Karim and Juliana Palace Cruise Ship

first time here was not sure what to exspect saw some bad reweiws we had the best holiday ever could not complain about anything ship, crew, and guied were fantastic food good too,we meet 3 girls on board they were great too.would go back again.

I would never go on a nile cruise again and nor would i recommend it to anyone eles not even someone i hated! The rooms were unclean dusty. The bathroom was tiny you could sit on the toilet and clean your teeth without stretching. the food was (well ive lost weight). check all trips and arrangements! i was conned on all inclusive, out of seven day the boat was all inclusive for 21 hours!

I had not read any reviews before I went, but I should have googled around a bit more and read the article I found on the Telegraph website. Regardless, some other reviewers do like this boat, and it's hard to know when reading review. Here is our experience. I would like to add that we are seasoned travellers and have stayed in all types of accomodation and this will be remembered as one of the worst accomodations we stayed in.

We got a very good price for a seven night cruise including food. We'd been to Egypt before and on a Nile Cruise so thought it would be very good again.

This is our experience:

Rooms were dusty and not cleaned. Instead the staff took more pride in making shapes out of towels.

Walls between bathrooms were so thin I could hear neighbours brushing teeth. No extractor fan or windows and mouldy walls. Public toilet was disgusting.

Some of the crew were also noisy all night without consideration for people sleeping. However the cook and the waiters were very nice people.

Tips were suggested by the rep at the end of the cruise - I've been in many better hotels, cruises and had better tour guides and never been asked for undeserved tips so blatantly and such an amount. Tips should be for good/exceptional service.

We met nice tourists on board, and saw the amazing sights of Egypt. We also got a 7 night package at a very good price, so we accepted it as getting what we paid for. However we'll always remember this boat of its seeming lack of hygiene.

Firstly please disregard older reviews that are negative, we had a great time on the Juliana Palace and would definitely go back on her.

She is an older ship and yes there are more luxurious on the Nile but with regard to value for money I could not fault it. Listing as 4* is pushing it a bit I would say more 3* plus. We booked two weeks fully expecting it to be substandard and having to find other accommodation for the second week, we could not have been more wrong

I was advised that she had a refit approximately 6 months ago and most of the negative feedback has been made prior to the improvements.

Cabin:- was small and clean but it did have the most comfortable mattress and quilt ( all new as far as I could tell) bathroom very small and needing some attention, e.g. bath/shower chipped and shower hanging off the wall but our cabin steward did all he could to look after us, towel arrangements on beds are so much fun but I think we exhausted his talents having stayed for two weeks. I would recommend that the front, right hand side of the ship is best due to engine noise at the back and town noise on the left when in Luxor can be a bit of a pain.Pool area:- again was nice and clean with new wicker furniture and a sun bed, pool however was clean but cold (would have been nice to have it slightly heated) hence we only paddled.

Lounge area:- very comfortable and cozy, entertainment on three nights, Nubian show, Belly dancing and Galabia night added to this they did put on a disco most other nights.

Dining room:- again clean, buffet style with the occasional set menu, the food was varied and of a reasonable standard (as long as you like chicken) as this was presented in various forms on most meals.

All Inclusive:- We would not do this again, it did seam to cause a bit of confusion as it is only available for the three days at sea and then only from 1pm till 7pm, we were aware of this but quite a few other passengers were not. Drinks on board were not too expensive 70p bottle water, £2.00 large bottle beer.

Staff:- staff could not do enough for us, a few in particular were extra special and we were really sad to say "goodbye" to them. The man in the shop was nice and helpful. Do treat yourself to a massage, its cheep and sooooo relaxing.

The sister ship Karim Palace returned to Luxor the day before we departed and as far as we could tell she is identical. I am not able to comment if the staff were as good as the Juliana but I am sure they are.

If you are looking for a Nile Cruise on a budget then I don't think you can go far wrong with the Juliana Palace, very good value for money.

Our trip on Karim and Juliana Palace Cruise Ship was one of them situations when you say you have to make the most of it. Lovely group of fellow travellers and the trips are breath taking.

We were booked on the Julianna, after reading the reviews we had no intention of staying on the Karim, but we had a good time due to our fellow passengers and our guide. Do not waste money on all inclusive £80 per person as you are made to feel like a 2nd class person, only having cheap coke, sprite etc beer (same as paying guests) by the glass and only at mealtimes and 3 afternoon sailings, as soon as the hour ended all the wine beers were put away. The beer was only £2 to buy coke in cans 70p and 1 litre water, so fellow passengers were only paying around £50 per week for 3 of them. The bar staff could do with some training on how to treat guests, we think they must have been on a percentage to save on the all inclusive guests!!

The staff were absolutely fantastic - I traveled with my little boy (6) and they could not have been more friendly and helpful. This was a truly awe inspiring experience - the boat was small but apart from the repetitive food everything was great. The food was repetitive and breakfast was awful.

Although I booked for the Juliana palace I stayed at the Karim palace for one week and couldn't of asked for a better stay in Egypt. The boat is basic and simple but needed nothing more as throughout the week you are mainly out on trips. The tour guide was excellent and would answer any questions you had and would go at your own pace whilst out walking and taking pictures. ALL staff are wonderful friendly people and go out of their way to do anything for you that make your stay more enjoyable. The food was always fresh with a suitable selection for vegetarians and a large offering of fruit and veg. It was sad to leave the boat and all the wonderful staff due to making so many friends. I plan to go back to Egypt knowing how friendly the people are. If your looking for a luxury boat with a king sized bed a big tv marble stair case and champange then maybe you should consider wether your actually going to the right country. When your in Egypt seeing the sites is what its all about, with Karim palace we had everything we NEEDED.

The staff was so welcoming and couldn't do enough for you they would leave clean towels in different shapes twice a day and our tour guide was so polite and helpful. Overall I am glad I paid for the full excursion pack as I couldn't have bared sitting on that barge any longer. It was dirty, cramped and we couldn't put our clothes away because the wardrobe was smelly and dirty the food was outrageous it wasn't a 4* it was more like a 2.

The staff was so polite and helpful and our tour guide was so knowledgeable and polite. We stayed in the Karim palace and I am glad we had the full excursion pack because I couldnt have been able to stand being on that barge. The rooms were dirty and cramped, we couldn't put our clothes away because the wardrobe was dirty and smelly. The food was disgusting and we could barely eat it.