Ever since my childhood I’ve dreamed of visiting the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx and the National Archeological Museum in Cairo. Continuing unrest in the Middle East, however, discouraged my normally agreeable wife from any extended trip to the region. All that changed with my recent discovery of Royal Caribbean’s 11-night cruise to Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean with an all-day stopover at the port of Alexandria. Among eight Shore Excursions offered is a twelve and a half hour “Classic Cairo” tour covering all three sites along with the comforting safety of a police escort and an expert Egyptian guide.
To those who may harbor security fears at the mere mention of its need, I would point out that protection of its valued tourists is a high Egyptian priority. A statement my wife now fully agrees with. It is a government requirement that all tour buses travel in a convoy escorted by a police motorcycle escort. Regulations also stipulate that each bus have an armed security officer aboard. The officers dress and
act much like our own country’s Secret Service. Each wears a business suit, the jacket of which effectively conceals a holstered Beretta Automatic. Our Egypt visit now rates as a top destination from among 25 prior cruise experiences to many other parts of the world.
The opportunity of standing on the desert floor gazing upward at the only remaining wonder of the ancient world can only be described as awe inspiring. Soaring 450 feet in the air from a perfectly square 755 foot base with over two million blocks of precisely cut limestone averaging nearly three tons each – pulled, pushed and wedged into place by a hundred thousand laborers without the benefit of modern equipment – all occurring 25 centuries before the birth of Christ is absolutely mind boggling. Add to this a visit to the legendary Sphinx followed by lunch at Cairo’s elegant five star Mena House Hotel, then on to the world’s largest collection of Egyptian Antiquities at the National Archeological Museum. Among the 136,000 items on display are the priceless artifacts of King Tut including his golden funerary mask which is not part of the limited traveling display currently touring the U.S. as was in years past. The
mask, containing 25.5 pounds of solid gold was simply judged too fragile to journey outside Egypt any more. The final stop, before returning to our ship: the Papyrus Institute to see a demonstration of how the ancient Egyptian invention of paper is made from reeds that grow along the river Nile.
Although Egypt tends to overshadow the cruise’s other ports of call, and is in fact the reason most sign on for this cruise, it in no way diminishes them. The beauty and elegance of Sicily’s Roman ruins, the 5th century B.C. Parthenon in Athens, the site of the Colossus in Rhodes, Malta’s 9th century Cathedral and the late 8th century B.C.Temple of Apollo in Cyprus are all part of this memorable journey through history’s ancient and middle ages. Tourism is the dominant source
of income in each of the countries visited. One can be assured the citizenry as well as their governments are also very much aware that cruise lines have an exclusive tool to deal with safety issues. Ship Captains are in touch with their ports of call on a real-time basis. At any sign of domestic disturbance they can simply bypass a port providing an extra day at sea. Should that have occurred during this cruise it would have meant extra time to relax and enjoy the comforts of Royal Caribbean’s beautiful Brilliance of the Seas with all the amenities one comes to expect from the line’s premiere lineup of ships. It is just another reason why cruising remains a top vacation option in today’s world. 
As a post script, I feel compelled to add a second very memorable experience that occurred on this voyage the day after leaving Egypt – our arrival at Malta. In a
conversation my wife and I had with the ships Master, Captain Hernan Zini, he stated that from his experience, “Malta is the most beautiful port in the world” – a statement we thought worthy of checking out. What we didn’t expect, however, was a surprise personal invitation, to join him to see it from the best vantage point of all, the ship’s bridge. (Of course in today’s world, 
invitation or not, it required a background check and thorough electronic search of us by the ship’s Security Officer before being allowed to enter this highly secure area that is now normally off limits to passengers.) The accompanying sequence of still photos does not do it justice. It’s one of those things that one has to experience first hand to fully appreciate as many did by simply securing vantage points along the ship’s outer deck railings. It concludes with a photo of the beautiful Brilliance of the Seas docked at this most beautiful old world fortress city. 
Captain Zini, at age 43, is one of RCCL’s youngest yet highly experienced captains. Prior to this cruise he was appointed Master of the sister ship to the much heralded Oasis of the Seas, named Allure of the Seas. The Allure is expected to enter service in December of 2010 a year after the Oasis’ maiden voyage on December 5. 2009. Weighing in at just over 225,000-tons each, the two ships will share the title of the world’s largest cruise liners. The command of either ship is considered the highest honor any captain can possibly achieve.)
To those who may harbor security fears at the mere mention of its need, I would point out that protection of its valued tourists is a high Egyptian priority. A statement my wife now fully agrees with. It is a government requirement that all tour buses travel in a convoy escorted by a police motorcycle escort. Regulations also stipulate that each bus have an armed security officer aboard. The officers dress and
act much like our own country’s Secret Service. Each wears a business suit, the jacket of which effectively conceals a holstered Beretta Automatic. Our Egypt visit now rates as a top destination from among 25 prior cruise experiences to many other parts of the world.The opportunity of standing on the desert floor gazing upward at the only remaining wonder of the ancient world can only be described as awe inspiring. Soaring 450 feet in the air from a perfectly square 755 foot base with over two million blocks of precisely cut limestone averaging nearly three tons each – pulled, pushed and wedged into place by a hundred thousand laborers without the benefit of modern equipment – all occurring 25 centuries before the birth of Christ is absolutely mind boggling. Add to this a visit to the legendary Sphinx followed by lunch at Cairo’s elegant five star Mena House Hotel, then on to the world’s largest collection of Egyptian Antiquities at the National Archeological Museum. Among the 136,000 items on display are the priceless artifacts of King Tut including his golden funerary mask which is not part of the limited traveling display currently touring the U.S. as was in years past. The
mask, containing 25.5 pounds of solid gold was simply judged too fragile to journey outside Egypt any more. The final stop, before returning to our ship: the Papyrus Institute to see a demonstration of how the ancient Egyptian invention of paper is made from reeds that grow along the river Nile.Although Egypt tends to overshadow the cruise’s other ports of call, and is in fact the reason most sign on for this cruise, it in no way diminishes them. The beauty and elegance of Sicily’s Roman ruins, the 5th century B.C. Parthenon in Athens, the site of the Colossus in Rhodes, Malta’s 9th century Cathedral and the late 8th century B.C.Temple of Apollo in Cyprus are all part of this memorable journey through history’s ancient and middle ages. Tourism is the dominant source
of income in each of the countries visited. One can be assured the citizenry as well as their governments are also very much aware that cruise lines have an exclusive tool to deal with safety issues. Ship Captains are in touch with their ports of call on a real-time basis. At any sign of domestic disturbance they can simply bypass a port providing an extra day at sea. Should that have occurred during this cruise it would have meant extra time to relax and enjoy the comforts of Royal Caribbean’s beautiful Brilliance of the Seas with all the amenities one comes to expect from the line’s premiere lineup of ships. It is just another reason why cruising remains a top vacation option in today’s world. 
As a post script, I feel compelled to add a second very memorable experience that occurred on this voyage the day after leaving Egypt – our arrival at Malta. In a
conversation my wife and I had with the ships Master, Captain Hernan Zini, he stated that from his experience, “Malta is the most beautiful port in the world” – a statement we thought worthy of checking out. What we didn’t expect, however, was a surprise personal invitation, to join him to see it from the best vantage point of all, the ship’s bridge. (Of course in today’s world, 
invitation or not, it required a background check and thorough electronic search of us by the ship’s Security Officer before being allowed to enter this highly secure area that is now normally off limits to passengers.) The accompanying sequence of still photos does not do it justice. It’s one of those things that one has to experience first hand to fully appreciate as many did by simply securing vantage points along the ship’s outer deck railings. It concludes with a photo of the beautiful Brilliance of the Seas docked at this most beautiful old world fortress city. 
Captain Zini, at age 43, is one of RCCL’s youngest yet highly experienced captains. Prior to this cruise he was appointed Master of the sister ship to the much heralded Oasis of the Seas, named Allure of the Seas. The Allure is expected to enter service in December of 2010 a year after the Oasis’ maiden voyage on December 5. 2009. Weighing in at just over 225,000-tons each, the two ships will share the title of the world’s largest cruise liners. The command of either ship is considered the highest honor any captain can possibly achieve.)
John was so busy at work tonight I did not get a chance to even get online. I will work on this over the weekend and we will have you up and running. Thanks again for the wounderful lunch it was great to spend time with both.
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