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Uniworld Resumes Egypt Cruise Tours

ewizabeff

By ewizabeff,
in River Cruising

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  • 1 month later...
Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

Posted
Posted (edited)
whats a good month to visit Egypt? Uniworld trip looks interesting.

 

We went in Jan/Feb. Friend of ours who was born and raised in Cairo advised us and weather was wonderful. Spring is prone to sandstorms and it starts getting really hot. Many cruises will start excursions very early in morning and return to ship by 10 a.m. to avoid extreme heat...then go out again very late afternoon. If you would like info on things to bring etc e-mail me chydro564@yahoo.com happy to help. It was a fantastic trip and unforgettable experience.

Edited by Hydrokitty
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Cruisenmike711

Cruisenmike711

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Uniworld announced this week on Facebook that they're resuming their cruise/tour in Egypt, beginning in October 2015. This one will be on my bucket list, eventually. Is anyone else considering going?

 

This cruise looks fantastic, but we're even more desperate to do their River Cruise in India... Probably not till 2017.

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YoungDubFan "Live from...." Rare

YoungDubFan

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We went to Egypt in the first week of February, when I was lucky enough to go in 2008 - before all the troubles started. The weather was wonderful. It did get warm during the days, but it was never uncomfortable. We were a group of 8 women and most days we were fine wearing capri pants and short sleeve to 3/4 sleeve tops. On our arrival day we had time to be at the hotel pool - we were at an American hotel chain, and were told we were fine in our bathing suits at the pool. Definitely bring some form of cover up. One day of the cruise also allowed us to sun bathe and we again wore swim suits and it was not inappropriate to do so.

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jpalbny "Live from...." Rare

jpalbny

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It's a nice brochure... The trip looks very fun, but very similar to what we did 2 years ago with A&K. The hotel that they use is beautiful - Four Seasons (one of two in Cairo). We stayed at both of them during different parts of our A&K trip, and both are gorgeous properties.

 

The boat looks very nice and the pictures make it look better than the boat that A&K uses - not that the MS Sun Boat III was bad at all. I wonder if they own the boat, or if they just lease it, or even whether they lease a portion of the rooms.

 

The one major difference I saw in the itinerary is that you don't visit Abu Simbel with Uniworld, though it is available as an optional add-on. Abu Simbel was definitely worth the visit, but it made for a very long day! Perhaps flying to and from Aswan would make it easier; we flew from Cairo to Abu Simbel, then back to Aswan to board the boat.

 

I would not hesitate to visit Egypt again with Uniworld (or with A&K), but I don't think we need to do this itinerary again. Will wait for something a little different, perhaps.

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

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The one major difference I saw in the itinerary is that you don't visit Abu Simbel with Uniworld, though it is available as an optional add-on. Abu Simbel was definitely worth the visit, but it made for a very long day! Perhaps flying to and from Aswan would make it easier; we flew from Cairo to Abu Simbel, then back to Aswan to board the boat.

 

 

We did Egypt and Jordan in 2009 and Abu Simbel was included with Vantage...that's one of the reasons we chose them because everyone else had Abu Simbel as an optional (and an expensive one). We flew from Cairo to Aswan and then by bus across the desert to Abu Simbel. The bus ride was a little tedious, but since our flight was at 4 a.m., most everyone slept anyway! The few of us who stayed awake really enjoyed the desert scenery and saw a couple of caravans crossing the desert! At Abu Simbel we boarded the Omar Khayyam and next morning began our 3 day cruise of Lake Nasser, which was wonderful! In any event, the bottom line is: if you're going to Egypt take the Abu Simbel tour whether it's included or not, it's definitely worth it!!

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YoungDubFan "Live from...." Rare

YoungDubFan

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I agree that Abu Simbel is worth visiting. We actually booked our tour through General Tours and they arranged all aspects of both the land and Nile cruise. Back in 2008, we flew from Aswan to Abu Simbel and then back to Cairo. Even then, we were told that it was dangerous to drive from Aswan to Abu Simbel and that all caravans had to be escorted by armed escorts. Not long before we were there, a caravan with some Italian tourists was hijacked and they were held for ransom. If you go to Egypt, do Abu Simbel but fly - don't drive.

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

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I agree that Abu Simbel is worth visiting. We actually booked our tour through General Tours and they arranged all aspects of both the land and Nile cruise. Back in 2008, we flew from Aswan to Abu Simbel and then back to Cairo. Even then, we were told that it was dangerous to drive from Aswan to Abu Simbel and that all caravans had to be escorted by armed escorts. Not long before we were there, a caravan with some Italian tourists was hijacked and they were held for ransom. If you go to Egypt, do Abu Simbel but fly - don't drive.

 

We did have an armed guard with us at all times but we never had any problems. Our trip was soon after an attack was made on a group of German tourists at the pyramids and two weeks after we got home a tourist was killed by an IED at the bazaar. These things happen, but right now even with all the unrest, I have not read or heard about a single act of violence or terror involving a tourist. But I would NOT drive anywhere by myself in that area.

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sunsetme

sunsetme

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I have not used UNiworld previously but if I booked Egypt which I consider a high risk trip ( in terms of cancellations due to security issues) I would want to include their air. Does anyone know who they use to fly to Egypt? We fly out of LAX.

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

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I have not used UNiworld previously but if I booked Egypt which I consider a high risk trip ( in terms of cancellations due to security issues) I would want to include their air. Does anyone know who they use to fly to Egypt? We fly out of LAX.

 

When we went to Egypt everyone had to fly on Egypt Air out of JFK. We had friends who live in San Francisco who flew to JFK and then we all boarded the same flight. It was very nice, the only thing that was blatantly obvious was the no alcoholic beverage policy, but outside of that, the food was fine and I felt very comfortable flying them. When we left Cairo for home I did notice a few other airlines, but because we also had domestic flights in Egypt I think EgyptAir pretty much wrote the contract.

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Wendy The Wanderer

Wendy The Wanderer

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When we went to Egypt everyone had to fly on Egypt Air out of JFK. We had friends who live in San Francisco who flew to JFK and then we all boarded the same flight. It was very nice, the only thing that was blatantly obvious was the no alcoholic beverage policy, but outside of that, the food was fine and I felt very comfortable flying them....

 

What a bizarre way of doing things. When was this? I can't imagine having to do that, not be able to choose my airlines, departure city, etc.

 

I just looked at this cruise for 2015--it's very, very tempting!

Edited by Wendy The Wanderer
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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

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What a bizarre way of doing things. When was this? I can't imagine having to do that, not be able to choose my airlines, departure city, etc.

 

I just looked at this cruise for 2015--it's very, very tempting!

 

This was in 2009 and things were a lot different then. I think it probably had to do with the contract Vantage had with EgyptAir to provide the "in country" flights. I know our friends in SFO had to fly to JFK and then board the same flight with us and there were other people on board from one of the other tour companies. EgyptAir probably gave them the best deal....It's usually all about the money, isn't it? :) I would just make very certain that if you book your own air, your in Egypt flights, Cairo to Aswan for example, are included in the base tour. It also stands to reason that the Egyptian government would be doing everything possible to lure tourists back since tourism is probably 75% of their economy.

Edited by Hydrokitty
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  • 4 months later...
Maro 11

Maro 11

Posted
Posted (edited)
Maro, when are you going? We're on the October 17th sailing. There's also a roll-call thread for all sailings, without much content yet, but if you're interested in sharing questions and ideas, here it is:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2187370

 

Hello Wendy

My husband & I will at same cruise on Oct. 17th, I just booked the cruise & Egypt trip was good offer and it recommended from a friend. Hope see you at cruise ship ..

Edited by Maro 11
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