Which tour company should we book in Egypt??????

[Feliseop]

We will be arriving in Alexandria on June 28,2008 on the Pacific Princess. My group of 8 is interested in doing on overnight in Cairo and returning to Port Said the following day. I have received quotes from Memphis Tours, Nile Blue, and DeCastro. All the quotes were around the $250 range and included a similar itinerary. Has anyone personally used these companies? Also, we have a choice of a Light and Sound show or a Dinner cruise on the Nile. Any opinions which would be better? Thanks for your responses. The posters on these boards are always so helpful.

[lindaann]

We will be arriving in Alexandria on June 28,2008 on the Pacific Princess. My group of 8 is interested in doing on overnight in Cairo and returning to Port Said the following day. I have received quotes from Memphis Tours, Nile Blue, and DeCastro. All the quotes were around the $250 range and included a similar itinerary. Has anyone personally used these companies? Also, we have a choice of a Light and Sound show or a Dinner cruise on the Nile. Any opinions which would be better? Thanks for your responses. The posters on these boards are always so helpful.

 

 

We were on the Royal Princess in June. We did an overnight with Decastro Tours. They were superb in every aspect. We stayed overnight at the Meridien Pyramids Hotel in Giza. Also superb. We did not do either the dinner cruise or the sound and light show so can't comment on those.

[eh2zed]

We used Memphis and were very pleased. They will take a credit card although they still want photocopies, etc when you get there. Very professional and loved their Live Chat feature on their website.

[Andiamo!]

We used Nile Blue Tours and they were absolutely fantastic. Very professional 100% of the time and extremely knowledgeable. The other advantage is that they allow cruise ship passengers to pay on arrival in Egypt since the bank wire costs are so high to Egypt.

 

Some people love the Sound and Light Show and some find it a bit dull.

 

Some people love the Nile Dinner Cruise, but others find it too much to do at the end of a long day. If you enjoy the musical aspects of a culture then I would highly recommend it, but only if there isn't a similar show available at your hotel which would allow you to unwind a bit earlier.

 

These are very personal choices. I organized for a large group last year and some people loved these activites. Others enjoyed them, but were not quite as enthusiastic. Either way, the entire group had an absolutely marvelous time and I am sure you will as well. It will certainly be a trip to remember!

 

If you decide to go with Nile Blue Tours, ask for Hazem, the manager. Tell him Vicki recommended him and I am sure he will take particularly good care of you. I am organizing another shore excursion through them this year and I am sure he will know who you are referring to.

 

Have a wonderful time. Egypt is absolutely amazing!

 

Vicki:)

[Andiamo!]

We used Nile Blue Tours and they were absolutely fantastic. Very professional 100% of the time and extremely knowledgeable. The other advantage is that they allow cruise ship passengers to pay on arrival in Egypt since the bank wire costs are so high to Egypt.

 

Some people love the Sound and Light Show and some find it a bit dull.

 

Some people love the Nile Dinner Cruise, but others find it too much to do at the end of a long day. If you enjoy the musical aspects of a culture then I would highly recommend it, but only if there isn't a similar show available at your hotel which would allow you to unwind a bit earlier.

 

These are very personal choices. I organized for a large group last year and some people loved these activites. Others enjoyed them, but were not quite as enthusiastic. Either way, the entire group had an absolutely marvelous time and I am sure you will as well. It will certainly be a trip to remember!

 

If you decide to go with Nile Blue Tours, ask for Hazem, the manager. Tell him Vicki recommended him and I am sure he will take particularly good care of you. I am organizing another shore excursion through them this year and I am sure he will know who you are referring to.

 

Have a wonderful time. Egypt is absolutely amazing!

 

Vicki:)

[kdowneymd]

We used DeCastro for a one day trip from alexandria to Cairo and were not pleased by the experience (please see previous posts) Egypt was just amazing but I would seriously consider someone else based upon our experience

[Feliseop]

It was great to get good reviews for all three of the tour companies. I have eliminated DeCastro because the others offered a bit more for the same price. It doesn't sound like I can go wrong with Nile Blue or Memphis. If anyone has any further info or experiences, I would love to hear from you. Thanks again to all who responded.:)

[neicie]

We were on the NCL Jewel in May and did an overnight with De Castros. There was 8 of us in the group and the majority of us (7) found them excellent. We paid $185US pp but that didnt include the entrance fees to go inside the Pyramid, camel ride or the mummy rooms in the museum. We stayed in the Le Meridian which was beautiful but for the actual time spent in the hotel it really didnt matter. We did both the light show and the river cruise. We didnt get back to the hotel till after 1am. It was a very long day and we really could have skipped the cruise. I preferred the show. Our guide Omar, was excellent and we had no complaints there at all. My only complaint was the unscheduled stops at the Papyus factory and a carpet factory(even though we bought one). This caused us not to have very long at the bazaar. Overall I think De Castros were an excellent tour company and all businesses have an employee that may not be up to scratch and also some customers are extremely hard to please. I would happily recommend De Castros.

[Andiamo!]

That was another thing I liked about Nile Blue Tours. I had casually mentioned not wanting to stop at any papyrus factories or carpet schools and there was no mention of it again.

 

On the other hand, they did have a cartouche brochure on the bus which allowed people to order personalized cartouches in silver, silver with gold hieroglyphics, or gold. They phoned in the order and we picked them up just before leaving for the port. This year they have added personalized t-shirts in a whole myriad of colors with names in hieroglyphics as well. We thought that was a great idea and an efficient use of time which is so precious on shore excursions.

[joybelles9]

We have just returned from the holy land cruise on the royal princess and there were 6 of us that did an overnighter with temo tours (info@temtours.com) and can say how impressed we were with Teymour the owner and his driver rep and egyptologist and no deposit if the ship didnt call you lost no money we were picked up at Port Said and convoyed to Cairo straight to the Pyramids and sphinx at giza time for a camel ride for 2 of our party and plenty of time for photos Then we were taken to the step pyramids plenty of time there never rushed or hurried along the next stop was Memphis where the large statues of Rameses are and off to the Le Meridians pyramid hotel for 90 minutes to rest and change we were then taken to the sound and light show at the pyramids and then on to the Crystal Nile buffet cruise with show - belly and derverish dancers and singing and great views of the nile at night from the top deck then back to the hotel after breakfast the next morning we went to the Cairo museum for over 2 hours were walked through each dynasty by the egyptologist then the mummies room and Tuts treasure room we then spent 30 minutes in the great mosque then on to the khan khali bazaar and the goldsmiths for a couple of hours then we travelled to Alexandria had a short tour of the waterfront and a photo shoot at the old fort which is on the original site of the lighthouse of Alexandria then back to the ship 90 minutes before sailing Our tour did include lunches but we did not take advantage of this as it was Ramadan and our driver rep and egyptologist were not eating during the day also with the horrendous and I mean Horrendous traffic (17 million cairo and 17 million in Giza population) we took sandwiches fruit water and juice from the ships room service and ordered lunchboxes from the hotel for the next day so we ate in the van between sights which saved us at least an hour each day to spend at the sights The van was airconditioned and had a chest fridge which really kept both the food and drinks cold The cost for 6 was $190 usd per person this included all entrance fees but we paid an extra $40 this was for our add ons included being upgraded from a 5 star hotel in Cairo to the le meridian hotel with pyramid view the sound and light and the buffet cruise so $230usd all in all now Teymour offers discounts about $5 usd for every extra person also the more people the harder to control the timeline. on returning to our ship we discussed with folk that had taken De castro they spent first day just at the pyramids at giza and starbucks restaraunt and khan khali bazaar sound n light and the dinner cruise but had not had time to check into hotel and freshen up the next day they left 90 minutes before us and went to step pyramids and had 1 hour in museum and back to the bazaar and only made the ship by running as the gangplank was being pulled up they had 9 on their van Spoke to people group of 8 that had done a tour with Blue nile they had seen the giza pyramids a papyrus factory step pyramids sound n light show first day the museum mosque and half an hour in the bazaar the second day made it back to the ship about 30 minutes before us Now both these groups paid more than we did per person and we saw a lot more and did everything on our itinerary and at no time felt rushed we had tweaked the original itineray and cut out things like papryus factory and cut down time at the mosque and saved a lot of time eating in the traffic its just a thought but most of the shopping I can do on the net and its the sights we wanted to see and as for cartouches the very best and value for money was worn by one of the ladys on our van she had ordered on the net it was delivered to the hotel and was waiting for her when she arrived there so once she had inspected it she signed the credit card there and then and it was put in an envelope for the jeweler to pick up the web site for this ladies is www.gouzlan.com check it out you wont find better

[lambs2]

I just searched for and found your post here, Joy! WOW! Thanks for all the info on Temo Tours and for the help you have given us with your emails to us too! We are going to contract Temo Tours for our two days and overnight in Cairo in February 2009. You have been a tremendous help. Skipping the lunch stops is brilliant and we will definitely ask our guide to steer clear of the papyrus institute and rug factories too. We also want to see just as many sights as possible and the touring days you describe sound great to us!

[grumpee]

We will be in Alexandria for one day -- I think it is Oct. 20. The excursions offered by Costa don't suit us. We would rather visit interesting stores and nice gardens and/or the souk. We'll also need a German speaking guide. Being able to speak US English would be a plus, but is not necessary. Suggestions welcomed and appreciated.

[Susan-M]

We'll also need a German speaking guide.

 

I would recommend posting this question on the tripadvisor forum for either Alexandria or Cairo.

 

Here's a link to a list compiled by the Cairo "destination expert" of guides that have received good reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g294201-c85398/Cairo:Egypt:Tourist.Guides.Recommendations..html

 

...and a link to the forum thread with feedback on guides: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294201-i9404-k1732507-Tourist_Guides_Recommended_by_TA_Members_2008-Cairo.html

[mountainmare]

grumpee--

check out the old threads on the rollcall for Costa

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=557284

T-2 on the sailing above gives a wonderful detailed account of her sailing on the Concordia.

She used Nileblue for a tour of Alexandria.

We used DeCastro for a trip to Cairo and were very pleased.

 

While preparing for our Concordia cruise I found that the rollcalls for other sailings of our itinerary really helped, especially since it was our first Costa cruise and we went in Feb/March which was very off-season. Now we wouldn't want to travel any other time!!

[lambs2]

Thanks for that link, Mountainmare!

Prices are a bit higher now, but overnight trips to Cairo from Alexandria can still be booked much more reasonably than the large ship tours. Is it true that we may all, private or ship tours, have to caravan in to Cairo together from the ship? Heard that rumor on one of the boards.

 

Another very highly rated tour guide for Cairo is Rasha El Ashmawy. Anyone have experiences to share about here and her tours of Cairo area?

[Susan-M]

 

Another very highly rated tour guide for Cairo is Rasha El Ashmawy. Anyone have experiences to share about here and her tours of Cairo area?

 

I will post a review of our day with her after our October cruise. I booked her based on the good reviews on TA, and on the correspondence that I've had with her.

Here's the link to her website: http://www.egyptdailytours.com/

[neicie]

Thanks for that link, Mountainmare!

Prices are a bit higher now, but overnight trips to Cairo from Alexandria can still be booked much more reasonably than the large ship tours. Is it true that we may all, private or ship tours, have to caravan in to Cairo together from the ship? Heard that rumor on one of the boards.

 

Another very highly rated tour guide for Cairo is Rasha El Ashmawy. Anyone have experiences to share about here and her tours of Cairo area?

No, its not true about the caravans travelling together. We went with DeCastro's and had 2 mini vans and they travelled together but no ships tours as they left after us. Its probably grown from all the tours heading in the same direction at roughly the same time.

We had Omar Hefny from DeCastros. He was excellent. Speaks french, english and spanish omarhefni@hotmail.com

[WeBeGone]

No, its not true about the caravans travelling together. We went with DeCastro's and had 2 mini vans and they travelled together but no ships tours as they left after us. Its probably grown from all the tours heading in the same direction at roughly the same time.

We had Omar Hefny from DeCastros. He was excellent. Speaks french, english and spanish omarhefni@hotmail.com

 

From Cairo, all busses and vans travel in a caravan. Police block any side streets to allow a speedy and uninterruped flow of the caravan. Last Nov 100 of us cc folks left the Star Princess for a Cairo overnight arranged with Nile Blue. It was an amazing 36 hours and Nile Blue was professional in every way.

[Radioactive]

Hi Susan, I see that you are using Rasha as your tour guide in Egypt. When are you going in October and what cruise ship are you on? We have scheduled her for us in October and we are on the Legend of the Seas. Other than trip advisor have you heard from anyone that has used her services? My question to anyone, should we skip lunch to see more of Cairo? Has anyone done this? Joan

[lambs2]

Skipping lunch in Cairo will save you considerable time. I am currently corresponding with a group from Australia that did just that and got much more in their tour than other groups that stopped for lunch. They said they brought prepackaged foods with them that they brought on their cruise for that purpose, or cereal, granola bars from the ship. They ate them in the tour van between tour spots. (It also helped keep anyone in their group from coming down with "Mummy Tummy!") We have planned this with two differenet tour companies (still deciding between them) for our upcoming Cairo overnight in Feb. 2009. Also the savings from the lunches not being provided will pay for admission to the Mummy Room at the Egyptian Museum (100 EGP), according to the tour guides, and the Mummy Room is not usually included in standard tours.

[EASYTRAVEL777]

From Cairo, all busses and vans travel in a caravan. Police block any side streets to allow a speedy and uninterruped flow of the caravan. Last Nov 100 of us cc folks left the Star Princess for a Cairo overnight arranged with Nile Blue. It was an amazing 36 hours and Nile Blue was professional in every way.

 

This distinction between De Castro and Nile Blue may seem small to some of you, but it wasn't for us. De Castro does not wait for the caravan to form. They will always try to leave as soon as possible. Knowing the right people at the port, and possibly a little token, goes a long way in Egypt.

 

It makes a huge difference to the total touring time available to you if your vehicle goes out first, or if it goes out last.

[Susan-M]

Hi Susan, I see that you are using Rasha as your tour guide in Egypt. When are you going in October and what cruise ship are you on?

 

Hi Joan,

We will be on Azamara Quest Oct. 11-25th and our Alexandria port day is Oct. 23rd. I don't think anyone on CC has used Rasha ... but then I notice that there is hardly any mention of DeCastro and NileBlue on Tripadvisor... strange? I'm impressed with the TA reports of Rasha, so hopefully we'll come back with glowing reports as well.:)

[Toto2Kansas]

This distinction between De Castro and Nile Blue may seem small to some of you, but it wasn't for us. De Castro does not wait for the caravan to form. They will always try to leave as soon as possible. Knowing the right people at the port, and possibly a little token, goes a long way in Egypt.

 

It makes a huge difference to the total touring time available to you if your vehicle goes out first, or if it goes out last.

 

Well, I myself felt much better and safe traveling in the caravan. I don't think I would have been quite as relaxed if our bus/van would have taken off by itself. The way they block off all side streets for the caravan to pass makes things go very quickly.

We weren't on our bus for over 5-10 minutes before we took off, so there reallfy was no kind of wait whatsoever. 5 extra minutes would never talk me into a tour without the extra comfort of the security offered.

[Andiamo!]

My understanding is that any vehicle transporting at least 3 cruise passengers is required by law to travel from the port to Cairo with the convoy.

 

I suppose a bribe could be effective with the Tourism Police, but I personally prefer traveling with a tour operator that follows the rules. I don't believe its generally dangerous to travel without the required security measures, (and we certainly felt safe at all times in Egypt, no matter where we were) but doesn't it seem logical that a company that respects the laws has a better chance of demonstrating the same respect in its dealings with its customers?

 

Or imagine this: Word gets out that some tour operators manage to avoid travelling with the convoy and therefore leave 15 minutes early. As the minibuses are travelling along the desert highway they get hijacked by masked men who know that more and more tour operators collect payment once their guests are on the bus. The culprits are gone with the cash by the time the security vehicles leading the convoy arrive.

 

I believe that Egypt is as safe as it is for tourists due to the security measures that are in place. The 5-star hotels we've stayed at have security guards at the entrance that x-ray your handbags like at the airport. Just because that's a bit of a pain I would never seek out a hotel that didn't both to do that.

 

I've organized overnights in Cairo twice for CC members (with Nile Blue Tours) and maybe I'm overly cautious, but I just wouldn't feel right if we didn't follow Egypt's security regulations.

 

I'm really surprised that DeCastro would avoid the convoy like that.:confused:

[Andiamo!]

IMHO if someone is doing a quick day trip to Cairo and back from Port Said or Alexandria then bringing snacks instead of stopping for lunch is a great idea.

 

On the other hand, if you're spending the night in Cairo, I think it's definitely worthwhile to stop for lunch... You will still have time to see the main sights and the lunch hour will give you a chance to catch your breath before you take off again on your whirlwind tour.