Spirit Nov 15 '08 Egypt & Pearls of Arabia???

[inquiring minds]

We are reserved and looking for insight on this tour. Can anyone speak from experience? Have toured Israel on land but this is our first cruise to the region - also our first Seaborn experience!

 

All opinions welcome! Thanks -

[dd@sea]

We did Seabourn last November from Alexandria to Dubai and loved the trip. However, prior to Alexandria we did a wonderful land trip of Egypt. What are your ports? Would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

[inquiring minds]

Great! Would appreciate your input!

 

We are arriving in Cairo 3 days prior to boarding and doing the Pharoahs and Pyramids tour. Then board in Alexandria Nov 15, cruise Suez Canal, Gulf of Aqaba, port in Aqaba and want to tour Petra, then on to Safaga for Luxor, two days at sea in Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, then to Salalah, Oman, cruise the Arabian Sea to Khasbah, Oman, then on to Dubai where we plan to stay for a couple of days before returning home.

 

Any thoughts about best things to see or how to see them would be great. As I mentioned, this will be our first Seaborn cruise and we didn't spring for a room with a balcony because we were trying to be reasonable about the costs and now I am a bit worried about no fresh air! I've read the size of balconies in inconsequentional but it would provide fresh air so I hope I don't regret this decision. :o

[dd@sea]

That is the same trip we were on and we loved it!

 

First, do not worry about not having a balcony! We were in 111 on the 4th deck. It really doesn't matter as all suites are the same. You spend very little time in your suite, unless you have dinner served course by course for a special evening with music, wine, wonderful dinner, and excellent service. You will find not only great service but the other passengers - 99% majority are friendly. You will enjoy going topside to the deck or to the lounge for reading, conversation whatever.

 

Three days in Cairo will be perfect. We had a private guide for our fifteen days in Egypt and she went with us to Alexandria in which we had two nights before she delivered us to the ship. Cairo will be warm but not like Luxor which was hot, hot, hot and zillions of flies at the Valley of the Kings. You will be busy in Cairo as there is much to see and do. Are you going with the Seabourn extension or are you doing it on your own?

 

Try to see a few things in Alexandria before you board - i.e. the library, catacombs, etc.

 

When you board, be ready to relax and be pampered.

 

I enjoyed all the stops with the exception of Safaga but that is because we did not take the tour into Luxor as we did that in our pre trip. The trip to Luxor will be exhausting. The majority of the passengers (there were only 15 of us left on the ship) will do the overnight to Luxor either on a Seabourn tour or a private tour. Regardless of what tour they all at the same time in massive caravans and return at the same appointed time.

 

Our Oman tour was great but that is because our guide was outstanding! Some, with other guides, could not say the same about their experience.

 

Petra was marvelous! You will love it! It is a full day but well worth it for the scenery and Petra experience alone. It is a beautiful walk in to the treasury and the surrounding buildings but remember what goes down must come back. Allow yourself time to walk back, drink loads of water and then you will have a very nice lunch at the hotel before boarding the bus to return to the ship.

 

Be sure to go on the Seabourn experience in Dubai out to the desert. We too stayed a few extra nights and went to see the 'hot spots' including drinks at the top of the Burj followed by dinner in their Aqua restaurant. Dubai is over the top! Take a chin strap to keep your jaw from hanging open.

 

You will love the sea days too on board. We loved 'chilling out' after the Egypt land trip. Feel free to ask any more questions. I am excited for you and your experience on Seabourn.

 

Deanna

[cands]

We are reserved and looking for insight on this tour. Can anyone speak from experience? Have toured Israel on land but this is our first cruise to the region - also our first Seaborn experience!

 

All opinions welcome! Thanks -

 

Hello there,

We don't have any exerience in this part of the world, nor have we travelled on Seabourn, but we will be on the trip with you.

 

We are doing the "Wonders of the World" grand voyage. We will be onboard from Oct 25 to Dec 20, so we'll be old hands by the time you board:) .

 

We may try and tour independently in a few places, depending on how we assess the 'danger' of missing the ship. I think we will take the ship's tour to Petra.

 

There are two roll calls that encompass the longer cruises. You might want to check them out......

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=741656

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=682363

 

A great source of information is the blog of a regular poster here, GrannyLorr, who wrote a blog when doing pretty much the same trip in reverse:

 

http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Granny/

 

 

 

 

 

Regards,

Steve (and Chris)

[clarky]

We did Dubai - Istanbul in 2006 and my one tip would be to do Petra independently. We did the ship tour and while it was good we spent a lot of wasted time (imo) at the hotel having lunch and hanging around. A number of other guests pre-arranged a private tour and rather than stopping half way through Petra and returning to the hotel for lunch they walked all the way through Petra (allowing them to see a lot more) and ended with a lunch at a local restaurant. Now this tip all depends on your fitness level as has been mentioned before it is a good walk (many people opted for the donkey cart return rather than walk) and it is hot but for those who enjoy walking and have a moderate fitness level a private tour would be the way to go.

 

Perhaps you could start a thread Private tour to Petra and see if past guests who have arranged a private tour and were pleased with there experience could give you the contact details of their tour guide.

 

Petra was the highlight of this cruise for us and if I were to do this cruise again I would love to see more of Petra.

[Margate Cruiser]

I sent you e. mail. But getting to the nitty gritty We decide my wife and I to go with Seabourn over night for two reasons. One it's being handled by A and K which in my book one of the best and have great security and to us that is very important. And feel that they are going to have a great evening event for those guests staying overnight. As for those Staring in Alexandria and staying at a hotel I was given the name Misr travel I understand they are very good. But i would call seabourn and ask if they will have any pre cruise tours. I know as a passenger and Alexandria is a two day stop they will be having loads of options. So again I would call Seabourn's office and ask.

 

See you all on board.

 

Steve and Judy

[Keith1010]

I also want to highlight seeing the lost city of Petra when you are in Jordan.

I have to say it was one of the most wonderful sites we have ever visited. It is amazing that after so many years that this lost city was discovered and it really is a spectacular site.

 

Keep in mind that the drive to Petra is about 90 minutes each way. After you get a few miles out of the port city, the drive is through desert as you'll find in other areas such as Egypt.

 

If you can do a private tour of Petra as it has advantages. There is so much to see that you don't have the distractions of a larger tour and with a knowledgeable guide it can be very helpful.

 

One option is when you are on the ship, see if arrangements can be made to use the same tour operator that Seabourn will use for the group tour for a private tour. While we have cruised Seabourn, the two times we were in the Middle East were on Crystal. For Petra, we had the ship arrange a private tour for us using the same operator. Consider going with another couple of people. They easily could take four of you which would make a very nice small group.

 

These places are truly amazing and so interesting to see.

 

Overall, in terms of other private tours also take into account distances. For example, Safaga to Luxor is about a three hour drive each way so while there are some advantages to private tours given the great distances, using the ships tours have a big advantage. Also, in Egypt security is something to be very mindful of. Usually, the cruise ships buses travel in caravans with security personnel on each bus.

 

Keith

[inquiring minds]

Wonderful to hear so much great advice and also, thanks for the links. Deanna, your input is terrific and I will get back in touch with you.

 

Steve and Chris, we ill catch up in a couple of week when we return from the Baltic. We are leaving on Saturday and I am busy trying to get organized but REALLY looking forward to chatting with you about your plans too!

 

For now, Bon Voyage!

 

Camille (and Steve)

[homolog]

Congratulations! You booked a great cruise. We did it last year ( Hello dd@sea!) and there were two tours we booked with the SB tour office: Petra and a Dhow cruise in Khasab!

 

I agree with clarky that Petra is the highlight of the cruise, but we hated the time in the Moevenpick Hotel after the visit of the lost city. So arranging a private tour is to be recommended. You can spend a lot more time in Petra than with the SB tour ( and the food in the hotel is not worth the extra money).

 

We stayed on board in Safaga as cc@sea did because as europeans for the price SB asks for the overnight-tour we can do a 14-day Nilecruise in Egypt incl. flights. But I remember there were people on board who arranged a private tour to Luxor and who were very satisfied with their arrangements ( hello Carole!). We loved to be 2 of the 15 pax on the ship, service was beyond belief.

 

We enjoyed the Dhow cruise in Khasab which included some time for swimming in the fjords. We saw lots of dolphins and a magnificent landscape! I strongly recommend this tour!

 

Dubai was not at all to our liking, we planned to stay 3 nights but decided to leave earlier. But like everything it's a matter of personal taste.

 

But I'm sure you will have a great time on SB's best ship.

 

Christian from Cologne

[cands]

Wonderful to hear so much great advice and also, thanks for the links. Deanna, your input is terrific and I will get back in touch with you.

 

Steve and Chris, we ill catch up in a couple of week when we return from the Baltic. We are leaving on Saturday and I am busy trying to get organized but REALLY looking forward to chatting with you about your plans too!

 

For now, Bon Voyage!

 

Camille (and Steve)

 

Camille and Steve,

 

You certainly have some great cruises booked. Have a wonderful time in the Baltic!

Chat to you on your return. Also, I would love to hear all about Regent over a drink or three!

 

Best wishes,

Steve.

[dd@sea]

Hi Christian,

I would have to agree with what you said about the private tour to Petra and Luxor. When going on a larger tour much time is wasted - i.e. at the hotel, meals, sites etc. Whereas with only the two of us in Egypt, and our driver and superb Egyptologist we scooted around to all the sites, had our wonderful history lessons and absorbed much more than if it had been a larger group.

 

Petra, I wished we had done on our own. Whenever we return, not only would I love to revisit Petra, but also go to Wadi R. Jordan certainly deserved more time.

 

Dubai, opulent as it is, was a place personally we would not return to but still was the extreme opposite of our Egypt land trip. Reminded me of somewhat of Las Vegas and more.

 

Looking forward to our return on Seabourn, this time on the Legend in October for a Nice to Rome jaunt with a pre stay in France before embarking. Hoping our paths will cross once again.

[slgjhg]

Hi All,

Great fun reading this post as we will be doing this cruise in 2009. Working on hotels, and airfare right now. Third time to Egypt for us, and very excited to be there again. We have loved our previous trips.

 

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

Regards,

 

Shannon

[hoya68]

Steve (cands) had talked about organizing a private group tour to Luxor. My wife and I (Steve and Linda) were interested in joining them. I also thought that Steve and Judy (Margatecruiser) were interested, but apparently have opted for the ship's overnight. Steve (cands), are you still going forward with this? Camille and Steve (inquiring minds) may want to consider this option. I think there are a few other Steve's that I have left out. For those of us who usually have difficulty remembering names, this cruise should be easier than usual!

 

Steve (hoya68)

[Margate Cruiser]

All booked on tours ready for trivia and just having a great time. I count about 5 Steve's and a few Judy's We should get together and have some drinks. I put up a thread about if you have stock ownership in the parent company min of 100 shares you can get a 250.00 credit on board. This is a stand alone. Read my other thread and you can see the letter that someone posted for instructions. The 250.00 applies to 14 days and over. Seven day cruises get $100.00 I think it's a great deal.

[cands]

Steve (cands) had talked about organizing a private group tour to Luxor. My wife and I (Steve and Linda) were interested in joining them. I also thought that Steve and Judy (Margatecruiser) were interested, but apparently have opted for the ship's overnight. Steve (cands), are you still going forward with this? Camille and Steve (inquiring minds) may want to consider this option. I think there are a few other Steve's that I have left out. For those of us who usually have difficulty remembering names, this cruise should be easier than usual!

 

Steve (hoya68)

 

Hi Steve,

I've sent you an e-mail about Luxor.

 

Cheers,

Steve.

[inquiring minds]

Steve (cands) had talked about organizing a private group tour to Luxor. My wife and I (Steve and Linda) were interested in joining them. I also thought that Steve and Judy (Margatecruiser) were interested, but apparently have opted for the ship's overnight. Steve (cands), are you still going forward with this? Camille and Steve (inquiring minds) may want to consider this option. I think there are a few other Steve's that I have left out. For those of us who usually have difficulty remembering names, this cruise should be easier than usual!

 

Steve (hoya68)

 

Hi All,

 

We are still open to planning both for Petra and Luxor - just trying to grasp the options as we have not been to either before. I signed us up for the ship's Luxor overnight - although there's still time for changes to that plan if I've jumped the gun. Any of the "Steves" or others have great insight on the best plan and value? I'm all ears!

[Margate Cruiser]

This is Steve ad Judy from the US. We did the overnight. We looked at all the options my wife and felt That with A and K doing the tour ad the added security we went this route. Seabourn did quote me a 1 day trip but needed 12 people and the price was not that much cheaper considering the whole package. This trip is our longest away from home so we just want to see all that is has to offer. Hope we helped a little.

[hoya68]

We will be doing a one day trip to Luxor with Steve (cands) and Chris which I believe they are arranging through Memphis tours. If you check on both the State Department and the British Foreign Office information on Egypt the real area of concern is the Sinai. Certainly there is some risk everywhere in the world, but outside of the Sinai, Egypt has been relatively secure. Indeed, one can argue that these convoys make a far more attractive target than a minivan with a few tourists.

[Margate Cruiser]

We can compare notes when we get get back. I am sure your tour will be just great. Don't forget if you own company stock 100 shares you get 250.00 ship board credit. It stands alone. I got it and it's easy to register.

[cands]

Hi all,

We've decided to do the ship's tour to Petra. The only previous complaint I've read about this tour is that it spends too much time having lunch when the alternative is more time at the ruins. Can anybody comment on this?

 

We have of course booked for the "Seabourn Experience" in Dubai. It looks like it will be quite and experience. I really want to ride a camel!:rolleyes:

 

Khasab looks really interesting and we are torn between the dhow excursion and the four wheel drive trip to the mountains.

 

Happy planning to all.

Cheers,

Steve.

[shefinch]

The dhow excursion was fantastic. We had lots of dolphins swwimming round the dhow and the whole excusion was unexpectedly enjoyable!