Egypt overnight - any hassles?

[jane02]

We will be on the Insigna in October and looking at an overnight in Egypt with Ramses. The ship docks in Alexandria on Oct 5th and leaves Cairo on Oct 6th.

Has anyone experienced any problems disembarking at one port then getting back on at another port?

Thanks

Kellie

[cruisemom42]

I assume that you mean the ship will be departing from Port Said on the second day, as there's no port in Cairo...

 

There shouldn't be any hassle; cruise ships do this all the time and are very accustomed to passengers overnighting in Cairo. You will need to tell your cruise line that you plan to be off the ship overnight.

[alexandra cruiser]

Remember if you go off on your own, its up to you to get back on ship IN TIME for next sailing.....know thats obvious,but it happened that a couple didn t make it back from Cairo in time,,,,,,and ship left, they had to meet up at next port...a real hassle..... seems the traffic was even worse than usual....so check into ship sponsored tour,which was provided when we went...So now I always carry itinerary, times,etc. JUST in case that would ever happen...:eek:

[MercedMike]

The overnight tour in Cairo is very common and works very well. No hassles whatsoever.

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/holyland2.html

 

As the poster above noted, you must accept the VERY SMALL chance that you might miss the ship and be prepared for it -- just as with an independent tour in any port anyplace. It is a very rare occurrence indeed if you book with a recommended operator as they are very careful about departure times.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[jane02]

Thank you for your replies. I am considering Ramses tours in Egypt who appear well supported on these boards. I have never stayed off the ship on any of the cruises that I have done before so was interested to know if anyone had encountered any problems.;)

[Optifire]

We are on Celebrity Equinox for an Oct sailing and have booked Ramses Tours for the overnight Cairo. George has been great to work with booking the process. That is always my fear of booking with a private tour company, the possiblility of missing the ship. However, I dont know if you had the opportunity to go through Ramses website, but I have copied and pasted a paragraph from his most frequently asked questions. This one was about missing the ship and what happens. I have posted it below for you. It takes all the worry away on this isisue as they cover all the costs for you IF that should happen.

 

Will we miss our cruise?

Nope. We would like to assure you that we are always aware of the departure time of the cruise, and make sure that you return to the port at least 2 hours before the departure time. Although some tour agencies ask their clients to pay an extra suppliment for tour insurance in case you miss your cruise, with Ramses Tours, if for any reason related to us you missed the cruise, we get to be fully responsible making sure you catch your cruise in the next destination including (accomodating you in a 5 stars hotel , paying for your flight to the next port for the cruise with the transfer included) without paying any extra!

[randomletters]

There are two different Ramses tour companies. One is ramsestours.com and the other is ramsestours.net. Which one is everyone using?

[diane.in.ny]

There are two different Ramses tour companies. One is ramsestours.com and the other is ramsestours.net. Which one is everyone using?

 

Ohmigosh...good question as I was thinking of using them also....I was guessing it was ramsestours.com. Is it?

[CRUISERTN]

The Ramses Tours that the people on this board use is www.ramsestours.com Their email contact info on their site may not be updated....their correct email contact info is

 

ramsestours@gmail.com

 

Hope this helps!! We used Ramses last November and had a fabulous tour. Highly recommended. They will give you a wonderful tour and will take good care of you!! George is quick to reply to your requests. We had an amazing time and I am sure you will too!!:p

[diane.in.ny]

The Ramses Tours that the people on this board use is www.ramsestours.com Their email contact info on their site may not be updated....their correct email contact info is

 

ramsestours@gmail.com

 

Hope this helps!! We used Ramses last November and had a fabulous tour. Highly recommended. They will give you a wonderful tour and will take good care of you!! George is quick to reply to your requests. We had an amazing time and I am sure you will too!!:p

 

Thank you!

[Health Inspector]

We are cruising on NCL Jade in January 2011. I've been in touch with George from ramsestours.com. He is great to work with and very quick to respond to our emails. We now have 7 families joining our tour. We can't wait. :)

[des1rees561]

Generally nice people, despite the constant hassle you'll get.

We will be on the Insigna in October and looking at an overnight in Egypt with Ramses. The ship docks in Alexandria on Oct 5th and leaves Cairo on Oct 6th.

Has anyone experienced any problems disembarking at one port then getting back on at another port?

Thanks

Kellie

[smilesback]

We will be on the Insigna in October and looking at an overnight in Egypt with Ramses. The ship docks in Alexandria on Oct 5th and leaves Cairo on Oct 6th.

Has anyone experienced any problems disembarking at one port then getting back on at another port?

Thanks

Kellie

 

We just completed the Jade 12d cruise to Eastern Med and think you dock in Alexandria and leave from Alexandria.

 

Don't be afraid to book your own and save yourself a bundle of money. We had no unpleasant events in Cairo. We had been unsure about touring on our own as first time cruisers. But someone on Cruise Critic organized it and we took a chance.

 

We booked with Nile Blue Excursions and wanted to pass along our recommendation for them. They are a licensed tour group and have both overnight tours in Cairo as well as day tours in both Cairo and Alexandria. No one had problems getting back to the ship on time.

 

You can customize what you want to do and they give special rates for groups. The smallest group is 4 people. Our group was just the right amount of people 17 and then a couple more added on, which was fine too. We had an A/C Toyota mini van that looked brand new. They provided an Egyptologist as a guide, and security on-board who also drove the van really well. We didn't hit any potholes - it was a really comfortable ride. I wrote up a review for CC if you want more details. We signed up by sending an email to the tour manager. If you want to contact someone to organize a group and check out prices, email Ghada, at manager@nileblueexcursions.com Have Fun! Wish I was going to Egypt again.

[WeBeGone]

We also did an overnight with Nile Blue Tours. Hazem and Ghada were wonderful and we were pleased with all the arrangements.

[MSPCUBS]

We did an overnight with Ramses Tours. We were on the Jade in January and because of a health inspection by the Egyptian authorities, did not disembark in Alexandria until after 12 noon. (We were to disembark at 7 am). Our guide did a FABULOUS job of getting us to all of the sites in spite of losing 5 hours of time. We saw everything on our list except for the market. It was a wonderful experience!