A small number of people think that if they take a Nile cruise they will be able to visit those two great wonders of the world without realising that a Nile cruise takes place about 400 miles away from Cairo where the Sphinx and the Pyramids are located.  Unfortunately that’s a long way away and although you will have a wonderful time cruising the Nile you will need to look at some of our other tours if you would like to add Cairo to your trip.

If you access our FREE Nile Cruise Guide you will read about our own trip where we took a 4 night Nile cruise and then flew up to Cairo and spent three nights which allowed us to visit the Pyramids and explore Cairo all within the space of a week.

We can also arrange a one week Nile cruise with three further days in Cairo which is a great trip that really allows you to experience Egypt and to really find out more about  Ancient Egypt with visits to the Sphinx, the Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Or, if you can only take a one week cruise you can take a one day excursion up to Cairo if you sail on either the MS Da Vinci or the MS Fleurette.  This one day optional excursion is only offered on these two ships (subject to availability of internal flights bewteen Luxor and Cairo).  It’s a great one day excursion that leaves early in the morning.  It includes visits to the Sphinx and the Pyramids, lunch and then a visit to the Egyptian Museum and Cairo in the afternoon. 

If you would like to look at the other options to combine a Nile cruise with a visit to Cairo please visit our Nile Cruise and Cairo page on the main Nile Cruises 4U website or call either myself or Barbara on our Freephone number 0808 1089 100 and we’ll be pleased to explain the options that are available to you.

Barbara and my kids bought it for my birthday and I have had to wait for 7 weeks whilst it was hand-built at the Bropmton factory.  You get a choice of colours and as you can see mine is canary yellow with navy extremities.  Lovely!  Cant’ see that getting lost.

I picked it up yesterday and cycled over to my mum’s apartment.  On arrival I set about “folding” the bike.  Twenty minutes later I gave up and carried it up to her apartment.  After about an hour I left mum’s and came back to the car park and spent another 20 minutes or so trying to put it back into a “rideable” state.  Trouble was it was lashing down so by the time I had managed to put it back together again and ride home I was soaked.

Still it’s a great bike and one that I can take with me on the train or in the back of the car.  Just need to get the hang of the “fold” and “unfold” business.

“Dear Colin,

We were both very impressed with your service and both enjoyed the holiday.

We have been on a Nile cruise twice before and knew what to expect but this was better than the others.

The ship, (MS Da Vinci) was great and we had a wonderful time.  It was all well organised and our guide was brilliant.

The food on the ship was good and we had a fair amount of choice.  The waiters did all they could to ensure that we were happy.

Thanks you”

Ruth and Graham V—-
Auguts 2010

You can read their thoughts below and read more on our Nile Cruise Testimonials page on the main www.nile-cruises-4u.co.uk website:

“Dear Barbara,

Nearly a week since we returned from a wonderful holiday – thank you very much for your help and advice.

Cairo was great, the perfect hotel and the guide on our Giza and Cairo tours was excellent.

All the connections and pick ups went perfectlt.

The Nile cruise on the MS Stephanie was fantastic, frankly I dont’ think we got “templed out” but it was certainly very hot.  The guide, “Aymen” was as passionate about his subject as he was interesting and funny.  The boat was great.

The last week at the Sunrise Garden Beach at Hurghada was also very good, the facilities are really good, the gym was well equipped and was needed given the “full board” excesses!  Pools were good and beacg great, bars everywhere.  In particular their “A la Carte” restaurants are really worth booking but we didnt’ know to book straight away as they cost no extra to book so people book and then dont’ turn up.  Also worth noting is that guests can also book the restaurants at the “Sunrise Mamlouk” next door which doubles the opportunity.

Once again many thanks.  I have already given your details to two colleagues this week and would recommend you to anyone holidaying in Egypt.

We will be going back as our other two “kids”, (20 & 18) must see the sights as well.

Regards,

Dave & Claire
August 2010″

The trip will include 3 nights in Cairo at the Grand Hyatt, 3 nights Nile Cruise on the Royal Lotus followed by a 3 nights Lake Nasser Cruise on the Prince Abbas.

Departing on a Friday from Heathrow you will be able to take in some of the most breathtaking sights Egypt has to offer.

As well as the being able to visit the Sphinx and the Pyramids whilst in Cairo and then visiting the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens on the Nile you will then be able to visit Abu Simbel whilst cruising Lake Nasser.

Please watch out for full details on the website and in our Nile Cruise Newsletter over the coming week.  If you’d like to know more sooner then please feel free to call either Barbara or myself on Freephone 0808 1089 100.

The new direct service to Luxor commences for the winter departing every Wednesday and we will then be able to offer you sailings on the MS Monica on an All Inclusive or Full Board basis, upper or middle deck cabins as standard with 12 excursions.

Flight seats will go quickly so if your contemplating Nile cruising this winter and flying from Bristol suits you then please feel free to call Barbara or myself on our Freephone number 0808 1089 100 to find out more about prices and availability.

We are planning our next visit to Luxor for later in the year when we’ll be visiting some new Nile cruise ships and meeting some business partners and we have decided to stay at the Maritim Jolie Ville Hotel after receiving a testimonial from one of our clients earlier this year.

The hotel description sounds pretty magical anyway…

“Nestled upon a private island in the Nile that covers 630,000 sqm, the resort truly is an oasis of peace. The idyllic, landscaped hotel grounds are expansive and home to the main building, 21 bungalows and the enticing swimming pool area”.

But what clinched it for us was this detail from our clients testimonial:

“I especially liked the “sunset hour” when everyone watched the sun go down over the Nile whilst classical music played, the birds sung and in the distance one could hear people being called to prayer.  It was a delight”.

Doesnt’ that sound great?  I’ve watched the sunset from various Nile cruise ships but the idea of having a “sunset hour” with atmospheric classical music playing in the background sounds absolutely heaven.

That might be in creating new websites, adding video or images to your site, utilising new programmes that you may not be familiar with, etc, etc.

Here at Nile Cruises 4u we have a small team that we’ve gathered together over the years that are situated around the world.  For instance, Angel, our technical expert, is based in the USA whilst one of our main graphic designers lives in the Philipines.  None of us have met face-to-face but they are massively important members of our team.

How did we manage to find such experts and how do we manage to communicate and arrange payments, etc, etc?  Well we use to use a “Freelancers” website called Scriptlance which puts together people like us with freelance experts who are looking for projects.  Such sites are a real boon to people who run online businesses and we’ve had nothing but great, positives experiences using such sites and have met and worked with some great people as a result.

If you are interested in doing something similar then may I recommend a site called www.odesk.com which is probably the best freelancers website I have come across.  The set up is excellent and the system they use is very intuitive.  Yesterday I saw that they had produced an excellent little video explaining what they do and so I have added it to this post so you can see what I am talking about.  I would certainly recommend ODesk and the idea of building your team from experts all around the world.  It’s very exciting and gives you access to an amazing pool of talent.

Here’s ODesk’s video that will explain more:

The Tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings is probably one of the best-known pieces of land in the world.  Almost everyone has heard of the “boy-king” and on a Nile cruise it is probably one of the most anticipated visits during the whole week.

Barbara and I have visited the tomb on a number of occasions and was you enter the Valley of the Kings you cannot help but feel a tingle of anticipation.

In last Sunday’s Observer I read a two page article entitled “Tutankhamun – The Tomb is opened to all” by Jo Marchant which described a fascinating resource housed at the Griffith Institute which is one of the best Egyptology Museums in the world.  Located in Oxford it would be a fabulous place to visit if you lived nearby.  However for those of us who live a long way away there is now an excellent resource that you can access from your pc.

If you visit: www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/4tut.html (copy and paste this into your address bar), you will be able to access the diaries and photographs of Howard Carter who discovered Tutankhamun’s resting place in 1922.  Tutankhamun’s tomb is the only intact pharaoh’s tomb ever discovered amd it contained such an array of treasures that it took Carter 10 years to catalogue them all.  However, up till now the majority of Carter’s findings have never been published.

A total of 5,398 objects were found in the tomb, covering every aspect of ancient Egyptian life, from weapons and chariots to musical instruments, clothes, cosmetics and a treasured lock of the royal grandmother’s hair.

Now the entire archive is online and you can now read the notes and see the photographs that record every item found in the tomb.  There are black and white photographs and a fabulous collection of colour photographs by John Ross.

If you are planning a Nile cruise or are simply interested in ancient Egypt I’m certain you will find this website fascinating.

The reason I ask that question is because as a supplier of anything, whether its holidays, biscuits or refridgerators, you will always be undercut by someone. 

We sometimes arrange other travel arrangements for past Nile Cruise clients and when we do so we always try and recommend reputable, financially sound and professional suppliers.

However no matter what your price you will always have a competitor somewhere prepared to sell whatever you sell for a cheaper price.  Often because that competitor is desperate to get business “at any cost”.  Usually because they cant’ attract business for their service, reputation or their knowledge.  So the only way they can obtain business is by taking business from others by offering to sell similar products at the cheapest price possible.

Now initailly this might sound great for the consumer.  Every consumer wants to pay the best price possible for whatever they are buying.  But is the “cheapest price” always the best deal?  I would argue that often it isnt.

Take the case of Goldtrail Holidays who went bust last Friday.  I would suggest that they were an example of the type of seller who cant’ compete on service or quality so competes purely on price.  Last week Goldtrail were offering last-minute 1 week holidays to Turkey for prices around £120-140 per person self catering and not much more for bed & breakfast.  They were also offering “All Inclusive” holidays around the mid £300 mark.

(By the way people were still asking: “Is that the best price you can offer?”.  Staggering!!).

Now think about that price of £140.  That price would have included a flight, transfers and accommodation.  All for £140.  Let me tell you what today’s (20th July) prices for each component is:

Flight London Gatwick to Dalaman on 23rd July: £281  -  (straight away we are WAY over Goldtrail’s total price)

Transfer Bodrum Airport to Marmaris with Holiday Taxis – £19 each return

7 nights Self Catering at the Banana Aparts, Marmaris (Bedbank.com) – £60 per person

Total price £360 per person and last week Goldtrail were selling the same type of thing for between £120 and £140 so it doesnt’ take a rocket scientist to see that something wasnt’ exactly right.  How can you sell holidays for £120-140 that seemingly are costing you way more than that to buy in?

However, that’s not my point.  My point is that you will always get customers who will buy that sort of deal because it’s cheap.  But is it cheap?  Or “unrealistic”.  There is a famous saying that “if it looks too good to be true then it probably is”.

Those people who bought holidays at those crazy prices last week are now without their holidays.

(I might add that Goldtrail were accepting bookings up to late afternoon Friday as they were going bust.  Taking money right to the very last minute from people who thought that they would be flying out on Monday.  An hour or so later Goldtrail declared that they were ceasing trading).

I feel really sorry for those people who have lost their holidays but I also feel sorry for the hoteliers in Turkey and Greece who will probably never get paid for the accommodation, food and drink that they will have already provided to past customers.  All we hear about them is when it’s reported on TV or in the press that they are pressurising clients to pay for their accommodation or be thrown out after the failure of the tour company.

In yesterday’s Guardian I read this in a report about the Goldtrail failure:

“Samantha XXX, who was in Marmaris to celebrate her daughter’s first birthday, said their hotel, the Secret Garden, demanded she and her partner pay an extra £110.  She said: “It’s ruined everything.  We had to struggle to find some spending money but we were so looking forward to celebrating our daughter’s first birthday in the sun.  We’ve had to cancel her birthday and we darent’ leave our hotel in case they change the locks”.

Staff at the Secret Garden said they were not prepared to accept any promises from ABTA or the CAA.  The receptionist said: “we’re a small family-run business and if we dont’ get paid we’ll go under too.  I’m sorry for the stress its’ causing the British customers but for them it’s a simple insurance claim when they get home”.

I feel really sorry for both parties.  Obviously for the client who feels very aggrieved having already paid Goldtrail but I also feel sympathy for the hotelier who probably has absolutely no chance of getting back anything like the amount of money that Goldtrail owes them.

So who’s to blame?  The client for booking with a company who’s prices always looked much, much cheaper than their rivals?  The trade associations ABTA and the CAA who must have been aware of the prices that Goldtrail were charging against those of other companies?  The hoteliers in Turkey and Greece who dealt with Goldtrail and obviously had to sign contracts that must have really squeezed their profit margins?

Who’s to say?

I think my only point here is to say that if you search around enough you will always find a supplier or retailer prepared to trade solely on cost.  Of course everyone wants a good deal.  But I think that we all need to really look carefully at these suppliers and retailers and ask why are they the cheapest?  

Are they financially sound?  What is their sales service like?  Are they knowledgable? Do they know what they are talking about?  What is their after-sales service like?  Do they have an after-sales service? Do they care about their product or are they just out for a quick buck?  If you buy from them will they still be in business next week, next month or next year?  If they solely compete on price…probably not.

One thing we can take from the Goldtrail failure is definitely: “If it looks too good to be true then it probably is”.

How about a 7 night 4 Star Nile Cruise and a week’s stay in the fabulous Maritim JolieVille Hotel in Luxor for just £632?

Well that’s what I booked for a client yesterday.

The Nile cruise ship is on an “allocated on arrival basis” but is a 4 star and includes excursions and full board and then the further week is at the wonderful Maritim JolieVille on it’s own island in the Nile at Luxor.

We recently had some clients return from the JolieVille and this is what they said:

“I then went on to a week at the Hotel Jolie Ville on Kings Island, Luxor and this too could not have been better.  Again the accommodation, the grounds, the location, the food and the staff were superb.  It was a peaceful hotel but with enough to do in the evenings so one did not get bored.  I especially liked the “sunset hour” when everyone watched the sun go down over the Nile whilst classical music played, the birds sung and in the distance one could hear people being called to prayer.  It was a delight.  I would certainly go back again”.

Doesnt’ that sound lovely?

The price for this great deal was just £632 from Manchester on the 30th of August.

I’m not sure how long these great offers will be there but if you’d like to check on the availability or just find out more please call either Barbara or myself on Freephone 0808 1089 100.

We’ve finally uploaded the latest edition (third) of the Nile Cruise Guide.

It’s been updated and there is a whole new chapter about our jaunt last November when we sailed on the excellent Royal Viking Nile cruise ship and then flew up to Cairo to stay for three nights at the Le Meridien Pyramids Hotel in Giza.  You can read all about our trip and what we got up to.

The new edition has been created in “online magazine” format which means you can read it on your computer as if you were reading a magazine in front of you.  It even allows you to turn the pages as you would with a real magazine.

TIP:  When you reach the Guide please click “Full Screen” icon in the menu bar which is circled in yellow in the copy below.  You will be able to read it much better in full screen.  Just click on your “escape” button to return to it to ordinary mode.

You can access the new edition of the Nile Cruise Guide by clicking here.

We’ve just had a Nile Cruise Countdown Meter created that you will be able to download to your computer which will sit on your desktop so that every time you switch on your computer the meter will appear telling you how many days, hours and minutes you have left before you take your Nile cruise.

This will either give your strength when you are having a “bad day at the office” or it will drive you nuts!!

You will be able to close it so its’ not showing if it does drive you bonkers and it will reopen the next time you switch on your computer.

You can download it from visiting the Free Countdown Meter page on the top menu bar.  You can also download a brief set of instructions on how to set it up.

Hope you enjoy our little bonus.

“Discover Classical Egypt”

8 Nights / 9 Days - Cairo, Nile Cruise, Aswan and Luxor

Itinerary / Departing on Monday:

3 nights Cairo
1 night Aswan
3 nights Cruise ASW/LXR
1 night Cairo

Tour Highlights?

* Giza Pyramids & Sphinx, The Egyptian Pyramids and Khan El Khalili Bazar

* High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk and Philea Temple

* KomOmbo Temple

* Horus Temple

* West Bank (Valley of the kings, Hatshepsut temple and Colossi of Memnon)

How much?

Based on a minimum of 2 passengers sharing.  Prices are inclusive of fuel charges and taxes.  There is a late booking charge of £29 per bookings made within 14 days of departure.  Flights are from Heathrow.  All prices are subject to availability and may vary up and down due to airline seat costs available at time of booking.

“City and Cruise” – River and Lake

11 nights / 12 Days – Cairo, Nile Cruise and Lake Nasser Cruise

How about a trip that includes Cairo, a 4 night Nile Cruise and 3 nights cruising on Lake Nasser where you can visit Abu Simbel?

What’s included

International flights, transfers, 3 nights in Cairo at the 5 star Hotel Le Meridien Pyramids, 4 nights Nile Cruise on the 5 Star  Amarante Cruise, 3 nights cruise on Lake Nasser on the excellent 5 star M/S Eugenie Cruise, 1 night in Cairo at the 5 star Sonesta Hotel, breakfast and full board on the Cruises and the tours shown below. 

Itinerary / Departing on Friday:

3 nts Cairo
4 nts Cruise Lxr/Asw
3 nts Lake Nasser Cruise Aswan/ Abu Simble 1 nt Cairo

Tour highlights?

How much?

Based on a minimum of 2 passengers sharing.  Prices are inclusive of fuel charges and taxes.  There is a late booking charge of £29 per bookings made within 14 days of departure.  Flights are from Heathrow.  All prices are subject to availability and may vary up and down due to airline seat costs available at time of booking.

We have 3 great new tours to tell you about.

We have a series of new tours available which I’m going to detail over the next three days.  They are something a little different than a one week Nile Cruise and offer some incredible travel experiences.

The first tour is the “Adventures in Egypt – Off The Beaten Track Tour”

This is a fabulous itinerary so let me tell you more…

11 nights/12 Days including Cairo, Luxor, Safari, Deserts and Oases.

What’s included?

Flights from Heathrow, transfers, 2 nights in Cairo at the Hotel Le Meridien near the Pyramids, 1 overnight train jouney from Cairo to Luxor, 3 nights at the excellent 5 star Sonesta St. George Hotel in Luxor, 1 night Kharga, 2 nights Dakhla, 1 night camping at the White Desert, 1 night Bayareya, 1 night in Cairo at the 5 star Sonesta Hotel.  All with breakfast, half board during the safari and full board when camping.

Itinerary:

Tour highlights?

* Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, The Egyptain Museum and Khan El Khalili Bazar* Karnak and Luxor Temples

* West Bank – Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple and Colossi of Memnon

* Safari – El Bagawat Cemetery, the Museum, Temple of Hibis and Qasr El Labakha,   Temple of Gweita, Horus Temple

* English Mountain, The Temple of Alexander the Great, the Tombs of the Nobles and the Decorated Tombs

How much?

Our web technician, Angel, (that’s her real name by the way), has been working overtime adding new functionality to the main Nile Cruises 4u website and has now created a simple way for us to add video to the Nile Cruise Video page.

We have lots of video footage that we have taken over the years when we have been travelling in Egypt.  We’ve lots of footage of individual Nile cruise ships as well as footage shot in Cairo and at the Pyramids.

Until now we have not been able to add video easily but Angel’s set up a system that makes that job much easier so over the next few months we’ll be adding video as often as we can.  We’re also trying to find the time to create a whole video about our recent Nile Cruise and Cairo trip.  My video editing skills are a bit linited so I’m learning as I go along which is why it’s taking longer than I hoped for.  But I hope it will be finished in the next 6 weeks or so.

In the meantime please keep an eye out for the new videos.  You can always subscribe to our Nile Cruise RSS feed and if you use Google Reader you will be able to see whenever we add new content/posts and video to the site.

The re-write is almost complete.  Thank goodness!

For the last 2 weeks I’ve be re-writing the Nile Cruise Guide and adding new content and updating some of the older material contained in the Guide.

I thought I’d be able to complete it in a day or two but it’s now almost 2 weeks and I’ve not quite finished.  This time I’m going to “publish” it in two formats.  One will be the standard PDF file format that the Guide is currently produced in but we’ll also be offering it in an “online magazine” format that will allow you to “read” online as if it was an actual magazine with turning pages. 

I’m going to have my efforts re-designed by a professional designer and type-setter so hopefully it will look a lot more appealing than my previous efforts and will do justice to the whole concept of Nile cruising.

I’m having a last push this weekend to see if I can finish the manuscript and then it’ll be shipped electronically over to the US where my designer lives.  As soon as I’ve received it back in finished format it’ll be up on the site for people to download.

What’s taking some much time this time is that I’m adding a new chapter about our Nile Cruise and Cairo trip that Barbara and I undertook last November.  I didnt’ realise how longwinded my writing can be which is why I’m still writing after two weeks of effort!!