Shelley Ketchum Dickerson I'm not on that tour but things are not looking good. I'm contemplating changing my re-scheduled December 2021 Egypt & Jordan to December 2022...I really want to see the GEM. Even though they say it will be complete this year, there still is the issue of moving all of the artifacts. By their estimates, that will take 3-6 months. To me this really means another year. I hope not, but the GEM's opening has been delayed since 2011. As** AlanS** stated, I wouldn't be surprised if they delayed the opening until 2022 to coincide with 100 years since Harold Carter discovered Tuts Tomb--although, I think they really need the tourism dollars and while this would make a great story, I think getting the economy back on track is more important. Lucky for me AmEx just refunded by business class airfare for the trip; therefore, i can be more flexible with my travel dates. Initially I thought I was stuck in the box with regards to United Airlines redemption dates, but AmEx stepped in without me having to do anything. They called me and asked if i wanted to initiate the refund process. Funds were credited back to my account in 48 hours.
No chance Shelley! I’m already discounting hope for my April and July tours and earmarked some of the money for a big home project. I have a small glimmer of hope for our September tour.
I would say Jan 2021 JON has ZERO chance of going, our March 2021 J&E only slightly better chance, and our May 2021 only a slightly better than that (< 20%). You need to take a whole world approach- just because the US might be in recovery doesn't mean the target country is, and vice versa.
Alan - In addition the GEM being open and fully populated may parallel your odds of the Egypt tours happening (or it could be lower for the fully populated part).
Oh, and artifacts are continuously be moved to the GEM/restoration labs- they are not waiting until everything is done, so I think the 3 - 6 month clock is already running. All "construction" has been completed, they are now working on technical and small details- utilities( power, water, HVAC, communications,fire alarms/suppression, etc.), restrooms, signage, special lighting, etc. etc, and they have been installing and testing displays. Most of the 70 or so large statues have been positioned in their final locations on the grand staircase. It sounds like a considerable number of displays will be interactive.
AlanS great update. Where are finding your information? I looked this morning and didn't see any updates. Your post gives me hope for J&E December 2021
I do a Google 'News' search on 'Grand Egyptian Museum'. I find most of the day, week, monthly updates in the 'Egypt Independent,' 'Egypt Today,' Cairo Today, My browser remembers what I've already read and I look for the most current articles. Sometimes I need to go through multiple pages of results before I find ones with good info, most likely because Google's software puts lower priority on foreign news sources.
Among the other stuff I didn't report- Some of the artifacts displayed in the old Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, such as Tutankhamun's mask, will be transferred just before the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum. Egypt is considering running a 'cable car' from the GEM/GEM hotel area to the base of the Giza plateau. A restaurant recently opened on the plateau near the ticket entrance. Planning is underway to display in the GEM (some of?) the 30+ highly decorated, fantastic condition wooden sarcophogi recently discovered at Saqqara. All GEM exhibitions will be contextualised for the visitor, with stories, texts, digital interactives and media displays.
Remaining work is being done by more than 80 Egyptian and foreign companies and consultants. The construction scaffolding will be lifted in the museum by the end of October. (No update was available)
More info on the GEM's staircase- The installation of 55 pieces has been completed on the Great Staircase, which will contain approximately 72 examples of the most important and largest Egyptian monuments of the various ancient kings of Egypt.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities is still debating whether the belongings of King Tutankhamun to be displayed in the museum will include his mummy. They are getting a lot of resistance from officials in Luxor, who say the mummy should stay in his tomb. Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council, said that the transfer of King Tutankhamun’s mummy, will be based on the decision of a large committee that includes specialized experts and scientists and dependent on the answer to the question, "What is safer for the mummy?" I can see where that is going!
I went to Egypt with another company in 2016 when Tauck wasn't going there. In fact, I was flying home when the 2016 US election was going on. (I had voted absentee before my trip.). I went into King Tut's tomb (which is less impressive than some others because he died so young, and didn't have time to "do it up right") but I don't remember having seen King Tut's mummy there or anywhere else.
I don't know when it was placed there, but Tut's mummy was removed earlier this year (late last year?) and taken to Cairo for preservation. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me where the mummy is. For all I care they could do a Disney thing and have it in both places. It is present in the his tomb in the photo at my link below.
Other than the history of its discovery and its intact contents not disturbed by grave robbers, Tut's tomb is not nearly as impressive in size or decoration as many other tombs in the Valley of the Kings, like those of Ramesses V & VI, Seti I, and Ramesses IV. (also Tuthmoses III which hasn't been open in years). The few folks that were lucky to go there before COVID and who reported back to the forums (see my March post at this link) said they visited King Tut's tomb and 3 others (pre-selected by the guides or site admin? because they were open, good, convenient??) after hours in the VOK. The tombs that are open to the public change periodically.
Yes, we were able to go into other, more impressive tombs, too. I was more impressed by the tombs in the Valley of the Kings than I was by the pyramids.
Austin Gal here,
I’m watching this trip for 2022. Yes we think that far ahead!! We were supposed to do the Tauck Dubai cruise February, 2021, then of course it was canceled. So we decided the next best trip would be Egypt. ( We missed Egypt on our previous Israel trip, and always regretted not tagging it at the end of that trip.) But by the time we made our decision to re-book all the really good dates were gone for 2021. Hence we booked Morocco instead.
I’m not going to miss out a third time on this trip for 2022. I’ll watch for your post from this '21 trip. Thanks for the link Alan.
COVID-19 update
COVID-19 Travel Update - January 14th 2021
Self quarantine will no longer be required for passengers arriving to Jordan.
A valid PCR (Negative) test is required that has been done within the past 72 hours, and another PCR mandatory test will be given at the airport for all arrivals above 5 years of age at their own expense
On the 20th of January the platform www.gateway2jordan.gov.jo will no longer be used for travelers arriving by air
Austin Gal here,
Yeaaaa, Jewel of the Nile finally booked. October 6, 2022 HOW CAN ALL THE BALCONY ROOMS ALREADY BE BOOKED WHEN i WAS ON A WAITING LIST!!! GeeWhiz!. Hoping for cooler weather later in the year. And surely the GEM will be open by then as well!! I'll be watching for reports from yalls earlier trips for J&E.
JasonHeyse
5:21PM
Austin Gal here . . . . .HOW CAN ALL THE BALCONY ROOMS ALREADY BE BOOKED WHEN i WAS ON A WAITING LIST!!!
I think you were probably on a first-timer's waitlist. I can't say for sure and there may be exceptions, but Tauck is likely calling everyone whose 2021 trip was cancelled (they called us) and giving them a first shot at spots for the 2022 trip, which I think is only fair. Once everyone is called and given a chance to accept or decline, they will open up the 2022 trips to new bookings. They couldn't do that in the beginning when the 2020 trips were cancelled because they had already been taking reservations for 2021.
Go to weatherspark dot com to get hour-hour, day-day or week-week historical weather info. The info (temp, precip, wind, etc.) is presented in text and an easily understood graphical format for major cities and sites around the world. Check it out.
AlanS - I sent Austin Gal a private message. I think your hunch about the waitlists is likely correct. There were 4 couples in one party on the waitlist (my wife and I being one), from a cancelled October 2020 tour, for the same tour Austin Gal booked, that all booked the rooms she described. When we booked, the October 6th date was the only Philae sailing in October.
Smiling Sam
10:35AM
. . . . . Remember, Egypt, like Tucson has a dry heat.
I don't know about that! During a Suez canal transit I did many years ago on one of those huge, all gray, no-fills, "cruise" ships (you know the ones with the built-in airport) it was downright mugly!
I'm not as concerned with the heat as I am with the cold. Petra in the morning can be downright chilly in the winter/spring, especially if there is any wind. One of the lucky few who was able to tour in Jan/Feb 2020 before all trips were cancelled due to COVID said it was really chilly in the morning and was told it had snowed in Petra just two weeks prior to their visit. J&E can be tough on clothes selection. If you wait until mid/late Spring to go, temps in Petra will be very pleasant, but can be downright sizzling in upper Egypt!
Wadi Musa, Jordan is not a reporting town, but here are the WeatherSpark temps for the town nearest Petra for 8 Oct (I also included the chart for March when we will hopefully there in 2022:
Austin Gal here.
Alan, you must be right. in all my years of traveling with Tauck I have never seen them be anything but fair. So this explanation rings true. And really those that lost their trip really should get first pick. Hey I'm just along for the ride. If its meant that I get bumped up into the suite it will happen. The smaller cabin will not be the worse thing that can happen.
I'm from Texas so the heat really doesn't bother me. Really didn't want another COLD vacation two years in a row. I'm still thawing out from Antartica!!! I'll just be thankful if I get to see the GEM.
In the meantime there are still plenty of openings next Jan and Feb for Wonderland; Yellowstone in Winter! We haven't done Antarctica and probably won't, we are not cold weather people, but Yellowstone was amazing, as long as you dress properly, which we did!
With all the uncertainty about Covid and the GEM, I just pushed back my Nov 2021 JOTN trip to Oct 2022. So now my first trip is Apr 2022 (Japan, already rescheduled twice) which hopefully will go without a hitch, being a first world country that is fully vaccinated.
I'll probably do some US natl Park trips prior to that. First on my agenda is Black Canyon of the Gunnison, which is only about a 4 hour drive for me.
We are about four hours from Yosemite, so we will be there in about ten days. We get our second Moderna shot just before that. We are trying to get them to put our name on the door of our cabin at the Evergreen Lodge. (;-)
Japan hopes to approve a Covid vaccine this weekend. I’m not holding out a lot of hope for my September tour. Still wondering whether the Olympics will go ahead, that would be a great test.
The Olympics could be run like the sports leagues in the US were run, in a “bubble”, with no fans. That would be a far cry from allowing worldwide tourists to travel about the country.
Leedvid - That's great! Hopefully it will be a go and we all will get to finally see the GEM! We booked the March 24th, 2022 date. That is our third try...2020 and then 2021 were a no go.
Virginia_Travelers- We had the April 2020 trip booked to Egypt but of course it was cancelled. Almost booked the March 24th , 2022 but decided February was a better option for us. Hoping for the best!!
The great thing is that Alan has deemed the GEM open and ready for the Tauck tours by January 2022! He's the Savior ! Maybe Alan will also soon deem the sandstorms not happening in March/April 2022. Important jobs ahead Alan.
Comments
Shelley Ketchum Dickerson I'm not on that tour but things are not looking good. I'm contemplating changing my re-scheduled December 2021 Egypt & Jordan to December 2022...I really want to see the GEM. Even though they say it will be complete this year, there still is the issue of moving all of the artifacts. By their estimates, that will take 3-6 months. To me this really means another year. I hope not, but the GEM's opening has been delayed since 2011. As** AlanS** stated, I wouldn't be surprised if they delayed the opening until 2022 to coincide with 100 years since Harold Carter discovered Tuts Tomb--although, I think they really need the tourism dollars and while this would make a great story, I think getting the economy back on track is more important. Lucky for me AmEx just refunded by business class airfare for the trip; therefore, i can be more flexible with my travel dates. Initially I thought I was stuck in the box with regards to United Airlines redemption dates, but AmEx stepped in without me having to do anything. They called me and asked if i wanted to initiate the refund process. Funds were credited back to my account in 48 hours.
No chance Shelley! I’m already discounting hope for my April and July tours and earmarked some of the money for a big home project. I have a small glimmer of hope for our September tour.
I'm scheduled for this trip Nov 2021 and I give it 80% as a go. Jan 2021, no way.
I would say Jan 2021 JON has ZERO chance of going, our March 2021 J&E only slightly better chance, and our May 2021 only a slightly better than that (< 20%). You need to take a whole world approach- just because the US might be in recovery doesn't mean the target country is, and vice versa.
Alan - In addition the GEM being open and fully populated may parallel your odds of the Egypt tours happening (or it could be lower for the fully populated part).
Oh, and artifacts are continuously be moved to the GEM/restoration labs- they are not waiting until everything is done, so I think the 3 - 6 month clock is already running. All "construction" has been completed, they are now working on technical and small details- utilities( power, water, HVAC, communications,fire alarms/suppression, etc.), restrooms, signage, special lighting, etc. etc, and they have been installing and testing displays. Most of the 70 or so large statues have been positioned in their final locations on the grand staircase. It sounds like a considerable number of displays will be interactive.
We are on the October 24th Egypt and Jordan tour and hoping it goes...
AlanS great update. Where are finding your information? I looked this morning and didn't see any updates. Your post gives me hope for J&E December 2021
I do a Google 'News' search on 'Grand Egyptian Museum'. I find most of the day, week, monthly updates in the 'Egypt Independent,' 'Egypt Today,' Cairo Today, My browser remembers what I've already read and I look for the most current articles. Sometimes I need to go through multiple pages of results before I find ones with good info, most likely because Google's software puts lower priority on foreign news sources.
Among the other stuff I didn't report- Some of the artifacts displayed in the old Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, such as Tutankhamun's mask, will be transferred just before the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum. Egypt is considering running a 'cable car' from the GEM/GEM hotel area to the base of the Giza plateau. A restaurant recently opened on the plateau near the ticket entrance. Planning is underway to display in the GEM (some of?) the 30+ highly decorated, fantastic condition wooden sarcophogi recently discovered at Saqqara. All GEM exhibitions will be contextualised for the visitor, with stories, texts, digital interactives and media displays.
Remaining work is being done by more than 80 Egyptian and foreign companies and consultants. The construction scaffolding will be lifted in the museum by the end of October. (No update was available)
More info on the GEM's staircase- The installation of 55 pieces has been completed on the Great Staircase, which will contain approximately 72 examples of the most important and largest Egyptian monuments of the various ancient kings of Egypt.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities is still debating whether the belongings of King Tutankhamun to be displayed in the museum will include his mummy. They are getting a lot of resistance from officials in Luxor, who say the mummy should stay in his tomb. Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council, said that the transfer of King Tutankhamun’s mummy, will be based on the decision of a large committee that includes specialized experts and scientists and dependent on the answer to the question, "What is safer for the mummy?" I can see where that is going!
The official GEM website is nearing completion.
I went to Egypt with another company in 2016 when Tauck wasn't going there. In fact, I was flying home when the 2016 US election was going on. (I had voted absentee before my trip.). I went into King Tut's tomb (which is less impressive than some others because he died so young, and didn't have time to "do it up right") but I don't remember having seen King Tut's mummy there or anywhere else.
I don't know when it was placed there, but Tut's mummy was removed earlier this year (late last year?) and taken to Cairo for preservation. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me where the mummy is. For all I care they could do a Disney thing and have it in both places.
It is present in the his tomb in the photo at my link below.
Other than the history of its discovery and its intact contents not disturbed by grave robbers, Tut's tomb is not nearly as impressive in size or decoration as many other tombs in the Valley of the Kings, like those of Ramesses V & VI, Seti I, and Ramesses IV. (also Tuthmoses III which hasn't been open in years). The few folks that were lucky to go there before COVID and who reported back to the forums (see my March post at this link ) said they visited King Tut's tomb and 3 others (pre-selected by the guides or site admin? because they were open, good, convenient??) after hours in the VOK. The tombs that are open to the public change periodically.
Here is a link to an article with a good run-down (last updated 28 May 2020) of the most significant tombs: https://www.earthtrekkers.com/best-tombs-to-visit-in-the-valley-of-the-kings-luxor/
Yes, we were able to go into other, more impressive tombs, too. I was more impressed by the tombs in the Valley of the Kings than I was by the pyramids.
Austin Gal here,
I’m watching this trip for 2022. Yes we think that far ahead!! We were supposed to do the Tauck Dubai cruise February, 2021, then of course it was canceled. So we decided the next best trip would be Egypt. ( We missed Egypt on our previous Israel trip, and always regretted not tagging it at the end of that trip.) But by the time we made our decision to re-book all the really good dates were gone for 2021. Hence we booked Morocco instead.
I’m not going to miss out a third time on this trip for 2022. I’ll watch for your post from this '21 trip. Thanks for the link Alan.
COVID-19 update
COVID-19 Travel Update - January 14th 2021
Self quarantine will no longer be required for passengers arriving to Jordan.
A valid PCR (Negative) test is required that has been done within the past 72 hours, and another PCR mandatory test will be given at the airport for all arrivals above 5 years of age at their own expense
On the 20th of January the platform www.gateway2jordan.gov.jo will no longer be used for travelers arriving by air
Austin Gal here,
Yeaaaa, Jewel of the Nile finally booked. October 6, 2022 HOW CAN ALL THE BALCONY ROOMS ALREADY BE BOOKED WHEN i WAS ON A WAITING LIST!!! GeeWhiz!. Hoping for cooler weather later in the year. And surely the GEM will be open by then as well!! I'll be watching for reports from yalls earlier trips for J&E.
I think you were probably on a first-timer's waitlist. I can't say for sure and there may be exceptions, but Tauck is likely calling everyone whose 2021 trip was cancelled (they called us) and giving them a first shot at spots for the 2022 trip, which I think is only fair. Once everyone is called and given a chance to accept or decline, they will open up the 2022 trips to new bookings. They couldn't do that in the beginning when the 2020 trips were cancelled because they had already been taking reservations for 2021.
Go to weatherspark dot com to get hour-hour, day-day or week-week historical weather info. The info (temp, precip, wind, etc.) is presented in text and an easily understood graphical format for major cities and sites around the world. Check it out.
AlanS - I sent Austin Gal a private message. I think your hunch about the waitlists is likely correct. There were 4 couples in one party on the waitlist (my wife and I being one), from a cancelled October 2020 tour, for the same tour Austin Gal booked, that all booked the rooms she described. When we booked, the October 6th date was the only Philae sailing in October.
Remember, Egypt, like Tucson has a dry heat.
I don't know about that! During a Suez canal transit I did many years ago on one of those huge, all gray, no-fills, "cruise" ships (you know the ones with the built-in airport) it was downright mugly!
I'm not as concerned with the heat as I am with the cold. Petra in the morning can be downright chilly in the winter/spring, especially if there is any wind. One of the lucky few who was able to tour in Jan/Feb 2020 before all trips were cancelled due to COVID said it was really chilly in the morning and was told it had snowed in Petra just two weeks prior to their visit. J&E can be tough on clothes selection. If you wait until mid/late Spring to go, temps in Petra will be very pleasant, but can be downright sizzling in upper Egypt!
Wadi Musa, Jordan is not a reporting town, but here are the WeatherSpark temps for the town nearest Petra for 8 Oct (I also included the chart for March when we will hopefully there in 2022:
Austin Gal here.
Alan, you must be right. in all my years of traveling with Tauck I have never seen them be anything but fair. So this explanation rings true. And really those that lost their trip really should get first pick. Hey I'm just along for the ride. If its meant that I get bumped up into the suite it will happen. The smaller cabin will not be the worse thing that can happen.
I'm from Texas so the heat really doesn't bother me. Really didn't want another COLD vacation two years in a row. I'm still thawing out from Antartica!!! I'll just be thankful if I get to see the GEM.
In the meantime there are still plenty of openings next Jan and Feb for Wonderland; Yellowstone in Winter!
We haven't done Antarctica and probably won't, we are not cold weather people, but Yellowstone was amazing, as long as you dress properly, which we did!
With all the uncertainty about Covid and the GEM, I just pushed back my Nov 2021 JOTN trip to Oct 2022. So now my first trip is Apr 2022 (Japan, already rescheduled twice) which hopefully will go without a hitch, being a first world country that is fully vaccinated.
I'll probably do some US natl Park trips prior to that. First on my agenda is Black Canyon of the Gunnison, which is only about a 4 hour drive for me.
We are about four hours from Yosemite, so we will be there in about ten days. We get our second Moderna shot just before that. We are trying to get them to put our name on the door of our cabin at the Evergreen Lodge. (;-)
Japan hopes to approve a Covid vaccine this weekend. I’m not holding out a lot of hope for my September tour. Still wondering whether the Olympics will go ahead, that would be a great test.
The Olympics could be run like the sports leagues in the US were run, in a “bubble”, with no fans. That would be a far cry from allowing worldwide tourists to travel about the country.
Just booked the February 20, 2022 Egypt: Jewels Of The Nile. Hopefully it works out....
Leedvid - That's great! Hopefully it will be a go and we all will get to finally see the GEM! We booked the March 24th, 2022 date. That is our third try...2020 and then 2021 were a no go.
Virginia_Travelers- We had the April 2020 trip booked to Egypt but of course it was cancelled. Almost booked the March 24th , 2022 but decided February was a better option for us. Hoping for the best!!
Be aware that April (plus/minus) is sandstorm (khamsin) season in Egypt.
We are 0 for 2 for Jordan & Egypt so far- hoping the third time, 17 Mar 2022, will be the charm!
The great thing is that Alan has deemed the GEM open and ready for the Tauck tours by January 2022! He's the Savior ! Maybe Alan will also soon deem the sandstorms not happening in March/April 2022. Important jobs ahead Alan.