Hi michelle, if you look back the thread lisa met did

Helenxx

Flying is a must, the ship is boring for adults let alone children. If you fly you get the chance of travelling down the Nile, something which is omitted from the itinerary you receive on the ship. The ships are over 40 years old and are ex fleets. We travelled on the Serenade and it was falling apart through Louis cruise lines. When the ship was doused out with complaints, they took it off for a while, then changed the name. If you are travelling via Thomas Cook you will get a decent ship.

It is tiring and very hot, Cairo in the height of summer can reach temps of 50c - best time to go is Feb/March, or the end of the year. From April to October it is very hot.

Flying is very easy and takes about an hour if i remember right, you arent tired and can fit in an awful lot and it is a lot nicer and you see more. The ship is your base and you are on it a lot longer than travelling around the sites!

Good luck

Have to disagree with the above post. Going on the 3day mini cruise, we did not find it boring. It was very relaxing, meals and entertainment were really good, as were the crew. We sailed on the Salamis Glory and couldnt fault it. The only downside was all the travelling on the coach, but at the end of the day we still saw the Pyramids, Sphinx etc. Im sure it worked out cheaper than flying aswell. If anyone is going on the mini cruises, dont worry you will enjoy it

Totally agree with Cromwell here, we did exactly the same trip, ship etc and really enjoyed it. Everything about it was superb, we had our son with us who was 11 and he really enjoyed the experience as well, so much so, that when we go back in 3 weeks time he wants to do another cruise. We booked our trip through Thisvi travel agents in Protaras, and it was run by ex pats, when we went in we were originally going to book the flight, but after talking to the travel agent we took her advice and went on the cruise, in our opinion we thought that the flight involved too much in one day and that our son would be totally knackered at the the end of it, but whichever you go on you will enjoy it.

If you enjoy going on the water cruising then of course you will like it, my point was that our ship was falling apart and changed owners time and time again as do a lot of these ships. As a means of getting from Cyprus to Egypt i personally would want to get there asap, i wasn't going on the ship to enjoy it, it was a means to 'get there', but Egypt was, so that is why we did go back for a proper holiday this year for two weeks. The entertainment we had was silly and the kids were bored, the food was raw, i got e coli 0157 and food poisoning, the whole ship went down with illness due to raw un cooked food and flies. I am sorry but as you can appreciate i couldnt say any good about it. Everyone was severely ill and it was a very bad break.

I do not doubt for a minute that other ships run were really nice, but i found cruising on the sea boring and like a lot of things to do, hence doing Egypt properly.

The above was on the Senerade, so if travelling via Thomson, check on the net if your ship was the Serenade but a different name change, most are owned now by Louis and are over 40 years old, when they do get bad press, they change names.

When we sailed with te Salamis Glory, food was excellent! We had a three course meal, with the option of 3different choices for each course. :shock:If you ate all your meal, they would ask if you wanted any more (my kids took advantage of the sweet section here!). My hubby said the meat was as good as some restaurants in Cyprus! Even when my daughter suffered from sea sickness, they were only too willing to help us out-gave her some travel tablets for nothing!Sorry to hear about your bad experience, but if you find out you are going on the Salamis Glory, you wont be disappointed!

DW I am sorry but your original post was rather ambiguous, although you mentioned Louis lines you implied that all the cruises to Egypt were the same, which they are evidently not. Surely it is only right if people who have enjoyed their cruise put their replies, and let others know their are 2 ways to see the sights of Egypt and then let them decide.

I apologise if my post came across as such, but i was very seriously ill and there was a lot of ill people, people who where on oxygen, the ship we were on was illigal, hense the name changes. Louis know this and still intended to let people travel. A lot of travellers travel and enjoy their holiday, i put my view forward because mine and about 200 people were very ill and not that long ago either. There is alot that went on behind the scenes, stuff that i am not allowed to say, but for your own safety, and check your food, sea-sickness is an excuse that we all say because we are on the sea, but if you do get cramps coming back into Cyprus go to the Doctor, you may find it isnt sea-sickness at all. To be truthful if if didnt have treatment when i went, i would be dead now, so although my post maybe does come as a put off.. i am within my rights to at least ask people to be careful.

Also my post said that flying would be best because you have the choice of travelling down the Nile, something that we couldnt do, if travelling on the cruise.
Whatever anyone choses to do is up to them, i gave my informed opinion and at the end of the day it is up to the member to decide.

Thank-you for your replies, i agree with Derwent that however we get there it is just a means of travel to see Egypt. As we are thinking of going with Thomson it sounds to me i may be better off flying, i don't want to risk getting ill.Does anyone know if you can book the flight through Thomson or am i better off booking with a travel agent when i get there.
Thanks again everyone.

Hi Michelle

If you book through Thomson in the brochure OR in resort you will pay a lot more. We paid £400 as we upgraded to upper deck(although they stated it was a 'free' upgrade!!!) If you don't have upper deck you will be in the inside cabin and will not see anything, mind you we only had a port hole.

There are plenty and i mean plenty of shops that specially sell these trips to Cyprus, flying is a little more expensive, but most people that have flown have recommended it on HT for that reason, it takes an hour or so, you have ample time at the pyramids, shops and the nile where all the food is included in your price. When landing in Port Said you will be greeted by an army of vendors selling you stuff for 'quids' their typical cockney accent. Then the convey of buses await you for the 7 hour trip to the pyramids and museum. The trip is well worth while and we loved it once off the ship.

In resort you will have the option of going on different Lousi cruises, but do not go on any that are named the Marissa or the Serenade, they are NOT worthy of safety travelling. I will try and find out what names they have changed too.

Although we all had a very bad experience most do enjoy the cruise and a lot enjoy the flying as its quicker. I wish you a lovely time, the Pyramids are fantastic and the Museum is huge, but take a fan, there is no air-conditioning nor loos.

Yep Thomson are still promoting the Marissa and the Serenade, if you go on a cruise and book it in resort you will get a better ship. Remember though that although it is full board, that is breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you are hungry in between times, you will pay to eat in another restaurant. They don't like you paying for your drinks either, it is all waiter service, so they will want your credit card number, and they charge everything to that. Every time you order your drinks, they want tipping. Everything is tipping on the cruises, they get paid very low wages, so tipping is expected.

If you decide to Cruise, take some made up sarnies from Cyprus with you and a ruck sack of water. water is quite expensive and when you go to the pyramids the vendors do sell coke etc in ice cubes, but we were warned not to buy them as they may have been tampered with.

Avoid beef burgers on the ship, or if you have kids, cut them in half to check they are cooked, the same for fish, our tables fish was pink and shouldnt have been.

As long as you check things and we wary, everything should be fine, oh, i nearly forgot, sea sickness tablets here in the UK are rubbish for the Cruise, they have huge ones free on the ship, and they are really good. There is an Doctor on board, but hes really expensive and you insurance will not cover it, so be careful.

**edit to add link - http://www.choosingcruising.co.uk/cruiseweb/ShpDetailsQuery.asp?nShp=261&nLin=79&nOperator=Louis+Cruise+Lines

http://www.choosingcruising.co.uk/cruiseweb/ShpDetailsQuery.asp?nShp=161&nLin=79&nOperator=Louis+Cruise+Lines

We went via the Salamas Glory which was fine. The cabins were basic but clean and were all en-suite. My only complaint was there was not enough places to sit outside on deck, but there was plenty of indoor bars and seating areas. The food was excellent and there was a kids club for younger children. The entertainment was naff, but funny because it was.
Yes, the drive to Cairo was long, but there was plenty to see on the way - ships going down the suiz, goats being herded down the duel carrageway. Very entertaining.
The coach had a big fridge full of soft drinks and water which all cost 50cents a bottle.
We had the option of two tours around Cairo.- one with a lunch time nile cruise and one without. It was the lunch on the Nile that a few people picked up something, not from the ship.
Two people from the hotel we were at did the flight, the only difference was that you got to visit a real bazaar in the evening and had a snack at the papyrus factory. They spent exactly the same time at all the sights as we did.
They were also delayed by two hours coming home and didnt get back until 2am.

I have been trying to read the threads re the three day cruise to Eygpt. Wd welcome advice about safety of boats. Not looking for 5*, but working toilets and properly cooked food would be nice? Can't quite work out which tour operator would be best. Any help out there?

We booked in Protaras to go on the 3day cruise. Worked out arond £230 for 2adults and 2children. We went on the Salamis Glory, which was a lovely boat. We were quite down decks, but still had a porthole in our room. The bathroom was small, but adaquete (after all, you are only sleeping on board 2nites). The food was 1st class. We had a 3course meal for our main meal, and you had the choice of 3 or 4options for each course, so you naver had the same thing twice! Breakfast was done as a kind of "buffet". Fresh fruit, cereal, hot breakfast etc was all laid out, and you just helped yourself. The toilets did flush on the trip, HOWEVER, coming back into port at Limassol, for a couple of hours before we docked, the toilets stopped flushing. This was very off putting if you had to go (like i did) but this was the only time they didnt flush. Other than that, it was a lovely journey. Pm me if you need any more info about this trip.

Got to agree with the above, but try and make sure it is Salamis that you sail with. We booked through Thisvi travel agents in Protaras, it cost £270 for 3 of us and that was in one of the cabins on the upper deck. We really enjoyed it and it is well worth going on.

Dojoman, was that for 2adullts and 1child? Like i said, we were about 3floors below deck, and after a few drinks it was quite tricky to get down the steps as ther were nearly vertical! Good job my hubby was there to support me after my Gin and Tonics!!

When we went to Egypt we also went on the Salamis Glory and it was lovely. A thoroughly enjoyable trip.

I think I prefer this was to flying as it's so much more relaxed and you get to see so much in the coach down to Cairo.

I totally agree with you again Kezz. It was lovely sailing away from Limassol, then onto Egypt. The sunsets were unbelievable, beautiful. The sun was so big and red. We watched the sunset with a bottle of wine which was lovely. It was also lovely to see the "old" Egypt as you travelled through the streets to get to the Cairo Museum. On this trip (apart from the day to the Pyramids, etc which was tiring) the whole adventure was truly enjoyable ane relaxing.I would love to do it again next year, but not by plane. Salamis Glory again if we do.

Hi Cromwell, yes that was for 2 adults and one child (11 year old at the time) saying that he is now 12 and only 2 inches smaller than I am and I`m 6 foot.