Thompson Celebration advice please

[surrey lolly]

Hello

 

we are going on the Thompson Celebration in November on the Red Sea Magic.

1 Do we need to get Visa's before we go or do Thompson take care of that.

 

2Also what currency should we take and should we get some egyptian pounds not sure what the money is in Jordan.

 

3I guess they will have a formal night whilst on board will that be just the one.

 

Any tips would be really gratful thank you.:p

[jenny wren]

Thomson take care of all visas required on board but I think I remember you have to get one on arrival at Sharm el Sheikh airport...its a while since we went but we were told on the plane exactly what to do....we had to queue and pay £10 sterling ....I'm sure someone who has been more recently will be able to help you.

 

We took Egyptian pounds and dollars...but in Egypt they will take anything!!! Egyptian pounds are available from the post office ...you don't have to order them they have them at main post offices. In Jordan we used dollars but we only went to touristy places so it depends what you want to do...I don't know what taxi drivers would accept for example. We did ships excursions so didn't need much. If you just need a bit of local currency you can withdraw from an ATM when you're there.

 

Yes there will be one formal night per week.

 

We've done this itinerary twice and loved it both times....first one was in November and it was hot and sunny...though cooler in Petra which is quite a way north.

[mtt]

do they take euros in either egypt/jordan

[YESME]

You do not need to get a visa for this cruise. Check out Visas and passports for egypt on the thomsons site or in the small print in back of brochure. You don't need one for staying in sharm and the ship does the quick visa routine for the rest of the trip. If you are staying in egypt after the cruise then you may need one for areas outside of sharm.

 

Won a £5 bet with this! against my mum,ha ha.

[Cymro1953]

Hi,

I don't know if it's any help for Sharm, but when we were in Cairo in June all they wanted was Euros or US$. Even the prices in the Cairo Museum were in Euros. And the peddlars by the Sphinx and pyramids, every thing was "One dollar, one dollar"

 

Berwyn

[capasamari]

My mum and dad went to St. Petersburg in Russia on a P&O cruise this summer and all the street vendors there were happy to accept US dollars!!! Universal currency!

 

Carol x

[Cymro1953]

Just a follow on from Carol's comment.

It seems they prefer notes to coins and even though they will take Euros the lowest denomination Euro or £ note you can get is a 5. I've just got a load of 1US$ bills for our stop in Morocco in December. So it seems the $'s the way to go.

 

Berwyn

[jenny wren]

Yes... but in Egypt they would take pound coins rather than lose a sale!!! When we were in Alexandria in February we were mooching around the stalls by the port and one of the stall holders asked us if we had a £10 note to exchange for 10 pound coins and we were happy to oblige!!! so they still take them and then change them for notes when they can.....

[surrey lolly]

[Jenny thank you can you book the trips before hand or when you arrive on board. thank you.

 

quote=jenny wren;21434274]Thomson take care of all visas required on board but I think I remember you have to get one on arrival at Sharm el Sheikh airport...its a while since we went but we were told on the plane exactly what to do....we had to queue and pay £10 sterling ....I'm sure someone who has been more recently will be able to help you.

 

We took Egyptian pounds and dollars...but in Egypt they will take anything!!! Egyptian pounds are available from the post office ...you don't have to order them they have them at main post offices. In Jordan we used dollars but we only went to touristy places so it depends what you want to do...I don't know what taxi drivers would accept for example. We did ships excursions so didn't need much. If you just need a bit of local currency you can withdraw from an ATM when you're there.

 

Yes there will be one formal night per week.

 

We've done this itinerary twice and loved it both times....first one was in November and it was hot and sunny...though cooler in Petra which is quite a way north.

[surrey lolly]

many thanks for all your tips, can you book the trips before hand or do you do it once you are on board.

 

Thank you.

[jenny wren]

No you can't book trips beforehand....there will be the necessary info and forms in your cabin when you arrive so get them filled out asap and into the post box on the desk of the excursion office. try and decide before you go which excursions you want to do, so you're not wasting time ummming and ahing.....I think Thomson book as many coaches as they need... rather than just booking half a dozen and when they're full thats it!!