Outstanding 11 day Viking Cruise/tour to Egypt including hotel stays in Cairo and 7 days Nile cruise on board the MS Antares. After having completed 8 Viking cruises before, this was the best Viking trip we have ever done. The ship was fantastic, large state rooms, brilliant staff and great food. Moreover, out Program Director, Amr, was magnificent. He was a great leader and had an encyclopedic knowledge about Egyptian history and mythologies. We always felt very safe and looked after throughout the trip.

We enjoyed our Egypt visit thoroughly and highly recommend the guide “Magic” Maged Habib. He works with a couple agencies and you can request him by name. His knowledge and experience navigating the various sites and cities is incredible.

Hany Refaat our guide from Luxor to Aswan and on to AbuSimbel was amazing. Haney has a wealth of knowledge. He made our trip really fun. Amazing trip amazing guide!!!!

This mini cruise, I will start with the positive. The tour to the different locations and seeing everything from the valley of the kings to edfu temple to Aswan is amazing and very unique to do. The negatives, if you don’t like the heat don’t come end of may. 45 degree heat at parts with humidity can be hard if you are not used to that sort of level of heat. The boat itself is very outdated, it is probably still the same as it was originally built. Very old decor throughout the boat. It does have a pool which is like a plung pool for you cool down and not for swimming at all. It does have ample of sunbeds and tables on the sun deck. There is no shop on board for snacks or sun cream, there is only a jewellery shop and a souvenir shop. The food on board is very very limited, which doesn’t cater for British. There is always rice and beef for lunch and evening can be anything they come up with so if you are a fussy eater you will need snacks. The drinks menu has a variety of drinks available, the cocktails aren’t that nice or good standard. The service is ok, you can tell some waiters are just doing the motions as they know either way they expect a tip at the end. An example is when we sat down for lunch and dinner we were always waiting for a while for someone to ask for a drinks order even if we are first ones in the room whilst they are chatting amongst themselves. It was pointed out to us upon arrival a £5 tip a day is expected at the end of the trip. Me and my partner disagreed with this expectation and we gave what was appropriate. In this case we reduced the tip and gave an amount we thought for the level of service. If the staff would like a better tip the standard needs to be raised dramatically for a four star cruise. The rooms are clean and tidy just again outdated. You do get a big window so you constantly see the river Nile. The tv in the room works some of the time but does often stop working. There is only two film channels in English. WiFi, this was a big thing for myself and partner. We read on the website that there is free WiFi on the rooms and amongst the boat. This is not the case and a lie. There is WiFi only at reception and bar and this has to be paid for. £5 for an hour or £10 for 24 hours. Doesn’t seem a lot but this is per device so for us for an hour it was £10, that’s £70 if we done it everyday. Depending on who puts the password in will actually depend on what wifi. As you might be hot spotted to one of there phones instead which is shocking. Each time, and sometimes up to five times I was knocked off and had to go back for them to reconnect and they was playing on there phones watching football. This annoyed me paying for a service which was shocking, I asked each time to go on WiFi and only certain people put you on the WiFi which had no issues. Overall the excursions was the best part but the boat needs massively updated and massively let down by the WiFi service. A side note if you’ve not been to Egypt before please be prepared to be hounded, to buy the goods outside of the boat from the locals. You can say no but they carried on without a very stern no leave me alone. It would make you feel uncomfortable and also just watching this be done to other people was also uncomfortable. The tour guides will not intervene either regarding this issue.

we enjoyed the trip in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, fayoum 4WD desert safari and Nile cruise Luxor and Aswan. we were very satisfied with tour guides, drivers, food and organization agency, I recommend not do desert safari while its sandstorm as our guide expalained only expected during April.thanks for everyone.

We did the weeks cruise on the Nile River from Luxor and back. Our boat was the Emillio, it was lovely. The staff on the boat were lovely and very attentive. The food and drink was excellent and we had no complaints. Our room was lovely and quite spacious compared to cruise ship standards. We had a great guide called Ahmed he was very knowledgeable and looked after us a treat. We really enjoyed the trips off the boat to see the temples etc. Couple of very important points though The was no safety meeting or instructions, no muster points should there be an emergency. This is standard on many cruises. There were no life boats! There were couple of old little boats lashed on the back but they weren't even connected to the winch, so would be unusable if needed. There may have been a couple of rafts on the top deck but couldn't be sure as they were under a canvas. Everyone should have had a life jacket, we didn't so had to ask and we got two eventually. There were life belts all around the top deck. On the whole we had a fantastic trip and I would recommend this type of trip as a way to visit Egypt. Especially helpful to avoid the hassle. This was a really good experience but they should improve safety standards. We spoke with our guide and highlighted the concerns hope they take it on board.

Great experience and even exceeded the expectations. Cruise crew was so helpful and attentive to our needs that I would recommend to anyone.

My daughter and I spent 4 day, 3 night sailing the Nile on the MS Nile Premium from Aswan to Luxor. This was booked through Intrepid. Our tour guide mentioned that this boat was supposed to be one of the best………! We had a comfortable cabin (twin beds and bathroom), a little outdated, old and could have done with extra cleaning. The toilet was blocked when we checked in but was fixed once it was mentioned. The top deck had a small pool with deck chairs. Even though there weren’t many tourists all boats where still on the move at the same time. They dock in the same area and moored alongside each so a view out the cabin window is non-existent. All the boats are powered with diesel and unfortunately, fresh air was also non-existent. The lavish breakfast and buffet were however excellent. There was a jewellery shop (Nubia Jewels) onboard the boat and our tour guide mentioned that this was a government shop so we would be safe to buy however; I do not recommend. Three other couples from the tour, including ourselves, bought some jewellery from this shop and had major issues when picking up the jewellery from over charge, not what we ordered and a bank charge of 3.75% on top of the purchase. The latter was not mentioned at the time. We could have got the same jewellery at half the price from a Government Shop in Sonesta St George Hotel. I did complain the but no one wanted to know. We had excursions to many spectacular sights including the local markets and villages. Even though the boats are old we both had a great time and was an experience we will never forget.

Do not go on the MS Royal Viking! Terribly old, dirty, smelly, diesel particulates everywhere, dingy, etc etc. Bathroom had missing sealant, mould in places, sooty vent, rusty waste bin, limescale on shower head. Out of date certificates on show. Staff weren’t great, food was average. Can’t see out of the windows when docked because of other boats being moored alongside. Go to the top deck and you can’t enjoy that either because of diesel fumes.

The delightful fiction of a Nile cruise with a deadly outcome was written by Agatha Christie way back in 1937. The reality in modern-day Egypt is quite different and tranquil. The colossal diesel-powered ships are floating 3-star hotels with large, comfortable cabins, a sun deck with a pool, and, on the lower deck, a lavish buffet three times a day. Admittedly, there's a bit of a soft hat vibe to the concept. But every now and then, one is allowed to simply lean back for a few days and move into a bubble of laid-back well-being, right? Mornings start extremely early, one day at 3:45 a.m., with excursions to Egypt's many spectacular sights. Afternoons are spent on sunbeds with books or watching palm trees, bewildered cows, and small towns with echoing mosques glide by. The biggest drama is probably when tiny wooden boats come racing in and attach themselves to the side of the ship in true pirate fashion. These are floating scarf sellers who shout their lungs out to attract the attention of passengers, while their small boats constantly teeter perilously close to capsizing. It has been 4 days, 3 nights sailing from Aswan to Luxor on Royal Esadora. We are VERY relaxed and look forward to stepping on the gas a bit in Luxor, where the Valley of the Kings, the Karnak Temple, and other sights await us with bated breath.

We have been in luxor (nile cruise) and we board on ms/egilikia under the supervision of flash tour, its was super (food, pool, sundeck) we realy enjoyed it

MS Emilio. Do not reccomend. The ship way past it's expirey. Got very sick. The massage and photo staff hassle you even on the ship. You can't get a break. The food was horrible!! I honestly give the ship 1 star. Our last night we woke up to the top deck dumping building material into the nile. The air is filthy with fumes. I would skip Eygpt.

We took the four-day/three-night Nile River cruise from Aswan to Luxor aboard the Sonesta Moon Princess, which is categorized as an "ultra-luxury" ship. The ship is very nice and has what I believe to be an itinerary very similar to most of the other 400 Nile cruise ships going from Aswan to Luxor. We chose the Moon Goddess because it is one of the few Nile cruise ships that has cabins with a balcony, however small that balcony may be. Our cabin (typically small as on most Nile cruise ships) on the 4th deck, the food, the decor, and the service were all very good. There was some Nubian entertainment one evening before dinner and a belly dancer and whirling dervish dancer another evening. As is typical, the ship ties up alongside other ships, sometimes four deep, at the limited docking space, at night and cruises during part of the two full days, so while docked your view might be of another ship just a very few feet away. The scenery is lovely along much of the route and we spent most of our cruising time on the top deck, which has a sunny pool area with lounge chairs and a shaded area with tables and chairs. The ship has a very small shop, a spa where you can get a massage, and a couple of exercise machines. We had booked a private guide through our tour company and he stayed on the ship the entire time except when taking us on tours at all of the stops. Many other ships have the same itinerary and are at the same stops as the Moon Goddess, so our tour sights were usually quite crowded. We enjoyed the cruise and I recommend the Sonesta Moon Goddess.

Unless you go 'All Inclusive' water is chargeable. In heat of 40c+ water was denied for us in a cabin unless payment was made, around £1.25 for a bottle. And you need lots of bottles!! As an elderly person I queried it and stipulated that in hot countries - India for example - water was given freely in hotels and coach trips. Not on this boat! 'It's the system' I was told. However, a crew member came to our rescue and assisted us. Water is chargeable on all tours too and never included with breakfast boxes on early trips. .Coffee & tea is only 'free' with breakfast in the restaurant. The boat is filthy, floors aren't washed in the cabins, drapes are covered in dust, fridge not plugged in due to lack of sockets (it didn't work anyway!) When staff used the vacuum cleaner, I could see it sucked up nothing from the carpets . Wine glasses smeared, (never been in a dishwasher), crockery is mostly chipped or cracked. Don't go on this boat. Don't lose cabin key either £5 charge if you do.

I never got to do this cruise. They knew when I booked that I am blind and I travel with a Service Dog. After I made my final payment, suddenly, their hotels will not accept my dog, nor will their chartered air. I call foul. If you are handicapped and you rely on a Service Dog for vision, hearing or other, steer way clear of anything Viking. THis was supposed to be an Egypt Cruise of the Nile, with pre stops in Cairo and post trip in Jordan.