In the midst of the unrest and demonstrations that we are seeing at the moment it’s nice to receive a really positive testimonial from one of our clients who has just returned from Egypt having cruised on the MS Stephanie then stayed at the Le Meridien Pyramids Hotel in Giza, Cairo before travelling down to stay in El Gouna on the Red Sea.
Barbara and I know from our experience what lovely people the Egyptian people are and its’ such a shame that currently the unrest is causing such hardship for the many hardworking men and women who’s very livelihoods depend upon tourism. I think when you read this testimonial you’ll see just how welcoming and hospitable the people of Egypt really are.
The testimonial is in our Nile Cruise Testimonials page but I’ve reprinted it below:
Hi there Barbara and Colin
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Thanks for the welcome home mail.
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What can I say – the whole experience was wonderful.
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All the transfers etc. went very smoothly – we missed the rep. in the airport in Cairo when we flew to El Gouna, but we managed fine ourselves. Flights were good, both the international and domestic trips. Luxor airport was a bit of a nightmare going home, queues for everything, but I got the impression that it was like that all the time!
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Our 7 night cruise on the Nile was amazing. The MS Stephanie was a lovely ship – kept very ship shape!!! Rooms were fine, food was good and a reasonable choice, the lounge and sundeck were lovely. All the staff were great – friendly, helpful and fun – especially the guy who created the towel sculptures every night. George, our guide, was really super. Very knowledgeable, able to answer any odd ball questions which were flung at him, and very capable. A really nice guy. The excursions were fantastic – just to see the places we have read about in books and seen on the television. We took the additional excursion to Abu Simbel and, although it was a very early start, driving through the desert, seeing millions of stars, the sunrise and Abu Simbel itself made the whole trip worth while. That was the highlight for me I must confess. So many things keep flying in to my head – the birds, the donkeys and carts, the feluccas at Aswan, the friendly people (except the traders at the tombs and temples who were in your face and a bit daunting) All in all a great experience.
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Our 3 nights in Cairo were something else – manic traffic and drivers, the smog, but again a great experience. The hotel ( the Meridien) was lovely and so close to the Pyramids – sitting at the pool and looking at them was worth a few photos! Again the guide we had, Maha, was lovely. She certainly knew her stuff, and made everything so interesting. Rafaat our driver was excellent as well. Our day excursion to Memphis etc. was great. Because of our experiences with the traders at the tombs etc. we decided that we would like to change our next excursion and not go to the bazaar. That was not a problem to the tour people, and we had a nice time at the Citadel instead, as well as a visit to the museum.   �?
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Finally our four days in El Gouna were so relaxing – just what was need after the previous hectic 10 days. The Three Corners Ocean View was wonderful. Again nice room, good food and very friendly and helpful staff. The wonderful weather did help as well of course.
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I can’t thank you enough for sorting all this out for us – you did an excellent job, and nothing was too much trouble – even with my many stupid questions. I have already mentioned and recommended you and your company to a few people, and would certainly do so again. Not sure where our next holiday will be, but will definitely keep you in mind.
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Thank you once again
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Cheers
Maggie and Barry
January 2011
