African Safari Club, M.S. Da Vinci Review

We have returned from a week cruising the Nile on the MS Da Vinci, and having been on various cruises over the past few years, including in the Mediterranean and on the QE2 across to New York, we can say that we had a great time.



Have read lots of reviews about the Da Vinci and they seem to range in opinion, so here is ours



Although it is all-inclusive, be ready that they will, as on any cruise, set up an account for drinks and additional expenses that you will settle at the end of the week. Some reviews have said this is expensive, but apart from the wines and spirits which are no more inflated prices than if you were eating at a restaurant, we didn't find them overly inflated.



The food was reasonable and plentiful. You have no choice in what you are given, but this for us was fine. There was always plenty of food, and contrary to some other reviews, I don't recall seeing the previous nights vegetables used in the lunchtime salads and no-one of our cruise became ill for any reason. In this regard you do have to take the advice that you are clearly given on starting the cruise, that you should not drink the tap water or even use it to clean your teeth. If you are cynical about this and believe that it is just said to make you buy bottled water off the ship, then give it a try and don't be surprised if you become ill. Charging £1 for three small bottles of water is not expensive, and the fact that you have to buy this in the heat to avoid

dehydration is another factor that is not to do with the ship but to do with the heat of Egypt, and again you are given advice at the start of the cruise and reminded throughout to ensure that you drink plenty of water.



At the first meal you are seated with people at random and then stay with them for all your meals. We get on with most people, and the people we shared our table with were all smashing. Talking to them about their normal lives and each relating what they had been doing that day added to the enjoyment of the meals.



The twin cabin we had was bigger than any we have had on a cruise and cleaned to a good standard twice a day. We didn't have any problems with our cabin, and even a light bulb that went out one morning was fixed by the time we got back that evening. We were on the bottom deck and our cabin was not at all damp as I have read in some reviews. There was a window, which you don't get with all lower deck cabins on cruises and we were very happy to watch the Nile go by although we spent very little time in the cabin; too busy enjoying the sunshine on the sun deck.



The evening entertainment was interesting and just fun, nothing extravagant or long winded and you have the choice of joining in or not, just as you pleased, and it was people did this to suit themselves.



The ship sails for approximately four out of the seven nights, with stays in Luxor so that you can visit the temples there. As there as several in this area and they are the biggest and most impressive of the lot, you would not want to miss them, they are one of the reason for going on a cruise like this. This brings me to the included excursions, of which we had ten in total. Ultimately you have the choice of whether you join these visits or not, but we did not want to miss any, and we were not disappointed. Yes it is tiring, and hot especially towards midday, but again this is about looking after yourself with hats and fans etc to protect yourself. The trips are all organised to get you back on board before it gets too hot, which involves some early starts, just as they do in Egypt, and this is well worth it.



The tour guide for the excursions (Sherif) was extremely good - knowledgeable, patient and ensured we knew how to be careful in specific areas. As he and the others are all Egyptologists, we learned so much that we never knew, and all delivered with enthusiasm and a sense of humour.



We did optional tours of Abu Simbel, Cairo and the quad bike ride in the desert. All were very early starts, again a mixture of the travel time to the various places as well as needing to be out of the midday heat. All in our opinion were excellent value for money when you consider what was included in each, but you do have to remember to add these onto the cost of the holiday if you think you will want to do them. For example, I knew I wanted to go to Cairo to see the pyramids, and this was £180 each for the Cairo day trip because you fly from Luxor. When you consider this included the flights, the whole day with a guide, a (very nice and lots of it) meal at lunchtime and entry to see the pyramids and Cairo museum, we thought this was good value. And when you consider that you can't do this from every cruise ship on the Nile, it was excellent to be able to do this.



Re tipping and haggling: these are ways of life in Egypt and you should be ready to do these if you go there.



African Safari have a good way of handling the tips because they take £15 off every passenger to distribute to cruise and coach staff, which is much better than having to sort this out yourself as we have had to do on other cruises. The tour guides and tour leader were an exception to this, and you were left to decide if you wanted to tip them separately. The tour guides are freelance, and we had no hesitation giving ours his tip, because he had been excellent throughout and it was well deserved.



Re haggling, you will get hassled by traders trying to sell you allsorts, especially at the places the traders know the cruise ship is in. Again you are warned by the tour staff over and again not to interact with traders as they try all sorts of tricks to get your attention. We found the best way is sun glasses to avoid eye contact and literally ignore them - confuses them because they speak English to get your attention and if you don't respond they think they got the wrong language, by which time you are long gone. Prices with traders we didn't find were especially good value they know you are English and that you are relatively well off so they try for ridiculously high prices. Unless you have hours to spare haggling and can still walk away, then simply don't get involved. Also, as we were constantly told by the tour guides and tour leader 'nothing is for free' if you are offered a piece of card to fan yourself in the temples, they will expect a tip if you have a picture taken with a local, they will expect a tip.



All in all we had a great time on this trip. Considering the number of people they had going to different places at different times, African Safari organisation was great. Mustafa the tour leader was funny and patient, and they made sure over and again that you had the information you needed to make the trip safe and enjoyable. My husband didn't want to go to Egypt in the first place, but even he is saying he would do this trip again.

We have returned from a week cruising the Nile on the MS Da Vinci, and having been on various cruises over the past few years, including in the Mediterranean and on the QE2 across to New York, we can say that we had a great time.



Have read lots of reviews about the Da Vinci and they seem to range in opinion, so here is ours



Although it is all-inclusive, be ready that they will, as on any cruise, set up an account for drinks and additional expenses that you will settle at the end of the week. Some reviews have said this is expensive, but apart from the wines and spirits which are no more inflated prices than if you were eating at a restaurant, we didn't find them overly inflated.



The food was reasonable and plentiful. You have no choice in what you are given, but this for us was fine. There was always plenty of food, and contrary to some other reviews, I don't recall seeing the previous nights vegetables used in the lunchtime salads and no-one of our cruise became ill for any reason. In this regard you do have to take the advice that you are clearly given on starting the cruise, that you should not drink the tap water or even use it to clean your teeth. If you are cynical about this and believe that it is just said to make you buy bottled water off the ship, then give it a try and don't be surprised if you become ill. Charging £1 for three small bottles of water is not expensive, and the fact that you have to buy this in the heat to avoid

dehydration is another factor that is not to do with the ship but to do with the heat of Egypt, and again you are given advice at the start of the cruise and reminded throughout to ensure that you drink plenty of water.



At the first meal you are seated with people at random and then stay with them for all your meals. We get on with most people, and the people we shared our table with were all smashing. Talking to them about their normal lives and each relating what they had been doing that day added to the enjoyment of the meals.



The twin cabin we had was bigger than any we have had on a cruise and cleaned to a good standard twice a day. We didn't have any problems with our cabin, and even a light bulb that went out one morning was fixed by the time we got back that evening. We were on the bottom deck and our cabin was not at all damp as I have read in some reviews. There was a window, which you don't get with all lower deck cabins on cruises and we were very happy to watch the Nile go by although we spent very little time in the cabin; too busy enjoying the sunshine on the sun deck.



The evening entertainment was interesting and just fun, nothing extravagant or long winded and you have the choice of joining in or not, just as you pleased, and it was people did this to suit themselves.



The ship sails for approximately four out of the seven nights, with stays in Luxor so that you can visit the temples there. As there as several in this area and they are the biggest and most impressive of the lot, you would not want to miss them, they are one of the reason for going on a cruise like this. This brings me to the included excursions, of which we had ten in total. Ultimately you have the choice of whether you join these visits or not, but we did not want to miss any, and we were not disappointed. Yes it is tiring, and hot especially towards midday, but again this is about looking after yourself with hats and fans etc to protect yourself. The trips are all organised to get you back on board before it gets too hot, which involves some early starts, just as they do in Egypt, and this is well worth it.



The tour guide for the excursions (Sherif) was extremely good - knowledgeable, patient and ensured we knew how to be careful in specific areas. As he and the others are all Egyptologists, we learned so much that we never knew, and all delivered with enthusiasm and a sense of humour.



We did optional tours of Abu Simbel, Cairo and the quad bike ride in the desert. All were very early starts, again a mixture of the travel time to the various places as well as needing to be out of the midday heat. All in our opinion were excellent value for money when you consider what was included in each, but you do have to remember to add these onto the cost of the holiday if you think you will want to do them. For example, I knew I wanted to go to Cairo to see the pyramids, and this was £180 each for the Cairo day trip because you fly from Luxor. When you consider this included the flights, the whole day with a guide, a (very nice and lots of it) meal at lunchtime and entry to see the pyramids and Cairo museum, we thought this was good value. And when you consider that you can't do this from every cruise ship on the Nile, it was excellent to be able to do this.



Re tipping and haggling: these are ways of life in Egypt and you should be ready to do these if you go there.



African Safari have a good way of handling the tips because they take £15 off every passenger to distribute to cruise and coach staff, which is much better than having to sort this out yourself as we have had to do on other cruises. The tour guides and tour leader were an exception to this, and you were left to decide if you wanted to tip them separately. The tour guides are freelance, and we had no hesitation giving ours his tip, because he had been excellent throughout and it was well deserved.



Re haggling, you will get hassled by traders trying to sell you allsorts, especially at the places the traders know the cruise ship is in. Again you are warned by the tour staff over and again not to interact with traders as they try all sorts of tricks to get your attention. We found the best way is sun glasses to avoid eye contact and literally ignore them - confuses them because they speak English to get your attention and if you don't respond they think they got the wrong language, by which time you are long gone. Prices with traders we didn't find were especially good value they know you are English and that you are relatively well off so they try for ridiculously high prices. Unless you have hours to spare haggling and can still walk away, then simply don't get involved. Also, as we were constantly told by the tour guides and tour leader 'nothing is for free' if you are offered a piece of card to fan yourself in the temples, they will expect a tip if you have a picture taken with a local, they will expect a tip.



All in all we had a great time on this trip. Considering the number of people they had going to different places at different times, African Safari organisation was great. Mustafa the tour leader was funny and patient, and they made sure over and again that you had the information you needed to make the trip safe and enjoyable. My husband didn't want to go to Egypt in the first place, but even he is saying he would do this trip again.