kiramoli

Hello,
I am looking at Mediterranean cruises that visit Egypt.
Princess stops one day in Cairo and another day at Alexandria, Celebrity has itinerary that includes two day stop at Cairo/Alexandria. Have anyone been on those cruises? Does it give you enough time to visit pyramids? Does it feel too short? How is the wearther in September there?
Would like to know any first hand experience and get an advise.
On both itineraries Egypt is the most tempting destination, other ports are in Israel and and Greece.

Percy

Yes, you will have enough time to go to Cairo and see the Pyramids...but you will get back to Alexandria late in the evening, so I assume your ship is going to be in Alexandria for two days .

You can see all the major places in Alexndria with out any problem, it would help to have a tour guide to show you around.

How does Princess stop one day in Cairo !?

doug_stallings

Usually, a stop in Cairo really means a stop in Port Said. The bad part of this is that it really means you have to take a ship-sponsored tour to get to Cairo and see the pyramids. If you stop in Alexandria, then you can actually do the trip on your own, taking a train to Cairo, a taxi or guided car tour to the pyramids and then a train back to Alexandria in the evening. It's a tiring day but quite possible and worthwhile, though Alexandria itself has a lot to offer. It's about 2 hours + from either port to Cairo.

I'd prefer the two-day stop in Alexandria so you could see both cities. Chances are, Celebrity ship will offer and overnight tour to Caiaro. It will be expensive, but it will also give you the opportunity to spend more time at the pyramids.

Percy

I was assuming that you were staying 2 days ( Overnight)in Alexandria.

I agree the train ride is best, to get to Cairo....then when you arrive at the Ramses II Train Station in Cairo... get a taxi fellow to show you around by heading for the Pyramids first, you of course will also see the Sphinx.

Make sure to get on a camel for a short ride...(about $10.00) and have your picture taken with the Pyramids in the background !!!

Then you will have time also for the famous Khan el-Khalili Bazaar and some other sites.

Also if you do take the train from Alexandria( best way)..then get a return ticket ...you will get back to Alexandria and your cruise ship late, but it does not matter if you are overnight in Alexandria.

..... but as Doug said, you will see Cairo and the Pyramids, and time for other places

..but keep the taxi driver with you, this way you will not be wasting time trying to get a taxi totake you from point A to point B

charli

I am not as adventurous as the above writers to do it on my own, even though we have been to Egypt twice. I would take one of the ship's excursion and be sure of where I am and what I am doing, and no surprises like strikes, etc, regardless of cost. Just put it in your budget. Your 2 choices are sure to be the 12 hour one day excursion to Cairo and the Pyramids, or the overnight in Cairo (2 days) excursion. I didn't like the trains I saw. Whatever you choose, it is worth it to views these fabulous sights, even huge, filthy, noisy Cairo.

1sailorgal

We did the Princess cruise to Cairo last November. We did their overnight excursion which was expensive. We had 9 buses with armed guards with us everywhere. The hotel was a 5* but you needed to go through metal detectors before going in. We're adventurous but we wouldn't have been comfortable doing this on our own. The other people on the cruise who went to Alexandria weren't impressed. They weren't comfortable in Alexandria on their own. We talked to some people after the excursion who did a Blue Nile tour and were happy with it. It was identical to what we did but much cheaper. It was worth every penny we spent to see the pyramids.

Katie2

We were on an Oceania cruise a few years ago which stayed overnight in Alexandria. We hired a private guide plus a driver who took us to Giza then to Cairo. It's about a 3 hr. drive from Alexandria to Cairo. Our guide arranged for us to spend the night at the Marriott in Cairo which is a 4 star hotel. The following day we went to the Egyptian museum and other sights.

We were there in Sept. and it was quite hot and humid. Temps. were in the mid-80's.

librarygirrrl

I'm with Charli. We were on the Azamara Quest last Nov and stopped in Alexandria just for the day. We took the ship's tour which at $165 was the best money I ever spent to ensure we careened through Cairo's traffic and bottom line: weren't at all worried about missing the ship.
Note: we never take the tours and we usually buy guidebooks and do our own thing plus I'd been to Cairo before.

kiramoli

I didn't have a chance to say thank you to everyone who replied. Thank you for your thoughful responces.

We are going to be one day in Port Said, then the ship leaves at 10 PM for Alexandria. Next day we are in Alexandria till 10 PM and then it leaves.
We rarely take tours, we are usually on our own, either with the guide book or with private guide.
Is it possible to get a taxi and a guide in Port Said to get us to Pyramids and then show us Cairo if we have some time left? Or it's easier/better to do it from Alexandria? It will be 4 of us, myself and my husband and my parents who are in their 70's so I am not that thrilled to take a train with them.
Also, we are US citizens. can we obtain visa in Egypt?via ship? or should we get it beforehand?

ParrotMom

Celebrity also fyi has a cruise that we are booked on that stays in Alexandria overnight.. There is an expensive flight to see the Pyramids..and I absolutely would do with he ships tours as they MUST have security.. I can just see the headlines...elderly couple hijacked while on their own tour...

doug_stallings

ParrotMom, please don't start an absolutely unfounded panic. Tourists in Egypt haven't been hijacked for well over a decade. Yes, you can get security with a cruise-ship, but it's completely safe to go on an independent tour and to take the train to and from Cairo from Alexandria.

As I've said previously, a private tour will probably not save you any money (or at least not much), but it will certainly and significantly improve the quality of your visit so that you're not stuck with a crowd of hundreds of other cruise passengers and herded around on a giant bus. It would also make it quite possible to see a bit more of Cairo, and I'd strongly recommend it.

kiramoli

Thanks Doug_Stallings,
We are concerned with the security and we realize we have to be careful, but so is true for many places.

After reading various posts I think we are inclined to the following itinerary: get picked up from Port Said, see Cairo, then off to Pyramids, stay there overnight, see a ligh show and then get to Alexandria next day and see Alex as much as the time allows.
Can you recommend a reliable tour operator for this itinerary?

Another option of course is to do two separate trips, one Port Said to Pyramids and Cairo, get back to the ship, next day tour Alexandria.

doug_stallings

I'm sorry, but I can't recommend a specific company. I know that one of our frequent posters is Debbie who owns Casual Cairo Detours, and she could probably put together an itinerary like this, though I can't given any personal recommendation.

The idea of spending the night in Cairo is actually a good one. You'll have a lot more time to enjoy the city that way and save yourself an exhausting return after a day of touring. Plus, hotels in Cairo are fairly reasonably priced. If you get an early start to get back to Alexandria, I'm sure you can see a fair amount of the city on the last day in port. Book a hotel out at the pyramids if you want to see the Sound and Light show; it will save a lot of time that way.

ParrotMom

DOUG..my comment was based on this from the Celebrity site.."The drive to/from Cairo is approximately 2.5 hours each way, dependent upon traffic and local conditions. Coaches are required to travel in a police-escorted convoy and sometimes will be subjected to certain security requirements and possible delays. Tour order may vary between groups but all mentioned sites will be covered."

charli

Kiramoli,
If you go to www.cruisecritic.com and click on Boards and then scroll down and click on Ports of call, you may find some suggestions for tour operators in Egypt who have been used with success. You could also click on the Roll call for your cruise and perhaps others are on private tours you might be interested in. Expect September to be very hot, loose clothing, sunglasses, hat, closed-toe shoes, sunscreen, etc and lots of water. It is a fabulous place. Personally, I don't mind "huge" buses with the convoy into Cairo - actually they are normal sized buses with a restroom. There are crowds everywhere regardless of how you travel. Be careful how you choose your camel ride, there are horror stories out there.