Egypt overnight RCCL tour vs. Private

[drarill]

Hello everyone:

We booked the Mariner of the Seas for our next summer cruise. We will visit Alexandria, Egypt for two days. We are traveling with a big group of friends and family members, including children. This is going to be our first time in Egypt, and some of our friends are concern about our safety. We have friends that went to Egypt last year on the Legend of the Seas and looks like RCCL emphasized on the lack of safety in Egypt hence the importance of booking with them. I have read wonderful things about Ramses Tours on these boards, but I also will like to hear from people that have used the cruise line's overnight excursions. RCCL offers an overnight excursion for $495 (adults) & $245 (child), they also describe the hotel where you stay as a "leading hotel". If someone here used the cruise line excursions, can you tell me where did you stay? Will appreciate any feedback, we usually book private tours but will like to have more information before making a decision.

Thanks you in advance

[Kerry's Girls]

I was completely set on using the ship excursion for Egypt, especially since I was with my young children, but after I did months and months of research here, I finally decided on Moustafa Egypt Tours and it was the best part of our entire cruise. Moustafa has children and worked closely with me ahead of time to create a tour that kept the adults and the kids happy, and, even as women alone with kids, I never felt unsafe even for a moment. And the amazing thing is, that it costs so much less and we got to choose our own itinerary and go at our own pace. When we were done with a sight, we could leave, and we had the freedom to linger where we wanted. We also beat the big busses to every sight, so didn't have the crowds that others experienced.

 

I hear you about friends and family's safety concerns, but once you read these boards more, and especially after you arrive in Egypt, I expect you'll feel the same confidence about private tours over the mass ship tours that offer no flexibility and lack the VIP treatment we received from our private tour with Moustafa.

 

Best,

Mia

[drarill]

Mia;

Thanks for the feedback, we always book private tours. I'm going to check on Moustafa too.

Have a great day;

Lydia

[Kerry's Girls]

I'm happy to help, especially since the people on this board helped make our trip so spectacular.

 

I forgot to mention in my earlier post, that I'm pretty sure I read a review on CruiseCritic from a mom who said her only regret about her Med cruise (it was on the Norwegian Jade) was choosing the ship tour over a private tour in Egypt. You may be able to find her review under the Jade in 2009 - it's a great review about doing this cruise with kids and was the reason I looked into taking my girls in the first place. I second guessed the private tour thing all the way up until we arrived - and then when we were met so warmly by Moustafa's team, including gift bags for the children to amuse them during the long drive - I was so happy to have done it on our own. What's amazing is how much money you save to be given the VIP treatment :)

 

Best,

Mia

[drarill]

Mia;

Thanks again, I'm still trying to find it. I'm learning a lot while reading all the reviews.

Thanks;

Lydia

[Kerry's Girls]

Here's the review that got me looking at this itinerary in the first place:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=18060650&posted=1#post18060650

 

In reading it again now that I've done the trip myself, I think her view of Cairo was affected by being on one of the larger ship tours (which she says she regrets). We had none of the negative experience they did, and we are thrilled we did the overnight, since trying to fit everything in one day would be exhausting, especially for the kids, and probably also affect your enjoyment. By staying overnight near the pyramids (at Le Meredian), we were at the pyramids before all the busses arrived the second day, which I have to think really helped our experience. The traffic, poverty and general chaos are intense, but the people are so warm, and Moustafa and our guide were good with the kids and had an infectious love of their country.

 

Best,

Mia

[cruisemom42]

Although I didn't cruise with RCCL (we were on Princess), I just thought I would chime in. We did a ship's tour, as I was cruising with my mom and she insisted on it (not so much due to safety concerns; she has a paranoid fear of missing the ship....).

 

The ship's tour was well organized, but I would not recommend it. There are just too many people and things move slowly. We got a slow start due to some issues with docking, and were thus running behind all day. Later when we spoke to a large group of CC cruisers who had booked a private tour, they had a much better day than us -- less hectic and somehow they were able to see more.

 

The second day was also hectic, and I would've arranged it differently had I been on a private tour. It seemed we were visiting all the sites at the most crowded times. That's another great thing about going private....

 

Also, the hotel in Cairo that the cruise tour used, while excellent, was in a very inconvenient location for walking around on your own. Honestly, the biggest gripe I had with the ship's tour (aside from the ridiculously high price tag) was that it seemed they did all they could for 2 days to keep us from having any real contact with Egypt or Egyptians, other than our guide! I'm just not that kind of traveler. I don't like to experience a country through the windows of a large, 40 person bus. I want to get out, walk around, see things, talk to people.

 

As far as safety goes, I am a woman in my 40s and I often travel alone. After seeing for myself how safe it is in Egypt, I booked a land tour the next year and spent two weeks in Egypt. I even stayed a couple of days on my own in Cairo after the tour ended, and experienced no problems at all (other than trying to get across the extremely busy streets!).

 

I guess that's a long way of saying that I'd have no hesitation recommending that you go with a private company and I wish we had done the same on our cruise visit.

[MercedMike]

If RCI is indeed implying that private tours in Egypt are unsafe, they can only be doing so from a desire to herd people into their own tours. The private tours, in fact, travel from Alex to Cairo in the same guarded convoy that the ship's buses do. Our guide laughed at the convoy and said it was totally unecessary. At all the major tourist sites the tourist police were in evidence, but their major job seemed to be to pose for pictures and ask for "baksheesh" (a tip). Safety in Egypt is no more an issue than it would be in San Francisco.

 

But the safety issue aside, ship's tours can be excellent. They often include the most popular tourist sites and are very convenient to book and easy to take. You turn all the responsibility over to the ship and sit back and relax. Many people like to do it this way.

 

OTOH private tours require that you do a lot of research, and take the responsibility of connecting with your tour and being back to the ship on time. If you are uncomfortable doing this, then the ship's tours are for you.

 

If you are willing to take on the research and responsibility, however, private tours offer many advantages. The ship's tour is a "canned" tour and everybody goes the same places together. This may not fit your particular interests and especially may not fit the children's interests as well. Doing a long bus tour with bored or uncomfortable children is not going to be fun.

 

With a group of family and friends you can probably make very good arrangements with any one of the recommended private tour organizers which will include your special interests and special consideration of the kids (and also of mobility limited members of your party if there are any.) It will be a LOT of trouble. Being a group leader is never easy, and trying to get any sense of agreement among a lot of people is a nightmare. But in the long run I think you will get a GREAT tour and it will be well worth the trouble.

 

I seriously recommend that you pay the extra supplement for a "pyramid view" room at the Oberoi Mena House. Get up early and watch the pyramids emerge from the light of dawn for a stunning experience!

 

You can check our Egypt experiences at

http://www.bully4.us/holyland2.html

and

http://www.bully4.us/egyptmain.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Toto2Kansas]

OP, we booked with our roll call here on CC for a private overnite tour to Cario and the pyramids, it was fantastic, and I think we had more security with us then the ships tours did. We traveled in the same caravan to Cairo for saftey, but we were able to get to the sites before the masses arrived there. The price was less than half of what the ships tour was charging, and we saw a lot more, with less hassle then those that took the ships tour. Not once did we ever feel unsafe or without security present. You might also look into Nile Blue Tours, that is who we toured with and they did an absolutely fantastic job for the entire two days we visited.

With the ships tours, they try to cram far too many bodies in the buses, and the stops always seem to be shorter and not planned well for arrival and departure times. Best of luck and enjoy Egypt, it is a fascinating destination, who ever you book your tour with. ;)

[drarill]

THANK YOU EVERYONE:

I really like private tours and I don't mind doing all the research and emailing with the private tour's companies. But this is a new destination and some of our friends have some concerns. I always value and appreciate all the feedback that I get here. I'm going to email my friends all your comments.

Thanks again;

Lydia

[Stefan Batory]

aghatours.com

All of your fears will be gone...

Door to door transportation...

[whale-watcher]

We opted for a private tour BECAUSE we were traveling with two of our children...so nice to be able to arrange an itinerary tailored around our needs and interests (and at a substantial cost savings over the even more expensive princess overnight tour). At no time during our tour did we feel unsafe.

[msk1]

Hello everyone:

We booked the Mariner of the Seas for our next summer cruise. We will visit Alexandria, Egypt for two days. We are traveling with a big group of friends and family members, including children. This is going to be our first time in Egypt, and some of our friends are concern about our safety. We have friends that went to Egypt last year on the Legend of the Seas and looks like RCCL emphasized on the lack of safety in Egypt hence the importance of booking with them. I have read wonderful things about Ramses Tours on these boards, but I also will like to hear from people that have used the cruise line's overnight excursions. RCCL offers an overnight excursion for $495 (adults) & $245 (child), they also describe the hotel where you stay as a "leading hotel". If someone here used the cruise line excursions, can you tell me where did you stay? Will appreciate any feedback, we usually book private tours but will like to have more information before making a decision.

Thanks you in advance

 

We did an overnight with Ramses. Regarding safety: there was never a time when we felt at all "unsafe." Egypt is a wonderful place to visit and with good common sense you should have no worries. Clearly, one does not roam about at nighttime, nor would one do so at home in some areas. When out at night we were accompanied by our guide and had a wonderful time (light show at the pyramids). The ship has a vested interest in promoting their scare tactics. Do not be swayed!

MSK