Holy Land and Egypt safe???

[recia]

We are considering the pacific princess for April 2012, with uncertain situation over there is this something that would be safe for tours?

[paul929207]

Will they ever be safe? We asked ourselves that in 2006 and decided to go. It was a fabulous trip. Nothing has changed since then. Go for it. We were in Egypt on the Ocean Princess in May. Spent a day in Safaga. Most went to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. No reports of problems.

[jmlh]

We spent 12 days in Egypt the end of October - beginning of November 2011. It was a wonderful trip & we always felt very safe (thanks to our driver/guide while in the Cairo area) and also on the Nile cruise. So very glad that we went!!

[aqua]

I just returned from the Constellation's Holy Land sailing. We were originally scheduled to go to Egypt and Israel, but Egypt was dropped as a port several months ago. At 11:15 PM the night before we were supposed to dock in Ashdod, the Captain announced that we were diverting to Haifa due to rocket fire. We spent 4 wonderful days in Israel.

 

I don't believe that a cruise ship will risk taking passengers into an area where they are worried about their safety. However, I would be prepared for the possibility that the ports could change, even at the last minute. I met a lady who sailed on three Holy Land cruises, but ours was the only one that actually docked in Israel.

[Karennella]

We were fortunate in that we got to both Egypt and Israel, including Ashdod, in September on the Prisendam.

I would have to give an honest answer about Egypt; Safe ? yes we felt safe at all times. Enjoyable?; my husband greatly enjoyed seeing the pyramids whereas I found the rubbish everywhere so confronting that it spoilt my enjoyment of the place. Israel? Both loved it.

[John Bull]

We are considering the pacific princess for April 2012, with uncertain situation over there is this something that would be safe for tours?

 

 

Cruiselines are pretty conservative about safety, if a place is not considered safe, they don't go. That's one of the joys of cruising - if you've booked a hotel vacation & the situation worsens, your vacation gets cancelled. Or worse - you feel it unsafe but the authorities & T/A don't, so if you cancel you lose your money as well as your vacation.

But if you've booked a cruise, they just change some of the itinerary.

 

We're normally pretty independent, but there's times & places when we stick to ship's excursions. A couple of months back, Israel was fine for independent travel, even though at the furthest we were up to 3 hours away from the ship. But Cairo & Luxor (on a different cruise) we did by ship's excursion, though this has as much to do with the transport infrastructure, logistics and getting back to the ship on-time as it does with safety.

 

I've wanted to go to Israel for about 30 years, & the time never seemed right - eventually we decided that if we waited til it all settled down, we would never ever go.

A bit like Paul & Egypt.

So, like Paul, we booked.

And had a great time. :cool:

 

You can never be sure that the itinerary will go ahead as planned, but if you wait til circumstances seem ideal, you too will be waiting for 30 years.:eek:

 

So go for it :)

 

JB :)

[Keith1010]

If there are problems then the cruise line will revise the itinerary.

 

My own opinion is that no one can predict how things will be by then. We have visited this area multiple times and each time we were fine but I remember two of the times about nine months out we were concerned because of some event and then by the time we got closer all had calmed down.

 

If it was me I would book it.

 

Keith

[recia]

Thanks everyone for your comments.

[browneyes7]

We were fortunate in that we got to both Egypt and Israel, including Ashdod, in September on the Prisendam.

I would have to give an honest answer about Egypt; Safe ? yes we felt safe at all times. Enjoyable?; my husband greatly enjoyed seeing the pyramids whereas I found the rubbish everywhere so confronting that it spoilt my enjoyment of the place. Israel? Both loved it.

 

I felt the same way about Egypt as you did. I enjoyed seeing the pyramids, but after seeing all the garbage and debris everywhere....I just wanted to get back to the ship as soon as possible! I would not go to Cairo again. I did enjoy my trip to Alexandria!

[havcamwiltravel]

I felt the same way about Egypt as you did. I enjoyed seeing the pyramids, but after seeing all the garbage and debris everywhere....I just wanted to get back to the ship as soon as possible! I would not go to Cairo again. I did enjoy my trip to Alexandria!

Certainly, Cairo is not a clean city and the sights and smells can sometimes be repulsive to the sensibilities of squeamish travelers but that should not deter anyone from visiting Egypt for so many reasons, including the simple fact that if you don't go, you would miss seeing some of the most magnificent places on this planet. Cairo is dirty and smelly but the rest of Egypt is much less so. Besides, a visit to Cairo may just open our eyes to a better understanding of our world, as travel should always do.

 

Nor IMHO should anyone avoid Egypt because of the unrest, which is sporadic and limited to small areas that tourists can avoid. Thousands of tourists have been, since the Revolution, all are richer for the experience and none have been harmed.

 

Like John Bull said, if you wait until everything in Egypt is perfect, you will never go.

[sandyfitz]

My wife and I have been there in last September. It was safe place; as many people agrees I also admit that Cahiro was not so clean and people "oh my god". They just dont know the meaning of NO. I can say we enjoy our time there.

[Bravesloop]

We are considering the pacific princess for April 2012, with uncertain situation over there is this something that would be safe for tours?

I have had this booked since it was opened. Looking forward to it.

 

Anita

[icat2000]

Just got back from travelling three weeks around Egypt and Jordan. Had no problems whatsoever. If anything with the tourists numbers down (50% they were saying) it made it much easier at the sites.

 

There are still the usual security precautions with armed escourts. But that was the same back in 2005 when I travelled there.

[shallani_74]

I am booked to go there on Nov 9 with Norwegian Jade being a Catholic that is a trip of a lifetime hopefully it pushes through with current unrest I don't know if it's even possible.

[Keith1010]

It's hard to know what will happen with your port stops.

 

Keith