V779NUcynthiam
26 Jun 2022
In 1Q22, I took a trip to Egypt and Israel thru Cruise Holidays of Kansas City, Uniworld and Gordon Tours. This trip was advertised as a "luxury" tour, with a price to match. I beg to differ, re: the following examples:
Our group booked available excursions in advance. On the first day of the tour, Cruise Holidays and Uniworld held a meeting, during which they pitched the same tours for approximately 10% less than we paid! (And I would not recommend the Karnak Light Show or Cairo dinner cruise!).
In the airport on the way to Luxor, I overheard a Cruise Holidays employee telling another individual on the trip that we were "the most needy and demanding tour group he had ever worked with" and that he had instructed another Cruise Holiday employee to just turn off her phone and only turn it back on occasionally and briefly.
As stated previously, this was a "luxury" tour and all inclusive. This was absolutely not true. I did not tip extravagantly and yet ended up spending an additional ~$1200 for gratuities, meals, taxes and laundry.
The service on the Sphinx cruising the Nile was superb. Unfortunately, the sanitation was not. Five-out-of-eight of the individuals in my party came down with "travelers' diarrhea" mid-cruise. Clearly it was a result of food and/or beverages on the boat that were not sanitized as promised (we were specifically told that everything on the boat was “absolutely safe” and there was no reason to exclusively drink bottled water, for example). Those who got sick were left to their own means to contact a physician while we were in a port and pay for their own care. That medical care cost $150-$200 per person and was not reimbursed by Cruise Holidays or Uniworld.
Nor did Cruise Holidays or Uniworld reimburse members of my party for tours missed due to the aforementioned illness. For example, one individual missed the Abu Simbel trip which cost $341.
The Uniworld tour guides were great. However, they had a lot of trouble getting information on logistics, etc., in a timely manner which they could then pass on to us. In particular, regarding our transfer from Egypt to Israel, the Cruise Holidays employee on the trip referred us to another traveler in our group to help us access, complete and submit the correct information to enter Israel.
Ultimately, our trip to Israel was cut short due to flight availability/covid restrictions. While that is understandable, what is not acceptable is that we missed a day in Israel, and a tour that we paid for in advance, and had to pay an additional $150 to take another tour in Egypt to spend the extra day there that we did not even want. So, we essentially paid for two tours for the same day, of which we only took one and again, were not reimbursed by Cruise Holidays or Uniworld.
We have tried repeatedly thru communication with Cruise Holidays and Uniworld to request compensation for the parts of this tour that were not the "luxury" tour we paid for and expected. Cruise Holidays totally passed the buck to Uniworld. UniWorld eventually offered $1000 toward another tour over the next year. This is not what we requested and not an acceptable response.
In summation, buyer beware if you're considering a Cruise Holidays or Uniworld tour in the future. Be fully prepared to advocate for yourself because you are on your own.