shawkins22202
06 Dec 2022
This is a complicated review because it turns out that there are several different entities involved in this service. If you don’t feel like reading further, the bottom line is that we had a great time and a wonderful experience. All the logistics worked, and the communications were as frequent as needed and accurate.
In order, the review that follows will address Viator (we paid them), Imperial Egypt (they made the cruise arrangements and provided our great guide and all the logistics), and Iberotel (their boat, the Crown Emperor was what we sailed on).
Our cruise was the standard 4-day, 3-night downstream sailing from Aswan to Luxor. It started on Monday, November 28 and ended on Thursday, December 1. We docked at and toured from Aswan on Monday (Phillae) and Tuesday (Abu Simbel), sailed to Kom Ombo on Tuesday evening, then continued on to Edfu to dock overnight. We toured Edfu temple on Wednesday morning and then sailed on to Luxor, arriving in time to tour Luxor temple before dinner on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, we started with the optional dawn hot air balloon and then after breakfast proceeded to tour The Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s temple, and Karnak. The days were packed with touring or watching the banks of the Nile slide by from the sun deck, or both. Both Tuesday and Thursday started at 4am to be able to pack in all that was going on. There were a lot of moving parts to this, but they all worked and were well-coordinated.
First, Viator is the company we paid for the cruise. Viator is a company owned by TripAdvisor. They don’t have anything to do with any of the specific cruise services, but the handling of the money and the connection from them to Imperial Egypt, the company that actually made the arrangements and provided the guide and the logistics was efficient and as advertised.
Second, Imperial Egypt was the actual tour company that provided all of the arrangements, the logistics, and the guide. Soon after making our booking, we began to receive emails from Imperial Egypt (Hany) and he was very good about confirming our arrangements and informing us about what was included in the tour package and what had to be paid separately. The bottom line on costs is that they will pick you up either from the airport or from one of their listed hotels at the start of the tour and will take care of any needed logistics until the time they drop you off at the airport or your departure hotel at the end. All costs are covered except you do have to pay separately for all entry fees and you do have to pay for all drinks (except coffee/tea at breakfast and tea time and the bottled water they put in your stateroom each day). In our case, we also had to arrange for a different pickup site since the hotel we were staying at was not in the downtown Aswan list.
Imperial Egypt also makes the arrangements for the boat (see below), which in our case was the Crown Emperor, operated by Iberotel.
Our guide was Mido Mosa and he was excellent. Mido is a very knowledgeable Egyptologist and was very good about explaining which temple was related to which person or god and what was going on in the temples at various times and during various feasts and festivals. Mido was also very clear about the daily schedule and logistics and what the costs would be for each day as we went along. He also set up a WhatsApp group for us, both so we could communicate if something wasn’t clear or didn’t seem to be going as expected, and so he could share photos he had taken over the years or were from the archives and showed the way things were ‘before’. Mido was really the core to our excellent experience.
Finally, our boat was the Crown Emperor, which is one of several operated by Iberotel. They were responsible for the boat itself, all activities on the boat, and the food. The Crown Emperor is in good shape and has been fairly well maintained, but it is an older boat and has seen some wear and tear. The decks are somewhat uneven and creaky and the linen has been washed many times and has the scratchy feeling that goes along with that age. That said, everything basically worked and the important stuff, such as the bathroom and the food, were really quite good. One of the reasons they are able to keep the costs of this kind of cruise so reasonable is very likely the age of the equipment they are running, so if you want something newer and shinier, you are liable to pay more.
As a side note, the hot air balloon at dawn over the Valley of the Kings turned out to be enormous fun. It is completely optional and at additional cost, but for us it was $75 each, which seemed like a great deal.
So, in summary, this was a wonderful experience that we greatly enjoyed. We saw so much history that it all started to jumble together. If you get a chance, you should do one.
We boarded the Nile cruise ship Hapi V at Aswan, excited after the high of seeing the Great Pyramids of Giza in Cairo. We flew into Aswan and transferred to the ship Hapi V. The first look of the ship lobby was disappointing. It showed its age, lots of wood and worn out flooring. Our room was on the second floor, clean but old. The carpet was dirty and a dark grey because of the dirt. The bathroom was old, but clean enough. The shower stall glass door had hard water stains. There were no toiletries nor was there a coffee kettle and supplies. Hot water was freely available in the bathroom at all times so that’s one good thing.
Our room boy was very sweet and accommodating. He made innovative flower and elephant decorations with the bath towels every day!
The dining room was below the water level. It was cramped. Food served buffet style. Hardly enough room to go around the buffet and squeeze back to your table. Unknowingly, since there were no servers around, I sat at a table and the dining room manager Ahmed, shouted across the room at me that I could not sit there. When my friend objected this manger told her not to raise her voice! Fair enough, sir, but you could have politely told me at the table! I moved anyway and told him that it was not proper to yell to get me to move on his part. I felt it was a racist move, brown skinned customers not the same as other tones I guess. Anyway we had to bring his behavior to the attention of the management because when my friends continued to ask why he was behaving this way, he started to shout at them. Some English people told us, “You Indians leave this place!” The GM of the ship Mr Mohammed did apologize and assure us that we could dine together as a group and promised to put us on the platform with the view of the River.
We were seated in the less privileged section of the dining area, away from the windows which were occupied by white people. I guess the euros/dollars they paid were more worthy than the $$$ we paid. Grudgingly, after we asked about it, they did seat us the next day at a platform table that was in a corner near the smoky cooking area. I feel the need to call out racism even if it’s from a fellow brown person. The Nile River cruise is popular enough that Hapi V or Hapi Five cruise ship could have done better. I did not expect such behavior from Egyptians on the front lines of the tourism industry.
The food was below average on the Hapi V in taste and variety. They repeated the first day menu on all four days we were in the cruise ship!
The servers/waiters were all young boys, when we tipped them, they had to hand over the tip money to the restaurant manager. We saw them do this several times.
The entertainment included one cocktail hosted by the ship captain. There was belly dancing one evening by a man in Turkish costume. He was pretty good.
The deck of the ship was above the third floor bar. There is no elevator/lift available to get up there. So if you have trouble climbing stairs don’t book this cruise ship. There is a pool, but at this time of the year the water is cold. There were a couple of people and kids having fun at the pool though.
It was pleasant to sit on the deck, the views were stunning. We had a great view of the Esna locks from the deck. The shopping while waiting for the locks to be free was nerve-racking! It involved the seller in a tiny boat displaying his wares, while you were on the deck at the very top of the ship. Much tossing of towels, shawls and dining table clothes went on from sellers to the ship. Money was thrown back to them! Beware of pickpockets while watching the shopping down below. One of our purses was half opened but luckily only one small item was missing from the bag. Point to note - we were surrounded by white Europeans on the deck.
On the whole our experiences in other parts of Egypt were very good. The only sour note was this cruise ship. My travel agent unknowingly booked us in this poor quality ship when there are so many choices and we were willing to pay more. Be cautious of the Nile River cruise ship the Hapi V or Hapi Five if you have the money to avoid it! They especially welcome white tourists over others was the feeling I got.