Brilliance of the Seas - Suez Canal April 2012

[KenAndJulie]

Hello RCI board, I am a cruise regular, but Royal Caribbean virgin. We have sailed on Carnival, Princess, Ocean Village and several times with P&O all of which have given us absolutely fantastic holidays. We have just booked The Dubai to Rome trip next April on Brilliance of the seas (could not resist the itinerary).

 

I know there is a roll call board, but is anybody else on that trip ?

 

So, what I really want to find out are, what little secrets can you tell me about RCI to maximise our holiday experience?

Also how does RCI compare with the likes of Princess and P&O?

[KenAndJulie]

It's quiet in here, isn't it :D

[KenAndJulie]

No tips or suggestions for an RCI Newbie?

[CAT GIRL]

Well, I can't comment on the other cruiselines but we did a

similar itinerary this year on the Brilliance. It went from Barcelona

to Dubai and included many of your ports.

This was probably my favorite cruise of all because we were

quite adventuresome and did mostthings on our own. I'll comment

on some of your ports of call.

Dubai- We stayed here for 2 nights post cruise and loved the

city. Very safe, clean, and money, money, money. It was like

Rodeo Drive on crack. lol You could eat off the floor of the train

station it was so clean. And the clocks were Rolex! Be sure to

spend some time down at the Marina at night. So beautiful and a

neat place to eat.

Aqaba- We did a private tour here and went to Petra and Wadi

Rum. We did a private tour because I wanted to do both and the

ship's tours didn't offer it. Petra, I believe, is one of the ancient

Seven Wonders of the World. Spectacular. Then we were

transported via pickup truck to Wadi Rum where it was just me and my husband climbing the rock formations in the desert. I would truly love an

overnight at this port because camping out in the desert would

be truly memorable. We got to see some new born camels and

take a short ride. No haggling, no hassle, $6 a piece.

Suez Canal- was similar to the Panama Canal in a way. I'm glad

we had a balcony so I could just sit and watch the transit. It's

amazing how narrow the passage is.

Part of the excitement is the extra precautions the cruiseline takes

while sailing in this area. I won't go into detail but we felt very safe.

Safaga- had an excellant tour to the major sites. The drive there

was very interesting. Took a small boat across the Nile and had

lunch at a restaurant on the banks.

Alexandria- We had already been to Cairo so we opted to spend

the day with a friend/tour guide in Alexandria. We had a great

experience checking out the city.

Rome- well I could go on and on about Rome. It's one of my

favorite cities.

You have a GREAT itinerary. I don't know if I helped you at all

but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. We did private

tours in all the cities.

[KenAndJulie]

Thanks very much cat girl. Plenty of food for thought :-)