Nile River Cruise with Viking

[Hydrokitty]

Thanks for all your replies. Safety was the number one concern when deciding on this trip - but as someone said, your not safe anywhere anymore. I am looking forward to the trip and looking at the itinerary it looks like it's going to be on the go and non stop. Is there any down time to just relax? I just started researching so heard about the water (I guess that would include ice cubes in drinks too) and foods to avoid. Does this include in hotels and restaurants? What are some things I should bring, types of clothing, etc. As I do more research I will have many more questions I'm sure. Thanks for all your comments.

 

Egypt is not for the faint of heart! There's so much to do and see and so little time. We were with a different company than you're looking at and while we did have "down" time, we didn't have much!

 

As for the water: That absolutely includes ice cubes, brushing your teeth and keeping your mouth shut in the shower!!! As long as you're in a hotel restaurant or a place your guide has taken you to or recommended, they will sell bottled water. Your waiter will usually open if in your presence so you can hear the pssssss as the cap is unscrewed. If he does not, ask him to bring you another bottle and open it at the table, please. Be wary of any fruit that does not get peeled unless you're again in a hotel restaurant. In fact, Traveler Thom notwithstanding (he must have a cast iron stomach!) do not eat anything you buy from a street vendor.

 

As for clothing, much depends on when you go. Best time is Jan to March because it is not as hot as rest of the year. Dress conservatively....ladies should not wear short shorts or halter tops or anything that shows too much skin. Capris and jeans are fine and the sand is relentless so long pants protect your legs. Speaking of sand...bring a package of disposable face masks especially if you have allergies or any kind of breathing problems. The sand is so fine it gets into everything and all of a sudden you're coughing up a lung! If you go during the sand storm season, (spring, I think) it can be terrible. If you go during the summer or fall the heat will limit your sight-seeing. Usually during these times you'll go out early in the morning and return to the ship before Noon and then go out again late afternoon. Jan and Feb are ideal.

[TravelerThom]

...As for the water: That absolutely includes ice cubes, brushing your teeth and keeping your mouth shut in the shower!!! As long as you're in a hotel restaurant or a place your guide has taken you to or recommended, they will sell bottled water. Your waiter will usually open if in your presence so you can hear the pssssss as the cap is unscrewed. If he does not, ask him to bring you another bottle and open it at the table, please. Be wary of any fruit that does not get peeled unless you're again in a hotel restaurant. In fact, Traveler Thom notwithstanding (he must have a cast iron stomach!) do not eat anything you buy from a street vendor...

I don't doubt that my immune system (cast iron stomach) is better than many, and some of the travels I have done are not for the faint of heart. If some of the places I ate at in Egypt rated 0 (zero) stars, then I have eaten in places in the Congo that rated MINUS 2. I don't assume these places are safe; rather I assume NO place includng 5 star places in developing countries are safe. Most food hot in the skillet is safe, but has it then been touched by unwashed hands on the way to me? What is the sanitation of the plate? Of the utinsels? I have been known to get food from street stands directly into MY sierra cup and use MY utinsels; perhaps less than politically correct, but I lived to tell the tale.

 

QUICK QUESTION: You stop at a street stand and see two pieces of meat; one is covered in flies, one has very few; you have no other options; which do you choose?

ANSWER: Take the piece with the flies; adequate cooking will kill almost all germs; the other piece has been coated with insecticide and cooking will not get rid of that. I'm sure way more info than most tourists want, but useful if you haven't seen a 5 or 4 (or 3 or 2) star hotel for days.

 

I totally agree to be careful with water in developing countries. Very few places would I trust ice; if a bottle of water is worth a few hours or a day's pay the incentive to skimp is just to high. UNOPENED bottled water, beer (carbonation kills many problems) or boiled water into coffee are usually safe. Egyptian coffee can be very strong (if it's good you can stand spoon straight up in it; if it is really good the spoon slowly disappears as it is eaten by the coffee:p). Egyptian coffee houses are the men's clubs (think bars in a no alcohol society) with lots of backgammon games etc; no self respecting local woman would enter one, but in moderately upscale neighborhoods accompanied Western women are tolerated as tourists if everyone buys a coffee and doesn't gawk (I don't make the rules nor necessarily agree with them; check with your guide before taking my word). When no other water supply is available I carry a resublimated crystalized iodine solution to purify "anything you might remotely consider drinking", but this is WAY beyond the needs of a commercial river boat traveler.

 

While I definitely was not feeling picked on, I guess that am attempting to stake a claim to not being TOTALLY nuts.:p

 

BTW river boats in Egypt (and elsewhere) have every incentive to keep you healthy. Sick, upset passengers don't tip well. The somewhat bleak pictures I have painted above are far more adventurous than anything you will see on a first class river boat.

 

 

Thom

[AR11743011]

We just got back from Egypt. We did the Viking River Cruise, Dec. 2 to Dec. 12, 2016. "Pathways of the Pharaohs". I will say up front, Viking does not have any boats on the Nile. They use other river boat, one on the Nile ( Luxor to Aswan) and another on Lake Nasser (Abu Simbel back to Aswan). This was the trip of a life time and we never felt safer. Two days in Cairo to start and then traveling. We had almost no down time. I have many books on Egypt, we had feet on the ground at everything that shown in the books and then some. Our guides were both trained guides and Egyptologist. I say go to Eygpt an have a great time

[puzzums]

We went through Insight Vacations and I highly recommend them. The whole trip, including the Nile Cruise portion, was absolutely fabulous. I never felt unsafe at any time. Mind you, that was back in 2009 when things in Egypt and the Middle East, and terrorism in general, was really quiet. But if your home country has not slapped an all-out travel advisory against Egypt, I would be very tempted to just do it and go. The vast majority of Egyptian people are very warm and welcoming. Just steer clear of high target places like the bazaar in Cairo - we were warned about that already in 2009. After all, acts of violence can happen anywhere, anytime, as evidenced by the recent shootings at the airport in Ft Lauderdale, Fl. We either choose to live under a rock and forego seeing the world, or put on a brave face and travel, albeit with taking every precaution one can take for safe travels.

Insight Vacations only provides authentic and very knowledgeable guides, who stay with you the whole trip. Our guide had two Egyptology degrees, one from Cairo University and one from Oxford and there wasn't anything about ancient Egypt that he didn't know. I would definitely have a look at Insight, if you haven't booked anything yet.

[HOB8501]

We just got back from Egypt. We did the Viking River Cruise, Dec. 2 to Dec. 12, 2016. "Pathways of the Pharaohs". I will say up front, Viking does not have any boats on the Nile. They use other river boat, one on the Nile ( Luxor to Aswan) and another on Lake Nasser (Abu Simbel back to Aswan). This was the trip of a life time and we never felt safer. Two days in Cairo to start and then traveling. We had almost no down time. I have many books on Egypt, we had feet on the ground at everything that shown in the books and then some. Our guides were both trained guides and Egyptologist. I say go to Eygpt an have a great time

 

When researching the boats we are on I saw they are not Viking's. What boats were you on? How many passengers on the boat were part of your Viking group?

 

I have sooo many questions...did you do any extra excursions? Is there time for extra excursions. I saw there is a hot air balloon over Valley of the Kings and the King Tut's tomb. Know anything about these?

 

Any helpful info you can share would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Mark_T]

When researching the boats we are on I saw they are not Viking's. What boats were you on? How many passengers on the boat were part of your Viking group?

 

In China and Vietnam/Cambodia Although Viking don't own the ships, they are exclusively Viking when they use them, so it will be interesting to see if they do something different in Egypt...

[jklc123]

We're with Uniworld in Cairo and having a wonderful time, except for up at 3 am for our flight to Luxor this morning. Viking group will be on our flight. We feel very safe. Bomb sniffing dogs check cars and buses approaching the hotel and tourist sites. Will have a security officer on excursions and had a police escort back to our hotel from the fabulous Cairo Museum, which wasn't terribly crowded. So far so good.

[Hydrokitty]

We went through Insight Vacations and I highly recommend them. The whole trip, including the Nile Cruise portion, was absolutely fabulous. I never felt unsafe at any time. Mind you, that was back in 2009 when things in Egypt and the Middle East, and terrorism in general, was really quiet. But if your home country has not slapped an all-out travel advisory against Egypt, I would be very tempted to just do it and go. The vast majority of Egyptian people are very warm and welcoming. Just steer clear of high target places like the bazaar in Cairo - we were warned about that already in 2009. After all, acts of violence can happen anywhere, anytime, as evidenced by the recent shootings at the airport in Ft Lauderdale, Fl. We either choose to live under a rock and forego seeing the world, or put on a brave face and travel, albeit with taking every precaution one can take for safe travels.

Insight Vacations only provides authentic and very knowledgeable guides, who stay with you the whole trip. Our guide had two Egyptology degrees, one from Cairo University and one from Oxford and there wasn't anything about ancient Egypt that he didn't know. I would definitely have a look at Insight, if you haven't booked anything yet.

 

Well said...was your guide named Magic (Magic)?

[Hydrokitty]

I don't doubt that my immune system (cast iron stomach) is better than many, and some of the travels I have done are not for the faint of heart. If some of the places I ate at in Egypt rated 0 (zero) stars, then I have eaten in places in the Congo that rated MINUS 2. I don't assume these places are safe; rather I assume NO place includng 5 star places in developing countries are safe. Most food hot in the skillet is safe, but has it then been touched by unwashed hands on the way to me? What is the sanitation of the plate? Of the utinsels? I have been known to get food from street stands directly into MY sierra cup and use MY utinsels; perhaps less than politically correct, but I lived to tell the tale.

 

QUICK QUESTION: You stop at a street stand and see two pieces of meat; one is covered in flies, one has very few; you have no other options; which do you choose?

ANSWER: Take the piece with the flies; adequate cooking will kill almost all germs; the other piece has been coated with insecticide and cooking will not get rid of that. I'm sure way more info than most tourists want, but useful if you haven't seen a 5 or 4 (or 3 or 2) star hotel for days.

 

I totally agree to be careful with water in developing countries. Very few places would I trust ice; if a bottle of water is worth a few hours or a day's pay the incentive to skimp is just to high. UNOPENED bottled water, beer (carbonation kills many problems) or boiled water into coffee are usually safe. Egyptian coffee can be very strong (if it's good you can stand spoon straight up in it; if it is really good the spoon slowly disappears as it is eaten by the coffee:p). Egyptian coffee houses are the men's clubs (think bars in a no alcohol society) with lots of backgammon games etc; no self respecting local woman would enter one, but in moderately upscale neighborhoods accompanied Western women are tolerated as tourists if everyone buys a coffee and doesn't gawk (I don't make the rules nor necessarily agree with them; check with your guide before taking my word). When no other water supply is available I carry a resublimated crystalized iodine solution to purify "anything you might remotely consider drinking", but this is WAY beyond the needs of a commercial river boat traveler.

 

While I definitely was not feeling picked on, I guess that am attempting to stake a claim to not being TOTALLY nuts.:p

 

BTW river boats in Egypt (and elsewhere) have every incentive to keep you healthy. Sick, upset passengers don't tip well. The somewhat bleak pictures I have painted above are far more adventurous than anything you will see on a first class river boat.

 

 

Thom

 

Loved the flies and meat...I never gave that any thought and would have picked the wrong one!! :D

[Mtowson]

We are going in October. How was your trip

 

 

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[HOB8501]

We are going in October. How was your trip

 

 

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It was fantastic and I encourage anyone who is thinking about it to do it. I'll write more this weekend.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

We are going in October. How was your trip

 

I'd like to hear as well. Haven't really kept up on this thread, but noticed recently that there was "Egypt" activity.

 

As you may know, we also went in October. It was wonderful, very memorable. But hot, so be prepared. Are you going with Viking? We did Uniworld.

[Mtowson]

Going with Viking October 6th. Any recommendations on best way to get Visas for Egypt and Jordan? Company recommended by Viking wants $279 for the two of us

 

 

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[Wendy The Wanderer]

Going with Viking October 6th. Any recommendations on best way to get Visas for Egypt and Jordan? Company recommended by Viking wants $279 for the two of us

 

Can't help with Jordan, but Egypt was a piece of cake just getting the visa at the airport. Google "Visa on Arrival Cairo Egypt" and you should find the details.

[SuiteTraveler]

Going with Viking October 6th. Any recommendations on best way to get Visas for Egypt and Jordan? Company recommended by Viking wants $279 for the two of us

 

 

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I don't know where you are from, but if you are US citizens, that's ridiculous.

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Tourist-Visa-for-Egypt

http://www.egyptembassy.net/consular-services/passports-travel/visa-requirements/

 

http://in.visitjordan.com/generalinformation/entryintojordan.aspx

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/jordan.html

[Mark_T]

Going with Viking October 6th. Any recommendations on best way to get Visas for Egypt and Jordan? Company recommended by Viking wants $279 for the two of us

 

How are you entering Jordan?

 

If you are flying into Amman for example then you can easily get a visa on arrival.

 

If you are crossing into Jordan by land then things are a bit different...

[Mtowson]

We arrive in Cairo around 11:00PM. Are the kiosks open all night

 

 

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[Mtowson]

It is my understanding that we can obtain an Egyptian Visa at the Cairo airport at the banking kiosks. We are arriving in Cairo around 11:00PM. Will they be open? Are they open all night?

[H2Otstr]

Mtowson, just curious as to what your flight is. Also, were you from Towson :)?

[Mtowson]

We are flying British Air from Phoenix to Heathrow and British Air from Heathrow to Cairo

[Mtowson]

Not from Towson, Maryland

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Not sure about the timing. I'd check some websites and see what they indicate. But I think you can still get a cheaper visa than that, although I don'tknow how convenient it would be. Check some online visa services.

[Mark_T]

As long as there are incoming international flights, the visa kiosk will be open.

[4774Papa]

It has been 30 years since I visited Egypt (both times) and both times, the line at the airport to acquire the Egyptian visa was long and slow moving. I think it took me about an hour just to get the visa. It was frustrating, because the person issuing the visas was very slow and not in any hurry to do his job.

[Pamw31]

We just booked Uniworld 3/3/18 Nile River Cruise. Thank you all for posting such detailed information. It really helped us to make our decision.

 

I am wondering what happens if Uniworld cancels the cruise. Do they reimburse for airline reticketing fees? For those of you who made this trip, do you recommend booking air with Uniworld?