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.

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 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.

Our first impressions were shock at the state of the ship. Everywhere was drab & dirty, you wouldn't consider using the bathroom or sleeping in the beds. The sitting out area was cheap plastic chairs and nowhere near enough for the amount of people on board, the stairs to the upper decks were thin metal treads, extremely steep and dangerous. The food on offer was disgusting. There were no good points whatsoever

Karim Palace - You could not accept this ship as 4* rating, it would be lucky to Qualify for 2* rating. Reception, Lounge, bedroom & bathroom shabby and dirty.
Sitting out area consisted of basic plastic chairs for a small number of people. Dining room was not at all attractive, we wouldn't even consider eating in there.

My husband and I spent two weeks in Egypt last year on board of Karim and Juliana Palace Cruise Ship. It was the holiday of a lifetime for us, as it was something we had wanted to do for years. When we arrived at the boat we had a lovely welcome and drinks were there to greet us. The next day we were introduced to our Egyptologist, who was fantastic. His knowledge was overwhelming and he would chat with you after the tours, he went the extra mile for his clients. The food was of a high quality, the chef was always there at meal times to greet you, and there was plenty of choice. They would put on surprise birthday parties, the entertainment was fantastic, everyone joined in. The boat wasn't the best on the Nile but the service certainly was: 10/10. We are going back next year. I would recommend a cruise on the Juliana to anyone wanting to be pampered because as soon as you step on board that's what you get.