Advice please good peeps

[stevedeccaman]

done all good Thomson ships

 

this is Celebration , but worried as to ports of call :confused:

 

price is good though? :)

 

 

 

Cruise: 11-Apr-13

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt - Red Sea

7 Nights

1 x Deck 3/4 inside

Port of Call:

Sharm El Sheikh , Aqaba , Aqaba , Ship At Sea , Port Sokhna , Safaga , Safaga , Sharm El Sheikh

Price includes:

7 night cruise

Full Board

Return flights

Coach transfers

Per

Person:

£503

Total Price:

£1006

Online Savings :

[davecttr]

done all good Thomson ships

 

this is Celebration , but worried as to ports of call :confused:

 

price is good though? :)

 

 

 

Cruise: 11-Apr-13

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt - Red Sea

7 Nights

1 x Deck 3/4 inside

Port of Call:

Sharm El Sheikh , Aqaba , Aqaba , Ship At Sea , Port Sokhna , Safaga , Safaga , Sharm El Sheikh

Price includes:

7 night cruise

Full Board

Return flights

Coach transfers

Per

Person:

£503

Total Price:

£1006

Online Savings :

 

tht looks a good price, the deck 3/4 insides are almost all well away from the engines.

 

the first aqaba is a half day, wander about (not much to see) or go on the wadi rum excursion - fun in the desert

 

the second aqaba i would recommend Petra - take strong shoes, its a long stoney walk.

 

Port Sohkna - acommercial port, nothing to do, go on an excursion

 

Safaga, go on an excusrsion or take in the delights of the cement factory, hopefully the wind will be in the right direction. ;)

[stevedeccaman]

Thank you Dave'

 

may give it a miss then :cool:

 

Stevie :rolleyes:

[ekco]

I've looked at this a few times but it looks like you have to do excursions to get away from the ship and we like to walk around the local area on some of our cruise days and only Sharm fits the bill so maybe not for us.:):)

 

Jan

[CRUISIN LINDA]

I think it is cheap due to the political situation in that area. When we did it we were told at the port talk that Sokhna is an industrial port and were shown a picture of lots of containers to prove it :rolleyes:

[jenny wren]

Before you dismiss it totally have a look at the excursions....they usually arrange beach trips or diving from Safaga and (I think) desert Jeep? or a trip to Hurghada....also do beach trip from Sokhna I seem to remember.

We have stayed on board in the past and enjoyed a near empty ship! :)

[geomagot]

Before you dismiss it totally have a look at the excursions....they usually arrange beach trips or diving from Safaga and (I think) desert Jeep? or a trip to Hurghada....also do beach trip from Sokhna I seem to remember.

We have stayed on board in the past and enjoyed a near empty ship! :)

 

yep...I agree...very good value at the moment and guaranteed sunshine:cool:

 

there are some nice beach/shopping/snorkelling trips or hurgada transfer from safaga

 

aqaba is a pleasant town to walk around, some nice resorts with private beaches, the ship usually puts on a shuttle bus...or petra/wadi rum both breathtaking

 

and can enjoy the deserted ship on the cairo/port sokhna day

[stevedeccaman]

Still thinkin ;)

 

he who hesitates :cool:

 

transfer time from Airport to port ?

 

Stevie

[barnowl1950]

Think about 30 mins if I remember right.

[ormy]

Go on ! get it booked - worth it just to see Petra, I agree the ports are not

pretty, but we had a fabulous time.

Alan

[CRUISIN LINDA]

If you haven't been to Petra, then book it. Cairo and Luxor are long trips, but there are shorter trips to Hurghada etc.

[mtt]

we stayed on a dayon the red sea voyage when everyone went to cairo out of about 1250 passengers think about 80 stayed on board is was great

[jsy44]

Booked this on a whim, we go next week, without doing my research as my husband gets fed up with me researching every aspect online! The shore excursions are expensive as they require long journeys. We will be doing the Thomson trip to Wadi Rum with 4x4 desert ride (£44). Petra we will do on our own by taxi (Thomsons tour is £114) Port Sokhana -Cairo we are doing the pyramids with a different tour company. From Safaga we will do the Thomson tour to Luxor and valley of the kings as it is a very long drive and we don't want to get left behind. This one is £98. The ports don't sound great and nothing much to do nearby. For half day in Safaga we will probably go to hotel for pool and beach.

In retrospect would I have booked this if I'd done my research? In all honesty - probably not.

[Malch_uk]

Booked this on a whim, we go next week, without doing my research as my husband gets fed up with me researching every aspect online! The shore excursions are expensive as they require long journeys. We will be doing the Thomson trip to Wadi Rum with 4x4 desert ride (£44). Petra we will do on our own by taxi (Thomsons tour is £114) Port Sokhana -Cairo we are doing the pyramids with a different tour company. From Safaga we will do the Thomson tour to Luxor and valley of the kings as it is a very long drive and we don't want to get left behind. This one is £98. The ports don't sound great and nothing much to do nearby. For half day in Safaga we will probably go to hotel for pool and beach.

In retrospect would I have booked this if I'd done my research? In all honesty - probably not.

 

 

Thomson Petra trip includes lunch at 4star hotel and excellent english speaking guide.

 

Malc.

[Julessmiles]

Booked this on a whim, we go next week, without doing my research as my husband gets fed up with me researching every aspect online! The shore excursions are expensive as they require long journeys. We will be doing the Thomson trip to Wadi Rum with 4x4 desert ride (£44). Petra we will do on our own by taxi (Thomsons tour is £114) Port Sokhana -Cairo we are doing the pyramids with a different tour company. From Safaga we will do the Thomson tour to Luxor and valley of the kings as it is a very long drive and we don't want to get left behind. This one is £98. The ports don't sound great and nothing much to do nearby. For half day in Safaga we will probably go to hotel for pool and beach.

In retrospect would I have booked this if I'd done my research? In all honesty - probably not.

 

I haven't done the Red Sea cruise but I think the trip to Petra from Aqaba is about 2 hours - not sure how much a return taxi will be for that distance; might want to check with people who have been how feasible it is to go by Taxi???

[jenny wren]

Also, regarding the Petra trip, do you realise the entry fee is around £50 so it may not be that much cheaper by taxi by the time you factor all the costs in...:)

[terry2]

Also, regarding the Petra trip, do you realise the entry fee is around £50 so it may not be that much cheaper by taxi by the time you factor all the costs in...:)

As I recall that is the one day ticket for people who are 'staying in jordon'; for a one day vistor to the country the entry fee is 90JD.

 

But whatever the fee is, Petra is worth visiting!

[jsy44]

Yes, I have done my research!

 

Entrance to Petra for those staying overnight in Jordan, including cruise ships, is 50 JOD including English speaking guide. Return taxi is 55 JOD (pre-booked). Journey time 90 minutes. I'm certainly not going to Petra to sit in a hotel and have lunch!!

This way we can spend as long as we wish exploring the site which is massive.

[Julessmiles]

Yes, I have done my research!

 

Entrance to Petra for those staying overnight in Jordan, including cruise ships, is 50 JOD including English speaking guide. Return taxi is 55 JOD (pre-booked). Journey time 90 minutes. I'm certainly not going to Petra to sit in a hotel and have lunch!!

This way we can spend as long as we wish exploring the site which is massive.

 

Excellent value - worth knowing, will be interesting to see how you get on.

[ormy]

Yes the Petra trip with Thomson is not cheap, but its an awful long way - not sure I would chance it on my own.

The Thomson trip for us was worth every penny, without a guide you would not really know what you are looking at.

A truly magical day

Alan

[geomagot]

Yes, I have done my research!

 

Entrance to Petra for those staying overnight in Jordan, including cruise ships, is 50 JOD including English speaking guide. Return taxi is 55 JOD (pre-booked). Journey time 90 minutes. I'm certainly not going to Petra to sit in a hotel and have lunch!!

This way we can spend as long as we wish exploring the site which is massive.

 

Just trying to help….but, proceed with caution......55 dinar fare aqaba - petra sounds like a one way fare imo?....are you sure this checks out? is this per taxi or per person? jordan taxi drivers need to be very firmly negotiated with....its not that they are trying to cheat you ...its just their culture...I wouldn’t want you to have a bit of a shock when you get back to the port

[jsy44]

45 JOD single, 55 JOD return, driver waits for you. Booked with a reputable company with good reviews.

Just the way we prefer to do things whenever feasible and/or cheaper!

[CRUISIN LINDA]

If Jordanian taxi drivers are anything like Egyptian taxi drivers :eek: I wish you the best of luck :D:D:D

 

Nothing would induce me to get in a taxi in Egypt again :eek::D

[jsy44]

Well the private taxi to Petra turned out perfectly. Driver spoke excellent English. Very safe driver, the roads are good. The only oversight was that we didn't realise Jordanian time was an hour different until we got the cruise daily newsletter. We decided not to change the time but to go an hour earlier than planned. So glad we did, there is so much to see. We managed to climb up to the high place (sacrificial point) as well as the monastery without resorting to donkeys or horses. You might like to take an apple or two for those poor donkeys, especially the ones that are used for building works. Long day but we knew our driver was waiting for us for as long as we chose to be. Price pre-arranged so no problems there either. A perfect day.

[geomagot]

Well the private taxi to Petra turned out perfectly. Driver spoke excellent English. Very safe driver, the roads are good. The only oversight was that we didn't realise Jordanian time was an hour different until we got the cruise daily newsletter. We decided not to change the time but to go an hour earlier than planned. So glad we did, there is so much to see. We managed to climb up to the high place (sacrificial point) as well as the monastery without resorting to donkeys or horses. You might like to take an apple or two for those poor donkeys, especially the ones that are used for building works. Long day but we knew our driver was waiting for us for as long as we chose to be. Price pre-arranged so no problems there either. A perfect day.

 

so pleased you had a great and all worked out well:cool:

 

yep, I agree re the little donkeys....some of them are very poorly kept.....quite heartbreaking

 

imo consider taking a camel if you need a lift back up the hill....they are generally much better cared for