LIVE from the STAR (Aegean/Egyptian) Nov 21-Dec 3

[Andiamo!]

I thought I'd post this review that was prepared by a non-CC member who did the Princess Overnight last year. Some of you may recognize his writing style ;) ...Enjoy!

 

Well after coming back onboard the Star Princess this year, my Overnight experience was much better overall from the Golden Princess last year.

This year I was fortunate enough to be able to particpate on Vicki's Cairo Overnight Experience thru Hazem with Nile Blue Tours.

 

I can't say enough how thankfull I am to both vicki and Hazem to have provided such a fullfilling experience on this overnight tour and for all of $250.00 to do an Overland Tour from Port Said and Alexandria.

 

As I had mentionned, I particpated last year on Princess's "Grand Cairo Overnight" which was billed at $1099.00 for a single supplement thru Abercrombie and Kent which performs the services on Princess's behalf.

 

Day :1 Step Pyramid, Giza Pyramids and Bedouin Dinner

 

Our experience began with our group of 101 (Dalmations) gathering by the Card Room on Deck 5 at 7:00am. The ship's Company was kind enough to print in the Princess Patter the night before that Vicki's Overnight did not need to clear any formalities. Our First Purser Administration (and fellow Canadian) was most helpfull in coordinating the logistics of dispatching our large albeith it that we were not part of a Princess Organized Excursion and we/I thank her immensly for her active participation in organizing our shore party list of pax's staying at each hotel while we were away from the ship. This gave me/us great comfort in knowing that the ship actively knew that a large contigent of Independant Paxs had left the ship and knew where to contact us in case of an unforseen operation change with the ship. They also managed to give us Princess stickers for our paxs to wear to identify which bus we were on. You were either a G4, G5 or G6 bus member.

 

As we got the call to leave the ship we walked down the midship stairwell and were out onto the pier by 7:25 am and had to snake our ways thru two lines to scan our hand luggage and be disptached to our buses. Hazmem was immediately present once we exited the pier and had us all gather in our three respective groups and followed an orderly line to get onto our buses. On the bus, we had a security detach person as well as an Egyptologist (Hazem himself) and Mohamed (private bodyguard for god knows who??) and our driver which was most professional.

 

Once on each bus, we had to wait for the entire convoy of all buses Princess and Non-Princess buses to be ready to leave the ships pier with a full military convoy and police escort in order to leave Port Said busy city and streets.

 

We were on our way at exactly 8:03am compared to last years dispatching of some 2.5 hours of delays. Once on our way city streets closures were in place with full military presence until we reached the higway. As we crossed each street and crossroad, many local people were lines along the streets waiving at us as our convoy made it out of the city. There were no security breaches that I could see making our way past the Suez Canal before reaching the highway.

 

While onboard we had a fully stocked bus with refreshments (Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Bottled Water) as well as some commentary from Hazem along our 3 hour + bus ride into Sakkara. The bus was very clean and the bathroom was operational and supposedly clean as well although I did not use the facility personally.

 

Our itinerary included our first stop in Sakkara (the step pyramid) which was actually an excelent idea making it our farthest point on our itinerary bypassing the entry into Cairo directly for morning rush hour traffic which can be hellish on the best of days.

 

We arrived at Sakkara at approx. 11:45am and had time to walk around the grounds and had some very good information given by our guide. The weather in Sakkara was approx 75F partly cloudy and sunny skies and a very nice breeze. Hazem got off the bus and immediately coordinated the purchase of all of our tickets without us having to wait. The information given by Hazem was very informative and thourough and concise. Hazem had decided to huddle all of us in an ideal location by the last pillars before gaining entry into the grounds which was not an easy task to do with almost 35 people on our bus. I was able to hear him perfectly and he took the time to explain things and to answer questions and also has a better command of the English language than our Tour Guide last year. I personally did not feel rushed as I was last year on Princess's Overnight.

 

Hazem made sure at all times that we were all accounted for as well did Mohamed and our Security detach person. Cass and Noel got delayed on our return to the bus and Vicki and myself realized that they were missing and we were about to go and search for them until they finally emerged. We made our way afterwards to get some lunch to the Restaurant named Caviar which is 5 minutes away from the Pyramids and also the Le Meridien Hotel and Movenpick Hotel.

 

Unbeknownst to anyone reading this, our driver had to slow the bus to drive to the Restaurant as another group was still having lunch in the Restaurant. We arrived at approx. 2:00pm and were given the choice of having chicken, beef or fish as a preset menu. The restaurant was very clean and the bathrooms were acceptable considering Egyptian Standards. The tables were filled with various small appaetizers of Homus, Babaganoush, marinated chick peas and small salads and some amazing freshly baked pita bread (the basket of death!).

 

I tried the fish which was exquisite and some chicken as well. They also were serving fresh shrimp which I passed on and also calamari and french fries which were good. We were responsible to buy our drinks but the lunch was $8.00 per person which is very reasonable and inexpensive. Egypt in general is very inexpensive but with the low dollar this year some things I found were a little more but still remain a bargain.

 

We left the Restaurant at approx. 3:00pm to make our way to the pyramids sicne the closing time to gain entrance is at 3:30pm. Once we arrived at the pyramids our buses were allowed to make our way to the plateau which is the highest point to observe the full city view and also the three pyramids. We got off the buses and were given the option to ride a camel from the plateau to the base of the pyramids for $12.00 per person or $20.00 for 2 people on one camel. I did not particpate in the camel run this year but did do so last year with Princess and we were only allowed to walk 200 feet on the camel for 5 minutes for the same price. These people who particpated did get a very good deal and also a unique experience.

I later heard at a dinner table last night that Anne's bus #2 got to the Pyramids later than us and were only given three minutes to ride a camel which I would agree would be dissappointing. I believe Vicki will pass along those comments to Hazem so that this does not repeat itself.

 

We then made our way back on the bus and made our way to the bottom of the valley to see the Sphynx. It amazing how little it looks in person in comparision to TV. I've now seen this up close 4 times and I am always amazed how it looks that much bigger on TV on the Discovery Channel.

 

Surprisngly this year the weather was cooler but not cold IMHO and actually better than last year as we had some cloud cover and also a breeze from the South West. Last year I came back with a sunburn and not this year.

 

We left the Pyramids of Giza at approx. 4:45pm and made our way to the Goverment Store that sold papyruss, gold jewlerry and other Egyptian giftware. We had approx. 50 minutes of shopping in this store compared to my infamous "12 minutes" last year with Princess. I managed to get a cartouch and chain for myself at a very reasonable price. I have to tell you that the mark up in these government stores is a little high however you can bargain and usually get 30% off the price which is what I managed to do. We later transited and made our way to our Hotel and checked into our hotel at the Le Meridien by 6:30pm. Hazem had pre-checked all of us in advance with our passport numbers which made the process a lot easier. We had the option in advance of having a room with the Pyramid view for an additional $35.00. My room did face the Pyramids and was clean and fully functional. Not the most luxurious of Meridien I have stayed at but more than adequate. Last year I stayed at the Conrad Hilton with Princess and it was a more luxurious hotel. The grounds at Le Meridien were very nice with a beautifull pool, many restaurants and bars and an outside grill and restaurant.

 

While we had some time before the Light Show at Pyramids (which I did not attend because I did it last year) I managed to use the Hotel's facilities for internet in the Business Center. The cost was very expensive at $8.00 for 15 minutes and was just enough time to check on emails and answer a couple. I then went upstairs and took a shower and came back down in the lobby for 8:30pm as a pre-determined time of gathering as the buses were coming back to the hotel by 8:45pm.

 

The buses did arrive at 8:45pm from the Light Show at the Pyramids and the feedback I gathered from people was that they really enjoyed it and it was not that cold which it was last year when I did it.

 

This night we had the option in advance of having a "Bedouin Dinner" on the grounds of the Movenpick which was to start at approx. 9:00pm. We had over 65 people out of the group of 101 that did sign up for it. The dinner was amazing with a complete tent set up, belly dancer performing and also another dancer, a live decorated camel and two goats (which kept on eating the straw on two chairs all night) a fortune teller.

 

The food and the presentation was very authentic with a full assortment of appatizers, salads, fresh legumes, breads, grilled fish, chicken, kebabs and a whole grilled lamb (poor guy), refreshments (very sweet fruit juices) and an assortment of baklava and other lcoal desserts. Trust me no one went hungry at this event including me.

People trully got to enjoy the full experience by riding the camel, particapting in some belly dancing and dancing with the performers during and after dinner. The whole dinner lasted about 2 hours and we were at our hotel by 11:00pm. I managed to get onto the wrong bus #2 and our bus #1 got into a small fender bender from the time we left the Movenpick to get back to the Meridien Hotel. The mirror got smashed and chopped of the drivers side (although he improvised and tied back to the bus somehow) and our main door had the glass shattered on the bottom. No one was injured I am happy to report.

 

I slept like a rock that night and we all had a pre-arranged wake up call at 8:00am the following morning.

 

Day 2: Egyptian Museum, Nile Lunch Cruise and Transfer

 

I woke up early as usually and foung Toto2Kansas and her husband as well in the lobby at 7:30am. We had a full breakfast which was included in our tour at the hotel in a function room on the second floor. The breakfast was good and plenty of choices were available from cold cuts, to cheese, museli, cereals, mixed fruits and nuts, yogurt, hard bolied eggs, has browns, pancakes and sausages.

 

The coffee was very good in comparison to the coffee onboard the ship....Toto2Kansas I may take you up on your offer to keep your coffee maker afterall. I never thought I would give in and travel with small kitchen appliances.

 

The buses left the hotel at approx. 9:15am after having some people having to check-out and settling up there bills. Once on our way to the Egyptian museum, our transfer time was no greater than 30 minutes which is actually very good for Cairo as it was Friday and very few people weer on the roads. At the musueum Hazem got off the bus to purchse the entrance tickets in advance for everyone. We had from approx. 9:30am until 11:30am as time in the museum. I have to tell you taht last year on the Overnight with Princess we did not do the Museum until 4:00pm in the afternoon and it was hotter than hell with so much traffic and people in the museum that you couldn't move.

 

I opted out to going to the museum and instead persuaded Vicki to come to the Bazzar (Market) with me. Hazem had arranged for Mohamed (the private bodyguard for who???) to accompany us with a private taxi. I was hellbent on doing the Bazzar this year as last year Princess had literally walked us thru the bazzar and said that was our visit without any shopping which left me very angry last year. Vicki and I walked thru the Market which was very quiet because it being a Friday (like our Saturday and Sunday back in North America) it was actually very pleasant. I wasn't really looking for anything special in the market except some really good Baklava. Hazem had told me the night earlier about an infamous bakery which had a french name but I couldn't remember. I told Mohamed about being able to stop to pick some up before making ourway back to the Museum to meet the group at 11:30am.

 

What happened next I will always remember about this Overnight Trip. Niether the driver or Mohamed knew where this bakery was located and we were heading back into the downtown core as we were driving up onto an overpass aboout 300 feet in the air, Mohamed and the driver both rolled down there windows and drive alongside another taxi driver asking for directions to this bakery while no one is paying attention to the road in front of us which had huge pot holes and travelling at 40 m.p.h. Vicki and I were both in histerics and keeping an eye on the road as our lives flashed before us.

 

We finally did make it to the bakery and the Baklava is trully some of the best and I will be serving tomorrow in my Suite for a wine and cheese cocktail party I am hosting.

 

We stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe on the way back because a waiter from the ship wanted one as he collects them in each port he is in but did not have any shore leave granted while in Egypt. We made back to the group ontime and the buses were loaded and we made our 15 minute trip to the "Crystal Palace" for our Lunch Nile cruise. Last year Princess did a Nile Cruise as well but it was a breakfast cruise instead with a box lunch given onboard for the drive back to Alexandria.

 

We boarded the boat and we had a full luncheon buffet included in the price of the Overinght Excursion. The food was excellent and more of the same food and quality of the food was served as the Bedouin Dinner. No one left hungry from that lunch I can assure you. While the luncheon was wrapping up, Vicki, Hazem and others had the daunting task of collecting for the cartouches, T-Shirts etc. Everyone's oders went without a hitch except for a couple of people that I am aware that the wrong item was ordered and Hazem made efforts to replace the ones that he could that day.

 

We left the Crystal Palace at approx. 2:15pm and made our 2.5 hour drive back to Alexandria without a hitch. We arrived into Alexandria at approx. 5:30pm and Hazem took us thru Alexandria with the bus point out key locations and also historical information about the city before we made our way alongside the pier at 5:50pm with plenty of time to spare before the ship sailed at 8:05pm.

 

I have to say I was VERY IMPRESSED with this tour as I am not one that is overlly fond of doing organized tours. Hazem's organization is very professional and also went beyong what most tour operators would do for people IMHO. There was a lot of Value for the money that was paid for this tour in comparison with Princess's Overnight tour thru the ship.

 

Furthermore, I have Managed to talk Vicki into doing the Egypt cruise next year on the Grand Princess for the Nov 10th 2008 sailing for 12 days out of Rome. She will be organizing another Overight into Cairo with Hazme and will build on this year's experience and last years to make this third Overnight another great success.

 

I want to thank everyone that was patient while being on this tour as sometimes logistically things things don't always go according to a set plan and also for Vicki for the 10 months of planning that went into this event without a hitch!

 

I would have no trouble in recommending Hazem at Nile Blue for any tours while in Egypt and I am booking a private tour of my own with him when I am back in October and November of next year.

[Andiamo!]

What a nice surprise ! I have not been on C.C. much because I am still playing catch up from our cruise to Asia on the Sapphire 3 weeks ago. I will be following this Live because we are booked on this cruise next Nov. and I can't wait to hear about Egypt. I still have to join the roll call. Hello to V & T.

 

Thanks :)

 

Hi Connie from V & T (who's sitting here next to me!) So we're going to finally meet next November, huh? :D ;) :D

[Andiamo!]

Hi Cass

 

I have been following your Roll Call for this cruise, since March of 2007, as my DH and myself along with 15 other friends are going on the October 5 2008 cruise on the Grand Princess. It has been great reading all the posts and great info. We are signed up for the Cairo Overnite with Laura and a few of my friends are on the 2nd Bus with Linda.

Can't wait to hear how your Overnite and the tours all turn out.

 

Please say Hi to Vicki for me, as I have emailed her a few times for some info regarding Hotels in Rome. (Tell her Sandy M. cc name Lady In Pink)

 

Glad to hear you are all having a great time. Also, So glad to hear Vicki and family were upgraded to a Family Suite....

 

Sandy M:o

 

Hey Sandy, hello back at you!

[Pia1913]

Thanks to all the "overnighters" and especially to the one who sent me a complete review, which I found in my email this morning.

 

Pia

[YoPhilly]

I'm jumping in here to add a comment about dinner at LeMeridien. My DH and I opted out of the tent dinner at Movenpick and decided to relax at LeMeridien, which has five restaurants. We ate in the large restaurant at the back, where they had set up a huge dinner buffet of delicious, authentic foods for 95 Egyptian pounds per person (about 18 USD).

 

Salads included scrumptious eggplant, baba ganoush, hummus, artichoke, chickpea, white bean, beet, carrot, Caesar, pates, and several more I can't remember. The fresh pita was soft and very, very good. Hot entrees included a delicious sea bass, chicken with olives, breaded ground veal balls, roast beef, braised lamb, and even a Chinese chicken stir fry for variety. Potatoes boulangerie and cauliflower were the hot veggies of the evening. Desserts were an assortment of cakes, puddings, mousse, etc.

 

This was a terrific bargain for a fabulous meal. We added some wine and bottled water and the total cost was 46 USD for two. Everything was very clean and well-maintained.

 

After dinner we were looking forward to a swim in the shadow of the pyramids; unfortunately the hotel closes the pool early in the evening. So instead, we completely crashed into bed, waking up the next morning ready to "attack" the Cairo Museum (in the words of Hazem).

 

A word here about the Cairo Museum...it is a complete madhouse, filled with literally thousands of people. It's hot and noisy. And it's filled with the most extraordinary collection of ancient artifacts. Magnificent and awesome. But be prepared to be pushed, prodded, and pounded, particularly in the room containing the gold mask of Tutankhamen.

[sailors2]

Vicky,

Please thank the one who wrote up the excursion. It was a really great moment to read and experience vicariously. I am very tempted to go along next year. We're so glad that you got upgraded to the family suite. You have done such a great job with this whole excursion. Enjoy the rest of the trip and stay in touch. You never know, we may see you again next year!

Judy

[UpgradeMan]

I am currently onboard. I can't tell you how this Overnight was memorable, so much so that we are doing it again on the Grand Princess next Nov 10th and doing the B2B Three Continent Cruise Nov 22 to Fort-Lauderdale and will be using Hazem at Nile Blue with Vicki (Andiamo!) again.

[UpgradeMan]

Thanks to all the "overnighters" and especially to the one who sent me a complete review, which I found in my email this morning.

 

Pia

 

Oh I agree Pia...what a great and exhaustive review.....

[Pia1913]

Vicki.....will you be doing just the European portion, or will you cruise back to the U.S. too?

[Sea Fan]

OMG, I am so ready to go!!!

 

Toto, it just sounds amazing!

 

Thank you ALL for the reviews, I do miss that certain style!!

 

Dianne

 

 

Pia now I really want to go!!

[treesah]

Thank you Cass, Toto, Vicki and especially the "mystery man" who made this forum so memorable in the past.

 

I'm now very serious about this cruise come November 2008. You kids are doing an incredible PR job for Princess.

[Colo Cruiser]

What a fantastic review of the tour, thanks. :)

[Lady In Pink]

Vicki

 

Would you consider going on our October 5 2008 Egyptian Aegean Cruise instead of the November 10 2008.

 

We would love to have you go with us all.

 

So happy that you got upgraded to the Family Suite, you must share with us, how it was.

 

The Over night to Cairo sounded fantastic, I know I can't wait, even though we have traveled to Egypt before.

 

Sandy M:o

[UpgradeMan]

Vicki

 

Would you consider going on our October 5 2008 Egyptian Aegean Cruise instead of the November 10 2008.

 

We would love to have you go with us all.

 

So happy that you got upgraded to the Family Suite, you must share with us, how it was.

 

The Over night to Cairo sounded fantastic, I know I can't wait, even though we have traveled to Egypt before.

 

Sandy M:o

 

NO!...she can do both but can't CANCEL the Nov 10th cruise or the "Upgrade Fairy" won't pay her a visit next year!

 

But I am also doing the Oct 5th Egypt cruise as well!

[1stCruiser]

NO!...she can do both but can't CANCEL the Nov 10th cruise or the "Upgrade Fairy" won't pay her a visit next year!

 

But I am also doing the Oct 5th Egypt cruise as well!

 

UpgradeMan - Well...If you're interested we still have room on our Cairo Overnight bus for next October! Just let me know...

 

I started organizing the Cairo overnight using "Vicki's itinerary". So far, we are just over 30... Sandy (Lady In Pink) is in our group. I'm keeping track of the list for Bus #1 and Linda from our roll-call started keeping track of names for Bus #2. But we're all going together!

 

Vicki - You should really join our sailing too...what can we do to convince you? Isn't the weather better in October?!

 

Thanks to everyone who has posted reviews. If I wasn't convinced that this is going to be the trip of a lifetime...I am now!

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

Laura

[UpgradeMan]

UpgradeMan - Well...If you're interested we still have room on our Cairo Overnight bus for next October! Just let me know...

 

I started organizing the Cairo overnight using "Vicki's itinerary". So far, we are just over 30... Sandy (Lady In Pink) is in our group. I'm keeping track of the list for Bus #1 and Linda from our roll-call started keeping track of names for Bus #2. But we're all going together!

 

Vicki - You should really join our sailing too...what can we do to convince you? Isn't the weather better in October?!

 

Thanks to everyone who has posted reviews. If I wasn't convinced that this is going to be the trip of a lifetime...I am now!

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

Laura

 

 

Laura thanks for the invite but I have done this Overnight twice (and will have to do it again in Nov) and I will instead have Hazem organize a private 4 day tour for me going down the Nile and staying in Luxor and Aswan and skip the two days at sea and fly back to Rome to catch the ship in Civitavecchia.

 

P.S. The weather will be a lot warmer in October and it will be right after Ramadan.

[Casshew]

Hi guys... we're still live from the Star steaming towards Italy for our morning arrival. :)

 

I posted a HUGE review of the overnight yesterday, but the internet must have dropped off during the typing and I lost the post. Anyway... as Toto said, it was a great 2 days... and here are some of the highlights

 

First of all, for 210.00 per person, it is astounding what we recieved and the care and service from our hosts. When you think that some pay Princess 749.00 for basically the same thing (but not as good IMO) you realize what an incredible deal it is. Don't be afraid to take a private overnight, you will be well looked after and in safe hands.

 

Okay... so on with the review... we met at around 7:00am outside the Jokers Card Room on the Plaza deck, everyone was excited and anxious to get going on our Egyptian adventure. Even Noel wasn't as grumpy as usual for this early morning start. All 101 of us were present and accounted for and we started our walk to disembark.

 

There was another ship in Port Said, a Costa ship I believe and we were both disembarking and mixing together as there is only on security exit from the shipyard.. this took a while but everyone was in good spirits. On the street just past security were the smiling faces of our hosts directing us to our busses.. bus 1, 2 & 3 with just over 30 passengers on each one. Buses were air conditioned, comfortable and had a bathroom..... just in case!

 

It wasn't too long of a wait before the convoy rolled out of Port Said, a relatively small city compared to sprawling Cairo. The traffic was heavy at times and the convoy crawled at points but the roads are straight and flat so it's a smooth ride. We passed a few security check points along the way, saw lots of date palms, farms, industrial buildings and soon our first glimpse of vast desertscape. Noel and I had our DVD player and watched two movies along the way, many others were reading, napping or looking at the passing view.

 

Coming into Cairo, modern highways, bridges & building are mixed with older styles, I'll never forget my first glimpse of the great pyramids at Giza between tall buildings on the horizon, everyone had their cameras out even though they were so far away still!

 

Our first stop was a rest stop near Sakkara, with clean bathrooms... a short drive away was the step pyramids of Sakkara, I believe the first or oldest of the pyramids, we had a short stop here for photos and it was back on the bus for Giza.

 

Even though things are relatively close... they take forever to get to with the crazy Cairo traffic - very frustrating. I think we all just wanted to go to the Pyramids but it was time for our lunch stop at 'Caviar' it was literally right across the street from the pyramids, and for me it was like torture to be so close and yet so far... I would have gladly skipped lunch to go straight there and have more time.

 

Part 2 coming up

[Pia1913]

How nice to wake up to another review. Thanks Cass. Anxiously awaiting part two.

 

Pia

[sailors2]

Uogrademan,

Could you elaborate a little on what your 4 day private tour would look like. Sailing the Nile and Luxor have been on our list for a while. Also, what possible temps in Oct?

We will be sorry when your cruise ends. It has been a pleasure being able to share your adventures.

Judy

[envy4u]

We are also joining Vickie's entourage for the 4 days. It is a year away and we are already very excited. I am looking forward to reading all about your adventures for the rest of this cruise. :)

[pmcrusta]

I hope you all have a safe trip home...Toto...there's been a pretty bad storm in your neck of the woods. But it looks like it's supposed to clear up by the time you guys get back to the US. Safe travels everyone:)

Thanks for the live posts.

[mii]

Thanks to all for the live posts. It has been very interesting reading.

 

marilyn

[Casshew]

Hi everyone,,... I typed a big long part 2 and it got lost again in cyber space... :(

 

I don't have time to post now.. so I will continue when I am home. We had a relaxing 2 days at sea. disappointed we didn't win the 3500 at bingo today.. oh well.

 

Had a drink this evening with a few of the CC bunch, good times...

 

I am all packed and ready to put my luggage out.

 

I have a credit on my casino account so I will have to go lose the last of my money on wheel of fortune!

 

Safe travels to all heading home tomorrow... Noel and I are off to Disneyland Paris on Air France.... talk to you again after the 8th, unless I find someway online between now and then. Take Care!

[Sea Fan]

Casshew and Everyone else Thank you so much for the "Lives" I am really looking forward to reviews!

Have a safe trip home,

Dianne

[Pia1913]

 

I have a credit on my casino account so I will have to go lose the last of my money on wheel of fortune!

 

!

 

Cass, if you don't use up all your credit and it's not a whole lot, they will page you tomorrow AM and give it to you in cash. Has happened to us several times. No matter what anyone says, that's what happens. If it's a big amount, just take it out of the casino for 3%.

 

Have a great trip to Paris and I will look forward to the rest of your review when you get home.

 

Pia