didicruiser Posted February 13, 2018 #1 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Just returned from 2 weeks in Egypt and Jordan;what a wonderful trip! I did the arranging with a travel agent, not with a set tour group. Private guides in Cairo,Aswan and 3 night Nile cruise. Flew to Jordan for 4 days to see Petra, Wadi Rum and a few other sites. I never felt unsafe at all. People seemed happy that "Americans are here". Security checks at all hotels and sites with random checks along the roads. Everything I have read about tipping just about everyone is correct! Had to always make sure to have small bills. Kind of annoying but.... Happy to answer any questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2Otstr Posted February 13, 2018 #2 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. How was the weather? Did you find a big difference in temps between Cairo and Aswan? Did you have any problems getting your visa in Jordan? Did you get it ahead of time or at the airport? We plan on just getting ours upon arrival at the airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didicruiser Posted February 13, 2018 Author #3 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. How was the weather? Did you find a big difference in temps between Cairo and Aswan? Did you have any problems getting your visa in Jordan? Did you get it ahead of time or at the airport? We plan on just getting ours upon arrival at the airport. Weather was in the 70s during the day; cooler in the morning and evening. Aswan was a bit warmer, maybe Just a 5 degree difference. We got the visa at the airport. Our guide walked us to an area for Jordan residents only and worked it out. I did see an area for visas with a short line after leaving the gate and getting to the "main area". Very well labeled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2Otstr Posted March 1, 2018 #4 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Did you have to pay a departure fee when you left Egypt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didicruiser Posted March 5, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Did you have to pay a departure fee when you left Egypt? I did not pay a fee when leaving Egypt either for Jordan or back to the States Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2Otstr Posted March 5, 2018 #6 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I did not pay a fee when leaving Egypt either for Jordan or back to the States Thank you. Didn't want any unexpected surprises :D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted March 6, 2018 #7 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Sounds like a great trip. May I ask who you cruised with? Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthonyy7 Posted March 10, 2018 #8 Share Posted March 10, 2018 What was your itinerary and how big was your group? Which ship did you sail? I’m looking at Egypt right now and so far the options are Viking and Uniworld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2Otstr Posted March 10, 2018 #9 Share Posted March 10, 2018 What was your itinerary and how big was your group? Which ship did you sail? I’m looking at Egypt right now and so far the options are Viking and Uniworld. We just arrived on Friday late afternoon, and today was our first full day of touring. We started in Cairo and will be here one more day before we fly to Luxor early in the morning. There are 47 people and we are split in two groups. The buses are full size so we have plenty of room to spread out. I'm not sure how many people are on the Uniworld tour, but there were several Uniworld people on our flight coming over. 😊 The boat we will be traveling on is called the Sonesta Star Goddess. We will be embarking on Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrheadlass Posted March 10, 2018 #10 Share Posted March 10, 2018 We just arrived on Friday late afternoon, and today was our first full day of touring. We started in Cairo and will be here one more day before we fly to Luxor early in the morning. There are 47 people and we are split in two groups. The buses are full size so we have plenty of room to spread out. I'm not sure how many people are on the Uniworld tour, but there were several Uniworld people on our flight coming over. The boat we will be traveling on is called the Sonesta Star Goddess. We will be embarking on Monday. Sharon, what company are you with? I booked the OAT Egypt and Nile trip for 2020. Reread your post and now realize you’re with Uniworld. I loved the two cruises I took with Uniworld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cormike1 Posted March 10, 2018 #11 Share Posted March 10, 2018 I am excited to read all about your tour. We did this in November of last year and loved it. I think I answered some of your questions back then so I hope they helped you prepare for your trip. I am looking forward to reading all about it. Have fun. It is an amazing country! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthonyy7 Posted March 11, 2018 #12 Share Posted March 11, 2018 We’re looking to book for Jan 2020 but weighting all the options. Viking has a new ship that debuts next week. I hope someone does a review. Looking forward to your review H2O! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCruisers Posted March 11, 2018 #13 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Thanks for this!:) Our very good friends are seriously considering a river cruise to Egypt, etc in 2020. I'll copy and pass this and other comments to come along to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2Otstr Posted March 11, 2018 #14 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Sharon, what company are you with? I booked the OAT Egypt and Nile trip for 2020. Reread your post and now realize you’re with Uniworld. I loved the two cruises I took with Uniworld. We are traveling with Viking for this trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2Otstr Posted March 11, 2018 #15 Share Posted March 11, 2018 We’re looking to book for Jan 2020 but weighting all the options. Viking has a new ship that debuts next week. I hope someone does a review. Looking forward to your review H2O! The new ship, the Ra, is not finished yet. Viking has leased another ship called the Sonesta Star Goddess for us. We will embark on Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthonyy7 Posted March 11, 2018 #16 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Bummer I was hoping for more info about the RA. Still looking forward to your Viking experience! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel54 Posted March 11, 2018 #17 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Looking to do Egypt in 2020 or 2021. Will have to see. It's the first cruise my husband actually said he'd like to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rare Cruise Critic Chris Posted March 13, 2018 Members #18 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Bummer I was hoping for more info about the RA. Still looking forward to your Viking experience! I'm slated to be on Viking Ra at the end of April; I've been told no changes so far (although my flight isn't booked yet). If the trip goes through, we should have lots of Viking Ra content to pass on. Stay tuned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didicruiser Posted March 13, 2018 Author #19 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Sounds like a great trip. May I ask who you cruised with? Keith I worked with an tour company called My Odessey Tours. I picked the itinerary and they put everything together. Was nice having private tour guides at all the sites so we went at our pace. We never felt unsafe anyway. Guides had great knowledge, spoke English well and hotels were 5 star in great locations. There was a flight change and the company rebooked us, notified the guides and didn't miss a step! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbirds Posted March 14, 2018 #20 Share Posted March 14, 2018 We are traveling with Viking for this trip. Hi Sharon, is there an ATM in the hotel, or did you stop at the airport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2Otstr Posted March 16, 2018 #21 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Hi Sharon, is there an ATM in the hotel, or did you stop at the airport? We are in Aswan and today is the first day we have had any WiFi since we left Cairo. There are two ATM machines at the Ritz and also a bank. You can bring US money and change it into Egyptian pounds. Our guide recommended that we get about $100 worth (around 2000 LE). Most vendors will take dollars. It is 99 to 100 degrees here. Be sure to bring light colored clothing and light weight such as linen if you have any. Also bring any OTC meds, etc since there is no shopping available. Heavy duty walking shoes are not needed. Most places have good sidewalks or very small gravel sidewalks. There are no large cobblestones like the streets in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TLCOhio Posted March 16, 2018 #22 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Appreciate your great postings and detailed follow-ups. For mid November, 2018, we are doing an Athens to Dubai, 20-day cruise with Oceania, including our first visits to the Holy Lands, Egypt, Middle East, etc. This will include an overnight stop to see Luxor. Have you been to Luxor, yet? What did or do you expect to enjoy most there? Keep up the great sharing and postings. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139 for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 198,721 views for this posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbirds Posted March 16, 2018 #23 Share Posted March 16, 2018 We are in Aswan and today is the first day we have had any WiFi since we left Cairo. There are two ATM machines at the Ritz and also a bank. You can bring US money and change it into Egyptian pounds. Our guide recommended that we get about $100 worth (around 2000 LE). Most vendors will take dollars. It is 99 to 100 degrees here. Be sure to bring light colored clothing and light weight such as linen if you have any. Also bring any OTC meds, etc since there is no shopping available. Heavy duty walking shoes are not needed. Most places have good sidewalks or very small gravel sidewalks. There are no large cobblestones like the streets in Europe. Thank you! Such great info. I’ve been watching your weather and just ran out and bought some sun protection, moisture wicking clothing. Also, I will now load up our OTC meds with the assumption that we can’t get it there. And pack plenty of sunscreen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2Otstr Posted March 23, 2018 #24 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Appreciate your great postings and detailed follow-ups. For mid November, 2018, we are doing an Athens to Dubai, 20-day cruise with Oceania, including our first visits to the Holy Lands, Egypt, Middle East, etc. This will include an overnight stop to see Luxor. Have you been to Luxor, yet? What did or do you expect to enjoy most there? Keep up the great sharing and postings. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139 for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 198,721 views for this posting. Terry, I will try to answer your questions in the next couple days. We are flying home tomorrow morning at 1:15 am . I need to look at my photos to see what we did in Luxor since we have been to so many places and seen so much in the last 17 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TLCOhio Posted March 29, 2018 #25 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Terry, I will try to answer your questions in the next couple days. We are flying home tomorrow morning at 1:15 am ����. I need to look at my photos to see what we did in Luxor since we have been to so many places and seen so much in the last 17 days. Appreciate your follow-ups. Understand being busy getting home, recovering from a busy trip, etc., etc. No rush!! Look forward to any and all tips, insights and suggestions. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 223,650 views. www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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