Tour of Cairo and Alexandria

[petesweet]

Sharon: A group of us just booked with Ramses Tour - they have been very helpful to us in terms of seeing other sights the group wanted to see and they were very reasonable. We are taking this tour in October on the Norweign Jade and will post our comments as to the actual tour later. Hope this helps.

 

Rina Clark

Canadian

 

Rina, did you personalize your tour? or follow their set tour? If you personalized it, would you mind sharing your itinerary with us? Thanks.

Kathy

[petesweet]

Sharon,

 

We just booked a 2-day overnight tour with Ramses Travel Group of Egypt, George, their Senior International Sales Executive, who handled our booking very professionally, very efficient, even go around with our preferred itinerary, and got the hotel that we liked. We will be on NCL Jade this time and visit Cairo on Oct.25th, George arranges a private tour for 4 of us, pick us up from the pier and send us back on the 26th. He is a good guy to work with, now we can relax and expect a memorable adventure to the Pyramids.

 

Christine & Johnny

 

Christine and Johnny: I'll ask you the same question I asked Rina. Did you personalize your tour? or use Ramses' set tour? If you personalized it, would you mind sharing the itinerary (and the cost?)?

Many thanks. Kathy

[cruisin'tex]

Great info on Egypt tours

[hcf]

Rina, did you personalize your tour? or follow their set tour? If you personalized it, would you mind sharing your itinerary with us? Thanks.

Kathy

 

Same question here. Also how was it?

[hcf]

Christine and Johnny: I'll ask you the same question I asked Rina. Did you personalize your tour? or use Ramses' set tour? If you personalized it, would you mind sharing the itinerary (and the cost?)?

Many thanks. Kathy

 

 

Same question here. Also how was it?

[flsun]

Just returned from an all-day trip to Cairo with Ramses Tours. We had 4 vans, with 4 guides, and had a truly great trip! As it turned out, each van "personalized" their tour and each had a great experience. The guides were flexible but very respectful of the time constraints we were under.

Our Ramses guides were waiting for us, with name cards, when we walked out of the port terminal. We were on our way in minutes, stopped at a rest area to stretch our legs, and were at the Pyramids in Giza in 2 1/2 hours. (Regarding security - which is debated on the Boards all the time - there was none for either our vans or the ships buses. Again, no police escorts for any vehicles driving from Alexandria to Cairo, but we never felt that we were at risk or in danger.)

The Ramses guides were all licensed and had completed the 4-yr. college program to become guides. They were professional and friendly, helping us with information and price bargaining when we needed it (very helpful at Khan el Khalili). I spoke with people from each van and each thought their guide was the best.

The pyramids and Sphinx were beautiful, and the Cairo Museum was overwhelming with artifacts. Again, our guides led us through and explained everything through our ‘walkie-talkie’ phones. The bus drivers did a great job in all that traffic and were prompt in picking us up at each point. We were back onboard the ship in plenty of time, too.

Ramses was not only responsive and professional in getting back with me during the planning the process but also followed up with me, and the other vans, throughout the day. Without hesitation, I absolutely recommend them for your independent excursion off any ship.

[cruiserintn]

Our family just used Ramses for our recent tour of Egypt. We did the two day tour. We stopped at one amazing place after another, and everything was so well planned. We had an unforgettable experience, everything went so smoothly. Our tour was incredible thanks to our guide Mohamed Ali Khalaf. His knowledge of the places we visited was wonderful. His passion for Egyptian history was incredible. We hated to see our tour come to an end. We would definitely recommend this company to anyone.

[imru12]

All the tours sound great. Everyone had a great time. I'm looking into Ramses and Memphis tours. I have talked to both company's about my DEC 2010 cruise.My only problem with Ramses is having to pay in cash at the end of the trip.I didn't plan on carrying that much cash on me. I'm just curious if anyone had any issues with this.

[dorijo]

We were on the Brilliance of the Seas nov 18 and used Ramses Tours for our overnight tour. My husband wore a money belt, there was no hasseling or any fear whatsoever..don't worry about it. I also carried cash and a credit card in my purse and never felt I had to be overly protective of it. I highly recommend Ramses tours..They promised us the tour of a lifetime and they certainly came thru. We 2 couples enjoyed our two days thoroughly and didn't want it to end. Don't hestitate to use Ramses tours they answered all our questions in a timely manner and let us plan our days,,.we then let our guide Karim arrange the order of our sightseeing and with the help of an excellent driver who kept us safe also, we managed to see everything we planned to see and much much more. We have 1100 magnificient pictures to remember our wonderful cruise.

[floridatravelersforlife]

Some frank comments on our Nov 09 Equinox overnite to Cairo. We used Nile Blue and there were only four of us. Plus the driver and the Egyptologist/guide. Nile Blue did an ok job and did not require an upfront deposit and they were responsive and accomodating to our changes..The Driver is as important as the guide in that crazy traffic to keep you out of trouble. We did a small group tour because we wanted a custom tour without tourist trap stops, and we had specific hotels and sites in mind. Nevertheless we still got stuck being taken to a perfume factory and some other traps dispite no shopping warnings up front. In each case we walked out of the establishment. The guide finally got the message. This is a country of commissions.

 

Some Hints

 

Bring some cereal bars to avoid questionable foods. The four of us (plus our guide) were food poisioned at lunch along with a busload of other pax. We think it was undercooked chicken. Inspect your food carefully. The Nile Dinner Cruise food is OK.

 

Bring your own toilet paper for the public bathrooms. The scam is to have attendees dole out one sheet (none in the stalls) for a tip up front. The second sheet will cost you dearly. Make sure you bring small change. They won't make change. And if you don't tip they will itimidate you. The worst is at the Sphinx. There were these poor Egptian girls who had no change and the woman gatekeeper absolutely refused to let them in.

 

On the way back to Alexandria,luckily with our small group we were able to make the driver stop at reststops on the way back to Alexandria to take care of our bad food problem. Ironically the guide had to make his own unscheduled pit stop that turned out to be a non tourist Mobil Quickmart, about an hour out of Cairo. We got out to do same and behold the restroom was clean, amply filled with the necessary supplies and no attendant with their hadout, just like a nice one in the States. What a revelation! The other stops were all handout heavens.

 

Was it worth doing our own tour and visiting Cairo overnight? absolutely. We just didn't expect such heavy handed solicitations and getting sick. The latter is just the luck of the draw and probably not the norm.

 

 

By the way, we stayed at the Marriott Casino Palace Hotel in downtown Cairo which was fabulous and 5 minutes from the Dinner Cruise. We had a four room suite that would rival Vegas.

 

We did the Cairo Museum, Sakkara, The Citadel, Giza, and the Pyramids plus the Dinner Cruise. Our guide stongly suggested and planned for the climb inside the Great Pyramid, which we did. Not that many tickets are sold for this side trip. And not the best idea for four grey hairs. But we did it! You better not be claustrophobic or in less than good shape.

 

We did our trinket shopping at the Alexandria Port, after drop off, which has the same stuff that prevades all over Cairo.

 

Hope this helps clear the air.

[Marie-Claude]

THanks floridatravelersforlife!

 

We did a day-tour to Cairo (from Alexandria) with Ramses last November and were extremely pleased with the service before and during the tour.

 

We are going back next November, this time with 2 stops (Port Said and Alexandria) - so we are looking at doing an overnight in Cairo to make it somewhat easier and allow us to enjoy the city at night.

 

My first question: Did you select the hotel or was it suggested and booked by Ramses? Marriott never seems to be in the usual recommendation, so did you book it yourself?

 

Second question: There were several not so great reviews of the Dinner cruise - knowing what you know now, would you book it again, or would you plan something else?

 

Thanks!

MC

[adriennerenee]

Hello everyone. I want to highly recommend Ramses Tours for private tours in Egypt. We have found it very easy working with H.George, and his itinerary is

excellent. H.George is very responsive and does a great job. We have told everyone going to Egypt that they MUST book with RAMSES TOURS if they want to have a good experience.

Bob and Adrienne

[Kerry's Girls]

We have told everyone going to Egypt that they MUST book with RAMSES TOURS if they want to have a good experience.

 

I do see that there are many happy Ramses customers - and a friend on my last cruise was also happy with Ramses- but there are other wonderful tour companies as well, including Moustafa Tours, which I had a wonderful experience with and has overwhelming good reviews, and Nile Blue, which also has wonderful reviews. It seems that any of these companies offer great experiences to cruise passengers in Egypt, so I would encourage people to look into at least two of them and see which seems best for them. These forums are so great that we can feel secure booking with these companies because so many happy customers have gone before us. Thanks everyone!

 

Best,

Mia

Edited February 11, 2010 by Kerry's Girls

[quanraecruiser]

Just returned from an all-day trip to Cairo with Ramses Tours. We had 4 vans, with 4 guides, and had a truly great trip! As it turned out, each van "personalized" their tour and each had a great experience. The guides were flexible but very respectful of the time constraints we were under.

Our Ramses guides were waiting for us, with name cards, when we walked out of the port terminal. We were on our way in minutes, stopped at a rest area to stretch our legs, and were at the Pyramids in Giza in 2 1/2 hours. (Regarding security - which is debated on the Boards all the time - there was none for either our vans or the ships buses. Again, no police escorts for any vehicles driving from Alexandria to Cairo, but we never felt that we were at risk or in danger.)

The Ramses guides were all licensed and had completed the 4-yr. college program to become guides. They were professional and friendly, helping us with information and price bargaining when we needed it (very helpful at Khan el Khalili). I spoke with people from each van and each thought their guide was the best.

The pyramids and Sphinx were beautiful, and the Cairo Museum was overwhelming with artifacts. Again, our guides led us through and explained everything through our ‘walkie-talkie’ phones. The bus drivers did a great job in all that traffic and were prompt in picking us up at each point. We were back onboard the ship in plenty of time, too.

Ramses was not only responsive and professional in getting back with me during the planning the process but also followed up with me, and the other vans, throughout the day. Without hesitation, I absolutely recommend them for your independent excursion off any ship.

Will be traveling to Alexandria in December on RC Brilliance of the Sea. I noticed that Ramses Tour offer Program I and II. Did you select one of these programs or did you personalized it? What was the cost of the tour? Appreciate any info you can give me.

 

Thanks, Dennis

[hcf]

third time in Egypt next October any recommendation ?

quote=adriennerenee;23013476]Hello everyone. I want to highly recommend Ramses Tours for private tours in Egypt. We have found it very easy working with H.George, and his itinerary is

excellent. H.George is very responsive and does a great job. We have told everyone going to Egypt that they MUST book with RAMSES TOURS if they want to have a good experience.

Bob and Adrienne

 

I agree with Terry's Girls' suggestion to look into the various tour operators for Cairo and Alexandria. While many posters are raving about the above mentioned operator, there are some who have not had such a wonderful experience. This operator uses "freelance" guides. People who were fortunate enough to get assigned experienced guides have wonderful and fulfilling experiences, but those ending up with less experienced or inferior guides come away missing a lot. There does not appear to be a consistent quality for the guides used; "freelancers" are called in as needed. It's a matter of luck of the draw.;)

[I/eye]

We had booked a private overnight tour with Ramses tours, based on the positive reviews by Cruise Critic. We sailed Jan 24 on NCL Jade. The ship was delayed 4 hours by authorities, who decided to do a thorough inspection of the ship. When the ship was finally OK'd to depart, our guide, Yasser, was waiting for us, front and center as we exited the port doors. Yasser was a young, hard working person who greeted us like family. I apologized to Yasser for the delay, and Yasser positively responded that the delay allowed him to enjoy the beautiful gardens at the terminal.

Yasser was a bright and professional individual. Despite our delay he was determined to stick with the plan and get us to all the sights promised by Ramses Tours. He was often on the phone confirming times and making reservations.

As we pasted thorough Alexandria we heard the bells for the Call to Prayer. He explained these to us along with the proposed plan for the balance of the day. A lot of his plans hinged on the 3 hour drive to Cairo. The drive along the desert road was fairly unremarkable, except for the check points. Tourist Police would occasionally stop the vehicle at check point, but we never felt unsafe. There was plenty of traffic along the road, so it looked much like any desert road in North America. Luckily we didn’t have any delays and got to Giza by 3 pm. They closed at 4 pm, so this gave us one hour, which was fine with us. The driver dropped us off and Yasser looked after us. We never got bothered by any Vendors, and Yasser was always offering to take our picture. I had brought 2 cameras on this trip. One was my SLR Digital and the other is a small compact digital. I rarely take pictures with my husband or I posing, I prefer landscape and local shoots. Yasser was always offering to snap pictures of us, however, after returning home and looking at all the pictures of my husband and I, I am thoroughly enjoying them. We had also planned on doing the camel ride, and Yasser ensured that we got to experience this. He negotiated 2 camels just as they were closing up (around 4 pm). The sun was starting to set and the view, the shadows and the lighting was magical on that camel ride.

Yasser then drove us down to the Sphinx. We got out for 10 minutes. We never felt rushed. When we were finished, Yasser would call the driver and he would be there immediately to pick us up.

After Giza, we drove over to the Egyptian Museum. Yasser guided us through the museum showing us the highlights. We saw a number of people from our cruise ship (who had taken the ships bus tour), wandering through the museum. It was nice having a guide take us through though and explaining the highlights.

After the museum, we were driven to the hotel for a couple hours to rest. We had wanted to go to the Sound and Light Show and than a local restaurant for dinner. Yasser made us reservations at a lovely restaurant on the main street, the Queen Cleopatra Restaurant. We enjoyed local cuisine and then went back to the hotel for the night.

In the morning Yasser picked us up at 7:15am and we got to the Alabaster Mosque for opening. After the Mosque we went over to Sakura and Memphis. The drive through the country side was interesting. We saw all modes of transportation including, cars, vans, trucks, 3-wheeled cars, and donkeys along the road. It felt like a trip back in time.

We were given some time to shop. I asked to go to a bazaar to buy souvenirs. The nice thing about having the private guide was that they were ready to leave, as soon as we were. We have been on bus tours, when you are stuck on the bus waiting for one member of the group who forgot the time.

I felt like we were very efficient in our time use. Ramses tours policy is to get you back in Alexandra 2 hours before the ship departure time. Once we were back in Alexandra, we were given a short tour of the town and the library. We were one of the first tour groups back to the ship. We said our goodbyes and then wandered around the port.

Many of the ship’s tours were pulling up to the ship at and even after departure time. Some of this was probably due to the late arrival the previous day.

After comparing notes with fellow shipmates, I felt we had a more positive experience in Cairo. Those we spoke to were impressed with our account of what we experienced with our tour guide.

I hope these comments will help anyone considering an independent tour of Cairo.

[quanraecruiser]

Thank for the wonderful review of your cruise. It has provided me with helpful info. Looking forward to the cruise in November.

 

Dennis

[Boo's Mom]

Hi, For those concerned about safety in Egypt: The Egyptian Ministry of Interior sends security cars to escort all the tourist buses and vans for all the tours.

The matter is handeled by the Egyptian tourism police --not by the travel agent or by the ship. Shirley

 

Just to clarify: Is this security provided for even a small private tour for a family of 4? (I am assuming this would be a van?)

[Boo's Mom]

What other things have ya'll done after dinner in Cairo?

 

Other than the dinner cruise and the light show?

[Kerry's Girls]

yes security is provided for even a small private tour

 

This was not true in our experience in January of this year. Our Roll Call friends had three different private tours (of about 8 people each - two groups were on overnights and one group did two one-day tours) and none of them had security. My understanding is that at this time, the government only puts security with the larger groups. Moustafa arranged for security for my small family because I'd been concerned beforehand about being a woman alone with children in Cairo, which was very thoughtful of him, but turned out to be completely unnecessary. We never felt unsafe for a moment during our overnight stay and would have felt perfectly secure even without the security guard. I've felt more uncomfortable at my local park than I ever did in Cairo.

 

Best,

Mia

[museumlover]

We completed a Costa Pacifica cruise with stopover in Egypt in March 2010. We were very happy with Ramses and with their tour guide, Karim Serry. Ramses was waiting for us when we docked at 6:30 and promptly took us everywhere requested. Karim with Ramses was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. We have only good things to say about Ramses.

[bbbradk]

Thank you for all the tips, we will be porting in Alexandria in September, I just sent an email to Ramses, hoping for day tour #2

[Mzhelen]

We just got back from Egypt and wish we had a few more days! 14 days should be good to cover everything. Our recommendations:

 

Cairo:

- Egyptian museum (use a guide, and plan at least 4-6 hours to really do it right). You want to see the Tut exhibit, Hall of Mummies (which costs an extra 100 Egyptian pounds, Egyptian cash only, but worth it), and all the key sights.

- Coptic Church, great for history

- Alabaster mosque (built by the same King who built the Blue Mosque in Istanbul)

- Khan El Khalily bazaar. It's a lot of fun, if you get into the spirit of it. You'll be "accosted" by every stall-holder trying to entice you in and buy. Make sure to bargain like crazy! Thanks to the boards here I knew what to pay for things. I ended up with a medium-sized set of glass perfume bottles and a nice sized inlaid-wood box for $40, when the guy started at $200! And had I kept pushing I might have gotten it for even less.

 

Giza

- Pyramids. Give yourself enough time to walk around and see everything. We really could have used more time, but were on a schedule.

- Sphinx

- Solar boat museum

- Camel ride. Do NOT try to negotiate on your own - have your guide take you to someone he trusts and do the negotiating. And don't pay until you get off. Some of the "drivers" pull a scam where they negotiate a price with you, then refuse to let you off the (high) camel unless you pay even more. Apparently about a month ago a woman refused to pay the extra, jumped off, and broke her hip. She's been in a Cairo hospital ever since. Our guide took us to a group of drivers he's worked with, and they charged a flat fee while the guide stood there supervising.

 

Sakkara

- The step pyramid, the oldest pyramid. We never made it there and it's our one regret.

 

Luxor

- The 2 temples

- Luxor museum. We used the time after dinner to rush down there, and were the only ones from our boat to do so. We only had an hour there (it's open until 10 pm) but it was SO worth it!

 

Abu Simbel - not to be missed!

 

We were on a short trip so didn't make it to Alexandria, although we wish we had!

[milndan]

I am trying to check the cost of excursions in September with Ramses Tours, but I'm getting no reply to my emails, although everyone says how promptly they reply.

 

I have used the contact page on their web site http://www.ramsestours.com/index.php?id=7 and had no response, as well as info@ramsestours.com that I picked up from a thread on Cruise Critic.

I sent one email on May 15th and the other prior to that.

 

Can I check I have the correct emails and company? Often in reviews people will write Ramses Travel etc.

 

I would be grateful for any thoughts (just to mention they have not replied & its gone to junk mail either, I checked that too).

 

We are doing a 2 day Cairo/Alexandria tour with a wonderful group from our ship on Dec 2010 with Ramses Tours. So far our organizer, Lazaro, has been in contact with someone named George, who has dropped our prices as the group grew. I had some extra questions for George regarding our tour so I emailed him. I always BCC myself so I have a copy of my email. I got no response for a couple of weeks so I resent it and told him it was my 2nd attempt to contact him. This time he responded the very next day. Maybe you should resend your email and let them know this is you second attempt. You may get a response the 2nd time. We did a lot of research on reviews of Ramses tours and have found that people were extremely happy with their experience. So far we have 3 groups from our ship and George have been very helpful at helping us plan what we want to do. I am so looking forward to this tour. I believe it will be the highlight of our cruise.

 

Good luck, Millie

[Laurie S.]

Can anyone post what their tours cost? I'm interested in the two-day overnight tour, but won't be going until 2012.

 

Yes, I like to plan ahead. ;)