Another Nile Cruise testimonial has just arrived today from a client who travelled as a single traveller and sailed on the Viking Princess Nile cruise ship, then had 3 nights at the Mercure Le Sphinx Hotel in Cairo followed by 4 nights at the Karnak Hotel, Luxor.
Its’ a very detailed testimonial which I’ve just added to our Nile Cruise Testimonials page but I’ve added it here in case you havent’ seen it:
Viking Princess Nile Cruise
Mercure Le Sphinx Hotel, Cairo
Karnak Hotel, Luxor
October 2010
Hi Colin (and Barbara)
Apologies for slight delay in replying – it’s been a mad week since I got home.
First off, thank you so much for your assistance and involvement in what was a great trip. I had an excellent holiday and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you to anyone who may ask.Â
Observations and feedback:
• Excess Baggage
I had around 23kg in my suitcase (it was nowhere near full) and 8kg in my hand luggage (all my camera kit). Fortunately I got away with it, but it genuinely didnt cross my mind that the weight may be an issue having flown scheduled over the years through organizing my own holidays. Lucky escape.
• General administration
Collection at airports, transfers etc was excellent, it took away all the stress of getting from A to B on site. Special thanks to Karim (?) in Cairo, he was superb. His honesty was much appreciated as he initially double charged me for Cairo excursions (being on my own with a minimum of two per excursion), but proactively contacted me and refunded me on discovering that I did not have to pay the single supplement. Top marks. Mohammed (?) in Karnak, Luxor was also very good.
• Mercure Le Sphinx, Giza, Cairo
Mercure Sphinx was very good. No complaints at all.Â
• Sphinx and Pyramids
Wanted to see the Sphinx and Pyramids at sunset, so we headed off around 3:30pm with me thinking I could access the Giza plateau and take photos etc. Wasnt aware that Aida was on and that the plateau shut at 4pm with people off site by 5pm. The driver took me to a horse guy, to get me out into the desert to see pyramids from a distance. Caught me bit unawares. Perhaps they knew what I wanted and this was the only way to achieve it, but it felt a bit sprung upon me. Haggled over the price and off we went. I got bucked off the horse and, luckily, landed in sand. It was a very lucky escape as the girth strap had come loose and I had no helmet. One to chalk up as a fortunate result I think. Did get good photos though!
• Karnak Hotel
Sofitel Karnak was lovely. On the Nile, quiet, relaxing. Loved it. Shade by the pool and the bus/water taxi service was really handy.
• Viking PrincessÂ
Didnt know what to expect (never cruised before), so can only say good things as all went well. Food was good. We had Egyptian food on Sunday, which was lovely and wasnt really that spicy. All the staff were good to superb in truth and I, and others, had some real rapport with a number of staff.
• Excursions
All excellent. My partys specific guide, Hussien, was great and really added value to all we saw and did. Good mix of lecture and free time on excursions. Entertainment on boat was ok. I think people go “oh no!” at the thought, but most people mucked in and we had a real laugh on some nights, which got people together and made friends for the trip. Whirling Dirvish was great. Belly Dancer was poor (in my opinion as I have seen what I consider proper belly dancing, which was much better). The entertainment laid on was just the right amount in terms of time. Enough to entertain for a little while after dinner, but didn’t eat into own time for chatting, drinks etc
So, in summary, I loved the whole trip. It ran beautifully smoothly, I did all I wanted to do (balloon ride in Luxor was great) and the admin made it easy to not have to worry about having to manage my own time.
I took around 2,500 photos, so bear with me whilst I sort my album out, and I’ll get round to sending you some too.
Very best wishes
Mark S.
October 2010
