience as a give and take amongst us all and I believe we were very fortunate that the dynamics in our group enabled this most of the time. In Ramses defense, perhaps our guide didn't realize that people wanted more information on the Sphinx as he actually spoke about it before we arrived there. To be honest, I was actually surprised by the amount of information we did receive and how in depth Mimmo was at all of the locations we visited.

 

Again, my experience was 100% fantastic and the tour exceeded my expectations and this was voiced to me by others also. However, I was upfront with our guide and set expectations.

 

Of the 4 tours I arranged on the cruise, this was the best.

[artypharty]

Yes, we were both on the same tour and Arty, I was quite surprised to read your review as I was did not hear of any problems and I can pretty much guarantee that if our guide received a complaint, he would have addressed it immediately.

 

 

Of the 4 tours I arranged on the cruise, this was the best.

 

Lianna, about the 5th time I asked a question regarding what we were seeing of Memo, and was brushed off, given no answer or given a wrong answer, I gave up. It was a large group, it was difficult. Complaining would have accomplished nothing positive at that point. You had a much different experience than we did and I'm glad, because you had a positive one. As to him taking care of something immediately, I asked one thing of him, 5 times, he said he would take care of it and never did.

 

I am not a complainer. I just don't do it. In truth, I am not complaing now, just making an observation about our experience. I am simply saying, we did not all have that same experience. I was thrilled with Egypt. I was happy with most of the way things were arranged, I was simply unhappy with the information WE received.

 

Vicki

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[Happyexplorer]

I was in the same tour of 25 people with Ramses and can understand some of Vicki's frustration. However her original post does not seem to be around so I cannot address it directly. Therefore I will give some of my observations.

 

Lianna did a great job in working with Ramses to organize this tour. The tour was well organized, and the bus and hotel was top quality.

 

Most of us decided on a private tour to get away the the big and impersonal tours organized by the cruise ship. We wanted to spend more time actually sight seeing and less time standing around and waiting. Unfortunately with a group of 25, the experience started to feel like a big tour, although not as bad as a tour of 50 people in a big bus. With hindsight, Lianna should have capped the group at 12-15 people and hopefully some one else would have organized another group.

 

Our guide, Mimmo or Mohammed was below par compared to guides I had used in England and China. He had poor English skills. He would give a set speech on things we were about to see, but had problems answering questions. He did not know enough of the nuances of the English language to understand questions easily or give adequate replies. He also did not always gather the big group together before launching into an explanation of sights we were about to see. We did not get much information from him about the Sphinx. Mimmo might do better as a tour guide to smaller groups. But he may not make as much money selling stuff to the tour members!

 

Still, I would say that I enjoyed the 2 days in cairo. If I ever go back to Egypt, I would still use Ramses. However I would limit the size of my group to 8 or fewer people in order to get the personal attention we all expect.

 

Su-hin

[azmar]

We just got back from a one day tour with Ramses from the Westerdam. We had eight people in our group and Hoda was our guide. She was an excellent guide, extremely capable and pleasant. We would certainly use them again if we go back to Egypt.

Marcia

[davidmaveng]

The on time p/u of our 1/2 day tour of Alexandria, to the full day Cairo & pyramids our guide from Ramses was an excellence of knowledge and diversification. Hosny:D set the tone of our tour by his control of the group of 8 @ the catacombs of Alexandria to King Faurok's palace, but the best part of this day in Alexandria was a visit to a Mosque by both the men and ladies of our group, informative and instructional, something very different than your typical bus trip. Early p/u for the long day in Cairo, available coins for all a our bathroom breaks were just the basis to judge a quality guide & driver, never fearful and well planned in the worst of traffic and the overwelming crowds Hosny never lost us or failed to explain the answers to the questions we put to him, his english was superb, the days were very tiresome but enjoyable. Thank you Ramses and Hosney (sorry forgot drivers name)

[momof2ky]

Our group of 8 just got back from the Celebrity Equinox. We had a 2 day tour with Ramses and were thrilled. My father had used them a year ago and recommended them to me.

 

Our driver was Mohammed and he was the most incredibly skilled (and SAFE) driver I have ever seen. As others have mentioned, the driving in Cairo is the most frightening I have ever experienced. There were several times when pedestrians would cross the street right in front of speeding cars and narrowly escape being hit. The drive ended up taking about 3 1/2 hours so be prepared.

 

Our guide was Islam Said. To say he was amazing is an understatement. After using at least 20 different private guides on various cruises, I can honestly say he is the best we have ever had. His English was almost perfect- he actually understood our nuances, idioms and humor. He was extremely knowledgeable, flexible, accommodating and charming. I highly recommend that you ask for him specifically. You will not be disappointed. Just for fun, I searched this thread and 4 other people had posted comments about Islam- all 4 were very positive, too.

 

Our ship did not get in to the port until 11AM, yet we never missed a thing. After seeing the Mosque and spending a few hours at the Museum, we ended up with a sunset felucca ride. It was amazing. He got to the Mena House about 8PM and had dinner at the Moghul Room, which was very good.

 

The next day we started at 8AM and went to the Pyramids at Giza, then to Memphis, Sakkara, and finally to lunch at an Egyptian Restaurant in Giza. It was great, even though we were afriad of getting sick ( but none of us did). We ended up back in Alexandria to see the library and were back on the ship by 7:00 PM.

 

I highly recommend Ramses and more specifically, Islam. Any tour company is only as good as its guides. If you can get him you will not be disappointed. Ramses did a great job of communicating prior to the cruise and even followed up the day after our trip to make certain we were satisfied. They promised us a trip of a lifetime in Cairo and they delivered.

[united4ever]

We just arrived back from Celebrity Equinox and did a one day tour with 4 people with Ramses. We were disappointed with the guide after all the good reports on this site. Her english was poor, she hardly spoke the whole way to Cairo and not at all on the way back. She never pointed out any sights at all. She did explain things briefly at the museum and the pyramids but we kept asking her to repeat it as we couldn't understand. We only had 2 minutes to take a photo from the road of the sphynx because she had forgotten it closed early that day. We had requested to do a Felucca ride but they hadn't booked this and they were all completely full. All in all a bit of a disaster. I'm sure this was an isolated case as other people on the cruise had excellent trips with Ramses.

[Turtles06]

We just arrived back from Celebrity Equinox and did a one day tour with 4 people with Ramses. We were disappointed with the guide after all the good reports on this site. Her english was poor, she hardly spoke the whole way to Cairo and not at all on the way back. She never pointed out any sights at all. She did explain things briefly at the museum and the pyramids but we kept asking her to repeat it as we couldn't understand. We only had 2 minutes to take a photo from the road of the sphynx because she had forgotten it closed early that day. We had requested to do a Felucca ride but they hadn't booked this and they were all completely full. All in all a bit of a disaster. I'm sure this was an isolated case as other people on the cruise had excellent trips with Ramses.

 

Not isolated. It really comes down to the guide. Four of us did an overnight tour with Ramses in Feb. We booked with them based on all the raves here on CC. As I reported when we got back, I too was disappointed with our guide. While there were a number of good things he did, and I do credit him for that and did when I first wrote about this, he did have some difficulties with English. (I am sure that, for an Egyptian, his English was great, but for a licensed English tour guide, should have been better.) And, like your guide, he barely talked to us during the entire three hour trip from Alexandria to Cairo; we pretty much had to cross examine him to learn things. Very different from the experience so many others have reported. Again, he did a lot well, it wasn't all bad and we had an incredible experience. I just think it could have been even better based on what I've read on here.

 

It all comes down to the individual guide.

[cruisemom42]

Not isolated. It really comes down to the guide. Four of us did an overnight tour with Ramses in Feb. We booked with them based on all the raves here on CC. As I reported when we got back, I too was disappointed with our guide. While there were a number of good things he did, and I do credit him for that and did when I first wrote about this, he did have some difficulties with English. (I am sure that, for an Egyptian, his English was great, but for a licensed English tour guide, should have been better.) And, like your guide, he barely talked to us during the entire three hour trip from Alexandria to Cairo; we pretty much had to cross examine him to learn things. Very different from the experience so many others have reported. Again, he did a lot well, it wasn't all bad and we had an incredible experience. I just think it could have been even better based on what I've read on here.

 

It all comes down to the individual guide.

 

 

I think you are completely right as to the importance of the particular guide in ensuring that you have a successful private tour.

 

In talking to several agencies prior to my cruise, I found that most guides work with several different agencies. If you read a review of a particular guide that others have praised, and that sounds like a good match, you can request that person. However, I don't believe any of the agencies can necessarily guarantee that particular guide.

 

More importantly, I think it is absolutely critical to clearly state exactly what your expectations are for a guide or tour. If you are more interested in history (as I am), be sure you state that you want a guide who is well versed in Egyptian history and who can communicate that information at a more than basic level. I did my due diligence on my Alexandria tour with Egypt Private Excursions, and ended up with a fantastic guide -- not only did she give plenty of information both before and at the sites we visited, she had a notebook of pictures and additional information with her in the car to share. We were like two peas in a pod in our shared enthusiasm for Egyptian history!

 

By contrast, when I took a ship excursion in Iskenderun (Turkey), I knew it was going to be a bad fit when the guide started out by saying that although she had a degree in history and archeology, she wasn't going to give us a lot of history or dates because "You'll just forget it all." She proceeded to spend the hour-plus drive to Antioch by telling jokes in questionable taste about various ethnic populations in Turkey, overselling local products, etc. She hardly told us anything at all about the places we stopped. At the end of the day, I was pretty unhappy. Yet some people on the tour just loved her -- apparently they were looking for an entirely different kind of tour than I was!

 

Which is why it is critical to be very direct in letting companies know what you expect.....;)

[petesweet]

I surely hope those who have experienced a very poor guide reported this to Ramses to spare those of us who follow from getting the same subpar experience. That's what I would do.

Kathy

[artypharty]

I surely hope those who have experienced a very poor guide reported this to Ramses to spare those of us who follow from getting the same subpar experience. That's what I would do.

 

Kathy

 

I notified Ramses that I was unhappy with our guide and had quite an "email" conversation about it too. When I go back to Cairo, I can have a free tour! Since I won't be going back (sadly), I guess I'm just out of luck.:(

 

Vicki

[Turtles06]

I surely hope those who have experienced a very poor guide reported this to Ramses to spare those of us who follow from getting the same subpar experience. That's what I would do.

 

Kathy

 

I did and explained what I felt was lacking (and what was good, too). They made some very bizarre excuses for the guide having an "off" couple of days and, as with the poster immediately above, said I should come back to Egypt and they would give me a free tour. (So, next time I'm in the neighborhood....)

 

Months later, I did see someone here on CC praise a Ramses guide who had the same name as our guide, so maybe he really was having a bad time or they talked to him (or it was a different person entirely).