15 Day Gate I Eypt and Nile Cruise

[Bee Jay]

Has anyone taken the 15 Day Gate 1 Egypt and Nile Cruise trip?

 

I have checked out over 20 different companies and this was the best deal I could find....most were under 15 days and much more expensive. Any suggestions with other cruise companies?

 

Please tell me your opinions and if you would skip the cruise and just do the land portion. I am planning on going in Jan. or Feb. but am told that Cairo is quite chilly in those months....did any of you go in those months. Any input about this tour would be greatly appreciated. thank you!!

[cruisemom42]

A frequent poster on this board, Seafun, did the Gate One trip about 18 months ago and wrote some great notes about it:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=735948

 

I think you'll get a very good picture of the Gate One trip from reading the thread (well, maybe not all of it....it has a life of its own :)).

 

As to the weather, January and February are "high season" for travel in Egypt. It's about the only time the temperatures are bearable in the upper Nile (Aswan, Abu-Simbel). I was in Cairo in February and did not find it chilly. Certainly warmer than Atlanta at that time of year. Layers work best.....a light jacket (in the morning or evening) over a long-sleeved shirt over a t-shirt. That way you can peel off layers as the day warms up.

[seafun]

Yes, I'm afraid it does qualify as having alife of it's own...lol. :rolleyes:

Beejay, it should answer many of your questions.

[cuise lover]

Has anyone taken the 15 Day Gate 1 Egypt and Nile Cruise trip?

 

I have checked out over 20 different companies and this was the best deal I could find....most were under 15 days and much more expensive. Any suggestions with other cruise companies?

 

Please tell me your opinions and if you would skip the cruise and just do the land portion. I am planning on going in Jan. or Feb. but am told that Cairo is quite chilly in those months....did any of you go in those months. Any input about this tour would be greatly appreciated. thank you!!

 

I would love to take a cruise to Egypt but have never heard of Costa Cruise Lines before. I've traveled on Carnival & Royal Caribean but wanted info on this line. Have you cruised with Costa yet? Have you taken any cruises yet? If so which one would you recommend?

[smeyer418]

I also have done Gate 1 and loved it. They are running good specials right now.(I upgraded to the better level one(newer ship and better hotels) and there were only 8 on our tour).

[smeyer418]

I would love to take a cruise to Egypt but have never heard of Costa Cruise Lines before. I've traveled on Carnival & Royal Caribean but wanted info on this line. Have you cruised with Costa yet? Have you taken any cruises yet? If so which one would you recommend?

Costa is part of Carnival cruise lines and is aimed mostly at Europeans. I have done lots of cruises and some river cruises. An Ocean cruise is a horrible way(IMO) to see Egypt. If you see anything at all, its rushed on a day or two mad dash to Cairo from either Alexandria or Port Said. ....IMO Gate one or any in depth River cruise is a much better way to see Egypt.

[PROCRUISE]

I also have done Gate 1 and loved it. They are running good specials right now.(I upgraded to the better level one(newer ship and better hotels) and there were only 8 on our tour).

 

We are also looking to visit Egypt next October and have narrowed our company choices down to Gate 1 and Indus Travel. So, if you upgrade with Gate 1 you do get better hotels, or just better rooms in the hotels listed? Is it the same with the boat? I like the idea that the international air cost is included with Gate 1, but Air Egypt has REALLY poor reviews all over the internet! I really like the intinerary offered by Indus Travel on their Absolute Egypt Tour but international air is not included and I cannot find any reviews for the company outside of their own website. Naturally if I were rich I'd simply schedule with A&K Tours!

Any additional info,pro or con on Gate 1 15 day tour would be appreciated.

[smeyer418]

We are also looking to visit Egypt next October and have narrowed our company choices down to Gate 1 and Indus Travel. So, if you upgrade with Gate 1 you do get better hotels, or just better rooms in the hotels listed? Is it the same with the boat? I like the idea that the international air cost is included with Gate 1, but Air Egypt has REALLY poor reviews all over the internet! I really like the intinerary offered by Indus Travel on their Absolute Egypt Tour but international air is not included and I cannot find any reviews for the company outside of their own website. Naturally if I were rich I'd simply schedule with A&K Tours!

Any additional info,pro or con on Gate 1 15 day tour would be appreciated.

 

 

if they still do it you get

1. better hotel

2. better boat

the best guide available and a small group(ours was 8)- almost a private tour.

The Boat was ONE month old and it was first class.

 

I flew Egypt air and it was better than most international flights I have been on(no liquor however)...

[smeyer418]

here are some pictures.

 

2 are of the old ship(something of the Nile)(3454 and 3506) I think

 

and the new ship is the Movenpick ones The crock is smoking cigarettes

[smeyer418]

I just checked the Gate 1 site and I don't think they offer the upgraded tour anymore. My suggestion also is to go in a few days early(up to a week) stay in Cairo and do some stuff on your own. They didn't charge at all to go in early- you just need to do your own hotel and the hotel can arrange for you to get into the hotel easily enough. Cairo is relatively inexpensive and there is a ton of stuff to see on your own....

 

 

I T B E and casual Cairo do good private tours.

 

We stayed in the Hotel Longchamps and loved it.

[slidergirl]

We are also looking to visit Egypt next October and have narrowed our company choices down to Gate 1 and Indus Travel. So, if you upgrade with Gate 1 you do get better hotels, or just better rooms in the hotels listed? Is it the same with the boat? I like the idea that the international air cost is included with Gate 1, but Air Egypt has REALLY poor reviews all over the internet! I really like the intinerary offered by Indus Travel on their Absolute Egypt Tour but international air is not included and I cannot find any reviews for the company outside of their own website. Naturally if I were rich I'd simply schedule with A&K Tours!

Any additional info,pro or con on Gate 1 15 day tour would be appreciated.

 

Funny you should mention A&K. I just got back last night from a 2 week Egypt and Jordan vacation. My trip operator customed designed the trip through the A&K group AKORN. Yep, it was expensive, but we sure got what we paid for!!! All of us (17 women) agreed it was the best trip we've ever had. It was FAR beyond what we had expected. We were treated like Godesses the entire time. The Nile cruise part was over the top. We had the A&K boat Nile Adventurer. It is their small boutique boat. It only holds 68 guests and has a crew of 64. It was plusher than the cruise ships I've been on. Cabanas with daybeds on the top deck with a pool. The executive chef was named the best chef on the Nile. No one got sick and we could eat everything onboard. We had a full-size bus at every stop for the 17 of us, stocked with water. Our guide and Egyptologist, Manal, was fantastic. She stayed with us from the first morning until were dropped off at the Fairmont Towers Hotel back in Cairo for our flight to Amman. She knew just when and where to take us to avoid the crowds and find the shade. We even ended up using our one free afternoon to have a discussion with her about Egypt in general and the role of Egyptian women in today's Egypt. It was totally spontaneous and enjoyable. We had a charter plane from Aswan to Abu Simbel and then from Abu Simbel back to Cairo.

I'll say that, after this trip, we DEFINITELY got what we paid for!! The only thing we couldn't get to our liking was the temperature. It was in the upper 90s to 108 (Abu-Simbel). But, we did not let the heat keep us from doing all we wanted to. Thank goodness for ventilated clothing and water!!!

 

For your Nile portion of your trip, please take care in selecting your boat. Most of the boats we saw were not pretty. I was shocked at the number of boats moored at ports - I heard there were something like 400 boats plying the Nile.

[shoshona2]

Hi slidergirl,

 

You must have been on the Nile Adventurer just before us when it came out of a redo by A&K. I thoroughly agree, it was a beautiful boat and a fabulous experience. I would have loved to take the crew home with me. We booked our Egypt/Jordan trip through Tauck and they use this boat for all their Nile River cruises. We were aboard Halloween night and the photos of the passengers and crew dressed in Egyptian attire was such fun. We had 31 Tauck passengers and an Italian group aboard as well as an independent couple. I thoroughly agree, that you get what you pay for. It was something I will never forget and we have traveled extensively.

 

Sheila