Hi Guloath,

I am sure you will have a great trip. I assume you have booked on the Orchid being as you have the Junior Suite.

The trip is as relaxing or as busy as you want it to be.

I just have a bee in my bonnet, so to speak about 'tipping' and those cheating Reps etc. They will definitely try to tell you it is 'the norm' to tip as they suggest. What they don't tell you is that they are lining their own pockets and lucratively too.

The Egyptian staff are fantastic and save First Choice, in my opinon. You may feel as though you want to 'tip' an individual at the end of the trip. Many actually do that. Do NOT feel pressurised when the 'reps' talk about the envelopes and the fact that the staff earn low wages. I doubt very much indeed if the money is shared out fairly. It is so open to cheating, stealing and corruption that , quite frankly, it stinks.

No names or cabin numbers are on the envelopes. You just put them in a 'letter type' box in reception at the end of the trip. I guess, at the end of the day, it will be your decision.

Anyway, don't let that spoil your trip. We had a great time. A lot also depends on your fellow passengers. You will be spending a lot of time with them on all the trips as well. We had a great lot and we all got on so well.

Hi
I know us English find the tips thing annoying but it really is the norm in Egypt. It doesn't matter which boat you are on, the procedure is the same..........envelope at the end of the week, one for the crew, one for the guide. Also on all the boats the guide is your rep, no matter what company you are with.
Personally, on the boat we were on, everyone was happy to put in the envelope but i know last year a few complained. The ones for the drivers at the beginning of the cruise gets shared among the drivers for all your trips.........about 10 in all plus any extra ones you wish to go on, which many people do.
It's just not what we are used to but hey, you are a long way from home and you will have a wonderful time.

Lotty,

You are very wrong about the 'tips' collected for the drivers. We had about 6 different drivers during the week. That would work out at £UK100 each!!! Come on get real!

No-one is against tipping it is just the way the Reps try to patronise you with all the hard luck stories when, in fact, they are lining their own pockets.

My wife and I tipped quite generously to individuals who, we felt, deserved it. Why do the Reps say what is the minimum that one should put in the envelopes? My advice would be to tip individually and put a paltry amount in the envelopes.

Pedrogooner,

No offence intended, Im just interested to know how you know the reps line their own pockets? have you seen this first hand? or are you just presuming that is what they do? is this info restricted to 1st Choice, or all tour operators??

I'm afraid that this Tipping thing appears to be growing and only in my experience over the last two years.We live in Turkey and visit Egypt every year and have done for the last ten. For the first visits from Turkey we went with a German Co. ( only the best for them ) at a cost of 180 UK Pounds for flights and seven night cruise on a Five Star Boat. NO mention of tipping ! As they don't do it now we have had to go with a Turkish Co. for the last two years. Two years ago, No mention of Tipping now THÄ°S YEAR what a different story. The Rep ? asked that we all put 50 Euros ( each ! ) in an envelope for tips.Same stories as have been previouly posted etc. We said that we had no Euros so he asked if we had Turkish Lira.Yes we did so he said that will do. Now as No Country will take TK. Lira the money was not going to the Crew. Last time we book with that lot we are doing it DIY next year.

Ian

Elvis,

Of course I cannot prove in a Court of Law that they line their own pockets with the 'tipping' that they organise. It doesn't take much working out though.

I did write to First Choice to complain about a few issues on our trip down the Nile. I told them about the 'tips' that were collected for the 'drivers'. I did get a reply which was rather patronising etc pointing out the low wage structure in Egypt. I also asked them what proportion of the prices they charged for their excursions was ploughed back to the low paid workers. They refused to comment on that. I suggested that the somewhat expensive charges for their excursions should include gratuities for drivers,ticket collectors,water sellers etc etc. They refused to comment on that. They did however find it surprising that the Reps and Guides made it compulsory for customers to pay £UK7 each as 'tips' for the drivers.

They concluded by pointing out that their information on their website states that 'tipping' is voluntary and at the discretion of the passenger. They also added that they would 'contact' their overseas representatives and pass on my comments.

Of course, I have to take them at their word that they will do that. I did write again for an 'update' and they have not replied.

It is only on sites like this that we will find out if things have changed by people posting their comments.

First Choice are different to a lot of companies in the UK that offer these Nile cruises. In order to keep the costs down and make the trip look cheaper than their rivals, they do not include the excursions as part of the package. They charge £UK120 per person for the excursion package. I could not buy that package on-board unless my wife and I paid the compulsory 'tip' of £UK7 EACH. That is against First Choice info on tipping.

I know I have ranted on about 'tipping' but I did actually try to do something about it through First Choice.

Pete

Thanks Pedrogooner, your information is helpful regarding the tipping on the boat.

I am off tomorrow morning to Egypt on the First Choice all inclusive Nile Cruise, and am pretty excited! I will get back to you all in a weeks time about how it went! Looked today & it is 36 in Egypt & sunny all week!

My colleague at work has been and reckons that regarding tipping they take anything i.e. sterling, dollars, L£'s , so I am taking some English pound coins & they can have them or go with out! I don't care they have to try & change them up as its Egypt's own fault they try & hoard all the small notes. I changed up some L£s & the smallest notes I have are L£100's! No sign of even a L£50, let alone 20 or 10s!

Goodbye for now!

pedrogooner
i have been on 3 boats now, different one each time and believe me they all ask the same. I am not saying it is right.............just normal for Egypt. And don't forget the extra trips people book such as abu simbel, cairo, the fellucas.............they all get tips too. On the cairo trip there is a bus driver at the luxor side, one at the cairo side, the rep at cairo, the rep who gets you on the plane at luxor and the lunch place, they all get tips that is 5 tips for one trip.

Pedrogooner,
I think that is a very poor way to treat guests.
I booked through thomson and experienced none of those problems. I try not to book anything through first choice now as I have never really been very satisfied on any of my holidays with them.

Elvis,

I have heard that from many people that Thompsons are much much better than First Choice.

I was also quite upset and annoyed with their reply to my complaint. They more or less just dismissed it.

I have done my bit by spreading the Gospel about them and hope that other people are aware of their attitudes.

Hi all.

I have just returned from the M.S Orchid on the First Choice Nile cruise with my wife. Regarding the tipping, we did not book all the trips as the package and did NOT pat the £7 to the reps for the drivers, but those who booked the package had to pay the £7 or 70le. I only put £5 in each envelope at the end too! Ha ha!

Also, something I NEED to get out of my system is you can give tips in ENGLISH POUNDS, AMERICAN DOLLARS, EUROS, and obviously EGYPTIAN POUNDS!! The Egyptian people DO NOT CARE what you give them! I had an experience where they even PREFERRED English pound coins!

It really does not matter at all what you give them, they are happy! I never had an Egyptian turn round & say "sorry mate, but I prefer my own currency as I don't have the awkwardness of changing it up"!

I wish I did not even bother to get LE currency as everywhere there takes £UK anyway, so why pay the commission?

I will try & do a review soon.

Thanks,

Tony

Hi Tony,

How did you enjoy the trip?

You do have a point about using any currency etc. However, I found it helpful to have the odd small Egyptian notes for the use of toilets and other silly little things to tip for.

I did not pay any commission for my Egyptian currency-- I changed up inside the airport arrivals in Luxor at a good rate and got the small notes. Paid for my visa there at the same time.

I went of First Choice's other boat The Tulip. As a matter of interest - when did you get back into Luxor from Aswan? The schedule on the Tulip was awful and none of us could do the balloon trip at Luxor because the boat arrived far too late.

What you did with the envelopes is the best thing to do. We did more or less the same and gave a few tips directly to members of the crew that deserved it. Anything to avoid those Reps getting their mits on it. I just don't trust them at all. The £UK7 per person c on says it all for me.

Hi Pedrogooner, had an OK time thanks & I will get to why in a sec.

I think we got back saturday morning? We did the Karnak/Luxor temple trip on Sat afternoon so we must have! Valley of the Kings was on Sunday

I was relieved to see we were on the Orchid on arrival but our Junior suites pretty much secured this. The Orchid stuck to the schedule like glue, leaving our final day to relax & lounge about the boat before coach pick up at 3pm.

Our boat was moored on the outside of the Tulip & I believe we set off leaving the poor suckers on the Tulip behind.

We did not have the hot air balloon ride due to an accident in the last 2 weeks (nothing to do with the First Choice balloons) The rep offered a sea plane trip instead.

Anyway, to keep it short there was a bit of an outbreak of severe stomach upset which started on the 3rd day out there, both myself & wife. I am still suffering now, awaiting test results from the doctor. Nearly everyone on the boat had it. When visiting Luxor temple, a few had to get a Taxi back to the boat!

It was funny, we were on a table with two other couples & sometimes a couple would not turn up for lunch or dinner & you would know first hand why!

On the Thursday, dinner was delayed & there was an important looking man inspecting the food, plates & I even saw him in the bar looking at glasses. I feel robbed of a holiday as I only did 2 trips, but I can see the potential of the holiday if all had gone well. Missed Valley of the Kings & lost our money.

The food was excellent though for a boat, just had bad results. The rooms are a little run down. Bed is very hard & the aircon is absolute s***. The crew are great, even the reps (guides) are very friendly & knowledgeable.

I did want to give the crew more but you don't know where it ends up.

I will return one day as I feel I missed out.

Hi Guloath,

Sorry to hear that many of you were sick. I have heard that happening before on the Orchid. I bet if you wrote to First Choice to complain you would get a patronising reply telling you that that is possible in a hot country and would blame it on the passengers not taking enough water and drinking too much alcohol etc etc. No way wil they shoulder the blame. It is only by sharing 'bad experiences' on excellent sites like this, that something may get done. Similarly we should also give 'praise' where it is due as well. It is generally the Egyptian Crew that get most of the praise and bails First Choice out.

I am surprised that the 'Rep' dissuaded people from going on the 'Balloon Trip'. A cycnic would say that word has got out that Balloon trips can very easily be booked in Luxor for one-third of the price that First Choice charge. Now the Reps look for something else to 'boost' their commission. But only a cycnic would think that!

If I were you I would definitely try to get a refund on the trip you missed because of illness. Not surprising the Reps want everyone committed early to trips. Refunds can be given if a 'doctors certificate' is provided.

The reason you left the Tulip sitting in Aswan was because the Tulip was waiting for 'passengers'. They are not dedicated to First Choice. It is scandalous they do that. The Tulip arrives back in Luxor during the early hours of departure day, Monday. Visits to VOK,VOQ and other places are done during the last morning. Everyone up, packed and out of cabin by 6am!!!!!! Absolutely disgraceful. So much for the 'relaxing' last morning that their advertising suggests. It is NOT a one-off with the Tulip, it happens all the time. I checked this out with the crew. I, of course, complained to First Choice and was told rather patronisingly to read their info 'the scheduled can be changed'. Of course, one would accept that as a one-off but NOT when it has been happening all the time.

I do think, however, that the Tulip was a much better boat than the Orchid but , personally, I would choose the Orchid for the way they stick to their schedule. Mind you, I doubt if I will ever travel with First Choice again by the way they treated us and dismissed our complaints.

I am surprised that the 'Rep' dissuaded people from going on the 'Balloon Trip'. A cycnic would say that word has got out that Balloon trips can very easily be booked in Luxor for one-third of the price that First Choice charge. Now the Reps look for something else to 'boost' their commission. But only a cycnic would think that!

Having read your post's I know you may find this hard to believe but maybe the rep was telling the truth and not just trying to get more money from all the hard done by tourists.

There have been at least 4 seperate balloon accidents in Luxor this year alone and a responsible tour operator would be concerned enough to stop selling balloon flights to their clients on safety grounds.

As for sickness on board, we had a few with sickness on board as well when we were there, however when guests admit they were very ill before arriving with sickness and diarrhoea (he had been working on his sewerage system picked up a bug and passed it to his wife) it is no wonder that so many people in a confined environment like a plane & small ship end up getting ill as well.

Please if you are ill don't travel and spread it to other people.

One of the group who was sitting at our table was a health inspector and he happened to make a comment at the table which was over heard by the dinning room manager.
Norman was taken at that point and shown the kitchen on the Orchid and he was very impressed, he came back and told us about and told us how each person had their own compartment / station and how hygienic it appeared.

I think if you read through a review of any of any cruise boat from any company (not just on the Nile) you will find reports of people being ill.

We are gong back again in January and are looking forward to it

Hi Graham,

Yes you possibly could be right. My views of the First Choice rep that I encountered when on a First Choice Cruise was borne out of personal experience. My views of First Choice as a company were also borne out of personal experience as I have already discussed in previous posts. My criticisms were based on that and not on speculation.

The way they handled my complaints about the Egyptologist/Rep on the Tulip and of the schedule of the Tulip was nothing short of scandalous and patronising to the point of being dismissive. Their website states that the schedule for both the ships is identical. That, quite frankly, is a lie and I would be prepared to constructively argue that with anyone. I also 'put my money where my mouth is' and complained directly to FC about it. The way it was dealt with did not suggest to me that it was of a Company that really cared.

The schedule on the last day was very gruelling indeed. MY wife was ill on her return to the ship. Did the FC Rep do anything? Quite simply, no. If it were not for the very caring Egyptian Purser it would have been a complete nigtmare. He arranged for a cabin to be freed up exclusively for me and my wife to use till the buses left for the airport. Did the FC Rep help at the airport. Answer, No. It was left to me to round around and find someone in a postition of authority to help me and my wife which he did unhesitatingly which we were so grateful of. ON our return to the UK my wife was admitted into hospital for 5 days with heatstroke and exhaustion.

Of course, things can go wrong. I accept that. BUT, and it is a big BUT, it was not a 'one-off' and is more or less in place as a regular schedule. That is shameless, in my view, and unsuspecting passengers (like myself) on the Tulip should have been made aware of it. The compulsory £UK7 tip perperson collected for the drivers did, however, surprise First Choice in my letter to them but they then just dismissed it by saying that Egypt is a low waged country and that all 'tips' , as stated on their website info, are purely voluntary and in no way compulsory. They did, however, point out that they will be contacting their 'overseas' office to investigate it. That did suggest to me that , allegedly, the Egyptologist/Rep acted improperly. It appears that nothing has been done as it still goes on as a previous poster, Guloath, has stated and he has only just returned.

OK we can all say-- what is £UK7 anyway? My wife and I are very generous tippers indeed and prefer to do it on an individual basis and cannot accept being made to 'cough up' that amount BEFORE they would sell the tour package. The same cynic, as mentioned previously, could interpret that rather mischieviously. I doubt, personally, whether it was a compulsory 'fuel surcharge' for the bus. But then again.............

I did not criticise the food on the Tulip, in fact, on previous posts I have praised it. I really could not fault it in relationship to the price we paid.

It might come across that possibly I was the only one upset with FC on their cruise on the Tulip. I know for a fact that I wasn't but it does appear that I was probably the only one who took the trouble to complain.

If things can be improved through my complaints then all well and good and everyone will be the winner. Any decent company would value complaints as a way of trying to improve their standards. To dismiss them is taking their customers for granted.

I do hope, as I expect you will Graham, have a great time when you next go.

Hey,

My sister's a rep in Luxor (not for any of the company's mentioned so far though!) And following a balloon accident about two months ago when Brits were on board the F&CO suggested British tour companies stop selling balloon trips until the had re-run H & S checks, my understanding is that all British Tour Operators observed this and have just started selling trips again. She's clearly pleased about this!

The balloon that had the accident was not one run by an agency for a tour operator, on the day of the accident it was so windy all the British tour operator agencies refused to send their balloons out.

Hi, I've spent hours trawling through this thread and am very impressed with all the helpful info & tips. My husband & I are off to Egypt in July for a week on the Viking Premier followed by a week at the Maritim Jolie Ville on Crocodile Island. We'd love if someone could advise us on the tips policy onboard, the quality and price of drinks and if there is a good laundry service. Obviously any other advice would be great too.
Thanks
Mags

Hi Mags, as Im sure you know now tips are a way of life in Egypt. For the boat crew (waiters/porters etc) a standard amt is £2.00 pp perday and this is given in an envelope to the boat management at the end of the cruise. For the sightseeing tours if you are doing these again £2.00 pp per day is standard and this covers the guide and driver. However some companies also ask for any amount of £7.00-10.00 to cover the horse carriage drivers, boat and tomb men during the tours. But your tour operator should provide clear guidelines on this.
For drinks, a beer will be from 20.00 epd (around £2.00) but spirits will be expensive and sometimes they have their own lcl brands which are not that great in some cases but please dont forget you are in a Moslem country.
For the laundry I would probably wait till you get to the hotel.
Its good to learn a few woods of arabic which always goes down well.
La - No
Na,am - Yes
Shukran - thankyou.
thanks