No docs for me either but I understood that it is 44# per bag and we can bring 2 bags?? Not sure where I got that info.
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Helen

I think it is 44# for both bags, not 44# per bag, and yes it applies to our flight to Jordan. It is my understanding they do not a have bag no. restriction only a weight restriction for the total number of bags you carry. This is the policy of Egypt Air, which we are on for all domestic flights. We plan to get clarification on this.

Sally, do your docs say that? I thought that generally the wt limits are per piece, altho I do not travel in coach much nor do I generally check that much luggage so I often dont give the limits a second thought. But my sister who is coming along on this trip DOES travel with quite a bit of luggage and is gonna FREAK OUT if it is 44 total over 2 bags.
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Helen

In one of the pamphlets it says "We urge travelers to adhere to the lower baggage limit (two pieces weighing up to 44lbs total, plus one carry-on bag) because that amount of baggage will be accepted on all scheduled flights." It also says "If you have large suitcases, or extra bags, it may be possible to store them along the way. Please ask you tour consultant for more information."

The packing list Ngaire posted for the 2010 trip is practically identical to what I have in mind to pack and should easily come in under the 44 lb. limit. Alice and I will each take less than what's on Ngaire's list and will only have a backpack and carry-on each. Maybe Ngaire will have follow-on thoughts, but here's her post from 2010:

Got my docs!!! Yay. I saw that reference, Sally. But I also see our intra-Egypt flights are all on Air Egypt and per their website for domestic flights baggage limit is 1 piece/50lbs.
Will give my sister the news. So excited now!!!!
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Helen

Thank you Helen, I wasn't sure I was reading it right!

I guess I was looking at some old paperwork but somewhere along the line in the past year, my flights changed and in fact we are on Flt AF 508 leaving CDG arr CAI at 7pm. See Sally and Kathy on that one.
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Helen

HONESTLY everyone you wont need much in the way of clothing and remember FREE LAUNDRY on the ship so you can arrive with things dirty get them cleaned. Before leaving for Amman or home you can do another round of laundry FREE.

Do not bring ANYTHING that is dry clean only. Light clothes - day time wear can be repeated constantly.

You will NOT need anything dressy at all.

Ngaire

Until they hit you with the mother lode of the monogrammed clothing that you can't possibly find anywhere else. i lost count of the number of embroidered shirts that Mark couldn't leave behind.

Docs arrived last night!

Yayy, Kim! See/meet you in Cairo. WooHoo!!!
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Helen

I just can't wait until we have the chance to read more Nile talk when you all start your trip!

Four Seasons Cairo

For those of you thinkng about getting a spa treatment during our first arrival day, I saw this promo on their web site:


Spa Escape Promotion

Spa Escape ... exclusively when you book and pay with any American Express® Card

Reserve a 90-minute massage for the price of 60 minutes when you mention the Spa Escape promotion at time of reservation. For reservations, call the Hotel at 20 (2) 3567-1600.

Terms & Conditions:
Excludes Holidays. Available Sunday-Thursday only. Confirmation is provided upon availability. Cancellation policy of four hours will apply.

Note:

Prices and treatments are subject to change without notice.

All prices are subject to 12% service charge, 10% tax and 1% municipality tax.

Offer valid from September 15, 2011 to March 15, 2012. Offer must be mentioned at time of booking. Advance booking required. Service charges may apply to some treatments. Pregnant women should advise the Hotel when booking. Offer valid only when you pay with any American Express® Credit or Charge Card. Offer may not be combined with other spa promotions/offers/savings/gift vouchers. Only valid on new reservations. Subject to availability. Availability not guaranteed for group bookings. Must arrive at least 15 minutes prior to treatment time. Cancellation must be made at least 24 hours in advance or a charge may result. Certain holidays may be excluded. Blackout dates may apply. Fulfillment of the offer is the sole responsibility of the participating American Express merchant. Offers and terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. © 2011 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thanks Leslie.

Thanks, Leslie! Sounds great!

We have complained for years about how heavy our luggage is ( Tumi). It's great luggage, practically bullet proof and lasts forever, but it weighs a ton. Any suggestions on a more lightweight but still durable bag? I'm worried about Al and the 44 pound wt. limit!

Kathy, I switched from some very nice, well-loved Samsonite Black Label because of the weight and bought Eagle Creek ultra lightweight. I am really happy with it. You can look around on ebags.com or luggageonline.com , both vendors list the weight of the bag in its description. Anything 26" in the 10# range is considered light weight.
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Helen

WE LOVE OUR BRIGGS AND RILEY LUGGAGE.It is really well designed all the various pieces are great, plus light as well.Guaranteed for LIFE even TUMI is not guaranteed for life. Once you buy it you are done buying luggage forever. Plus it is less expensive by far than TUMI. I would not trade this luggage for TUMI luggage.

No matter what happens if the bag gets cut, dropped or damaged by an elephant they repair at no charge. We have a service center in Dallas not sure if you have one where you live but on our last trip the airlines damaged one of the bags. It was fixed in four days and perfect.

We have taken them in a couple of times and have had this luggage for about 6 years now and you know how much we travel.

Best thing out there in my opinion. You can buy it on line as well.

Thanks, Helen and Ngaire....going to take a look online right now!

This Egypt Air 17 lb. carry on limit is proving to be a challenge for me. My "light weight" roller bag weighs 8 lbs. empty! Looking at cheap duffle bags (without wheels) to drag through the airports (ugh). Clothes are not the problem, it is all the other stuff!

I think the Egypt Air flights will require that we check the bags we typically refer to as "carry ons". The aircraft is Embraer 170... a commuter jet. There's not enough overhead bin space for the typically carry-on. So, you'd just have your "personnel item" that would have the 17 lb. weight limit. We "gate check" the carry ons on these types of aircraft in the US. I don't know how it will work in Cairo.. if we gate check them or check them at the ticket counter.

Kim, if we gate check the bags then the 1 bag limit isnt an issue but will be if we have to check at ticket counter with our "actual" checked bag. I take a few of those little plane flights during the course of the year (and in fact Lufthansa 747 upstairs cabin has the same small-size overheads!!)they have always gate checked the roller bags at no cost. I dont mind paying only mind being gouged. Nile 1 participants: Anybody remember?
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Helen

I imagine that the guides wil take care of checking all of our luggage as a group so weight and pieces per person probably won't be an issue. If they are checking in 22 people then it seems unlikely that the check in agent will be counting the number of bags. We have been on some group trips where some individuals were obviously overweight while others were traveling lighter and there wasn't an issue about it. I have never had anyone actually weigh a carry on bag. if the size is OK to carry on I wouldn't stress about whether it weighs more than 17 pounds.

Everytime I have taken those flights it has been a full sized plane like a 737 so that is interesting that they have changed to a smaller plane. I read 8.9 million tourists in 2011 down by 33% from the year before. Still that is a LOT of tourists going to Egypt. That may be the difference, less space needed.

I imagine they will have gate check of carryons if required.

On this trip the GUIDES Henry and Hany are amazing and do not worry too much about anything they will take care of us SO WELL.

Getting excited to walk where the ancients walked. I little mood music..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgTPH5y1-ZI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVrNV_5LhNE

I am so excited for you all! It's impossible to put into words, you have to experience that history.

Very fun!! I'm getting excited too. Pretty much all packed. Alice is in Vegas for work. She takes a red-eye home Tuesday night. Then we leave for London Wed. night. We're spending our 10-hour layover Thursday in London visiting the Victoria & Albert museum.

We're not on NILE 2, but will be calling in Egypt 3 times on the Voyager's Dubai - Athens cruise nest month. Here is something I posted on Cruise Critic February 17thon the roll-call thread for that cruise:

Good news from Egypt

Two of my wife's cousins just returned from a tour of Egypt, and reported they were never fearful, never felt threatened or in danger. They said the Egyptian people they spoke with were very pleased to see them, mainly because the economy there is so dependent on tourism, but also because they were friendly people. They were in Tahrir Square and had no problems, no confrontations of any kind (they were in a small tour group with a guide). Many people spoke understandable English.

Ordinary Egyptians they spoke with do believe the American government is responsible for much of the problems we (America) are having in the middle east, but apparently they also see that most Americans don't support for example the unwarranted invasion of Iraq or the invasion of Iran they believe is coming. One of them told us of a conversation with an inn-keeper who very forcefully but politely made the point that Iran is within its sovereign rights to have any type of nuclear capability it can afford and build. He wanted to know what right other nations have to tell Iran or any independent nation what they can or can’t do in their own country?

The biggest negative the travelers reported is the filth and lack of sanitation they saw everywhere in the country; the mix or camels, donkeys, other animals, people, cars and trucks, etc., the trash and garbage everywhere, and the total lack of traffic controls, lights, etc. It just boggled their minds! The only clean, orderly places they found were the upscale hotels they stayed in until the last night, when the Egypt-Air flight they were on got cancelled - too few booked passengers - and they had to find a place to stay at the last minute and ended up in a somewhat rudimentary bed and breakfast. It worked out fine, but the situation was a bit disconcerting as it unfolded. Apparently the tour conveniently "dissolved" before the plane delay became real. (ADDED: no worry about that in this company!)

All's well that ends well. But this first-hand report from someone we know very well does calm the reservations we had had, particularly about touring from the ship overnight to Luxor.

ENJOY!

PS: We love everything about our Briggs and Riley luggage too, Ngaire. We had the ultra-valet garment bag absolutely torn apart by an airline, sent it off to them, and back it came a few weeks later, all better, except that you could tell they used some of the same panels because they had faint marks on them, one of which I remembered. Its very lightweight too! Our's is olive, which stands out in airline baggage areas as you don't see a lot of it. We picked up a gym bag that folds down flat onto itself and fits into the outside front sleeve of the 26" & 28" roller bags - handy to get all those purchases home!

Hi Mike! Thanks for the very interesting post!

Count, that is pretty consistent with what other people are posting at least with regard to feeling safe. Thanks for passing that on.
I checked the weather forecast for Cairo this am and it looks to be pretty perfect: highs in 70s and lows in 50s, actually sounds just like So Cal! Of course we all know how reliable this stuff is; one forecast calls for 80% chance of rain on the 11th but another has it at 5%. I am going to bring a sweatshirt for those 50s nights and expect pretty temperate clime otherwise. WooHoo, almost here!
Hope Sally is ok in Alabama?
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Helen

We are fine! Feel sorry for those who lost their houses again (after last year's tornadoes). Thanks for asking Helen. Well I'm all packed and within weight limits - yeah.

Started packing last night. Got a car ordered to take us to the airport, put in my stop mail order, 2 more days of work and then we are outta here! Cant believe I am: #1 going to Egypt and #2 going to meet Ngaire and Ken, and all these folks whose posts I have been reading over the years! So excited!
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Helen

I'm so excited too that this trip is finally only 48 hours away. Unbelievable!

Don't forget to "cross-pack" just in case. We basically have been packed since 2 weekends ago since we had other travel in between. That weekend was only our 2nd weekend at home since Thanksgiving! So, we thought we'd take that opportunity to make sure we had everything together and it would fit in the suitcases we'd planned on taking. But, we forgot to cross-pack, so I'll be fixing that. Even though we aren't checking any bags, you just never know what bizarre thing might happen to one person's bag. But if you still have the other bag, you both still have some clothes.

I've been on a cruise with Linda from Ngaire's office when that happened. You'd never have known they were missing a bag because they cross-packed!

Here's hoping for a wonderful trip for all of you, and don't forget to let us hear from you!

Safe travels and keep in touch!!!! :lct:

Have a wonderful time!

On to the final to-do items tomorrow.

Really looking forward to seamail everyone. Have a great trip and be safe :bv:

I am 38lbs check-in, 14 lbs carry on so I am good to go!

Good for you, Sally. I had to work late tonight and have a busy work day tomorrow as well. I know what I am packing but no idea what the weight is. Sigh, I will get to it before Wednesday at noon when we are being picked up. I think the stress immediately before the vacation just enhances the whole experience :ohmy:
Thanks for the good wishes. We will post for sure!
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Helen