Ramses Tours and Egypt - Some Additional Thoughts

As you know I write exactly what I think and am honest with the good and the bad.  Well, today I received an email from Ramses Tours very upset with my last entry both as it relates to my impressions of my tour and of Egypt. I write with integrity and those that read my blog know that I stand by what I say and will correct any error and will readily amend what I say if it add content or context.

What I think is very good news is that Ramses Tours has been extremely responsive to me and what impressed me is that the first email expressed concern and requested I let them know what I liked and what I didn't like.    It did not use the "You should have told me sooner when I could have done something" excuse or, frankly, any other excuse.  Then we had a bit of an email discussion and came to a quick and fair resolution. This is a refreshing approach and I give Ramses Tours a lot of credit for being responsible for what happened.

I think it is important to remember when traveling that there are so many variables and that sometimes an operator or hotel or travel agent normally provides a wonderful experience fails to provide that though the intentions are otherwise.  A luxury hotel can have a miss with the front desk, a guide can be less than what is expected because of a personal problem or whatever, a bus can break down, a site can be unexpectedly closed.  You may recall my recent post about "The List". The key is not to focus on what went wrong or who dropped the ball, but on enjoying every moment you can. 

I cannot tell you my tour with Ramses Tours was perfect.  What I can tell you is that the most important aspect of the tour for us - seeing the ancient sites - was overall a great experience.  While I can complain about the van or my desire for a guide that went the extra for me, I can't complain that we had two adjoining rooms at the best hotel for our trip.  I can compliment that arranging for us to be at the Giza pyramids first thing in the morning was huge and greatly enriched our experience from just being there in solitude to experience quiet awe, to photos, to visiting the interior of the Cheops pyramid to our extended camel ride.  These things were arranged with Ramses and not another tour operator...and if the other tour operators had arranged these things I guess I would not have been there first, would I?

I do not want anyone to think I am endorsing or not endorsing Ramses Tours.  What I am telling you is that a decision as to which tour operator to use should be based upon many factors.  My personal experience was far more good than it was bad.  My guide was there when he was supposed to be (unlike my driver in Kusadasi), I went to the sites I wanted to go to (no sorry, we can't do that because of X or Y), I was protected from a major baksheesh incident when the tourist police wanted me to have protection for the day and Ramses made sure that didn't happen and, without limitation, I got back to the ship on time.

One thing you might want to keep in mind (and something I most certainly will).  Because of Ramses Tours quick response to me and its fair treatment of me, I am pretty confident that the experience let downs I had will not be so quick to recur. I have seen hard evidence that it has a concern over the quality of its product...possibly moreso because of what I previously wrote, but nonetheless it is there and it clearly is at the fore of its present concerns.

Another thing I want to mention, along those same lines, is that while my overall impression of Egypt is one of huge cultural differences and lots of pollution, they are not a reason to avoid visiting the country.  Seeing the Cairo Museum was definitely a great thing and visiting all of the ancient ruins was truly awe inspiring.  Remember that experiencing travel is not always the most comfortable and the ones that are challenging may well hold the greatest highlights.  (Read my comments about the Jerusalem Hotel - which I just recommended to a very experienced travel client of mine today - and you will understand what I mean.)

So don't start a "List" and don't say I won't use or won't see.  Remember what we really want (I hope) is to travel.

Crystal Cruises Announces 2010 Port Calls to Iran and Other Unique Middle East Ports

A few weeks ago I posted about how being uninformed can lead to misperceptions and result in comments like, "I am not going to THAT part of the world.  It just isn't safe."...lumping the entire Middle East into a truly undeserved "No Go" area.  Frankly, many Americans have difficulty in understanding the geography, no less politics, of the Middle East, so it is no wonder.

When a place like Dubai is actually very safe (and thanks to huge marketing efforts many Americans believe that) it is, by some, lumped into areas like Yemen as the "Middle East - No Go" area.  Mention Kuwait and probably nothing other than Iraq's invasion quickly comes to mind...so it is unsafe.  Again, not a true or fair statement. 
Sorry, I am not trying to insult, but rather present what is - on the world stage - a perceived undeniable fact. And, to be honest, until I was invited to speak at a superyacht conference in Dubai, U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates), I had a pitiful lacking understanding of not only the geography of the area, but even the basic differences in cultures generally between Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, etc.  The broad differences then break down into many interesting facets that both fascinate and help explain the basis for many of the political and religious issues in the area.  (Just the differences between U.A.E. emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are as interesting as the existence of a "secret" island where Kuwaitis go to party.

And while there are, respectfully, many with deep convictions on political, religious and moral grounds not to support the economies of certain countries or rulers, I am one of those that thinks it just might be worth dipping my toe into those foreign (and possibly "scary") waters so that I can better understand what things are really like rather than just what is marketed to me by the media or politically motivated sources.

Crystal Cruises has decided to shake things up a bit and provide an incredible opportunity for those interested in dipping their toes into, and learning a bit more about, this area of the world.  Crystal's 2010  108 day "Exploration of Ancient Empires" World Cruise includes maiden calls in:

      - Manama, Bahrain;
      - Bandar Abbas, Iran;
      - Kuwait City, Kuwait;
      - Fujairah, UAE;
      - Khasab, Oman; and,
      -  Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

If you are not inclined to take the entire Wold Cruise, you can book World Voyage IV: Middle East Mystique (#0305) which starts in Mumbai and ends in Dubai and/or World Voyage V: Modern & Ancient Marvels (#0306) which starts in Dubai and ends in Athens (visiting Egypt, Israel and Jordan as well as some of the above ports). 

With some of the great pricing now available reserving your chance to experience this part of the world in the comfort and security of Crystal Cruises could just be the great opportunity you are looking for.

Exclusive Seabourn Spirit Offer - Istanbul to Alexandria - November 8, 2008

Whether Seabourn just finished reading my blog, I have incredible intuition, or it is happenstance, it really doesn't matter, but I was just contacted by Seabourn with an exclusive offer than fits in perfectly with my last post....and must be acted upon immediately if you are interested:

I am thrilled to offer this truly outstanding cruise to anyone who has not experienced a Seabourn cruise, who is looking for an exotic getaway this Fall, or who just wants an incredible deal on a cruise:

Seabourn Spirit – November 8, 2008

Istanbul, Turkey to Alexandria, Egypt

Only $__(The Price is So Low I Cannot Post It Here) per person*

(*You will be booked as an A Guaranty Suite, but this offer is NOT limited to Category A oceanview suites, so you may be surprised by what suite you ultimately may be assigned by the time of sailing! And you thought all * were signs of bad news!!!)

This price includes port charges/fees, but not taxes or fuel supplement. This fare is capacity controlled, so it may be withdrawn at any time.

Here is the itinerary:

Nov 8 S Istanbul, Turkey
9 SU Cruising The Dardandelles
10 M Piraeus (Athens), Greece
11 T Navplion (Mycenae), Greece
12 W Aghios Nikolaos, Crete, Greece
13 TH Rhodes, Greek Isles
14 F Cruising The Mediterranean Sea
15 S Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt

If you are interested DO NOT DELAY. Please call or email me immediately. (Some of you were disappointed when you delayed in responding to my last exclusive offer. Please don’t let that happen again!)