We would avoid travel to Egypt

[dragongirl]

I am in the process of booking this journey and am quite concerned with the fact that the elections will be in late May. I would think its possible that there will be some unrest prior to that time. I am traveling with my 77 year old mother and myself. This is the only cruise that I have the option to take otherwise I'd not have the chance to go on AZ.

 

Any current thoughts on the situation? Also, does anyone know about the trip from Cairo to Suez for departure - how long and far, is that a safe drive?

 

The funny thing is I live in Mexico 3 months of the year and really have little worry about the cartel issue that the State Dept warns of. However, civil unrest can really spark at any moment and there does seem to be some government issues with the US right now. The tour guides I am in touch with assure me "all is well", but I would expect that.

 

 

Thank you!

 

Lauri

[cruisemom42]

I am in the process of booking this journey and am quite concerned with the fact that the elections will be in late May. I would think its possible that there will be some unrest prior to that time. I am traveling with my 77 year old mother and myself. This is the only cruise that I have the option to take otherwise I'd not have the chance to go on AZ.

 

Any current thoughts on the situation? Also, does anyone know about the trip from Cairo to Suez for departure - how long and far, is that a safe drive?

 

The funny thing is I live in Mexico 3 months of the year and really have little worry about the cartel issue that the State Dept warns of. However, civil unrest can really spark at any moment and there does seem to be some government issues with the US right now. The tour guides I am in touch with assure me "all is well", but I would expect that.

 

 

Thank you!

 

Lauri

 

Sokhna, where you apparently embark, is about an hour from Cairo.

 

As to the situation, anything can happen, but try to keep things in perspective if you can. The media like to hype things.

 

For example, approximately 231 US citizens were victims of murder in Mexico in 2010 and 2011. The total number of US fatalities in Egypt over that same period: 8 persons. And these died in a bus accident.... Yet most people instinctively feel Egypt is less safe than Mexico because they are less familiar with it.

 

I'm very sure Azamara would change their plans for departure if things appeared to be unsafe or unstable there. Like Athens, Cairo is a big city and most demonstrations take place in one specific area.

[Celandine]

Not that I think anyone should do something they are not comfortable with, but I have been living in Egypt since the end of August (I work as a teacher) and although I have cancelled some day trips here and there over the year, I am very happy and confident in my choice here.

 

I am planning on returning next year, and possibly for several years after that.

 

I go out and do some touristy things (but I also do spend a lot of time working/planning that's my job)

 

The Egyptian people are super friendly, and I love living here.

[vakamalua]

We will be in Jordan and Egypt in April (not on a cruise); I'll report back.

[dsrdsrdsr]

There's a British man (Christopher Tappin) currently in jail in Texas on a charge of exporting batteries to Iran. He's held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, and for some weeks was not allowed access to books or anything else to read. The idea being that he'll plead guilty if his time as an innocent man in jail is made so very unpleasant.

 

The point being, I'm not going to avoid US travel just because of a single incident involving a British citizen. Egypt isn't the only government taking hostages, I'll take my chance.

[springaussie]

The P&O Cruise Ship "Oceana" was in Alexandria on Tuesday.

[JohnoClark]

They announced this last week. Added a day in Haifa and a day in Turkey.

 

A few days later they lowered the fare by over 10 percent

 

We are not canceling, some are.

 

It is interesting that they did this so far in advance.

 

I wonder what triggered this?

[NCCruzQueen]

My TA currently has a group of 22 people on a land tour and Nile cruise. They are reporting "Memphis was also pretty empty about 50 people including our 22 people" and "On the first Nile tour when we left the sound and light show there was a LONG line of hundreds of people waiting to go in for the show. Last night a maximum of about 50 people." There are no reports of problems.

[azevedan]

Just back (yesterday!) from land tour of Jordan and Egypt. No problems whatsoever. The only (initially) worrisome moment was when we heard distant celebratory gunfire from a wedding when we were in Edfu. :eek: Tourism starting to rebound, but still way down from where it was. There were only 3 couples on our tour....made for a very personalized experience. It's a good time to go. As a bonus, the weather was quite nice; not as warm as it can get this time of year. The only down side is that Abercrombie & Kent spoiled us so much that it will be tough to go back to traveling on my own for work! ;)

 

Will write a bit more when I get a chance....I've been washing clothes, vacuuming backpacks, and running errands all day.

[Emma Chisit]

Just back (yesterday!) from land tour of Jordan and Egypt. No problems whatsoever.

 

Thank you very much for posting this. Appreciate the first-hand report of your current experiences in Jordan and Egypt. Will be there in early May and will likewise post our first-hand experiences when I return.

[azevedan]

Here are the links to my pictures (with commentary).

 

Jordan pictures:

 

 

Egypt pictures:

[vakamalua]

Just back (yesterday!) from land tour of Jordan and Egypt. No problems whatsoever. The only (initially) worrisome moment was when we heard distant celebratory gunfire from a wedding when we were in Edfu. :eek: Tourism starting to rebound, but still way down from where it was. There were only 3 couples on our tour....made for a very personalized experience. It's a good time to go. As a bonus, the weather was quite nice; not as warm as it can get this time of year. The only down side is that Abercrombie & Kent spoiled us so much that it will be tough to go back to traveling on my own for work! ;)

 

Will write a bit more when I get a chance....I've been washing clothes, vacuuming backpacks, and running errands all day.

 

THANKS for the info! We will be on A&K's Jordan and Egypt tour in April and really looking forward to it. We have traveled with them once before and know how spoiled you can get. Great pictures!

[havcamwiltravel]

I'm a solo traveller on the NCL Jade's Holy Land cruise. It has 2 stops in Egypt and 2 stops in Israel. I'm a bit reserved about Egypt, but I do hope that the situation changes by the time my cruise comes around. Has anyone actually had a situation where the cruise line has changed the iternary and not gone to Egypt in the past? What would be alternatives?

Sorry, entered this reply into the wrong post.:o

[Emma Chisit]

Here are the links to my pictures (with commentary).

Thanks, really enjoyed your pictures. We leave in week to start our cruise so the excitement level is rising..have been to Egypt but Jordan is new to us.

[Jimbo59]

Is Celebrity still going to the ports in Egypt?

When will they decide if it is too dangerous or unstable there?

 

What did Celebrity do last year and how much advance notice did they provide to passengers?

[Martin and Lindsey]

We also leave in a week for a Nile Cruise and a few days in Cairo.

 

Really looking forward to it! :D

[azevedan]

We leave in week to start our cruise so the excitement level is rising..have been to Egypt but Jordan is new to us.

 

Emma - have a great time! We loved Egypt, but both felt Petra was the place we'd make another trip to!

 

More on the tourism levels, btw. We cruised for 3 nights on the Nile on one of A&K's boats (the Sun Boat IV, which was wonderful and very nicely and tastefully appointed, with cheerful and helpful crew). The boat holds 80 passengers. We had 14. Our guide did ask, and heard that the return trip upriver (4 nights) was almost full.

[Choochala]

Emma - have a great time! We loved Egypt, but both felt Petra was the place we'd make another trip to!

 

More on the tourism levels, btw. We cruised for 3 nights on the Nile on one of A&K's boats (the Sun Boat IV, which was wonderful and very nicely and tastefully appointed, with cheerful and helpful crew). The boat holds 80 passengers. We had 14. Our guide did ask, and heard that the return trip upriver (4 nights) was almost full.

 

Question - which port did you dock in to go to Petra? And did you do the A&K tour to Petra from that port? I'm looking for a tour from either Sagafa or Sharm El Shiek to Petra and hoping 1) they're safe and 2) I'd really like a reference for a great company to tour with.

[azevedan]

Question - which port did you dock in to go to Petra? And did you do the A&K tour to Petra from that port? I'm looking for a tour from either Sagafa or Sharm El Shiek to Petra and hoping 1) they're safe and 2) I'd really like a reference for a great company to tour with.

 

Our tour was primarily a land tour, except for the 3 nights sailing the Nile. We flew into Amman, toured Jordan (Jerash, Petra and a few other stops), a night and day at the Dead Sea, then over to Cairo for a couple of days, down to Abu Simbel, then Aswan up to Luxor, back to Cairo. It was the Sands of Time tour, but they have several others as well.

 

I have seen cruises that dock in Aqaba, I think, and then go to Petra.

[Dr.Paul]

My wife and I just got back from Egypt and the people could not have nicer to us. Everywhere we went people spoke fluent English and were polite and helpfull. My wife and I walked around Giza at night and never felt unsafe at anytime. The tourist police were nice and always willing to take photos for us. Well for a little baksheesh anyway. We had a wonderful time and would go back in a heartbeat.

[Martin and Lindsey]

We got back a couple of days ago and had a wonderful time.

 

We felt perfectly safe at all times and were given a very warm welcome. The egyptians are so grateful for tourists who visit Egypt and they show it and thank you for visiting their country.

 

Because of the drop in numbers of tourists, there weren't queues (lines) as there normally would be at this time of year.

 

In Cairo we did see a couple of very peaceful demonstrations with a lot of riot police there, but there was no trouble and all was calm. These people rely heavily on tourism for their economy and really need the visitors.

 

We were harrassed by people trying to sell us things everywhere we went, but the people are desperate to make some money. I think that was the only down side of our trip.

[icat2000]

We were harrassed by people trying to sell us things everywhere we went, but the people are desperate to make some money. I think that was the only down side of our trip.

That is just simply Egypt. I call it running the gauntlet. However, the worse harrrassment by sellers I ever experienced was in India in the Rajastan region. There was one stop at a temple were it was really intense.

[bee-ess]

Certainly understand what you guys are saying; however, we are very excited about our cruise that includes two overnights in Egypt in late October. Obviously we won't be able to go if things don't settle down in the next few months. I just hope Celebrity doesn't change/cancel anything this far out. We have put off going over there for the last few years and finally decided to just do it. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

I still have hopes. :):):)

 

Hi BridgeMates, are you on the Solstice Barcelona to Dubai, if you are, then we are on the same one and we are also worried that Celebrity will cancel, just hope they give us lots of notice if they do. We are from the UK and at present Brits are still going on holiday to Egypt and our Foreign Office are not advising against it. I think I am more concerned about cruising on the approaches to Dubai through Pirate territory then I am about Egypt.

[Tony & Trevor]

Sailed Dubai to Istanbul.

 

Had a superb time in Egypt with no problems at all.

 

 

A fascinating country.

 

Kind regards

 

 

Tony

[hommar2]

Hi,

 

We have just returned from a 3 week tour within Egypt. We visited Cairo, Faiyoum, Luxor, Aswan, did a cruise on Lake Nasser, went to Kharga Oasis followed by a cruise from Safaga to Sharm el Sheik, Sokhna and through the canal travelling by car, minivan, 4WD, aircraft and ship .

 

At no time did we have any security problems and were perfectly safe.

 

A wonderful trip to a wonderful country

 

Hommar