Hi again Bobbie

I entirely agree; as soon as you close the door behind you you're on your hols.

I'll be going on the Emilo on 8 May so am awaiting your report with bated breath.

Jael

Skip,

as Brutam suggested, I've posted a review of the Etoile Du Nil in this thread here: http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=47977&start=20

and the Sonesta St. George in the hotel review section.

If you've any more questions post them on the forum and I'll try my best to answer.

Mike

Hi Jael
Just a quick follow up There is a short review of the Emilio on the Trip Advisors site from someone who came back just this week and it still sounds great
By the way it is creeping up into the 90's now
Thanks for your good wishes

This is for Brutum,

Please please please check with Fastrack EXACTLY what excursions are included! Recently there have been a lot of problems with them telling guests that excursions are includeed when they are NOT.

Once on the boat, and unless the agents have it in writing, you will have to pay for your excursions.

You may be lucky and Fastrack have now got there act together, but I would hate for you to be disappointed.

Semsema,
thanks for the timely advice you provided some weeks back.

I'd say Fasttrack are now "on-track" as the trip-package handling on our Etoile di Nil was spot-on. I can suggest however that you think about Karnak, Luxor Museum as a sel-organised trip and even seriously consider doing the Valley'sof the Kings and Queens as a private tour.

Whilst organised (T.O.) trips are good (in my experience) they are a tad expensive when compared to local prices.

Mike

Thank you Choirgirl & Tez

I am sure coming onto this site will save me a lot of planning once I get over there.

Heard the walk in the hills above the valley of the kings to over Hatshepsut temple is good. Anyone know whether there is any need of a guide or is it easy to do it yourself?

Martyn

Martyn
The V.O.K. & temple of Hatshepsut are quite close if viewed from the air. They are each in the next valley so to speak, but a word of warning, it is very hot out there. The paths are clearly defined as they have been in use for thousands of years. If you are reasonably fit and take plenty of water you should be OK. However have you thought about what you will do when you get there? will you arrange for a taxi transport from the Hatshepsut temple or will you walk back to the V.O.K. again? Will you have purchased your tickets before hand, as you will not be admitted without one. We are not talking about the UK here! there are not a load of taxis waiting at the Temple to take tourists back into Luxor. You must carefully organise your itinery yourself and be happy that it will work. If you have not done this before or are not familiar with the area, I would suggest that you should take a guided trip, it will not be that expensive. All the best
Tez

Hi Nytram/Martyn

Firstly, in Aswan, I would recommend you take the local ferry over to the
West Bank where you can spend a good half day seeing the tombs over there, followed by a walk through the Nubian village to the open air museum where you can spend a lovely peaceful time wandering about with great views of the Nile. You will also be able to see the Nileometer.

Martyn, my partner spends a lot of time wandering around the West Bank when we are in Luxor. He usually has a taxi meet him from the local ferry to take him to the ticket office, then to his starting point, he then walks over the hills & arranges for the taxi to pick him up at an arranged time from wherever he decides he is going to end up. If you would like the number of a very reliable driver, pm me.

Sandie

Came back monday night from a wonderful but tiring week. Will write a full report soon. If anyone would like any specific advise please fell free to ask
Julie

Hi Julie

Welcome back glad you had a good time.

A full review would be much appreciated as this is such a new cruise offered by FC and many people have been asking about it.

If possible could you include details such as -

i) Clothing requirements for on board ie is it formal or informal dress for dinner.

ii) What excursions are available and if possible the cost and value for money.

iii) How was the Ms Orchid, modern, old, how was the service, cabins, food etc

iv) Tipping - how much & when any advice.

v) Anything else you can think of

Thanks for any info
Graham

hello, oh im getting soooooo excited now,only 7 more weeks and we'll be off. never been to egypt so really looking forward to it after reading lots on here. anyways,any one been on the nile goddess boat or to the isis island resort in aswan? really would like to know what they are like as i cant seam to find any info on here about them

please help

hazel & john

Hello

Just a quick post to say I've just got back from my week on the Grand Star (followed by week in Hurgurda). Lurked here for a few weeks before i went so thought it only fair to do a quick post.

What can i say? It was fantastic, even better than i thought. The boat was much nicer than i expected, the guides were fantastic, it was incredibly well organised (well, the cruise bit was anyway, the hotel part was pretty good too).

Got a bit of a dodgy tum for 48hrs (missed 1 meal), but could have been worse. All in all, a wonderful holiday. If you have questions, shout up but really all i would say is just go for it...

Hi Julie glad you had a good time, looking forward to reading your review, as we go on the orchid at easter, currency; where did you change your money? want to use atm machine if possible, also what did you do on the last day ? as much info about anything and everything would be great, cheers,

Dan b, glad you had a great time on the Grand Star.
Do please give us a little more than your 'quick post' though, anything you have to say may help others who are considering a Nile cruise, the more different opinions the better. i.e. Why was the boat better than you expected (wasn't due to me downplaying it a bit on these boards was it??)

Ha ha, that's exactly why! I braced myself for it being pretty basic, and was very impressed as a result! Maybe i'm easily pleased...

I'm writing this at work, hence the briefness of post, but let me think....

ok:

1. The splash pool was super cold, i braved it but hardly anyone else did!
2. There weren't quite enough sun loungers. Most of the time this didnt matter as generally some people were always off to optional excursions at some point or other but there were times when you had to get in quick!
3. Staff were super friendly, genuinely i think. Caspar our guide was brilliant.
4. White wine was vile, and i am no wine snob!
5. No worries getting hassle from locals, so long as you dont show an interest in anything! As soon as you make the slightest attempt to buy, you're surrounded. Beware! makes browsing extremely difficult. As a result, we bought very little. Shame...
6. 3 of the excursions are cheeky attempts to sell you stuff (perfume palace, pypyrus (sp!) and alabaster 'factory'). Not really a problem but a wee bit cheeky.
7. One of the excursions was in the evening (Kom Ombo). Brilliant, bit cold though!
8. Went to the Philie light show. Good fun, just about worth the money.

The recommended tipping was £17 each. Was fine by us, saved the hassle of worrying the rest of the time (i find tipping a bit weird, i never seem to get it right!)

The rep was a bit rubbish (john), but actually kept us amused cos he looked so miserable most of the time (fantastic forced smile!) and seems to do no work (the guides do everything!). He had to organise the quiz one night, which seemed to annoy him no end ("just split yourself into teams, how hard can it be people!" and other classic quotes, super strict with what answers he'd accept!). You can just imagine him moaning on to his mates about his customers once we're out of earshot. So we had a fun time trying to wind him up further by asking stupid questions. Ho ho...

Right, i'm off. It's nearly 5 o clock on a friday!

Dan

Feel abit more awake today so will try to give you a bit more info.
The boat for the first choice cruise is called The Orchid, it probably could do with a bit of updating in the bar area and restaurant but it was all very clean and the beds were very comfortable. We upgraded to the superior cabin which had a half bath. It was fine. You really not in your cabin for much time at all, only really to sleep. The staff were very good. Food was good although we would have preferred more egyptian style food. I had the veggie option a few times which was good. Lts of nice fruit and pastries. I was paranoid about being ill but could not resist the fruit and salads. My husband was ill for a couple of days as were a few others on the boat but it did not stop him doing any of the trips. We all ate the same food and drank the same water so it is abit of a puzzle. The guides told us that they often get upset tums when changing to different boats.
WE paid £120 each for the excursion package, £65 for the coach to Abu Simbel and £70 for a balloon flight. I know it is chaper to arrange the trips yourself but it was good to have it all arranged and not have to worry about it. The guides were very good and you felt a bit protected for the hassle you got fromt he traders . Every temple had a bazzar that you had to pass by, we just got quite good and saying no!
Arrived Monday night
Day 1
Boat was sailing as we woke up ,sailed down to the lock at Essna, boat was statioary for a long time as we did not go throught the lock until 11.30pm! We just relaxed so it was ok. Nice small pool on deck, I only sat on the edge to cool down as it was quite cold, some people did take a dip though. There is also a Jaccuzie.
Day 2
Visited Edfu temple
sailed to kom umbo in the afternoon and visited the temple in the evening.
Day 3
Sailed to Aswan. Visited Philae temple
Feluca trip in the afternoon.(included in excursion)
Day 4
Very early morning start to Abu Simbel by road(2.00am wake up, left at 3.00am) Saw the sun rise over the desert but managed to sleep quite a bit on the coach) It was ceautiful and well worth the early start. We we on our way back again at 9.15!. We spent the afternoon relaxing on the boat and then visited Philae temple for the light show in the evening.
day 5 (sat)
Boat sailed back to luxor.relaxing day although quite windy. We had a BBQ lunch that day and a Gala dinner in the evening.we were waited on for the Gala dinner and the crew put a lot of effort into it.
Day 6 (Sun)
Early start for Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Hatsetsut temple, Colossai of Menmon and an Alabaster factory ... all before lunch!!!
had a rest for a while then went on a visit with friends we had made to the Luxor museum. We were docked just acroos the road. i would really recommend it, all the exhibits had English text and it was very well laid out, and cool!. The valley of The kings was extreemly hot ,and woud reccommend something over shoulders.
I used Husbands scarf head dress from the gabalaya evening!
Day 7 (mon)
WE were up at 5.00 am for our balloon ride! As both of us are not very good with heights we were a bit nervous but it was amazing,really glads we did it,
Breakfast when we got back,the visited Karnack and Luxor temple.
Had lunch then acouple of hours to relax before we got the coach to the airport.
We had to have cases outside our rooms befor we went to visit the temples but were still able to go into our rooms for a shower when we got back.
Hope I have managed to answer a few questions.If there is anything else please ask. We thought it was good value for money. We had never booked a package beforeso were unsure what it would be like but found it was a very good introduction to Egypt. There was hassel from all the traders everytime you went away from the boat but you did feel protected on the boat and had a guide with you when you went on trips. some people did buy from the tradrs but it was very difficult to get away once you had shown some interest.
The shop on the boat was excellent, good prices and no hassel, we thought it would be more expensive but it wasn't.
When you dock in Luxor on the way back ther is a shop nearly at the end of the bazzar by the dock that sells China, it was really good as it had prices on everything and they did not bother you at all. Ended up having quite alot of trade from our boat!
Seem to have gone on a bit here so willl stop now.!
Hope it has been of some help.
OOOPs forgot to say .. shorts and t-shirts fine for during the day and evening was quite informal , smart casual , people did dress up a bit more .
The last day was still quite busy hence the jey lag feeling for a couple of days i think. I have posted our trip terort on trip advisor too so i ahve copied the main parts.
Hope I have covered most question s but please ask if have missed something out.
We would love to go back now and see the pyramids.
First choice rep was called Claire, I think they sometimes alternate , she was very good.Evening entertainment was ok, although some evenings it was quite short. The egyptian night was good fun, quite a lot of people dressesed up, beware if you buy a dark coloured gabalya! I ended up with blue skin by the end of the evening! Husband seemed to tyhink it was quite funny!!! can't think why!!!.
Jullie

Excellent, thanks for all the info Julie.

It all sounds really good and we are looking forward to going.

Like you we have also upgraded our cabin, can I ask about the view from the cabin window, does it have a large window or a balcony ?

Did you tip the crew onboard ? if so was it daily or at the end of the week ?

This may sound a strange question but do you happen to know if diet soft drinks are available and included in the AI option ?


Graham

Hi Graham

I appologise for all the typing mistakes I made earlier!
We had a nice large window to look out of from the cabin but no balcony. To be honest did not spend much time looking out , only a couple of mornings when we woke up and we were sailing. When the boat is docked you are useually right alongside another boat so the only view was into another window! The curatins wre always closed after the rooms had been cleaned in the morning to keep things cool. There was a portion with a net curtain so you could open it and still have some privacy. Usually when awake we were either eating ,sight seeing or on deck in the sun.
Tipping was arraneged on the boat by giving 2 enveloped to each cabin on the Saturady, one for crew and one for the guides. The suggested amount was £2 per person per night but was made clear it was up to the individual. Also ther was a tip of £7 per person for the coach drivers,does mount up if you are not expecting it. We gave the man who cleaned our room and extra tip also. They do some wonderful things with the towels everyday,and were very pleasant.
I know someone may have already mentioned the fact they they love to have pens, I took some felt tips with me, gave a few to our room cleaner.
First choice reps visit an orphanage in Luxor every week and would take pens and any toiliteries you wanted to leave behind. If I had known this beforehand I would have taken some extra things with me.
Diet drinks were available on the boat. We drank the red wine , which was ok, white and rose was awful, Gin and tonic and beer fine. Hibiscus tea<mint tea were good. Tea and coffee available from 10.00am until midnight alond with all other drinks. Water you could buy in litre bottles from the bar, this was charged to your room and paid at the end of the week. The laundry was very cheap, had a few things done to come home in.2shirts, shorts and long sleeved t-shirt came to about £1.40.
Do be prepared for the towels not being white though! They were clean but I don't think they used Ariel! my theory is that they had been washed with a galabaya!!!
Just finished watching our video, can't believe how much we did in a week!
I am sure you will enjoy it.
Julie

Hi Julie, great review, just a couple of questions, currency , thinking of just using atm machine for currency( guess we can pay for trips with credit card) i expect luxor airport will have one , but anywhere else???also is there a fridge, or kettle in cabin?? cheers.