Great organization, informative tour guide, rushed schedule
This cruise and tour includes many components, so I will summarize each of them separately below:
Transportation and tours: 5/5
Tour guide: 3/5
Safety (Covid): 1/5
Cruise staff: 5/5
Accommodations: 2/5
Food: 2/5
First off, the trip was well organized and run by the tour group and cruise operators. Heba, despite not being on our tour, communicated with us throughout via Whatsapp and went above and beyond to make our experience seamless, including arranging a free airport pickup when we were planning on simply taking a taxi. There was one minor snafu when we arrived in Edfu, but other than that, we did not have to worry about planning or timing much which is a great feeling on vacation. The sites themselves were incredible and we would gladly revisit all the temples and tombs all over again.
As for our guide, Ismael – he is very knowledgeable and well-versed in Egyptian history and was able to tell captivating stories in each of the sites. However, his tours felt rather impersonal, as he did not take the time to learn our names, which would have been a nice touch given we were spending 4 days together. Additionally, since we traveled halfway across the world to visit Egypt, it would have been nice to have the opportunity to spend more time marveling at each of the sites. Our guide was very concerned about keeping to a strict time schedule, which made us feel rushed in exploring on our own and taking some pictures. He was oftentimes visibly and audibly displeased if we were more than one minute late, even though it did not materially affect any of our subsequent plans. Ismael also told us how much to tip various drivers and cruise personnel. While we felt this was helpful information, we understood it as a guideline and not as a mandatory number that we must give. In the United States, we tip based on the quality of service so if the service is not good then the tip should reflect that. However, if we did not tip what he told us, he was rather aggressive and told us it was not sufficient, which was a rather uncomfortable situation.
In regards to Covid safety and protocols – while the tour listing may state that the tour and cruise staff take precautionary measures to keep everyone safe, this is simply not the case. Our guide and none of our drivers ever wore a mask. The cruise staff, for the most part, did their best to keep us safe with masks. However, if you are worried about getting sick abroad and not being able to return home because of Covid, I would discourage you from taking this (or any) cruise. They have strict meal times where every cruise passenger (several hundred) is served their meal indoors, in an enclosed room downstairs, with no windows and poor ventilation.
Cruise staff gets a 5/5 overall: they were very friendly, helpful, kept up with safety precautions for the most part, and delivered impeccable service.
The cruise accommodations were suitable, but far from luxurious or what would typically merit 5 stars. The bed was hard and the blankets were not very breathable. The room was carpeted, which captures a lot of dust over time. The shower was hot, which was nice, but it did not keep a consistent temperature, oftentimes fluctuating between scalding hot and ice cold. We had to keep the toilet lid down or else the entire room smelled like sewer.
Finally, the food, which was an Americanized buffet for all meals but one, was mediocre and generally composed of soggy dishes. There was one dinner that was primarily Egyptian food, which we really enjoyed, and would have liked to experience more often. We didn’t travel to a foreign country to eat the bad version of our own food. It was disappointing.
This activity isn’t bookable for now.!
Luxor
Pickup offered
Mobile Ticket
Offered in: العربية
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