Tagged With "Cruising down the Nile"
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Re: Venice's ban on huge cruise ships suspended
A big "Don't Like" for the lobbyists and court in Venice. What, I wonder, is the "practical alternative" for the city that's being irreparably damaged by the transit of these ships. I suppose the usual, take the bribe and leave it to their children to fix.
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Re: Venice's ban on huge cruise ships suspended
The only alternatives I can see are to build a new cruise port outside the lagoon. Chioggia might be too far, but perhaps just north of the main way into the lagoon, across the inlet from the Lido. That would provide land-based alternatives for other day trips from the boats, and could also be served by vaporetto-sized boats heading into Venice itself. Of course, I haven't consulted the folks who live there and run campgrounds there...
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Re: Venice's ban on huge cruise ships suspended
A perfectly logical solution if, indeed, logic applied in a system that officially condones adding insult to the injury Venice is already suffering. I predict, not in our lifetimes.
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Re: In Egypt: Up the Nile
Egypt is always going to be a conveyor belt for most visitors, outside of the resorts, and it's hard to get around this, given the country's geography. But PM is right to take the costs on the chin; how many times are you going to be there in this life ? Obviously didn't miss much, from her photos !
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Re: In Egypt: Up the Nile
Back in 1989, when TWA still existed, took their 14 day tour. I believe there were 35 of us. We started in Cairo - 4 days staying at Mena House opposite the pyramids A huge WOW! During our stay there we traveled to Sakkaha and Memphis. Boarded a bus that took us to Alexandria - 2 days staying at Montazah Sheraton. From there we took a train to Aswan (dirty dishes - everyone sick). In Aswan, we stayed on Elephantine Island's Loews Aswan Oberoi. Went to Temples of Philae and flew to Abu...
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Re: In Egypt: An Unlikely Story
My guess would be that only about 0.00001% of travelers to Egypt would have a familiarity with that book, interesting though it seems. You may very well have been the first person ever who recognized Hamada from Mahoney's book. But a charming tale it is and one that turns a good trip into a memorable experience. I'm saddened to hear that your story has you returning to Luxor already. I've enjoyed your Nile journey.
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1940's and 1950's
Thanks! They're all sweet, but my heart really beats for the MG T series...and that's a beauty!
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1940's and 1950's
Great! Love the 1950 Mercury!
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1940's and 1950's
And I'm partial to the 55 Bel Air. Probably the subdued black and white, not the peacockish "Jamaican Bay" color.
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1940's and 1950's
The stuff that dreams are made of ! The '57 Bel Air has to be the one above the crowd. Loved the MGs and memories of the time when you could fix your own Midget and Sprite without a College degree ! Happy Days !
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Re: Cruising through the holidays
Looks beautiful, Marilyn. I think I may consider this option for next Christmas (or any time of the year for that matter!)
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 2)
I want to go on a Nile River cruise!!! Mac, if you were satisfied with them, would you mind sharing the company you used for this trip? A little on the logistics (where you meet, how long it was, etc). Appreciate that! Thanks for this series.
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 2)
Another great piece, Mac. Doing the Nile cruise is certainly a highlight. Just watching life pass by along the banks is fascinating.
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 4)
I've really enjoyed this journey...thanks! For anyone who hasn't, I'd suggest checking out the first 3 parts as well. It's amazing to realize how varied the architecture and the wildlife and even the river itself seem at different points along the way. Some of the variation serves to remind us, as well, how many many years went into all this; all of our civilizations are young by comparison, no matter how old they seem to us!
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 4)
What a fabulous conclusion to a delightful series, Mac. Thanks so much for sharing this journey with all of us. I've wanted to visit Egypt for some time, but have always been a little reluctant to go somewhere I might get targeted for extermination simply because I'm a visitor from the west. But your series has made me want to see this sooner, rather than later.
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 4)
Although I've wanted to go to Egypt most of my life, to Egypt and Japan, for some reason I haven't made it to either place (except through the Suez canal, which hardly counts). Your pictures of the colonial-era hotels, though, may be the encouragement I need to finally get there. It's probably less crowded now than it will ever be, also an encouragement.
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 4)
An incredible series on Egypt! I too want to go now sooner rather than later!
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 4)
Thank you kindly fellow Gumbo-ists. You have rightly detected that we greatly enjoyed our trip and it is so photogenic and endlessly fascinating. I always feel a total dullard when going to the tombs and temples and hear all the lists of Pharaohs, dynasties, goddesses and gods - all doing fantastic things at the same time as us Brits were living in mud huts.... I do encourage you all to go and visit now. You will never get better deals than now (but go in the cooler period). You will be well...
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 4)
Mac, can you tell us which company's boat you sailed on? You may have said it but indulge me please with the name (again)?
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 4)
A truly wonderful journey you've taken us on, such a well written piece! Bravo!
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 4)
..an amazing journey, Mac, thanks for sharing it with us...and for anyone who hasn't been to Egypt, forget all the bad publicity you've heard and make this a priority on your adventure list; as someone who has been there, I can highly recommend it
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Re: How a super-ship manages 12-hour turnaround
Sometimes when I'm in Vancouver I head to Canada Place to watch the cruise ships coming and going. You actually get to see the belly of the ship being loaded. The dozens of palates of food that go on is amazing. Would you have thought a cruise ship would consume 3 massive containers of potatoes in a week? 2 of onions? Might even have been more, that's all I saw. It is truly a model of efficiency.
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Re: Cruising solo just got more affordable
That is nice news! And its such a rare thing for a company to do.
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Re: Air and cruise lines: Out of parking space?
Along with end to end as shown in the photo, ships could also park side to side & instantly expand capacity. In Egypt the cruise boats do just that every day as there are lots of cruises & little dock space at stops along the Nile. Passengers walk through adjacent boats' lobbies to get on & off. With no passengers, crew could certainly find a way.
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Re: Cruisers told: Leave your water home!
Looks like I'm back to Vodka in a Listerine Mouthwash Bottle then. 1 drop of green and 2 drops of blue food colouring.
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Re: Cruisers told: Leave your water home!
You're a crafty fellow, GarryRF! Resourceful and sly -- features we like about you.
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Re: The 'greatest Egyptologist in the world'
For the first time in 25 plus years booked a package via Sonesta cruises down the Nile and he was our guide for just 3 of us. Abdul is very knowledgeable with excellent English. Several more posts can be found on at The Grey Traveller and an article about Sonesta . Always happy to answer questions if you have any more.
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1920's
Love that onomatopoeic license plate: "Ah Ooga!" Blows my horn, for sure!
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1920's
A very cool collection of classic cars! Look forward to seeing more!!
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1920's
There must be more ! Can we see them soon ? Great photos.
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1920's
Hi Garry RF You are correct in assuming there are more cars. Actually, my next "Cruise Night" blog will be published tomorrow (Tuesday, August 12/14) featuring five cars from the 1930's. That blog will be followed in a few days or weeks with another "Cruise Night" blog featuring cars from the 1940's and 1950's, which will be followed in another few days or weeks with another "Cruise Night" blog or two featuring cars from the 1960's, which will be followed in another few days or weeks with...
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1920's
Ottoman. You must have a production line working overtime ! Remember those happy days when you just had Sunday off work - and you spent it under your car ! Greasing those bits and bobs so you'd survive another week !
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1930's
Wow !! Cant believe you have more of these beauties to share ! Nice, clear pix of metal artwork Ottoman ! I keep going back for another look ! Hope I don't wear them out !!
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1930's
Thanks for the compliment GarryRF. Please feel free to come back and enjoy these photos as often as you'd like. I too have viewed them many times, and if I haven't worn them out by now, I don't think you have to worry. Stay tuned for my next blog...Cruise Night, the 1940's and 1950's (to be published Tuesday August 19/14), which will feature five cars from these two decades. I hope you will enjoy them. I gotta run. I have some "bits and bobs" that need tending to (LOL).
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 1)
Thanks for the journey, Mac. Yes, it is sad that tourist numbers are down as there is so much to see. We were there in January'13 and loved every minute. Such a fascinating country and with friendly people too. Forget what you hear in the news, just go!
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 1)
thanks We hope that increasing numbers of tourists to Egypt soon
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Re: Cruising down the Nile (part 1)
Well, TravelGumbo will be giving them more reasons—this is only Part 1 of Mac's journey, and he has some more stunning pictures! Stay tuned...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, July 15, 2014: Deck Chairs Aboard QM2
Your photo reminds me of a cruise we just did a few months ago in the Chilean fjordland. When we approached cape Horn, famous for its stormy seas, we were in constant winds of 100 knots, with gusts of 160 knots. The deck was even emptier than your photo above would indicate! Nice photos, Islandman. Thanks for taking all of us aboard the Queen Mary.
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New gonzo cruise ship even has sky-diving!
In the race to think up more features to add to cruise ships, Royal Caribbean is looking up...with a top-deck skydiving simulator on its newest ship, Quantum of the Seas, which has just started operating out of the New York area. Would you believe...
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Memphis, Tennessee 3) The rest of the city
There’s a lot more to Memphis than Graceland, although Graceland is by far the city’s most popular attraction (which I’ve previously discussed here ). A city of about 650,000, Memphis has a...
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Cruising through the holidays
Every year thousands of passengers find out warm tropical breezes and Christmas festivities mix well aboard a Princess Cruise Line ship. “We install more than 347 Christmas trees fleet wide. Each vessel has a showcase tree in...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Feb 21, 2014: Hadrian's Wall, England
1,450 miles from Rome was the limit of the mighty Roman Empire in 122 AD when the Roman Emperor Hadrian came to Britain and took the decision to build this massive stone wall in order to consolidate his rule and the geographical extent of his Empire....
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Venice to reduce cruise ship traffic
Because it is believed the ships are threatening the sinking city, the Italian Government will reduce by 20% the number of cruise ships allowed into the lagoon starting in January. Here's that link if you're interested in reading...
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The Empire Strikes Back: Carnival's new super-ship
Carnival may be the biggest operator in the cruise world (Carnival, Holland-America, Cunard, Costa and more) but it's had an image problem in the past few years, and rival Princess and Norwegian have been giving them a real run. Now Carnival's...
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Bosphorus Cruises in February (Turkey)
I'm preparing for a mid-February week in Istanbul, and would like to include a Bosphorus cruise, specifically one of the more-or-less all-day ones that goes up to the Black Sea, has a lunch break at a small port on the Black Sea, and then returns....
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Tunis attack spurs both cancellations and support
In the wake of the terrorist attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunisia, in which 20 tourists were killed, two trends have emerged. MSC Cruises (most of the victims were passengers on the MSC Splendida) and Costa (a division of Carnival) have...
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Three Queens to Dance on the River Mersey Liverpool UK.
The maritime city of Liverpool is gearing up for a summer of events and celebrations led by the arrival of Cunard's "Three Queens" to the Mersey. Cunard is celebrating 175 years of sailing this year with three key anniversary cruises...
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Is Airport-Style Security Coming to Museums?
The terrorist attack that killed 20 foreign tourists in Tunis at the Bardo Museum has already resulted in Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises cancelling Tunisa as a stop . ABC news has said extra police have already been assigned to...
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Queen christens Britain's new biggest cruise liner
The Britannia, 11th in the world but biggest in the British cruise industry, has been christened by Queen Elizabeth and will shortly begin her maiden voyage to the Mediterranean. The ship can accommodate over 3600 passengers, and bears the name...