Adel Guided us on Excursions really well and the Ship was Beautiful.
We were picked up from Luxor Airport by our amazing guide Adel, of Orbital tours and taken to MS Royal Princess. This is a small cruise ship, (less than 70 cabins), decorated very grandly with an impressive central staircase. As we had arrived very late, there was a large selection of rolls and fruit waiting for us in our cabin. The cabin was spacious and well equipped with a decent shower room, comfortable double bed with side tables, a dressing table, wardrobe, a small table and 2 armchairs (facing a large Juliet balcony). In fact it was a mini suite with top quality, dark wooden furnishings. Towels were often displayed on our bed in various amusing shapes too.One of our favourite things was to look out from the floor to ceiling Juliet windows at the bank and passing ships as we sailed along. One of our least favourite - but which cannot be avoided and is totally understandable- was the times when we were moored up between other similar cruise ships. On those occasions we could not see out of our balcony windows at all. The only view was the side of the ship beside us. However, this was a small price to pay for the wonderful things were were taken to see. The food on the ship was of good quality, with an excellent salad selection and a good variety of meals and desserts. Always a delicious soup and plenty of bread and fruit too. Sadly, the pre-prepared 'hot' meals were barely warm. However, there was always one freshly cooked, hot item available, just inside the door of the restaurant - this could be hot meat, hot fish or even pizzas. Drinks were readily available and reasonably price both in the restaurant, at the lounge bar and on the sun deck, where afternoon tea and cake was also served free of charge daily. It should also be mentioned that a large bottle of water was provided to each of us every evening. There was some very good evening entertainment provided too but it had to be said that, with the early starts, we were usually too tired to go along to it, All the ship's staff were polite, respectful, friendly and helpful. We were fortunate enough to be part of a small group, 8 in total, under the excellent care of our Orbital Excursions Guide, Adel. This extremely caring, personable and very knowledgeable man organised our excursions. He ensured we were both well informed and very safe. Adel was also a great deal of fun and made our holiday experience very special, not least his use of fun English phrases, of which he had learned many, e.g. after warning us of uneven steps etc, he would say, 'brace yourself Rodney!', and on completion of a successful excursion 'Bob's you uncle.' But Adel was more than a well organised guide who took care of us, he was also able to give us a great deal of in depth information about the places we went to see. He had personal experience of the excavations and discoveries in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens too and was able to show us areas that tourists don't normally have access to. We will always be extremely grateful for the opportunity to have been guided by him. He went above and beyond for us on many occasions and made our holiday truly memorable. Our fellow travellers in the Orbital group were a very friendly, easy going, interesting, eclectic mix and we were fortunate enough to have a couple who had frequented Egypt many times,(brothers- -in law, Oliver and Gordon). Oliver knew a great deal about Egypt and spoke fluent Arabic, which added an extra dimension to our trips, and Gordon was a great deal of fun, frequently making us laugh out loud. We hold a special place in our hearts for them both. So, we would highly recommend going on a 7 night Nile Cruise with Orbital (booked via Classic Holidays) on the MS Royal Princess, especially in the cooler times of the year. It will be the experience of a lifetime - especially if you are guided by Adel.
We had a brilliant guide called Elia from Orbital travel who I would highly recommend. No only was he extremely knowledgeable but he assessed his audience to make sure he was not boring us or if we wanted any other information. He showed he was kind and caring and wanted everyone to enjoy the experience. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble.
The trips were good, the food was good and the cabins clean. Would have liked more covid procedures in place as although there was hand sanitiser outside the restaurant, it was not enforced at all, the restaurant staff did not all wear masks (some did and some did not) and we both caught covid, so believe it was from the ship.
Arrived in Luxor from Hurghada ( 5 hours by coach). Boarded MV Jamilla a river cruise boat. Looked wonderful and greeted by Mohammed from Meeting point tours. He was amazing, so knowledgeable and nothing too much trouble however small . Cabin was nice with all the necessities and very clean, serviced daily sometimes twice with towels.
Restaurant was buffet style with variety of foods to suit all nationalities and tastes. Nice bar with room for entertainment. Upper deck with bar, covered area to sit without sun, pool and sun beds. Tea served every afternoon, and drinks served any time.
Massage facility on board, recommended to unwind. Tranquil seven days from Luxor to Aswan and return to Luxor, stopping at key places where one could get off and browse at leisure or take a tour or even two. Went to Karnak, from Luxor, Edfu , Komombo, Aswan? Saw oldest temple in Esna on return plus a souk. Went to valley of the Kings, had a felluka sailing experience in Aswan and visited high and low dams. All this and still felt relaxed. Last night moored in Luxor, so took trip by taxi to Winter palace for afternoon tea. Great end to a wonderful holiday.
Highly recommended. Just a couple of pointers, refrain from eating salad items washed in