Legend of the Seas - Too Early for Reviews of Cruise to Egypt?

[wesp]

Whn does Legend return from the first cruise to Alexandria, Egypt? Any reviews yet? :confused:

 

Wesley

[IMNiles]

We're already back! The first trip to Egypt was on the 5/19 sailing that returned 5/31. Most of us have been pretty buried trying to get back into "real life" so I don't think anyone has posted an exhaustive review. However, if you check out our roll call you'll find a lot of chatter and question-answering going on. The "executive summary" is that almost everyone thought Egypt was the highlight of their trip, though some were put off by the exceptionally aggressive vendors (one even got 'trapped' at the sphinx by a vendor demanding money). The nile cruise was widely regarded as a ripoff, and most people who took "caravans in the sands" (myself included) really enjoyed it but were exhausted by the end of the day. The Egypt day is very rushed because there is so much to see and so little time to see it due to the long 2.5 hour bus ride to Cairo from the port. The sights are amazing, but in some cases you have as little as 20 or 30 minutes to enjoy them before being bundled off to the next sight.

 

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

[threeofus]

Oh thank you for posting....we are going 2008.

 

What were the dining times?

 

Did you indeed need a visa for Egypt and Turkey- even with an RCL excursion?

 

Thank you again.

[dawne577]

Thinking seriously about this itinerary in 2009 - would you put down a deposit now or wait until 14 months out? We'll be on the Radiance then and can get OBC.

[jilly08]

Thinking seriously about this itinerary in 2009 - would you put down a deposit now or wait until 14 months out? We'll be on the Radiance then and can get OBC.

 

I booked our April 2008 cruise 13 months out. The prices hadn't changed since they were first published and they haven't moved at all since.

Personally, I'd wait for the OBC.

 

Check out their roll call for your questions. If you go to the last two pages, I think you will find answers to your questions.

[IMNiles]

Dining times were 6 and 6:30 for early (depending on your table number) and 8 and 8:30 for late (again, depending on your table number).

 

No visas were required for any port (or, more accurately, any required visas were entirely handled by the cruiseline). At various times during the trip they collected our passports and took care of all of that for us. We got them back right before we would need them (I believe we needed them in-hand for Egypt).

 

If I were you, I'd deposit now, and then just cancel and rebook if it's the same when you can get OBC. I collected *3* price drops for a total difference of $600 PER PERSON between when I booked and when we sailed, but the price also ranged up to $1000 MORE PER PERSON than we paid. That's a total range, for the same class cabin, of $1600 per person. The best price was shortly after final payment was due, but all of the drops were for guarantee cabins, so I had to keep giving up my room assignment to get them (no great loss).

[threeofus]

We put our deposit down...and yes we are planning to rebook onboard for two reasons 1.OBC

2. We will be platinum after next cruise and want to get the discount.

 

Thanks so much for the info.