Has anyone been on the MS Neptune on the Nile?

[slimsloany]

according to my local newspaper it was 59 degrees in Cairo today. I'm from Ohio and 59 is chilly but light jacket weather here. Hope it is in Cairo too.

[Quilting Queen]

You mentioned missing an evening llight show at the pyramids to have dinner at Barry's. What light show did you skip for this - Luxor or Karnak?

 

Also what city/town is Barry's located.

 

Thanks,

Norine

[texancruzer]

You mentioned missing an evening llight show at the pyramids to have dinner at Barry's. What light show did you skip for this - Luxor or Karnak?

 

Also what city/town is Barry's located.

 

Thanks,

Norine

 

Norine: During our entire 15 day tour we did not attend any of the light shows. But the one I was referring to was the one at the Pyramids in Cairo as this is the only location with pyramids and a light show. Barry's is a restaurant (highly recomended) very near the pyramids. The location is such that you can sit on the rooftop, eat AND enjoy the light show (music too) I unfortunately did not get to go eat either as I was feeling a bit under the weather due to "mummy tummy" That was the only time it kept me from doing anything and I think it was a combination of stomach and just being plain tired from travel and 2 days of non-stop going going going....... after that I did o.k. I did have 2 other "flare-ups" of tummy problems but the Antinal worked great and it didnt slow me down like it did the first time. I was a bit daring with my food choices, I must admit....

[Quilting Queen]

Thank you for the prompt reply. The pyramids close to Caira are Giza. The tour book I have does not list Barry's as one of their recommended restaurants. I will try a search on the internet.

 

Thanks again,

Norine

[slimsloany]

Norine,

Anyone who is a Quilting Queen is right up my alley as I am a fabricaholic too. I know you are!

Barry's does have a website and the prices are reasonable too. nother good choice is the Moghul Room. It, too, is highly recommended and Indian food. Can be a bit pricey but my friend and I split meals anyway.

I hear the light shows are kinda lame. If any, do the one in Luxor or at least go to the temples at night to see them lit up.

I looked at my calendar and the time is creepin' up. We leave 9 weeks from Thursday. Wow! It will be here before I know it.

Keep the good bloggin' up!

Happy Holidays!

Suzie

[texancruzer]

We had heard the same from many many reviews and on here about the light shows. One couple from our group went.....they said it was ok but a bit " cheesy" The only reason they went was they had purchased that as an excursion as part of the tour package.

 

Norinne: there were so many things to do and places to go and see that are not in the guide books. Our guide was so great at taking us to the "outta the way" ones that were so great ! But it is a very different experience when you only have 2 days while on a port stop versus the time we had on a land tour....... you really only have time for the "big sites" and a tiny bit more.......but you will blown away even so :D

[Quilting Queen]

We will be on a Uniworld 12 cruise/tour 'Jewels of the Nile and Lake Nasser'. We are going in a day early so we can catch up with jet lag. We will be at the Cairo Marriott.

 

DH and I will meet my brother (Encinitas traveler) and his wife (from CA) at the airport or hotel.

 

Does anyone know how long the trip from the airport to Cairo takes?

 

Thanks,

Norine

[texancruzer]

Thank you for the prompt reply. The pyramids close to Caira are Giza. The tour book I have does not list Barry's as one of their recommended restaurants. I will try a search on the internet.

 

Thanks again,

Norine

 

Sorry, you are right. It is just that Cairo and Giza are like one. Cross the river and you are in Giza. There are many many other options besides what you will find in the guide books. Many have been recomended here on Cruisecritic. We usually like to find other options than the guidebooks as we like to head away from the "tourist" spots. If there is one thing I can recommend - it is to trust your guide. Ask him/her and they will not steer you wrong. But be specific in what you are looking for. Most tourists tend to stick to the places they read about etc... but a guide will know the places that are local, good and safe to eat at.

[texancruzer]

We will be on a Uniworld 12 cruise/tour 'Jewels of the Nile and Lake Nasser'. We are going in a day early so we can catch up with jet lag. We will be at the Cairo Marriott.

 

DH and I will meet my brother (Encinitas traveler) and his wife (from CA) at the airport or hotel.

 

Does anyone know how long the trip from the airport to Cairo takes?

 

Thanks,

Norine

 

You are gonna love this trip ! How long it will take will depend on when you arrive as traffic will vary during the day. We stayed at Le Meridien in Giza and from the airport all the way out there (think NE to SW) it only took about 35-40 minutes. But we stayed on the expressway almost the entire way. When heading anywhere "in town" it could be quite a bit more. (ps: get your Antinal from the hotel or a pharmacy nearby as soon as you can so you will have it when needed - that stuff works great !!)

[simpjo]

Happy Holidays to all on this board. Looks like we are going to have a White Christmas here.

 

Be safe, Jo Ann

[NavCom]

The highlights of the trip were snorkeling in the Red Sea and floating over the Nile Valley in a hot air balloon. We highly recommend doing both. Our guide, Shareen, arranged the balloon ride with a great company, Hod Hod Suliman. The sunrise flight was amazing. It is definitely worth getting up at 4am. Only 6 people from our group of 30 went, but afterwards many wished they had done it. A representative from Hod Hod Suliman met with us on the boat the night before and answered all our questions and collected payment. The ride is truly a memory that will last a lifetime.

 

Diana,

 

Might I be so bold as to ask what time the balloon flight finishes. We have an organized tour from our Dahabiya right after breakfast to the Valley of Kings and I am trying to figure out how to fit in the balloon flight. How close is the landing site to the Valley of Kings .... do you think it is possible to easily get from the landing site to the Valley and meet our tour there rather than going all the way back to our dock in Luxor?

 

I'm hoping I can talk my Lynne into the balloon flight but so far she is saying NO WAY ... gets motion sick VERY easily.

 

Jim

[alaggie]

Jim,

I can't remember exactly what time the flight ended, but I do remember that we were back on our boat by 0730 or 0745. If you do the sunrise flight, which is the first flight each morning, you'll have plenty of time to get back to the boat. The flight itself lasted about 50 minutes after which we had a short ride in a private van and a quick trip across the river in a ferry and we were back at the dock. I am sure you could ask the van driver to drop you off at any location, and the Valley of the Kings was not far from our landing site that day. Keep in mind that landing sites to vary from day to day depending on wind and other factors.

 

As far a getting motion sick, I too am very sensitive to such things. That balloon ride was so smooth, it felt like floating. And our landing was so gentle, the pilot set that balloon down perfectly. Tell your wife she'll have a great time. Let me know what you decide and if I can answer any more questions.

 

Diana

[texancruzer]

Even with changes in wind and other factors......the balloon rides are all very near the entrance to the Valley of the Kings. Most float right over the area. If you can work out the time logistics it would make alot of sense to just meet your guide after the flight instead of going all the way back to your boat.

 

Our guide told us that when they first started doing the balloon rides, they would land in the fields nearby. The farmers would get VERY upset so now they land in designated areas. Well, he said "Most of the time" ;)

[L10man]

Back home in East Tennessee. Got home Christmas Eve, woke up to a white Christmas, more snow today. Security at JFK was great, no body scanner no pat downs. The EgyptAir flight to Cairo left close to ontime, we arrived in Cairo a couple of minutes early. Flight was good, cabin was warm, it was just a long flight.

 

Getting a visa and going through customs and imigration was a piece of cake. The visa is only $15 not the $20 that Gate 1 published. Like texancruzer said, there is no need to exchange any money prior to the hotel. The hotel has a bank and an ATM machine. Speaking of ATM machines, make sure you contact your bank and credit card companies and advise them you will be traveling in Egypt. Also check with them on their charges for using their card. My bank ATM card charged $1.50 plus 3% of the total transaction. Don't know if the ATM machine charged anything or not. Credit card did not charge anything if you had the charge converted to $, it not is was 3% of total.

 

Like other people have stated, get Antinal. Not sure if the hotel had any or not but there is a Pharmacy just a few blocks away. Our group of 47 didn't really have many problems with only 4 or 5 being down for a day or two.

 

Stayed at the Le Meridien hotel, decent hotel, nice room, hard beds, bathroom did have a hair dryer, The hair dryer did have a 110v plug outlet for your battery chargers. Of course the one in our room didn't work. The breakfast buffet was good with a wide range of choices. Several of our group ate at the infamous Ladero TexMex restaurant. We found the food to be good and at a decent price so maybe CB just caught them on a bad night. We also braved the Cairo traffic in a cab to go to the Hard Rock Cafe. Good food, cold beer, loud music. They had lots of shirts and boy were they proud of them. A plain every day Hard Rock tee shirt was 200LE or about $34. Oh well not like I will be back this way again any time soon. There is also a Harley Davidson dealer in town, didn't know that until after a couple of our group went there. We braved another ride across town on our last night in Cairo. Their tee shirts were "only" 190LE still about $34. It was for a friend so what the heck.

 

We did not go to the Pyramid light show nor did we go to Barry's restaurant, mainly do to the fact that on the 11th and 12th Cairo had one the the worst dust storms of the year. It was windy, cold and the visabilty sucked. It took the rest of the tour to get rid of the cough.

 

Since we had 47 people on the tour we had two guides, Shareen and Hussein SP? and two busses with toilets. It really was a great group with ages from the 20's to early 70's.

 

The two full days in Cairo will be busy ones especially if you have chosen the optional tours. For those of you that would like to take a camel ride let your guide set it up. They will take you to the panorama over looking the pyramids. There you can ride a camel for $10 per person. Be advised, unless you take a small spray bottle of Fabreze with you, you will either have to wash your cloths or burn them other wise your whole suit case will smell of camel.

 

I am not going to get into what you will see for others have done so much better job than I could ever hope to do. I will cover some other things, like on Saturday they will take you to a Papyrus Center. Now do they have better quality papyrus at a better price than if you went else where? I have no idea. There are about a gazzilion different papyrus centers and shops so who has the best quality and the best price, who knows. We didn't have time to shop so we bought what they offered. On Sunday they will take you to a carpet factory. Be advised they do use child labor. According to the guides it is an apprenticeship program that includes education. That being said again are the rugs the best quality for the best price? Who knows, again you would have to shop the other carpet schools as we didn't see any carpets in any shops. The two pluses for these stops, free drink and free and relatively clean rest rooms. Speaking about rest rooms, my wife took a package of baby butt wipes as many of the "public" rest rooms did not have TP.

 

Enough for now, more later.

 

Ron

[slimsloany]

Ron,

Welcome home and hope you were able to enjoy the holidays. Thanks for the good info and hope to hear more.

What is the temp like? We leave in Feb and wonder what to pack.

How was the cruise and what boat were you on?

Thanks!

Suzie

[simpjo]

Happy Holidays Ron,

We too had a white Christmas in Northern KY, just enough to say it was a white Xmas. Glad you had a great time, I'm curious did anyone purchase any rugs and do you know if they ship for you or did they bring them back on the plane? Any idea of the cost - sounds like Hard Rock has set prices for their t-shirt, not a collector so I will be passing on those. Thanks for the information as least soon I'll be in the same year that I am traveling 2011 since I don't go until May, 2011.

Jo Ann

[slimsloany]

:eek:

Did you all hear about the horrible bus crash in Egypt? Several Americans were killed when a bus going to Abu Simbel crashed on a dark, narrow road. The crash took out one side of the bus and killed most of those sitting on that side of the bus.

I'm not so concerned about our bus trip as it only takes us from Luxor to Hurghada in the daylight.

All the same, I am glad I took out insurance! It would appear that these people did all of their touring by bus, no planes or boats.

What a terrible thing to happen during the holidays, or anytime.

Blessings!

Suzie

[cormike1]

Hi everyone,

 

I have been reading the great reports and info from L10Man and Texancruiser and they are wonderful. I always learn so much from this website....read it everyday if I can. We go on Feb. 21st for 3 weeks...2 touring and 1 relaxing in Sharm-el-Sheikh (shark attack area lol). This might sound like an odd question but my husband is a pork lover and wanted to know if pork was served on the river boats? We are doing 2 days in Cairo at the Marriott and we have a private guide and driver supplied by our Skylink Vacation company. Then we do 4 days on the Prince Abbas on Lake Nassar and then 4 days on the Nile on the MS Nile Stile. I was looking at a balloon ride over Abu Simbel and will try and get 1 in somewhere if there is time. We do dock overnight at Abu Simbel so I am definitely getting up early enough to see the sunrise. This is my dream trip so I am so excited to be able to go. Reading the reports are just adding to my excitement. I can't wait!!! I will definitely by Antinol as soon as I arrive...hopefully the Marriott will have it. Thanks for all the helpful hints and keep posting more of your trip report....love reading about all your travels. Thanks.

Corinne

[cormike1]

:eek:

Did you all hear about the horrible bus crash in Egypt? Several Americans were killed when a bus going to Abu Simbel crashed on a dark, narrow road. The crash took out one side of the bus and killed most of those sitting on that side of the bus.

I'm not so concerned about our bus trip as it only takes us from Luxor to Hurghada in the daylight.

All the same, I am glad I took out insurance! It would appear that these people did all of their touring by bus, no planes or boats.

What a terrible thing to happen during the holidays, or anytime.

Blessings!

Suzie

 

My husband was just reading it out to me from our newspaper and it showed a picture also. It said 8 U.S. people were killed. The bus slammed into a truck. It was a 180 mile bus trip they were on. The picture looked awful....the bus looked like it must have been really going fast for it to end up looking like that. Anyhow regardless of that it is a sad thing when that happens while vacationing!!!

[buie]

Hi everyone,

 

I have been reading the great reports and info from L10Man and Texancruiser and they are wonderful. I always learn so much from this website....read it everyday if I can. We go on Feb. 21st for 3 weeks...2 touring and 1 relaxing in Sharm-el-Sheikh (shark attack area lol). This might sound like an odd question but my husband is a pork lover and wanted to know if pork was served on the river boats? We are doing 2 days in Cairo at the Marriott and we have a private guide and driver supplied by our Skylink Vacation company. Then we do 4 days on the Prince Abbas on Lake Nassar and then 4 days on the Nile on the MS Nile Stile. I was looking at a balloon ride over Abu Simbel and will try and get 1 in somewhere if there is time. We do dock overnight at Abu Simbel so I am definitely getting up early enough to see the sunrise. This is my dream trip so I am so excited to be able to go. Reading the reports are just adding to my excitement. I can't wait!!! I will definitely by Antinol as soon as I arrive...hopefully the Marriott will have it. Thanks for all the helpful hints and keep posting more of your trip report....love reading about all your travels. Thanks.

Corinne

 

Hi Corinne,

 

I didn't see pork served anywhere, but I thought their chicken and seafood were good. They do have pigeon!

[texancruzer]

Ron, been wondering when you were to get back..... been watching for you to post ! Glad you had a great time....knew you would !! Wow, 47 - that is a big group. But if everyone is good about being "on time" it works. Did you get to a hooka bar for some shisha ?

 

Did not see about the dust storm but I did see the bus crash article....... horrible thing to happen on vacation.

 

I too did not see any pork - but wasnt looking for it either. Did have some good lamb stew ! To me all the meat was way overcooked anyway..... again - I will say " do not go to Egypt for the food " :( Also, did not see any balloon rides at Abu Simbel? Did you Steph?

 

Well, hope all had a great Christmas. Know for those that are still waiting it is one hurdle over with...... the time will pass quickly - I promise !

[slimsloany]

Also Corinne,

There is no dock at Abu Simbel. It is quite a bit further inland. You have to take a bus ride (like the one that crashed!) or fly to Abu Simbel. The ballooning is over the Valley of the Kings and Queens in Aswan, I believe.

Or is it Luxor? Anyway, I think our guides can work it out for us.

Blessings!

Suzie

[texancruzer]

Suzie, there are many cruises that begin in Aswan (on the lake side of the dam) and cruise Lake Nassar to Abu Simbel. Not sure if they dock or anchor and tender in but Abu Simbel is RIGHT on the Lake..... steps away. In fact, that is why they had to move it up - so the lake wouldnt cover it with water when the new dam was built. Not sure I would want to spend precious time cruising the lake as there is nothing around it ! It covered up all the Nubian villages and temples when the lake level rose once the new dam was built.

 

I also can't imagine taking a bus for 3+ hours when you can get on a plane and be there in an hour.....it was a nice flight too ! Airport in Aswan and Abu Simbel were nice/modern/clean.

 

The hot air balloons are at the Valley of the Kings on the west side of Luxor.

[cormike1]

Hi Suzie and Texancruzer,

 

We fly to Aswan and get on the Prince Abbas and sail and visit: Kalabsha temple. beit el wali and the kiosk of Kertessi and stay overnight in Aswan Harbour. Next day we sail to Wadi el Seboua temple, the temple of Dakka and Temple of Meharakka and sail to Amada. Next day visit temple of Amada and Derr and the Temple of Penout, sail to Kasr Ibrim, visit the citadel of Kasr Ibrim conducted from our ship deck as you ae not allowed on site (LOL). Sail to Abu Simbel and vist the temple, after dinner on board we attend the sound and light show at Abu simbel and dock overnight. The next day after breakfast onboard we drive to Aswan and get on our other boat the MS Nile Stile and then our Nile cruise starts. The main reason we chose this particular tour was they accomodated our wants...2 full days in Cairo at the beginning of our tour and going to Abu Simbel was a MUST for me and alot of tours we looked at had that as an optional tour if time/weather permitted and I did not want to risk going that far (Ontario, Canada) and not seeing it. Then after 4 days on the Nile we are going to Sharm-El-Sheikh for rest and relaxation for a week. The tour company supplies all our flights, transfers, etc. from start to finish so we just have to show up and someone will be there to take us to our next spot. Gotta love that!!!

 

Thanks for answering my Pork question...I think I might end up losing weight on this trip lol.

 

Thanks again everyone and keep those helpful suggestions coming....I really appreciate them.

 

Corinne

[L10man]

Cont.

Monday, bus ride back to the Cairo airport for short flight to Luxor. A little about Eqypt airport security, you don't have to take off your shoes and you don't have to have your little quart bag with your little bottles of what ever. You will go through a metal detector and have your bags x-rayed at least twice, once before you get to the ticket counter once again after you have gotten your boarding pass and your luggage checked and sometimes again before you enter the gate holding area. It helps to have your flight itinerary on you since they do ask sometimes, also be carefull on what you pack in your carry on. Do not pack your Whispers (those little boxes you hang around your neck to help you hear your guides) or pack a hooka pipe in your carry on. Ask me how I know that one.

 

We were back on the MS Neptune. The Neptune is not the newest, biggest, fanciest, nor fastest boat on the Nile. To me it just seemed comfortable. We did not upgrade our cabin, so we wound on on the lower deck. But somehow we lucked out, because we got cabin 102 which is the forward port cabin. Don't know if it's any bigger than the rest but it does have a queen bed instead of twin beds. And that bed was so much better than the one in Cairo. Oh, and the bath does have a hairdryer with a 110v outlet that did work. Yea! The reason I said the boat feels comfortable is mainly due to the crew. From the cabin boys and their towel art every day to the dinning room staff and all the rest that took care of us, they made us feel like they were doing things just for us. They seemed to really enjoy what they were doing.

 

Anyway on the boat is a jewelry and what ever shop. They have stuff for the Galabaya party although you might find them cheaper in town. The jewelry store the guides take you to has cheaper silver cartouches ($25 vs $30), gold not sure as I didn't price them. The shop on the boat did have one thing the big shop did not seem to offer and that was silver cartouches etc that were trimed with gold. Really pretty. You can also get tee shirts and what have you there.

 

Suzi asked about temps, Cairo highs were in the low 60's lows in the 50's. On the river the temps got up to the low 70's but at 3pm the temp started to drop. no one used the pool. You needed a sweater or light wind breaker if you were going to stay up on the top deck. Hurghada's high temps were in the low 80's and lows in the upper 60's Pool temp was about 72.

 

Did not go to a hooka bar, thought about it but after quitting smoking 8 years ago after a 40 year habit figured I didn't need to temp fate.

 

Pork? Not in the middle east. They do have beef sausage that they try to pass off as pork, not my cup of tea but what the heck.

 

Balloon rides. Several of us expressed interest but interestingly enough both guides, Shareen and Hussein, both stated that Gate1 did not feel the risks were worth it therefor they could not recommed it. Since we had early starts both mornings and the early morning reduced visibility no one went. It sure sounded like a neat idea though.

 

Who asked about the rugs? We did buy a small 3" x 3" tree of life rug that will become a wall hanging. It was $300 and it did fold up to fit in the suitcase. They take credit cards but not sure about shipping.

 

Did someone say loosing weight? I feel pretty good as I managed to lose 5 lbs. Not bad for someone how couldn't pass up the rolls breads and the desert bar at every meal.

 

More later.

Ron