hi pensioner

yes it was me who wrote the other review

when i read your reply earlier on everything fell into place.....we were originally supposed to stay in luxor for our first night and then cruise through the day to the next stop but we indeed left the same night of our arrival as soon as all passengers were boarded, upon querying this i was just given the shrugged shoulder... again when we were headed back some of the french passengers had told us they had flights on friday afternoon and were disembarking in luxor, again when i queried this i got the same response....then again when we were docked in luxor i asked why we never went through the lock and docked at esna as was planned and was told we had docked whilst i was asleep in the night so i must have missed it all.

when i read your reply it dawned on me thats why we never stopped as i wondered how the french passengers were going to disembark when we were not in luxor...you answered the questions the rep wouldnt

the travel agents are never going to be truthful as it isnt their holiday that is spoilt, and they are quite happy to just take your money

when we arrived in luxor they were trying to put us on a different boat and i think that may be the reason why, but we never realised this until just now....lol xx

Thank you for all your information. We have now changed our booking to the M/S Da Vinci. There are lots of reviews about this boat - mostly positive and from English people - so fingers crossed we will get what we have booked.
Very grateful.
Pensioner.

hi again

im sure you will have a fantastic time, as apart from the little niggly things we had we really enjoyed our holiday and would definitely do it again, just on a different boat.

it really is one of the most brilliant hols we had and we met some great friends so dont worry xx

angie xx

Hi

Has anyone been on the Domina Prestige recently and has any comments or helpful tips please?

Thanks

Olly

Hi everyone
I am going to book a nile cruise, followed by a week on the Red Sea, can anyone help with recommending a nice boat please.
Phyll

Hi, has any one just got back from a Thomson/Presidential Nile Cruise. Just wondered what extra excursions were on offer. We are hoping to go to Abu Simbel by road, I am aware the road is open but wondered if Thomson have started excursions yet. Thanks

Booked a stay and cruise for Egypt Aug/Sept.....Nile cruise is on the MS Serenade

Can anyone tell me prices of drinks on board ?
What the food is like ?
Do they supply towels for the loungers?
Are there cash machines?

Any tips do's and don's gratefully appreciated....this will be our first time

Booked a stay and cruise for Egypt Aug/Sept.....Nile cruise is on the MS Serenade

Can anyone tell me prices of drinks on board ?
What the food is like ?
Do they supply towels for the loungers?
Are there cash machines?

Any tips do's and don's gratefully appreciated....this will be our first time

Hey, Tangobunny that's interesting - I was just about to post on here as we're considering the MS Serenade too at around that same time.... Not sure yet if we will take 22nd or 29th August.

We're going to go for a week and hope to be able to meet up with a friend from UK. But in order to make the most of the cruise we will fly from Cyprus on Monday evening and have a couple of nights in a local hotel first.

We are going to just book the cruise accommodation only without the excursions as we intend doing them on our own. We've been to Luxor many times before but will be travelling with friends who have done the West Bank but not yet covered the Luxor and Karnak temples, so we will do them ourselves and probably give the West Bank a miss and chill instead.

KomOmbo temple is right by where the cruise boats dock so that's no problem. We just need to organise our transport to Esna and Philae temples. We calculated the ticket costs of the excursions we want to do will be around LE 100 per person (approx GBP 11.00).

We've been on the Presidential Nile cruise boats before and they're a similar standard rating as the MS Serenade.
Pool towels were provided.
Drinks were a bit more expensive than in the local bars (so similar to hotel prices). I think a large Stella Local (60cl) beer was approx LE 24 when it was LE 18 in the local bar. That's approx GBP 2.52 as opposed to GBP 1.90

No idea about the food though, that's what I was looking for too! However, I think it's all pretty much of a muchness. All buffet style with hot and cold food available.

There are cash machines in Luxor near the Winter Palace hotel and currency exchange places. You can also exchange currency onboard but I don't recall seeing cash machines onboard any of the boats we've been on and looked at in the past.

We had difficulty exchanging currency one year in Aswan but that's because we only had Cyprus Pounds (coming from Cyprus) and they said they didn't exchange it. But a guy who worked at the American Express agency took us back to the National Bank of Egypt and told them that "yes, you do exchange it"

As for tips: just remember the cruise is "early starts" so make the most of the relaxation time ready for the next stint!
Water is usually being sold as you're disembarking for your excursion and always make sure you have some with you. It's readily available though in shops and kiosks along the corniche.
If you're going to do Karnak - it's a massive temple so you need something comfortable to wear on your feet (but floors are a bit uneven so sensible shoes). A hat is probably a must but I cannot wear hats. A loose shirt to keep the sun off. The heat just emanates out of the columns and there will be a lot of standing around having things described to you if you go with the Egyptologist.
And, if you're up for it and get the opportunity - the balloon trip on the West Bank should not be missed!

Trying to decide if we should do it again this year.....

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

Thank you Shell
Very informative....I have replied to your PM

We're all booked now for the summer.

Flights from Cyprus to Luxor via Cairo and return, 2 nights hotel accommodation and 7 nights on the M/S Serenade on full board (no excursions) = 419.00 EUR per person.

Flights with Egyptair, accommodation with Travel Republic and cruise with Sunshine.co.uk. Mini bus transfers will be done via Petra Travel who we used a couple of years ago at a cost of LE 10 per person each way (around 1.25 EUR).

All excited now. We love Luxor and Aswan and it's always good to share it with our friends who haven't been before...

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

Have a great time Shell, there is nothing to beat going a Nile cruise and stay in Luxor, kalesh, kalesh

Hi Graham

We're actually due to go to Malta in less than 2 weeks but Egypt has always been the most exciting place for us....

The maps have been dug out already while we look for those previously unexplored places or sites we missed seeing the last time we were there in 2010.

It still seems a long way away and of course, we'll be going from one hot house to another! Just as we will be getting to the end of the hot and sweaty season that is July & August in Cyprus, we'll be swapping it for the hot dry oven of Egypt.

Looking forward to feeling the heat increase as we approach Aswan from Luxor by boat. We're taking friends who have never been to Aswan before and hopefully, 2 more friends who haven't been to Egypt at all.

Cool! Bring it on

Next time, we really want to "do" a dahabeeyah - they are awesome!

Shell,
Limassol, Cyprus

Does anyone know if it is safe to go ashore at night at the following stops
Luxor
Esna
Aswan
Kom Ombo

hi there.....its been 2 years almost since i went but we went ashore at kom ombo and aswan( i think there is a great big shopping and market place here) in the evening and had a stroll round and it was lovely.....we would have gone into luxor but our boat was moored quite far away from the centre so we didnt bother but if e were nearer then we would have

angie xx

Does anyone know if it is safe to go ashore at night at the following stops
Luxor
Esna
Aswan
Kom Ombo

Luxor is perfectly safe using the normal safety precautions that you should always use while abroad, don't wear expensive jewelry, don't flash cash and try and keep expensive looking items concealed etc etc.

Depending on where your boat is berthed you might be able to walk in to Luxor or if you are berthed further out towards the bridge you will have to get a taxi, you have to haggle with the taxi driver to get a good price, ensure that when you are haggling you make sure that the price being quoted is in Egyptian pound (LE) not in £Sterling and also ensure that it is the total cost NOT per person.

You will have to haggle for everything almost everywhere and be prepared for constant hassle to come in for a look or buy, if not interested just say La Shukran (no thank you) in a firm tone.

Aswan is a large city and again safe using the same precautions as above. You can take a Felucca trip on the Nile which is nice, this might be included as part of an excursion package with your tour company or you can book it easily in Aswan, I can recommend a Felucca trip across to Kitchener's Island which is a nice way to spend some time.

Esna, not much to see there and many of the boats only stop while they wait to go through the lock.
Kom Ombo, again not very much there except the temple which the boats berth right beside and this is a bit out of the main town area.

Tangobunny wrote:

Does anyone know if it is safe to go ashore at night at the following stops
Luxor
Esna
Aswan
Kom Ombo

Tell you when I get back - in fact, you may be arriving just as we're leaving off the same cruise (MS Serenade)?

We've stayed in both Luxor and Aswan for a number of holidays and have always happily wandered around the streets with not a care in the world.

There's not too much at Esna from what I recall from our last cruise but there are some quite fabulous houses/buildings to be seen when the boats are waiting to go through the lock.

At Kom Ombo, the boats moor almost at the temple (it's all in walking distance) and the only "challenge" is to run the gauntlet of shops in each direction...

We've not booked any of the excursions as we plan on doing them all ourselves and I do have a list of the ticket entrances if you're interested?

It's at night I'm more concerned about.....as there doesn't appear to be much going on during the evening on board Serenade I was hoping we may be able to go ashore and seek out somewhere offering some kind of entertainment

You will be able to do that in Luxor and Aswan with no problem at all, although my understanding is the boat is moored down by the New Bridge in Luxor so it's a taxi ride to get into the town.

If you take a taxi up to the Luxor temple there are a few cafe bars (McDonalds, Snack Time and a new cafe that looks a bit like Starbucks but with a purple sign all have free WiFi) with a fantastic view of the Luxor temple. Or, I can recommend taking the national ferry over to the West Bank to the Nile Valley hotel where you can sit on the rooftop terrace with a beer and see a different view. There are also some bars/restaurants down on the corniche directly in front of the Winter Palace hotel or you can go to the rooftop bar at the St Josephs hotel and a few others along that route (near to the Sonesta St George) hotel. King Dude pub (downstairs in the Gaddis Hotel) is entertaining as it's done up like the inside of a tomb!

You can go into any of the hotels and it's worth taking a look just for the scenery alone, especially the chandelier in the reception of the Sonesta St George.

Life all happens for the Egyptians around the square in front of the Luxor temple of an evening and you will see the families out in force as it's cooler out than in (a bit like Cyprus). The shops are open until around 10pm or a little later and you'll find the main shopping street a little further along past McDonalds on the right hand side.

If you want to go further afield, my friend tells me there's a pub up past Karnak temple (Genesis Bar http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g294205-d1368549-Reviews-The_Genesis_Pub_and_Restaurant-Luxor_Nile_River_Valley.html) which my friend who goes every few months to Luxor says is entertaining and there's a disco if you fancy a dance.

In Aswan, the boat may be moored up by the public gardens in which case you can walk down towards the town (a right as you get off the boat) and the start of the main shopping street is more or less opposite the Isis Hotel. Turning left up the shopping street will take you back in the direction of the boat.

Or, if you continue along the corniche you will find several floating restaurants where you can just pop and have a beer and watch the world go by along the river.

I think in Kom Ombo - it will only be the shops along the riverbank that will be open. That was the only place we went last time but we were cruising back to Luxor on that trip and we only stayed long enough for the tour and some shopping before we sailed again. Looks like this time we will be there overnight but it could be between 10pm and 11pm by the time we get there.

I think if we get the chance, we will hop off at Esna to see what's there as we will want to arrange transport for the 6 of us to get to the temple the next morning.

We did tend to sit up on deck at night and just have a natter rather than watching any entertainment (on the Presidential Nile cruise boat) but they did bring some dancers one evening that I recall. That was just 3 nights from Aswan to Luxor.

Hope that helps a bit more?

Thanks Shell...brilliant I think we will do as you suggested