cairo shore excursion question

[ilovhywd]

Can someone just give us a rough idea of what the shore excursions cost from Port Said, Alexandria, Haifa, and Ashdod?

 

We are trying to figure out whether to book on a cruise line that includes the shore excursions in the cruise fare compared to a cruise line where they are not included.

 

Thank you!

[goode7511]

Hi

 

The shore excursions run from $100 to $500 depending if you want a day tour or overnight. Example a 1 day tour in Cairo is around $175 for a one day and $475 for an overnight. In Israel around $100 to $200 depending on what you want to do. Check out shore excursions on Celebrity in that area. We find the shore excursions excellent even though a little pricy. Don't think you need a visa in these two countries if you travel with the ship group.

[roscoe39]

No while its possible to do it in one exceedingly long day. The light and sound show is at night. Giza(where the light show is) is farther away than Cairo from Alexander. You really don't want to do a 3-4 hour drive that late at night. Its unsafe.

 

 

???? Sorry to contradict you Smeryer, but the Sound and Light show at giza is in a suburb of Cairo, about 1/2 hour from Cairo central. And unless I misunderstood your answer, Not another 3 hours away which is the distance from Alex to Cairo again.

 

The step pryimid is about 1/2 hour away from Cairo as well, theoretically you could do all in one day, although you would be fairly moving fast and not really giving an appropriate time to appreciate what you are seeing. There is more to do in Cairo than Alexandria which you could do in about 1/2 day I would stay overnight, it would turn a really long day into a pleasant overnight excursion.

[smeyer418]

???? Sorry to contradict you Smeryer, but the Sound and Light show at giza is in a suburb of Cairo, about 1/2 hour from Cairo central. And unless I misunderstood your answer, Not another 3 hours away which is the distance from Alex to Cairo again.

 

The step pryimid is about 1/2 hour away from Cairo as well, theoretically you could do all in one day, although you would be fairly moving fast and not really giving an appropriate time to appreciate what you are seeing. There is more to do in Cairo than Alexandria which you could do in about 1/2 day I would stay overnight, it would turn a really long day into a pleasant overnight excursion.

 

 

it still means that it is 3-4 hours back from the Sound and Light show in Giza to Alexander and the light show is at night. Seeing everything is a check list thing not a real way to see them. No time to stop and smell the Camels.... Driving at night in Egypt is not a great idea.

[MercedMike]

???? Sorry to contradict you Smeryer, but the Sound and Light show at giza is in a suburb of Cairo, about 1/2 hour from Cairo central. And unless I misunderstood your answer, Not another 3 hours away which is the distance from Alex to Cairo again.

 

 

Actually what he said was that Giza is farther FROM ALEXANDRIA than Cairo is. The trip back to Alexandria would be even longer from Giza, perhaps 3 1/2 hours.

 

Doing the Sound and Light show and then returning to the ship, depending on the time of the year, would likely put you back at the ship close to midnight. I imagine the tour company would charge extra for that, too. It is really not feasible.

 

Now to be honest the sound and light show at the pyramids gets reviews that are lukewarm, at best.

 

Basically, to do a tour driving 3 hours from Alex, touring five or six hours and then returning 3 hours to Alex, really gives you time to see the pyramids, ride a camel, see the sphinx (it is right there) and then choose ONE other thing: Sakkara, Museum, Nile cruise, Memphis, shopping or Old Cairo and mosques. It is really a shame to limit what may be your one and only visit to Egypt that way.

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/holyland2.html for an overnight from the ship which was wonderful, but still did not cover everything we wanted to see.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[roscoe39]

it still means that it is 3-4 hours back from the Sound and Light show in Giza to Alexander and the light show is at night. Seeing everything is a check list thing not a real way to see them. No time to stop and smell the Camels.... Driving at night in Egypt is not a great idea.

 

Sorry...I did misunderstand , I thought you were intending to stay overnight in Cairo...

 

Yes driving at night in egypt....not a great experience!... The drivers dont like to use their headlamps because it "uses them up!"

 

To avoid this next year we are going to fly on our own from Sharm El Sheik to Cairo when the QV docks and then catch her up again when she calls at Port Said late the next day to pick up the day trippers who got off at Suez. Its such a fabulous country to have to rush through all it has to offer by speanding 20 mins here and 20 minutes there is a real shame.

 

Surprisingly enough we costed it and its pretty close dollarwise to go with a Tour company or do it on our own,

[ilovhywd]

Thanks for the info. It is helpful!