Thomas Cook, Royal Rhapsody

Where do I start!

Left Cairo for Luxor on a late flight and did not arrive at the boat until 11.45pm and set sail south immediately. Consequently we did not sleep well as come 3am we docked at Edfu and had the noise of coming alongside another vessel to keep us awake. Other overnight sailings had the same problem - don't expect a quiet night when sailing/docking!

Our room was average at best and in dire need of a refit (the carpet fitter should do one more job and give up - or just give up now) and the cabin decor reminded me of my nan's 1970s mobile home - very plain and lacking in colour and warmth. The size of the boat is good as it is not too big and the crew were fantastic. Very helpful and accommodating but I would not agree with other people's comments about the food. To my mind it was very plain and only once did we have a flavour of Egypt. Having said this there was a lot of it but I think we had chicken and/or beef on the menu most days. We were told by the Ship Manager that water was boiled for 20 minutes and passed through 2 UV sterilizers and is OK for cleaning your teeth but probably not ok for drinking. Can't say if the boiling and UV is true or not but most people came down with the "Curse of the Pharoahs" at some point or other. My stomach has just started to return to normal after 3 weeks and the best part of 2 weeks of work!!

Finally, be aware of the cost of drinks. ALL water is charged to your room (which is a bit much as the water from the taps is not for drinking and the temperature was mid 30C. A free bottle per person per day would have been a nice gesture) and the only free drinks available are fruit juices at breakfast and tea in the afternoon (with cakes so dry they need dunking). We did not drink much in the way of alcohol but our bill for the week was still over £100 (mainly water and tea). Some people were paying in the region of £250 - £300.

Having said all this I loved the sites we visited and the Egyptologist/Tour Manager we was excellent. She was very knowledgeable and very helpful when I stated to feel ill at Karnak temple and even arranged a car to take me back to the ship instead of going on to Luxor temple.

Recently we returned from a 14 night holiday in Egypt, 7 nights of which were spent, cruising the Nile, on the Royal Rhapsody. This was the third time we had been on a Nile cruise and it was the best so far. We had the most wonderful time and I felt quite emotional on our last night, particularly when all the ladies received a red rose on entering the restaurant. The service at meal times was superb and the food was excellent - if the menu choice didn't suit you they would provide something of your choice - what more could you ask for? Since we had been to most of the temples on previous cruises we opted out of the early morning trips and as such didn't have the early breakfast - on those mornings we were asked 'What would you like for breakfast, where and what time would you like it' - as I said before, what more can you ask for? Yes, the boat could do with a refurbishment but this paled into insignificance because the service was so good. We felt welcomed from the time we arrived and spent a lovely week with a friendly and wonderful crew - Thomas Cook and Nile Exploration should be proud of them. We would also like to pay tribute to our Egyptologist and tour manager, Osama. He was knowledgeable, efficient, organised and most importantly, approachable - he and the Royal Rhapsody crew made the holiday very memorable. The Lake Nasser cruise was also memorable, but for the opposite reason - 5 star boat with 2 star service, waiters more suited to a self service cafeteria rather than a 5 star restaurant. Needless to say we will not be cruising Lake Nasser again!

Read spirit dancers comments before we went. Felt a bit down hearted and wondered what would happen to us. The fact was we had a wonderful time. Yes the itinary was changed - yet again - to accomodate the 5 day cruisers, but I feel it was for the better in the end. We saw every site expected, in fact we got to the sites in some cases before the 'crowd'. Our little cruise ship got to Aswan a day before the rest, we saw the places with ease. We sat one night and watched, boat after boat, arriving in Aswan and parking up. We'd done the sights and were heading off in the opposite direction the following day! Dendera was lovely, on the final part of our Nile cruise bit, not only because of the place, but we were the only tour there. The other cruises had been and gone and were sitting down in Aswan. The Royal Rhapsody is getting a little tired yes, but it is a fantastic little boat, run by a wonderful crew. Food was plentiful and of good quality. The boat was spotlessly clean. No tummy issues. The motor launch to the Botanical Gardens was magical, even though we had to carry our life jackets onboard. There was no horse and carriage ride, and I'm glad there wasn't. The horses in Aswan and Luxor are cruely kept. I've never seen sets of bones covered in horse hair pulling a carriages before. I'm glad Thomas Cook do use them. I would like to say that our Tour Rep, Osarma, was the perfect rep. I cannot put together the words to express our thanks to him. We felt safe in his hands. Our two weeks ran so smoothly. There was no entertainment - but we didn't need it. An Egyptian evening was organised and everyone dressed up, plus we had a buffet on deck one of the evenings. Another change to the itinary was out of Thomas Cooks control, in that EygptAir stopped the internal flight back down from Luxor to Aswan, and we had what turned out to be a lovely coach trip south. We went through villages and saw sights along the way we wouldn't have seen from the air. I hope Thomas Cook keep this one going. The only negative point I can thing of for this holiday, was the number of cruise ships on the Nile and the parking up at night, sometimes 8 abreast. Our boat being the smaller, it felt swamped by some monsters belching out diesel. Our second part of the holiday was with the Prince Abiss on Lake Nasser. This was a much bigger boat, more modern, good food, bigger cabins - but it lacked the friendliness of the Royal Rhapsody.

We did our first cruise of this boat 6 years ago, doing the golden Nile.

we were looking forward to doing 7 days this time and repeating the wonderful time we had. The staff and food on the boat cannot be faulted, but this week because we had 4 passengers who just did the 5 day cruise our whole schedule was changed to accommodate them. This ment that most of the cruising was done at night, which was noisy and we didn't see anything, day times were spent alongside, in a stack of 8 or 9 other boats. All chugging out diesel fumes. The only nice day cruising we did was right at the end when the 5 day people had left, up to Dendera. Also the felucca trip has now turned into a farce in a motor boat carrying orange life jackets ( how naff is that ?) The horse and carriage ride has also been taken out. I know they say the schedule can be changed for various reasons , but surely not to accommodate 4 people our of a total of around 40 ? The boat although very clean and tidy is getting tired and in need of refurbishment. Entertainment on board depends on your tour guide, we were very lucky 6 years ago, he was wonderful. The one this time spent the least possible time with us. They say you should never go back, sad really as the experience 6 years ago was a wonderful adventure. this time it was more like a night dash to Aswan and back.

We have just returned from Egypt having had a 7 day cruise on this boat followed by 4 days in Luxor and 3 in Cairo. I have to say that the cruise was excellent, the staff were friendly and helpful. The food was great and the choice superb. After every days trip out it was interesting to see how our towels would be laid out next, one day it was a crocodile the next a swan etc. The Saturday evenings entertainment was great with everyone joining in. It was like a family party, staff and us joining all together. Our guide Yasser was excellent his information and humour was fantastic. Thanks to everyone. Will definitely come again.

I spent a week onboard Royal Rhapsody (Thomas Cook) and i was pleasently suprised by the crew and rooms and facilities!

wonderful nile cruise on the Thomas Cook Royal Rhapsody. Everyone so friendly and helpful. Boat not full so was like a big family and got to know everyone. Our guide knew absolutely everything about Egypt and was a mine of information on the trips. will definately go again in the future.

Food v.good. nice touches like warm wet towels when arriving back on board and a drink waiting. Bedding and towels always being changed. Cannot fault this cruise at all.

We have just had a wonderful 7 nights cruise on Royal Rhapsody with Thomas Cook Signature. All the crew were so nice and friendly and couldnt do enough for us. Boat not full so made for knowing all other passengers great ,we were like a one big family. Saw everything that we were expecting to. Tour round the boat was excellent, as was the food. Beds and towels seemed to get changed even if we hadnt used them! The little things like warm towels when arriving back on boat after a trip, and going back to our cabin wondering what birds/animals were made out of towels etc, lovely touch.

Our tour guide must have known as much as Zahi Howass!! They were great on all the excursions. Didnt mind the early starts at all, we were really well catered for. We are hoping to do it again in the future.

We were on the Royal Rhapsody boat in November 2008 and would recommend this as an ideal time, it was never cold and it did not get too hot for the trips to temples and other sites. Crew could not have been more attentive or friendly. Relativly small boat on our cruise there were 39 passangers who were outnumbered by the very attentive crew. The cabin boys made animal shapes out of towels etc very interesting wondering what we would come back to. Food was good, plentiful and varied, the boat was virtualy silent in operation and the sun decks allowed chill out time. Not much wrong except that perhaps some of the toilet / shower room decor was getting a bit old.

This is an amazing holiday. The Royal Rhapsody was a lovely boat and all the staff were very friendly and helpful. We had a junior suite, definitely was worth the extra money as not as noisy as standard cabins. The Prince Abbas was a lovely boat too. Our tour guide was brilliant, a very nice lady who really made the holiday special. A bit hectic especially with the early starts but you see all the main sights. Beware of the tipping, can add another £200 to cost of your holiday. Well worth the money. Would recommend this holiday as everything was taken care of. Not the sort of holiday you would want to do by yourself