Uniworld Egypt 2016

[Hydrokitty]

Oh, and it looks like this boat is not all-inclusive for alcohol, unlike most of the Uniworld boats. My TA is confirming this. That's disappointing.

 

That could have nothing to do with Uniworld and everything to do with Egypt!! Egypt has a huge Muslim population and as such, they do not serve alcohol in any of the restaurants, or on board either of the two ships we were on. In fact even Egypt Air was "dry". I think some of the larger hotels might have served alcohol, but I don't remember for certain, I just remember not having any wine with dinner while we were there.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

That could have nothing to do with Uniworld and everything to do with Egypt!! Egypt has a huge Muslim population and as such, they do not serve alcohol in any of the restaurants, or on board either of the two ships we were on. In fact even Egypt Air was "dry". I think some of the larger hotels might have served alcohol, but I don't remember for certain, I just remember not having any wine with dinner while we were there.

 

The ship is not "dry", they have a full bar. But Uniworld does not pay for alcohol. Apparently, it might have something to do with the fact that the wine in Egypt is terrible, and it's tough to provision the boats with decent wines, presumably because of the fact that Egypt is muslim.

Edited January 12, 2015 by Wendy The Wanderer

[jpalbny]

The ship is not "dry", they have a full bar. But Uniworld does not pay for alcohol. Apparently, it might have something to do with the fact that the wine in Egypt is terrible, and it's tough to provision the boats with decent wines, presumably because of the fact that Egypt is muslim.

 

We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Egyptian wines onboard for our A&K trip 2y ago. Certainly not up to par with those of a major, established wine-producing region, but not at all terrible.

 

The whites were almost all Chardonnays but they were light, fresh, and unoaked - very nice. They had some decent dry rose. I don't remember the reds very well; perhaps that has to do with A&K having an open bar, all-inclusive policy on our cruise. :rolleyes: I think our group may have made them reconsider this, as we kept the crew up late on several occasions...

 

We very much enjoy trying wines from new and unfamiliar regions. We've tried local wines in Peru, Turkey, Egypt... to name a few, and it's way more fun for us than sticking to something we know. We go by the philosophy that there is always time for your old standbys once you're home; for us, trying new wine is part of the fun. You never know!

 

It is disappointing though that they are not truly all-inclusive for this journey.

[sunsetme]

Oh, and it looks like this boat is not all-inclusive for alcohol, unlike most of the Uniworld boats. My TA is confirming this. That's disappointing.

 

yes I'll just have to dry out

[Ozjohnno]

This may or may not throw some light onto why the trip is not all-inclusive. When we toured Egypt in 2008 we were on a very similar package/itinerary with Uniworld's brother company Insight Tours. It may have something to do with the way business is done in Egypt but our tour was sublet to an Egyptian company Star Tours. They supplied all the guides, buses etc. Our head guide was Egyptian. This meant that the home companies, in our case Insight's, usual conditions were not adhered to. We still had a very good time. May I also add that for trip the visit to Abu Simbel was included in the package. If there is a must see in Egypt it is definitely Abu Simbel.

 

Hope this helps.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

So I've confirmed the non-inclusiveness, we'll live. The Abu Simbel optional excursion price is around $300 per person, by plane, which isn't bad at all. We'll definitely do that. And I've pulled the trigger on this trip, so we should be officially booked today.

[Hydrokitty]

So I've confirmed the non-inclusiveness, we'll live. The Abu Simbel optional excursion price is around $300 per person, by plane, which isn't bad at all. We'll definitely do that. And I've pulled the trigger on this trip, so we should be officially booked today.

 

 

You will love Egypt and if you have the opportunity to add Jordan and a visit to Petra you won't regret it.

[jpalbny]

So I've confirmed the non-inclusiveness, we'll live. The Abu Simbel optional excursion price is around $300 per person, by plane, which isn't bad at all. We'll definitely do that. And I've pulled the trigger on this trip, so we should be officially booked today.

 

Have fun! Very interested in how this trip compares to ours. Glad you're visiting Abu Simbel by airplane.

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Forums mobile app

[cormike1]

I am so glad to read that Egypt is a go again. We had our trip all booked a few years ago and then all hell broke loose and we had to cancel. We were going with Insight Vacations and at that time it included our wine. We kind of custom made our tour and I can't remember how it worked now but we were on 2 different river boats and one actually docked overnight at Abu Simbel. I have heard that a sunrise is a site to behold!!! It was the reason we chose this company because Abu Simbel wasn't an optional tour but was included in our package. It was a must for me to see so I was afraid that with an optional knowing my luck the weather would be crappy for flying or something like that and I would not see it. Anyhow after reading this thread, I am now going to start looking at going in Feb. 2016. And one last piece of advice....GET GOOD CANCELLATION INSURANCE!!!! We had and got all our money back minus the insurance cost. So worth getting the insurance!

Edited January 14, 2015 by cormike1
spelling

[Hydrokitty]

I am so glad to read that Egypt is a go again. We had our trip all booked a few years ago and then all hell broke loose and we had to cancel. We were going with Insight Vacations and at that time it included our wine. We kind of custom made our tour and I can't remember how it worked now but we were on 2 different river boats and one actually docked overnight at Abu Simbel. I have heard that a sunrise is a site to behold!!! It was the reason we chose this company because Abu Simbel wasn't an optional tour but was included in our package. It was a must for me to see so I was afraid that with an optional knowing my luck the weather would be crappy for flying or something like that and I would not see it. Anyhow after reading this thread, I am now going to start looking at going in Feb. 2016. And one last piece of advice....GET GOOD CANCELLATION INSURANCE!!!! We had and got all our money back minus the insurance cost. So worth getting the insurance!

 

 

Cormike1, where you with Vantage by any chance? Because one of the main reasons we did Egypt with them was because Abu Simbel was included and we had cruises on BOTH the Nile and Lake Nasser. If you get to go this time, we also took the balloon ride at dawn over the Nile and once I got over my panic (about 10 seconds) it was one of the most amazing, exciting and wonderful things I've ever done!!! Not scary or thrilling just amazingly beautiful. And absolutely, DON'T SKIMP ON THE INSURANCE....not only do you want your trip insured you want to be sure that in the event of a health emergency you get returned to US or major European hospital.

[cormike1]

HydroKitty....no I still have the brochure and it definitely was with Insight Vacations. The brochure was called Ancient Civilizations and the tour was called "Jewels of the Nile, Lake Nasser & Abu Simbel. We were going to be on 2 ships, one for Lake Nasser and 1 for the Nile if I remember correctly. I am waiting to hear back from our TA about doing it in 2016...it is still waiting to be crossed off my first spot on my bucket list!!!

[Ozjohnno]

HydroKitty....no I still have the brochure and it definitely was with Insight Vacations. The brochure was called Ancient Civilizations and the tour was called "Jewels of the Nile, Lake Nasser & Abu Simbel. We were going to be on 2 ships, one for Lake Nasser and 1 for the Nile if I remember correctly. I am waiting to hear back from our TA about doing it in 2016...it is still waiting to be crossed off my first spot on my bucket list!!!

 

This is the Insight tour we took in April 2008. We cruised on the Prince Abbas on Lake Nasser - the early morning departure from Abu Simbel was one of the highlights of the trip - and we were on the Miram on the Nile. This was one of the best trips we have taken. Our guide was first class and we were really well looked after. My only gripe with Insight is that they take you to quite a few of their "retail outlets" just a waste of valuable time.

[Hydrokitty]

This is the Insight tour we took in April 2008. We cruised on the Prince Abbas on Lake Nasser - the early morning departure from Abu Simbel was one of the highlights of the trip - and we were on the Miram on the Nile. This was one of the best trips we have taken. Our guide was first class and we were really well looked after. My only gripe with Insight is that they take you to quite a few of their "retail outlets" just a waste of valuable time.

 

Hi Ozjohnno: We were on the Omar el khayyam on Lake Nasser and the Crown Jewel on the Nile. We too, departed at something like 3 a.m. and then were bused to Abu Simbel, which I didn't mind because I thought crossing the desert was fascinating! As for the "preferred merchants" gripe, I think everybody does that! Vantage took us to a rug maker, and a papyrus maker. In Jordan they took us to a place where they took ostrich eggs and covered them with tiny ceramic tiles that were exquisite. I bought one of those with the tree of life on it. When we were in Istanbul (with Trafalgar) we went to a rug maker who served us tea and DH bought a very expensive rug. I wasn't interested in rugs but downstairs from the rug shop was a jeweler and I bought a beautiful emerald and diamond ring!

[Tinkindling]

The trip we took, probably in 2010 or 2011 was with Uniworld. It was for 13 nights I believe, and on Lake Nasser, we were on a boat called the Prince Abbas. It was a wonderful experience, and the approach to Abu Simbel by water is a not-to-be missed experience. We then flew back to Aswan, and boarded Uniworld's River Tosca, an exceptionally nice river cruise boat.

 

That part of the trip ended at Luxor, and we then flew back to Cairo, where the trip started. I'm always recommending Egypt, and I believe, based on what I saw there, that Uniworld did the best job. Our guide, a University Teacher from Egypt, as superb, and took the time to teach us how to read and write simple Hieroglyphics, spent some time, in response to our questions, explaining Islam for us, and generally gave way more than we expected.

 

Our meals on the boats were superb, but I recall that we had to buy our wine, and we (a group of 6) did buy Egyptian wine, and we were pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

 

I'd go again in a heartbeat!

[Hydrokitty]

The trip we took, probably in 2010 or 2011 was with Uniworld. It was for 13 nights I believe, and on Lake Nasser, we were on a boat called the Prince Abbas. It was a wonderful experience, and the approach to Abu Simbel by water is a not-to-be missed experience. We then flew back to Aswan, and boarded Uniworld's River Tosca, an exceptionally nice river cruise boat.

 

That part of the trip ended at Luxor, and we then flew back to Cairo, where the trip started. I'm always recommending Egypt, and I believe, based on what I saw there, that Uniworld did the best job. Our guide, a University Teacher from Egypt, as superb, and took the time to teach us how to read and write simple Hieroglyphics, spent some time, in response to our questions, explaining Islam for us, and generally gave way more than we expected.

 

Our meals on the boats were superb, but I recall that we had to buy our wine, and we (a group of 6) did buy Egyptian wine, and we were pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

 

I'd go again in a heartbeat!

 

By any chance was your guide's name Magid (Magic)? He was our guide and he also taught at the University of Cairo and in Canada. He was a Coptic Catholic and was able to explain the two religions in detail as well as talk about some of the prejudice the Coptics were subjected to. Our guide in Jordan was a Muslim and he was amazed with how much we knew about his religion, all of which we learned from Magid.

[Tinkindling]

No, our guide's name was Ramadan (really). Our cruise group had only 6 people, so we had one guide for just 6. We all got along really well, and I hope that someday, we luck out in the same way again.

 

Ramadan was a Muslim, and I learned a lot from talking with him, sometimes over meals, and sometimes on the mini bus as we headed out on excursions. He told us his name came from the fact that he was born during the annual Muslim Ramadan religious observance. He taught in Cairo, and he had a gift for bringing out the human interest side of life in ancient Egypt. Mind you, every guide we've had with Uniworld has been great.

[Hydrokitty]

 

Mind you, every guide we've had with Uniworld has been great.

 

We've had the same experience with Vantage and we're approaching trip # in June and #8 in August! It's wonderful when that happens, you come away with much more understanding of the people and what's important to them and what's always amazing to me is how much alike we all are despite our differences in politics, government, religion, etc....basically we all want the same things....to live our lives in peace and for our children to have it better than we do.

[cormike1]

Hi there,

 

I assume you are a snowbird as you list your home as Canada and the U.S.

 

I posted this in another thread about Egypt that you have also posted in. In case you didn't see my post. I had asked my TA about travel in Egypt for Feb. 2015 and would she recommend it. She sent me the travel warning from the Canadian Govt's travel website. They updated it on Jan. 20th. It says "increased risk of attacks around Jan. 25th and avoid non-essential travel.

 

I would keep track of what the gov't website says at all times because if you go and it says non-essential travel and riots break out and your trip is cut short, you could lose out on getting your money back because of what the website said.

 

I guess I will stay put for now and keep watching the situation.

 

Good luck!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks, I responded to you in the other thread. We booked our insurance directly with Uniworld this time. They have the "cancel for any reason" clause, which invoked allows us a full credit for a different cruise, which would be fine.