Question for past Princess cruisers who did overnight on your own in Egypt

[CTGirl]

We are on the Grand Princess in November and will be doing a private tour in Egypt. I know that if we did a Princess tour, Princess would handle all the details.

 

So for private tours, could you please tell me how Princess handled the details and what was needed?

 

Specifically:

 

1. Did Princess provide you with Visas for free? and

 

2. Did you need to notify Princess that you would be off the ship for the night and if so, how far in advance did you need to notify Princess?

 

Thanks so much for all your help.

Shelly

[cruisemom42]

Princess provides the visas for all cruisers, whether you are on a Princess tour or not.

 

You need to fax the information to Princess in advance. One person can do it for everyone (if you have a large private tour group). I am not sure how far in advance this needs to be done. There was a large private tour group on our cruise and I don't think the information was sent to Princess more than 6 weeks in advance.

[1stCruiser]

We were on the same cruise on the Grand in October 2008. We did not fax the information in advance. Once on the ship, we simply advised the Purser's desk that we were on our own private overnight (there were 4 of us). A couple of days before Egypt, we left our passports with the Purser's desk (all passengers had to do this). They were stamped (for visa) and we picked them up a day later.

[hightownCO]

Shelly, thanks for asking this. I just asked 1st Cruiser same question on another thread. I knew Cynthia would know too!

 

I think the Princess call center operators are trying to get people headed to their own excursion desk.

[CTGirl]

Thanks to all who responded. Cruisemom42 how did you know to notify Princess in advance? I can't find any "Important Notice" in my cruise personalizer stating to do so. Also does Princess give any direction to notify them once on board? It just seems that Princess expects you to already know something that you might not already know.

 

Thanks again, Shelly

[MercedMike]

Shelly, thanks for asking this. I just asked 1st Cruiser same question on another thread. I knew Cynthia would know too!

 

I think the Princess call center operators are trying to get people headed to their own excursion desk.

 

LOL -- calling Princess to get information about independent excursions is pretty much like asking Nancy Pelosi for a recommendation for Dick Cheney.

 

Many Travel Agents may also find it difficult to get this information. This type of specific question is what this board is for.

 

And the above posters are correct. Princess will furnish the special cruise ship visa for Egypt to all passengers. And you should notify them, at least when you board, but it is not strictly required.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!