Purchasing Alcohol in Middle East

[Joyfredsblondecruiser]

I asked this on another board but I feel this is a more actice boaard. We will have 7 nights on the cruise down the Nile. I am asking this question again. We will be doing a Nile Egypt cruise with 6 nights in Egypt and 6 nights in Jordon and 6nights in Jereusalem is it difficult to purchase Wine, Beer, and Alcohol at stores in Egypt and Jordon? I had read that Egyptian airlines does not serve alcohol on the plane. I am sure there are perhpas Hotels one can purchase a cocktail. Thank you. Happy Sailing, Joy

[relevart]

I had no trouble getting 1.75 ltr. bottle of Dewars in Jordon at a pretty good price. The strict religious people don't drink but our guide said others do.

[harrodsfan]

Have traveled to Egypt last month and Jordan a few years ago.

No problem buying drinks on our Nile Cruise or at hotels in Amman, Cairo and Petra. Didn't buy bottles but they were availble at hotels..

Just a heads up...egyptian wine is not too great...and import wine is big bucks...suggest local beer which is great!

No alchohol on planes... Suggest you BYO....:) (But don't do what I did..got a tomato juice and added my vodka too it.. only problem was that it was cranberry vodka...yuck...)

[Seacucumber]

We bought our booze at the Cairo airport during our transit to Jordan as our Jordan was a pretrip. I suggest that you buy alcohol in U.S airport duty free store before you leave. In Egypt, there is a strange law that you can not buy alcohol in a liquor store 3 or 4 days after your arrival. Therefore you have to stock up the day you arrive. In hotels and bars they serve alcohol. In Jordan we had wine with oue meals in all the places we stayed and there was no problem.

[Joyfredsblondecruiser]

Thank you again so much for the information Harrodsfan and Seacucumber. I had not thought about liquor until I had read that they do not serve alcohol on Egyptian airlines. I will bring my own mini bottles on the plane and do as you both suggested at the airport. Happy Sailing, Joy

[Mrs007]

Okay, so let me get this straight. Egypt Air does NOT serve alcohol during the flight from New York to Cairo??? If that is the case, are you allowed to bring on your own? With the new restrictions regarding how much liquid you can bring on board, could we take 6 -8 mini-bottles in my purse for our consumption?

 

Also, is there a store in the Cairo airport upon our arrival to purchase bottles for our personal consumption while we are in Egypt for 2 weeks? Or, should we both put a liter in our checked baggage? We aren't going until November, but trying to get as much info up front as I can.

 

We will be staying at the Grand Hyatt and sailing on the Sonesta Moon Goddess (Nile) and Kasr Ibrim (Lake Nasser). Can't wait!!!! Any tips????

[Joyfredsblondecruiser]

I would check with the airlines about the mini bottles of alcohol. There is a liquor store in Cairo that my husband bought vodka made in Egypt from and it was quite good. It is called Drinkies. They seem to have more than one there so it is a chain. Our guide dropped guests that wanted to purchase off there and my husband walked back to the hotel. We were able to buy Stella Beer at a kiosk across the street from our Hotel the Ramses Hilton. I hope this helps. Happy Sailing, Joy

[paul929207]

We sat on deck with friends on our Nile cruise and enjoyed "Stella Time". Stella is an Egyptian beer.

 

Paul

[Joyfredsblondecruiser]

Paul we enjoyed the Stella also. I live in California and I saw it on the menu of a restaurant we go to and I smiled. I did not think the white wine was very good but the red wine was ok. I think the Beer was better than the wine I tried. in Egypt. Happy Sailing, Joy

[Kindlychap]

Okay, so let me get this straight. Egypt Air does NOT serve alcohol during the flight from New York to Cairo???

 

We will be staying at the Grand Hyatt and sailing on the Sonesta Moon Goddess (Nile) and Kasr Ibrim (Lake Nasser). Can't wait!!!! Any tips????

 

 

One word of advice is to remember that this is a Muslim country. It is also a muslim country with a mad love of rules.

 

You will be able to drink in Cairo on the boat, and in the hotel.

 

Bearing in mind that this is a very poor country - especially compared to the UK and USA - do you not feel that the decent thing would be to buy it in their country?

 

Matthew

[dlhamlten]

Is there any problem at Egypt Airlines Baggage handling at JFK or at the Cairo Airport if you have wine and/or liquor in your checked suitcase ?

[Kindlychap]

Is there any problem at Egypt Airlines Baggage handling at JFK or at the Cairo Airport if you have wine and/or liquor in your checked suitcase ?

 

Two minutes on the internet produced the informtion that it is permitted to bring ONE bottle of alcohol and 200 cigarettes into the Arab Republic of Egypt.

 

In addition video recorders must be declared on entry. From memory you will be fleeced if you take one - they tax them very heavily and charged ten times as much for a video camera as for a still camera in any circumstances possible.

 

Digital camera and phone owners must be careful as those are equipped with video recorders too.

 

The sensible thing to do is contact your local embassy. Just because someone has escaped the penalty before doesn't mean that you will.

 

Matthew

[dlhamlten]

That was kind of you to do this research for me !

[pacmom]

My husband and I recently returned from a Nile cruise. Egyptian wine (the only kind served on our boat) is like a very young green retsena. I found the white to be undrinkable--the red not as bad. We purchased some scotch distilled in Egypt. It was also undrinkable for our palates. Stick to the beer---it is some of the best I've drunk. Egypt is such a beautiful country, once you're out of Cairo. Our 7 nites on the Nile were not nearly enough. Travel safely and enjoy.

 

Pat

[Mrs007]

Thanks for the info KindlyChap. I knew we could each take a liter, but with weight restrictions was hoping to purchase at JKF as a carry on item. We also don't mind purchasing at the Cairo airport if the need be.

 

Secondly, my digital camera does have a movie mode (which I never use), does that mean I may not be able to take it or have to pay a high fee to take it into Egypt??

 

Lastly, PACMOM (Pat) would love to hear about your trip. Where did you stay in Cairo? Which ship on the Nile? How was the food? etc, etc, etc.

[Kindlychap]

Secondly, my digital camera does have a movie mode (which I never use), does that mean I may not be able to take it or have to pay a high fee to take it into Egypt??

 

I can't answer that. It has been many years since I have been in Egypt. But videorecorders were then seen as a cash cow. One paid a fee to take a camera anywhere, and it was usually ten times as much for a video.

 

I'm sure you will have no problems bringing it in. But it is always worth remembering that Nasser promised a job for everyone who wanted one in the Civil Service when he was in power, and the country still suffers from the red tape to this day. And if someone wants to decide a movie mode makes it a video recorder, you haven't really the same appeal to the rule book that you have in the West.

 

But it is a beautiful, wonderful country, well worth visiting. Just relax with it. It works at a different pace, both faster and slower at the same time.

 

Matthew

[pacmom]

Mrs.007,

 

We went with Uniworld--2 nites at the Cairo Marriott, 7 nites on MS Giselle and 2 more nites at the Marriott. The Marriott is on an islabd in the middle of the Nile---not near very much. It has 8 restaurants from a bakery/coffee shop (wonderful sandwiches) to elegant dining. After touring all day we opted to eat there. The boat is owned by Egypt Hotels. It was immaculate, well taken care of. The rooms were basically the same. We had a king sized bed(hard as a rock), plenty of storage space and 2 chairs and a small table by the window--which opened. The bathroom had a tub with shower--don't think 2 people could try to get ready at the same time. The meals were all buffet--quite good. I mostly sampled things. The one nite there was a plated dinner---not good---choice of seafood or steak. At breakfast always make sure your eggs are cooked thoroughly. Also drink only bottled water--even at the Marriott. The tours were always right after breakfast. Our guide Akrem was very knowledgeable. Never rushed us and answered all our questions. The buses used for the tours were clean with good a/c. We bought postcards a lot because the vistas and monuments were soooo large. Also taking pictures inside some of the tombs and temples was not allowed. There was always afternoon tea on the sundeck--not high tea, but just enough for a quick pick-me-up. The staff on the boat was all male and they were all very good at their jobs. Because we only went as far as Aswan, we flew to Abu Simbel. If you are going on Lake Nasser, you will sail to the temples. It should be a spectacular sight. One thing no one has ever written about are the river vendors---while waiting to go thru the one lock, these blue row boats converge on the boat. They actually tie up. They try to sell throws and galabayas. They throw them up to the sun deck in plastic bags. If you like the merchanise, you start to bargain. If you buy something, you put the money in a weighted bag and throw it down. Yes, some stuff landed in the nile. Our only regret is not staying an extra day on our own to visit the Kahn (bazaar). If you have other questions, am sure someone here on the boards will be able to help. Travel safely and enjoy. Pat

[pacmom]

Since my last postdidn't show up as a reply on the thread index, thought I'd give another try. Don't hesitate to go to Egypt---just drink their beer, not their wine or alcohol. You can get So. African wines in the hotels--they are really good. Travel safely and enjoy Pat