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Just back Egypt and Jordan Feb 2018


didicruiser
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Just returned from 2 weeks in Egypt and Jordan;what a wonderful trip! I did the arranging with a travel agent, not with a set tour group. Private guides in Cairo,Aswan and 3 night Nile cruise. Flew to Jordan for 4 days to see Petra, Wadi Rum and a few other sites.

 

I never felt unsafe at all. People seemed happy that "Americans are here". Security checks at all hotels and sites with random checks along the roads.

 

Everything I have read about tipping just about everyone is correct! Had to always make sure to have small bills. Kind of annoying but....

 

Happy to answer any questions!

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Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. How was the weather? Did you find a big difference in temps between Cairo and Aswan?

 

Did you have any problems getting your visa in Jordan? Did you get it ahead of time or at the airport? We plan on just getting ours upon arrival at the airport.

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Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. How was the weather? Did you find a big difference in temps between Cairo and Aswan?

 

Did you have any problems getting your visa in Jordan? Did you get it ahead of time or at the airport? We plan on just getting ours upon arrival at the airport.

 

Weather was in the 70s during the day; cooler in the morning and evening. Aswan was a bit warmer, maybe Just a 5 degree difference.

 

We got the visa at the airport. Our guide walked us to an area for Jordan residents only and worked it out. I did see an area for visas with a short line after leaving the gate and getting to the "main area". Very well labeled.

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  • 3 weeks later...
What was your itinerary and how big was your group? Which ship did you sail? I’m looking at Egypt right now and so far the options are Viking and Uniworld.

 

We just arrived on Friday late afternoon, and today was our first full day of touring. We started in Cairo and will be here one more day before we fly to Luxor early in the morning. There are 47 people and we are split in two groups. The buses are full size so we have plenty of room to spread out. I'm not sure how many people are on the Uniworld tour, but there were several Uniworld people on our flight coming over. 😊

 

The boat we will be traveling on is called the Sonesta Star Goddess. We will be embarking on Monday.

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We just arrived on Friday late afternoon, and today was our first full day of touring. We started in Cairo and will be here one more day before we fly to Luxor early in the morning. There are 47 people and we are split in two groups. The buses are full size so we have plenty of room to spread out. I'm not sure how many people are on the Uniworld tour, but there were several Uniworld people on our flight coming over.

 

The boat we will be traveling on is called the Sonesta Star Goddess. We will be embarking on Monday.

 

Sharon, what company are you with? I booked the OAT Egypt and Nile trip for 2020.

 

Reread your post and now realize you’re with Uniworld. I loved the two cruises I took with Uniworld.

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I am excited to read all about your tour. We did this in November of last year and loved it. I think I answered some of your questions back then so I hope they helped you prepare for your trip. I am looking forward to reading all about it. Have fun. It is an amazing country!

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Sharon, what company are you with? I booked the OAT Egypt and Nile trip for 2020.

 

Reread your post and now realize you’re with Uniworld. I loved the two cruises I took with Uniworld.

 

We are traveling with Viking for this trip.

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We’re looking to book for Jan 2020 but weighting all the options. Viking has a new ship that debuts next week. I hope someone does a review. Looking forward to your review H2O!

 

The new ship, the Ra, is not finished yet. Viking has leased another ship called the Sonesta Star Goddess for us. We will embark on Monday.

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  • Members
Bummer I was hoping for more info about the RA. Still looking forward to your Viking experience!

 

I'm slated to be on Viking Ra at the end of April; I've been told no changes so far (although my flight isn't booked yet). If the trip goes through, we should have lots of Viking Ra content to pass on. Stay tuned.

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Sounds like a great trip.

 

May I ask who you cruised with?

 

Keith

I worked with an tour company called My Odessey Tours.

I picked the itinerary and they put everything together. Was nice having private tour guides at all the sites so we went at our pace. We never felt unsafe anyway. Guides had great knowledge, spoke English well and hotels were 5 star in great locations. There was a flight change and the company rebooked us, notified the guides and didn't miss a step!

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Hi Sharon, is there an ATM in the hotel, or did you stop at the airport?

 

We are in Aswan and today is the first day we have had any WiFi since we left Cairo.

 

There are two ATM machines at the Ritz and also a bank. You can bring US money and change it into Egyptian pounds. Our guide recommended that we get about $100 worth (around 2000 LE). Most vendors will take dollars.

 

It is 99 to 100 degrees here. Be sure to bring light colored clothing and light weight such as linen if you have any. Also bring any OTC meds, etc since there is no shopping available.

 

Heavy duty walking shoes are not needed. Most places have good sidewalks or very small gravel sidewalks. There are no large cobblestones like the streets in Europe.

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Appreciate your great postings and detailed follow-ups. For mid November, 2018, we are doing an Athens to Dubai, 20-day cruise with Oceania, including our first visits to the Holy Lands, Egypt, Middle East, etc. This will include an overnight stop to see Luxor.

 

Have you been to Luxor, yet? What did or do you expect to enjoy most there? Keep up the great sharing and postings.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 198,721 views for this posting.

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We are in Aswan and today is the first day we have had any WiFi since we left Cairo.

 

There are two ATM machines at the Ritz and also a bank. You can bring US money and change it into Egyptian pounds. Our guide recommended that we get about $100 worth (around 2000 LE). Most vendors will take dollars.

 

It is 99 to 100 degrees here. Be sure to bring light colored clothing and light weight such as linen if you have any. Also bring any OTC meds, etc since there is no shopping available.

 

Heavy duty walking shoes are not needed. Most places have good sidewalks or very small gravel sidewalks. There are no large cobblestones like the streets in Europe.

 

Thank you! Such great info. I’ve been watching your weather and just ran out and bought some sun protection, moisture wicking clothing. Also, I will now load up our OTC meds with the assumption that we can’t get it there. And pack plenty of sunscreen...

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Appreciate your great postings and detailed follow-ups. For mid November, 2018, we are doing an Athens to Dubai, 20-day cruise with Oceania, including our first visits to the Holy Lands, Egypt, Middle East, etc. This will include an overnight stop to see Luxor.

 

Have you been to Luxor, yet? What did or do you expect to enjoy most there? Keep up the great sharing and postings.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 198,721 views for this posting.

 

Terry, I will try to answer your questions in the next couple days. We are flying home tomorrow morning at 1:15 am . I need to look at my photos to see what we did in Luxor since we have been to so many places and seen so much in the last 17 days.

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Terry, I will try to answer your questions in the next couple days. We are flying home tomorrow morning at 1:15 am ����. I need to look at my photos to see what we did in Luxor since we have been to so many places and seen so much in the last 17 days.

 

Appreciate your follow-ups. Understand being busy getting home, recovering from a busy trip, etc., etc. No rush!! Look forward to any and all tips, insights and suggestions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 223,650 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

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