DeCastro Tours-Deposit

[teacherman]

We have scheduled a tour with DeCastro and they have asked us to "wire" a deposit. My bank charges $65 to wire $100 (seems excessive) so I decided to do a Western Union or MoneyGram. I was told to send it to an individual, who would pick it up, rather than to the company direct. BOTH Western Union and MoneyGram said to be very careful about sending to an individual I do not personally know, due to all of the internet fraud. Have any of you done this in the past? I am not so much worried about losing the deposit as I am about getting to Egypt and having no tour. Am I being too cautious? Comments are welcome. Thanks.

[alanmal]

We have scheduled a tour with DeCastro and they have asked us to "wire" a deposit. My bank charges $65 to wire $100 (seems excessive) so I decided to do a Western Union or MoneyGram. I was told to send it to an individual, who would pick it up, rather than to the company direct. BOTH Western Union and MoneyGram said to be very careful about sending to an individual I do not personally know, due to all of the internet fraud. Have any of you done this in the past? I am not so much worried about losing the deposit as I am about getting to Egypt and having no tour. Am I being too cautious? Comments are welcome. Thanks.

 

When I contact DeCastro and NileBlue 6 months ago, both wated to be paid in USD at the end of the tour. We Picke Nileblue because they had a better reputation than Decastro. If you read this board carefully, you will find a large negative revue of Decastro and there guides. I would be very carefull about what they want you to do. Tell them you want to use a credit card, if they say no, then use a different company.

 

Just my 3 cents worth after 69 cruises since 1976 all over the world.

 

Al :D

[mountainmare]

We had a day with DeCastro this March and had a wonderful day--read about it under the thread about Dalia---

Anyway--I was sending money in advance for both my day in Turkey and my day in Egypt. My bank (a teachers credit union) also advised me that wiring was the best choice.

I wired money through my bank to DeCastro---my bank made a mistake--the money never got there and I finally got it back (including the wire fee). It was going to cost me $30 to wire.

 

To save money I decided spend only $15 and moneygram my money to Turkey. So I went to my local Walmart--gave my money to a child behind the counter (well he looked like a child) and in two hours my money was in Turkey.

 

I wouuld not use moneygram by e-mail but go to somewhere local and do it in person.

 

When I talked to Moustafa when we got to Egypt I mentioned this--he asked why I had not considered moneygram since it is cheaper---it was because my bank told me wiring was the safest!!!!

 

Before I actually used moneygram I talked to a manager at Walmart (a grownup with his own office) about the safety of moneygram since I was sending about $800 and a bit nervous--he said it was totally safe and they had never had one go wrong.

[sea-explorer]

I haven't finalized anything yet as I am still planning, but I have contacted several tour guides for my one day in Alexandria (not Decastro), and none have asked for a deposit.

Actually this was one of the reasons amongst others that I have decided not to go with Decastro as I do not want the extra hassle & expense of paying a deposit this way.

 

(Slightly off topic, sorry, but I'm also surprized Mountainmare you needed to pay a deposit for Turkey. I have booked 2 consecutive days this year & again, no deposit required.)

[mountainmare]

We were a group of nine and spending three days pre-cruise in Rome. The later ports were Egypt and Turkey--which were to be paid in USD--everything else we did was euros. I was holding the money for our group--a family. I was uncomfortable having that much cash on hand for that amount of traveling, the hotel in Rome (which had a safe) and that long on the ship. It was my choice entirely.

Actually it was a good idea--our guide in turkey (Negat) was thrilled that I would pay in advance and Moustafa also did say that he was impressed by my trust in their company.

I first heard someone do this for all their tours on a Med cruise--which were in euros--they wanted to avoid any further ouch by the dropping dollar.

 

Yes it is a matter of trust--but guides and companies also know that if they do something wrong it will be written about and this will hurt their business...as evidenced by the latest DeCastro posts--I am sure that people will be afraid to book with them. When I had a horrible day and a very dishonest guide in Rome on our first med cruise I wrote about it and the owner was very angry with me because he had people cancel,

[sea-explorer]

Ah, thanks mountainmare. I was a little confused about the Turkey deposit. We are suffering a little with the strenghthening euro here in the UK too. I always hoped we would 'go in' when the option was being discussed, but I suppose that was for purely selfish reasons. We live quite near to Dover & visit France regularly..it's becoming more expensive for us as time goes by.

[Leejnd4]

Western Union and Moneygram are both methods of "wiring" money. They both operate the same way - you give them money, they charge a fee, and the money can be picked up by the designated recipient at any Western Union or Moneygram office as long as they have ID and the MTCN (money transfer control number).

 

Wiring money through a bank is a different thing - that's a "bank to bank transfer" and can involve higher fees. If you must send money to someone in a foreign country, it is usually best to use Western Union or Moneygram.

 

It is safe, in that nobody else should be able to retrieve your money unless they have the named recipient's ID and the MTCN number. As for how safe it is with the person you are sending it to, that depends on the reliability of the tour company.

 

Not all Egypt tour companies or guides require a deposit. I generally don't do business with private guides that do.

[lindaann]

We have scheduled a tour with DeCastro and they have asked us to "wire" a deposit. My bank charges $65 to wire $100 (seems excessive) so I decided to do a Western Union or MoneyGram. I was told to send it to an individual, who would pick it up, rather than to the company direct. BOTH Western Union and MoneyGram said to be very careful about sending to an individual I do not personally know, due to all of the internet fraud. Have any of you done this in the past? I am not so much worried about losing the deposit as I am about getting to Egypt and having no tour. Am I being too cautious? Comments are welcome. Thanks.

 

I have a suggestion. Send an email to Moustafa at DeCastro and tell him what a hassle it is to "wire" or otherwise send a deposit. Then tell him that none of the other big tour operators in Egypt, like Nile Blue etc, are asking for deposits and ask him if it would be Ok to pay when you start your tour. My guess is he will waive your deposit requirement.

 

P.S. We used DeCastro last June and they were exceptional. If we ever go back we will use them again.

P.P.S. We "wired" them a deposit about 2 months before our tour.

 

.............Stan

[Trece]

We used DeCastro quite successfully two years in a row for significant arrangements. Our 2007 use involved several ground day tours over a two week period that filled in some time gaps in the package we'd booked, but involved NO air, NO hotels, and only four people. Our 2008 use involved multiple internal flights and a hot air balloon ride for four in addition to a lot of ground tours & transfers over a two week period. We paid nothing as deposit the first year but the second year, due to the flights, we did have to pay a deposit.

 

It was my first wire transfer and I was not a happy camper about the $30 fee (I think $65 sounds excessive, we & our friends priced all our banks between us to find the best price & even though we live on opposite sides of the US they were all $30-35), but it went flawlessly. I still would rather have used a credit card even if I had to pay a surcharge, but since I'd used DeCastro the year before with no problems and no deposit, I knew everything was on the up & up.

 

I'm guessing that there are probably some variables in the DeCastro deposit requirement. One may be the size of the group, even if only for simple one day land arrangements (like two people vs. 10, for example), and the other may be the prepaid expense they are undertaking on a group's behalf. I understood that a tour operator would hesitate to buy air tickets on the promise that a group is going to appear. In the best of all worlds we as customers and they as tour operators would all be trustworthy and reliable. but unfortunately, sadly, it doesn't work that way, and there are unreliable & irresponsible people on both sides of the tour equation. Also, DeCastro may be getting nervous about the negative comments (justified or unjustified as they may be) and perhaps the company is being cautious & is going to ask even more people for deposits? We plan on using them again next year for a two day cruise stop & with no air involved & the fact that I've used them before, I assume I will pay no deposit (and frankly I'll be upset if asked!!).

 

I understood the difference in my 2007 arrangements vs. my 2008 arrangements and had little issue with the deposit requirement (be sure to get all cancellation policies spelled out in full in advance and keep them with you no matter which company you use) and though the wire turned out not to be a problem, I still wish credit cards were an option.

[Marty99]

We just returned from 2 days in Cairo with Decastro tours, the guide Alaa was exceptional, we feel she made the trip so much more enjoyable .Everything about the tour was first rate, everyone was terrific and it all went smoothly, the next time i am in Cairo i will definitely use them again.

[2Fltravelers]

When I contact DeCastro and NileBlue 6 months ago, both wated to be paid in USD at the end of the tour. We Picke Nileblue because they had a better reputation than Decastro. If you read this board carefully, you will find a large negative revue of Decastro and there guides. I would be very carefull about what they want you to do. Tell them you want to use a credit card, if they say no, then use a different company.

 

Just my 3 cents worth after 69 cruises since 1976 all over the world.

 

Al :D

 

Hi Al-

 

Looks like we live in the same city. How did you like Blue Nile? I am thinking of booking our 1 day tour to cairo with them and would be interested in your experience with them. Thanks.

[jeno]

We just returned on Monday night from our 105 day World Cruise on the Queen Victoria with the TA on the QM2 to get us back to New York. Our cruise stopped in Safaga, but we wanted to see the pyramids. Moustafa set up a great tour for us which involved many drivers, guides, flying to Cairo from Hurghada, a great hotel etc. and it was all less that the tour from the ship to Valley of the Kings on the ship bus. Moustafa went to great lengths to communicate promptly and in great detail. I have absolutely no complaints. Everything was handled perfectly and Moustafa even called twice during the day to check with us to see if everything was to our satisfaction. Wonderful service!

[EASYTRAVEL777]

We just returned on Monday night from our 105 day World Cruise on the Queen Victoria with the TA on the QM2 to get us back to New York. Our cruise stopped in Safaga, but we wanted to see the pyramids. Moustafa set up a great tour for us which involved many drivers, guides, flying to Cairo from Hurghada, a great hotel etc. and it was all less that the tour from the ship to Valley of the Kings on the ship bus. Moustafa went to great lengths to communicate promptly and in great detail. I have absolutely no complaints. Everything was handled perfectly and Moustafa even called twice during the day to check with us to see if everything was to our satisfaction. Wonderful service!

 

I am glad to read some comments from recent tours. I had the pleasure of Moustafa being with us on our tour. I understand that he is very busy, but it is nice to hear that for even a smaller group he keeps in contact. How were the guides on the tour?

[jeno]

We had a young woman guide who was extremely knowledgeable about all the ancient history etc. We were also accompanied by Achmed (sp) who was our company representative, as well as the driver.

We are originally from Delafield, just noticed you are from Milwaukee.