Tours to Egypt did not provide the tour it advertised. We were not booked on a five-star vessel, as promised, and the cruise did not follow the published itinerary.
Tours to Egypt advertised a five-star cruise and confirmed by email that we would be booked on the Radamis II, Semiramis II, or Princess Sara. A few days before our trip was to commence, the tour operator contacted us via phone text and offered us an upgrade to the Movenpick Hamess for $250.00/person. We declined the upgrade and, when we arrived in Aswan, found that we had been booked on the Grand Princess. The Grand Princess was certainly not a five-star vessel and I would consider it a bit of a stretch to even describe it as a 4-star vessel. The public areas were, perhaps, typical of a 4-star vessel, but our room was in serious need of a facelift. The walls looked dirty, the drapes hung loose from the drapery rod at one end, and the safe was dysfunctional. The door could not be locked and the safe wasn’t bolted in place. WiFi was available onboard for a fee, but almost never worked. We succeeded in sending one short email without attachments after four tries. Attempts to send additional emails failed completely.
Worst of all, the cruise did not follow the advertised itinerary. The vessel didn’t leave Aswan in time to reach the promised destinations and we reached Luxor too late to tour the temples of Karnak and/or Luxor. These temples were the anticipated highlights of our trip to Egypt! Fortunately, we had scheduled a rest day at the Luxor Hilton Spa and Resort following our cruise and were therefore able to visit the aforementioned temples the day after our cruise ended. The tour operator willingly extended our guide services and paid our entrance fee, but by failing to follow the published itinerary, Tours to Egypt stole the day of rest and relaxation we had planned on enjoying prior to our long flights home. I should note that we had inquired about the delay in leaving Aswan and were told that there were no mechanical problems. The Grand Princess was simply scheduled to leave later than the vessels we were told we would be cruising on.
The crew aboard the Grand Princess was terrific. The crew members, from the restaurant staff to the cabin boys, were helpful, attentive, and personable. The tour guide provided by the tour operator also deserves special mention. Our guide was knowledgeable, respectful, considerate, and extremely likeable. His efforts and those of the crew allowed us to enjoy our cruise despite the failures attributable to the tour operator.
In closing, the tour operator (i.e., Tours to Egypt) failed to deliver what was promised, but the guide and crew made for an acceptable trip.