Possible cancelation
We are on the Oct 22 2023 tour. Is some else on this trip? Have you heard anything on the possible cancelation of this tour?
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We are on the Oct 22 2023 tour. Is some else on this trip? Have you heard anything on the possible cancelation of this tour?
Comments
For general information, I have just spoken to TAUCK and they have advised and conirmed to me that all Jordan and Egypt tours are still running including the ones for this week. Only the Israel tours have been cancelled.. Hope this is of some assistance for all of us that are booked for the coming days
Fernandoj
great news!...however, be willing to adapt...you never know what can happen quickly in these situations (especially as it relates to flights and airspace in the region)
I think what may have confused some about the Tauck announcement, "Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all Israel and Jordan and Jerusalem, The Red Sea and Petra departures through October 21 . . ." is that they are interpreting the cancellation as applying to any tours that visit any of the countries or sites listed in italics not tours that specifically visit Israel (or Jerusalem).
The cancellations only apply to two tours that include Israel (or Jerusalem.) The correct name for the second tour Tauck lists in italics, is actually Jerusalem, The Red Sea & Petra.
Tours that visit just Jordan (and Egypt) like Jordan & Egypt: Petra to the Pyramids have not been cancelled.
Yes, sadly, they may be if things escalate further. I think people may cancel anyway, especially those who don’t know their geography.
Or even those who do know their geography.
If they are assisting, the air space could be dodgy, I don’t know. I’m still thinking for tourism it’s going to be complicated. For the thousands going on your ship, if it’s not cancelled, I guess it will not be full, which will be an advantage for you.
I'm in the boat with Cathy, go with the tour company's call. Reputable companies won't risk their assets (reputation is one of their assets).
A couple of years back I was in this same position, within a couple of months of going on the Russian Glories and Baltic Treasures tour, when Putin decided to invade the Ukraine. We didn't have to cancel, things got cancelled for us. That said, since we booked our own airfare it took a little time to get all of the airline ticket costs back. We had booked a One World business class ticket (American and its partners) booked through American. A couple of the legs were on Finnish Air with the rest of the legs on American. The ticket required that we pay an additional fee to Finnish Air if we wanted to reserve our seats in advance on the Finnish Air legs.
Quickness of refunds:
1) Tauck tour cost (Insurance was just moved to a later tour), 2-3 weeks
2) American and Finnish flights costs, 4-5 weeks
3) Finnish Air seat reservation fees, about 8 weeks
We didn't have any additional tours booked on our own that would have required additional refund work.
A White House spokesman said Thursday the U.S. death toll from the Hamas attacks rose to 27, a day after the State Department raised its alert level for American travelers to Israel and the West Bank, urging them to reconsider their plans. Travel advisories already are in place urging increased caution for U.S. citizens traveling to Jordan and Turkey and advising them to reconsider travel to Egypt and Lebanon because of terrorism. "Terrorists may attack with little or no warning," the agency warns.
After much deliberation and contact with TAUCK, we have decided to go on our journey which starts on 10/22. We start flying tomorow on Qatar and connect with Royal Jordanian to arrive in Amman. Thank you for all of your comments and feedback.
**Fernandoj **It's a wonderful tour & the journey getting there is part of the FUN. I love Qatar Airways!
Safe Travels & Enjoy!
Please let us know about your journey when you return. I have same trip scheduled for Dec 1 and hoping it remains a go. Safe journey!
How are folks on the Oct 22 Petra/pyramids doing? Is Ammen airport working as usual? Any itinerary change? We are on the Dec 1st tour so any update is much appreciated.
KenFu…I just read a post from someone on Uniworld tour/cruise and he arrived in Amman yesterday with no problems.
Thank you LissaM! Cross my fingers. Our Dec trip has been delayed three times since 2000…
I meant since 2020 when the pandemic began
All is well with the trip, no itinersry changes, no issues and we are having a great time
That’s wonderful! Thanks Fernandoj for the update. Have a fabulous trip…
There is a private Tauck Facebook group, and they started a Facebook chat for the Petra and pyramids tour. Lots of people there now and they said it's fine, and it's been the best vacation ever. Groups are really small, and it's like having a private tour. Join that group and you can see comments and pics from people there now.
We have just gotten home after a very long journey returning form a fabulous and truly unique 13-day Tour of Jordan and Egypt, Petra to the Pyramids. Our TD was Dina a Austrian/Egyptian wonderful person. She was so knowledgeable, funny and meticulous that made all of us feel very safe and secure. The group which was originally 28 ended up being 12. 3 couples were from Seattle and were travelling together and the other three couples were travelling independently. It was great to have had a small group journey without having to pay the extra funds for it. It would be impossible to write about all of the great experiences but some that stand out are the mud bath/massage at the Dead Sea, Petra of course The Cartarats Hotel at Aswan, and yes, the river cruise on the Oberoi ship was just amazing. Cairo is unique and the experience of being next to the pyramids was amazing. I know that I wrote prior to embarking on this tour some hesitation given the current situation that is going on in the region, but we were so glad and happy that we decided to go as at in anytime or place or circumstance did, we feel afraid or threaten. Thank you, Dina, and the TAUCK team for making this a terrific experience.
Fernandoj, Thanks so much for the recap of your wonderful journey. Welcome home!
Booked on the tour starting next week. Seriously considered / considering cancelling but after reading the about recap am back to being excited about going. Question: is it necessary to bring or convert to local currency or is USD accepted at stores, markets, street merchants, etc. in Jordan and Egypt?
Credit cards are taken in most stores. The bazzar people will take US dollars and will often give change in US dollars. Your TD will likely give you some Egyptan pounds (small notes) so that you can tip for the restrooms.
Trav66…GO and enjoy fewer crowds and 2 amazing countries. Jordan and Egypt will take cc but I always get some local currency for tipping and small purchases.
Neither of us are big shoppers, especially in places that don't accept plastic, so we did not convert any $ to Dinar in Jordan. In Egypt we got some EGP to buy small souvenirs and to tip tomb/pyramid minders in places we went without Tauck (unfinished obelisk, Meidom, Dahsur/Saqqara). For reasons of exchange rate, etc. the private guide we hired for a day and a half of touring requested, during pre-tour negotiations, main payment in USD which we took with us. We tipped him and the driver in USD as well.
If you only tour with Tauck, you can easily do this tour without converting any USD to local currency.
Thx all!