Ship excursions in Israel and Egypt

[excitedofharpenden]

4 hours ago, Ithikan said:

There is potential for problems with the above-mentioned "private-private" tours and that is, with apologies to Blanche, that we must "depend upon the kindness of strangers."  Many of us connect online via the cc roll calls, and commit to a tour with local guide.  All well and good.  My own experience was a disaster when our Dunedin tour was hijacked by a fellow cruiser.  It's a long story but suffice to say, that the tour guide is no longer represented by that organization; we were promptly refunded; and I've sworn-off organizing private tours.

I really get this!  And I'm glad someone has spoken up. It's like the elephant in the room. I too have had some nightmares with organised tours via roll calls. It's kind of why I back away from them now and trust my instinct with those I think I can trust and stick to small and by exclusive email to give me a 'feel'. 

 

One of the best ever tours I did was on an Azamara cruise that visited Kotor. I kind of bonded with a guy and his wife on the roll call and we met, just three of us, in Venice the night before the trip and did a wonderful tour in Montenegro. Contrast that with a tour of Iceland I nearly did and the organiser who was particularly nasty by email to me when I had to back out because I had to cancel the cruise. It's made me very wary.

 

Roll calls are like a smorgasbord.of characters. Forrest Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get!  I've done enough rubber necking in the past thanks! Lol 

 

Phil 

Edited September 17, 2021 by excitedofharpenden

[PirateWife]

We don't go to Egypt (again) and Israel until 2023 but I have been followed this board. I think we must have been very lucky when we joined another couple on two private tours we did our our Adriatic cruise. The tours were very good. The question was asked when do we book ship organized shore excursions. The answer is when the "sprit" moves us. If there are tours we really want to do, we book them when we can. Excursions do get filled-up. And, they can be cancelled because not enough people purchased them early. Otherwise, in the past, we have waited until on the ship. Since we can always cancel an excursion up to two days before boarding, there is no risk.

[uktog]

I agree. There is that elephant in the room. I’ve had great ships excursions and some really uncomfortable private ones organised by others. I’ve had some great private tours just the two of us (avoids being crammed in a minibus on a private trip or having to suddenly accommodate someone who wanted to SWIM at a stop at an Anzac memorial - except she told no one just went and did it!). But I’ve also had tours for two where we felt a little uncomfortable with our Turkish guide. 

So do your homework- ask questions of others before agreeing to spend an important couple of days with them on what are iconic tours you want to be memorable for the right reasons. 

 

And maybe safety in numbers on the ships tours which are not as bad as people make out and when things go wrong which can happen on any tour ships or private it’s actually easier to get a refund on a ship tour for poor service than having to argue yourself 
 

[cruisemom42]

On 9/15/2021 at 2:50 PM, norn iron said:

In Egypt, visiting Cairo there were eight buses in convoy from the ship, we had security / police out-riders and yet leaving Cairo one bus got detached from the convoy and we had an anxious wait for over 30 minutes until two of the out-riders found them and got them back to the convoy.

 

There are no guarantees, but for safety in numbers it would be a ships tour in those countries.

 

Is that really true, though?  Or just a perception?

 

I would imagine that a convoy of eight buses would make themselves a pretty conspicuous target, should anyone be looking to make a statement.  Look what happened at the Bardo Museum in Tunis a few years back, or the Luxor debacle a few years before that....

 

 

[norn iron]

6 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Is that really true, though?  Or just a perception?

 

I would imagine that a convoy of eight buses would make themselves a pretty conspicuous target, should anyone be looking to make a statement.  Look what happened at the Bardo Museum in Tunis a few years back, or the Luxor debacle a few years before that....

 

 

Maybe I'm just gullible and believe everything I'm told, when in fact it really could be pure fantasy.

 

Seven buses pulled over on the side of the highway for approximately thirty minutes outside Cairo on the road to Port Said and the guide on the bus told us one bus had got lost.

Why would I disbelieve the tour guide? Why would the convoy of buses continue their journey when the last one turned up late after thirty plus minutes?

The situation was very concerning for everyone, most significantly the lost bus.

 

As someone who has lived their entire life in Northern Ireland I know exactly the consequence of terrorism and know how to be on a high state of alert, and trust me this was not a perception but reality.   

[PirateWife]

You are not gullible. I remember a similar thing happening when we went to the Valley of the Kings and Luxor. We were in a caravan of several buses and one got delayed. We waited for them to catch up. No big deal. I would have expected nothing less. I felt very safe in the caravan. It was a wonderful shore excursion.

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, norn iron said:

Maybe I'm just gullible and believe everything I'm told, when in fact it really could be pure fantasy.

 

Seven buses pulled over on the side of the highway for approximately thirty minutes outside Cairo on the road to Port Said and the guide on the bus told us one bus had got lost.

Why would I disbelieve the tour guide? Why would the convoy of buses continue their journey when the last one turned up late after thirty plus minutes?

The situation was very concerning for everyone, most significantly the lost bus.

 

As someone who has lived their entire life in Northern Ireland I know exactly the consequence of terrorism and know how to be on a high state of alert, and trust me this was not a perception but reality.   

 

I think I was unclear. Not doubting your story. I've done the whole caravan thing too on my first cruise visit way back when. Just questioning whether the "safety in numbers" is really true, or does it make one more of a target? Eight buses with a police escort attracts a lot more attention than a single private car or small minibus.

 

In the end, we all do what we feel comfortable doing. No sense doing a private tour if it is going to lead to worry and stress. But the things I've been able to see and do on a private tour and on my own in Egypt and in Israel are priceless to me and I never felt unsafe. Syria on the hand was a different story....

Edited September 19, 2021 by cruisemom42

[artmc]

Some advice on private tours: check out the company on Trip Advisor. We've never been steered wrong. One of my least favourite tours was a Carnival tour of Panama which was supposed to include the Canal. When we finally got there we were allowed to stay for 10 minutes (maybe) before we were herded back to the buses, telling us they couldn't be late. We got back early and wondered the port waiting for the other ship tours that were late.

 

On the other hand we went on a private tour in Kho Samui that had three vans of passengers, all of which managed to show us everything despite torrential rainfall. But the reward was that the organizer booked a meal for us at an incredible local restaurant that laid out a feast for us, including one drink. We couldn't eat at all, despite the excellent quality of the food.