Written Monday 25 Feb 2013
Pati and Beebee are onboard the MS Domina Prestige for their trip on the Nile this week. The ship starts up the Nile (south) at 9:30 tonight. Tomorrow they meet with their group with their tour guide/Egyptologist to get the lowdown. Then the first excursion is sometime in the afternoon.
The group has 26 people plus a business guy plus the guide. Pati and Beebee are the only Americans in the group (probably the only Americans on the ship - maybe in Egypt). The other 24 in the group are British. Pati used a British tour company that he found on the internet, with very good reviews.
There are 72 cabins on this ship, so there are more than 140 passengers. There are other tour groups, each speaking their own country's language: so far German and Japanese have been overheard. Each tour group is seated together. The British group fills 3 tables at meals.
This afternoon Beebee had a leg/foot massage for 100 Egyptian pounds (around $16 US). Pati checked out the "hot tub" but didn't get in because it was icy cold. The swimming pool is cold too.
Pati and Beebee bought the all-inclusive drinks package so that they can get drinks "free" between 11:30 am and 11:30 pm each day. That includes bottled water, soft drinks, tea, coffee, juices, and alcoholic drinks. They have to pay for drinks outside that time, except at meals. Wine is only available at meals. It is VERY important to collect enough bottled water while it is "free," for use in the cabin and on tours. Passengers use bottled water to drink and to brush their teeth and tap water for bathing.
Beebee has sent a bundle of clothes to the laundry (happy happy joy joy) for about $20 US.
Internet access is available in the lobby for 20 Egyptian pounds (less than $3) for 1 hour, but the whole hour is used at once. That means writing all drafts offline and then posting in one marathon session.
Happy side note: Pati first made the round trip plane reservations between Cairo and Luxor using Expedia. However, Beebee became concerned about the short time they would have to switch planes when they got back to Cairo next week, since the first flight is domestic and the next flight is international, using 2 different terminals and having to handle their luggage themselves (not connecting flights). So Pati cancelled the Expedia flights (the agent couldn't figure out how to change just the return flight; her final suggestion was for Pati to change the flight in person after arriving in Luxor) and made the flight reservations directly with EgyptAir. When they got on the Cairo-to-Luxor flight, looking for seats in row 21, they found themselves seated in the second row. First/Business class! Beverages before takeoff! Meal service first! First bus to the terminal upon landing! And the best part - business class cost less through EgyptAir than coach cost through Expedia!
Pati and Beebee are onboard the MS Domina Prestige for their trip on the Nile this week. The ship starts up the Nile (south) at 9:30 tonight. Tomorrow they meet with their group with their tour guide/Egyptologist to get the lowdown. Then the first excursion is sometime in the afternoon.
The group has 26 people plus a business guy plus the guide. Pati and Beebee are the only Americans in the group (probably the only Americans on the ship - maybe in Egypt). The other 24 in the group are British. Pati used a British tour company that he found on the internet, with very good reviews.
There are 72 cabins on this ship, so there are more than 140 passengers. There are other tour groups, each speaking their own country's language: so far German and Japanese have been overheard. Each tour group is seated together. The British group fills 3 tables at meals.
This afternoon Beebee had a leg/foot massage for 100 Egyptian pounds (around $16 US). Pati checked out the "hot tub" but didn't get in because it was icy cold. The swimming pool is cold too.
Pati and Beebee bought the all-inclusive drinks package so that they can get drinks "free" between 11:30 am and 11:30 pm each day. That includes bottled water, soft drinks, tea, coffee, juices, and alcoholic drinks. They have to pay for drinks outside that time, except at meals. Wine is only available at meals. It is VERY important to collect enough bottled water while it is "free," for use in the cabin and on tours. Passengers use bottled water to drink and to brush their teeth and tap water for bathing.
Internet access is available in the lobby for 20 Egyptian pounds (less than $3) for 1 hour, but the whole hour is used at once. That means writing all drafts offline and then posting in one marathon session.
Happy side note: Pati first made the round trip plane reservations between Cairo and Luxor using Expedia. However, Beebee became concerned about the short time they would have to switch planes when they got back to Cairo next week, since the first flight is domestic and the next flight is international, using 2 different terminals and having to handle their luggage themselves (not connecting flights). So Pati cancelled the Expedia flights (the agent couldn't figure out how to change just the return flight; her final suggestion was for Pati to change the flight in person after arriving in Luxor) and made the flight reservations directly with EgyptAir. When they got on the Cairo-to-Luxor flight, looking for seats in row 21, they found themselves seated in the second row. First/Business class! Beverages before takeoff! Meal service first! First bus to the terminal upon landing! And the best part - business class cost less through EgyptAir than coach cost through Expedia!
Posted with Blogsy
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