Discover Egypt, Viking III

We had a superb holiday. Whilst the shuip is getting a bit tired, everything about it was good.

Staff, without exception were very competent, cheerful and eager to plase. Food was good and chef catered individually for people with special dietary needs. Our cabin was serviced twice a day.

Best of all, our guide/Egyptologist, Radwan, was enormously knowledgable, witty and charming. He took enormous care to include everyone and explain what we were seeing.

All in all, one of our best holodays.

Viking 111 cruise had all inclusive there was no hidden extras

and i had a friend who had done this cruise before and

really enjoyed it

Egypt is awe-inspiring and the best and probably safest way to discover the country is an organised holiday with an operator such as Discover Egypt. But avoid June, July, August and September. It's dangerously hot. We went in late November on the Viking III and it was an ideal 85-90f.

Good points, It was just ace. Bad points, Pool bigger. Better food variety. Overall, truly amazing, made our holiday that one step better. Staff were lovely.

A lot of people have mentioned the badgering, but it is still in a sense a third world country and this is how these people make a living. We took it all good naturely, and likened the 'you missy, you buy, one pound' as akin to walking through a british fruit and veg market and the vendors all calling you to buy their lovely banana's... etc... Hubby and I took a walk through Luxor into the non tourist part and could not have been made more welcome. No hassle, lots of genuine, shy smiles. Little children saying 'hello' but not begging.

The Nubian village, it's their way of life. They do not use airconditioning, which to westerners seems strange. All we found was genuine friendly people, who were pleased to show us their way of life and there was no hard sell, or begging.

The Boat and the Crew were as we expected, this is not a massive cruise ship, and thats exactly why we chose it. We wanted the personal touch, not to be just one couple of hundreds. The Nubian staff celebrated hubbys birthday with a cake presented at dinner and the chefs all came out and sang and danced.

The only 'tummy trouble' we came across was mainly due to people not being familiar with how to cope with such a hot climate. People drank copious amounts of alcohol, sat in the midday sun without covering their heads, did not up their salt intakes, and did not drink enough water. Ergo, stomach cramps, diahorrea, feeling faint and sickness. We ate exactly the same food, but took the necessary precautions and all on our table were fine. But hubby has worked in the middle east before and made sure we were all taking the necessary precautions.

The trips were tiring, but there is a lot to see, and the tour is designed to get you to see as much of Egypt as they can, so you can go home and digest the enormity of it all afterwards. Also the early starts were designed to ensure that you were back on board and out of the hottest part of the sun. All the Egyptians we met were so proud of their country and their heritage and wanted to share it all with us.

Another comment about the small children trying to sell you things, one little girl noticed i'd dropped my camera, to her this could have meant a BIG payday if she'd just picked it up and not told me, and sold it. Instead she stopped me and took me by the hand and showed me it, asking nothing in return. Her 'job' was to get money for her family by selling home made dolls, not to steal, and she made that apparent. And she was genuinely surprised when I gave her a 'gift' to say thank you, and kept saying thank you to ME!

Yes the boat was not newly built, yes sometimes you could smell the diesel fumes from the other boats, but if you sat out on deck next to the engine of the other boat it's no different from sitting next to the exhaust of a car with a running engine!

We would love to go back again, we were so grateful to Discovery and their Egyptologist for such a fabulous trip. They were recommended to us by friends who had used them before and we will be recommending them to anyone we meet who wants to make a similar trip!

Although we went in the middle of August with temperatures of 40C we had a fantastic time. There were about 20 people on the boat so not full and our guide, was superb with a good sense of humour and a tremendous knowledge of her subject and knew just how to pitch it so that it all connected and we were able to build up a gradual picture as went along.

Like others we suffered from the constant plaguing by vendors which was possibly aggravated by the fact that tourist numbers were down due to the heat. So the temptation is to stay on the boat, enjoy the air conditioning in the cabin and lounge on the upper deck and pop into the plunge pool whenever necessary.

We went to the Nubian village which actually was O.k. and very interesting. We didn't do the Luxor temple sound and light show which was an extra £17 each and were glad we didn't as others who went said it was very disappointing. We would also recommend going to the Luxor museum which has an excellent display including King Tut's bed!

The food on the boat is excellent but it would be good if they could provide some genuine Egyptian alternatives at each meal. I think they take the safe approach with the menu for western stomachs but it does mean that along with 'purifying' your hands before each meal and only drinking bottled water you are unlikely to suffer from Egyptian tummy, which is certainly a good thing. The quality of the d cor is less than perfect, the bathroom in our cabin looked as if I'd tiled it after a few beers, but its all there and it all worked. We also very much enjoyed the daily towel sculptures; lotus flower, crocodile, monkey hanging from the ceiling, Swan and a couple of hearts. Crew were very friendly and keen to teach us some Arabic. Most useful phrase, for off the boat, being 'La Shokran' = no thank you!

All in all, an excellent experience. From start to finish very well handled and organised. Highly recommended.

I have just returned from the Nile cruise and it has been the worst holiday of my life. Most of the people on board and all the nine people on my table were ill with sickness and diarrhoea and missed one or two days of the cruise in their cabin recovering. My daughter was ill most of the week with diarrhoea and I was ill with headaches, sickness and diarrhoea from around Wednesday. I had my lunch on the Sunday and then I went to my cabin. Within an hour I was violently ill with sickness and diarrhoea so bad I couldn't walk from the toilet to my bed around 2 foot. I had to call the doctor who gave me 4 injections and 4 lots of medication. The next day I had to endure a 5 hour transfer in severe agony, no one offered to let me stay in Luxor to recuperate and I could not stay on the boat. A rep got on at the half way point and asked why no-one had offered to let me stay in Luxor to recuperate. I had to be helped to my room in El Gouna and collapsed. The next day I had to call out the doctor again and I was diagnosed with a bladder infection, made worse by the coach journey and dehydration from the sickness and diarrhoea. I was in hospital 3 days and now nearly 2 weeks later I still feel ill. I have written to the company "discover Egypt" but I have heard nothing as of yet. I would not recommend this holiday to my worst enemy.

For years I've always dreamed of visiting Egypt, but as I'm not a fan of package holidays, and independent travel not advisable, I never got round to it. However, for an advertised price of £399 for a weeks Discover Egypt, Viking III Nile cruise with full board and excursions included, I figured I had nothing to lose.

The flight down over Europe was spectacular. We were lucky enough to have clear skies, and my first sight of the Nile was worth the 6 hour plus flight. What did surprise me was the width of the river itself; I'd somehow always imagined it being mightier than what it really is.

The airport arrivals hall was chaotic, and I still can't remember how we managed to make our way through and onto our allocated coach. However, that said, I'm sure it was obvious, as from that point on everything was organised efficiently by Discovery tours.

On the short bus journey from the airport into Luxor, we were informed that we had been upgraded from a 3* to a 4* boat. No complaints with that one. I will be honest that upon seeing the boat and our cabin, our enthusiasm was a little dampened. A few minutes later we wandered up to the top deck and quickly got chatting to a couple who had been on the boat for a couple of days. They were the perfect introductory tonic, and within minutes had us in stitches over some of their observations. In fact, due to the small size of the boats there is an intimate feel to the holiday, and within a day or two we recognised or knew almost everyone.

Dinner that evening was a little like being marshalled into the school canteen; told to wash your hands, where to sit and that you were to sit there all week. It was all taken in good humour by all, and our selected dining companions were a friendly bunch. The food itself was good, although by the end of the holiday I think we were all looking forward to giving chicken and beef a bit of a break.

The staff on the boat were a friendly and efficient lot, although worth a special mention was the young man who took the trouble each day to create a work of art with each days fresh towels. We had towels formed into elephants, monkeys and flowers, but my personal favourite was a fantastic crocodile eating a soft camel toy which I had bought. Little gestures like these were just as memorable as the most magnificent temple.

The week long cruise was thoroughly enjoyable, although tiring at times, and I'm sure that at some point everyone had reached their own personal quota of temple visits. As we went in March, the heat wasn't too much of a problem, although I'd hate to have gone in the height of their summer.

Although at times this review may seem slightly negative, it's only meant to point out what perhaps may disappoint on encountering. However, once you get past this, and remember that you aren't at home; you are in for a wonderful trip through one of the world's most impressive ancient lands, cruising on one of the worlds greatest rivers. You have fantastic days where you are riding on a camel, cruising on the river boat, sailing on a felucca; it's anything but monotonous.

The one down side to the trip, which I would perhaps mention, as this was at least in our case an optional excursion, was the trip to a Nubian village. It was uncomfortable in the extreme. And although you do get used to the constant haggling by merchants in general, at the village excursion I saw grown adults almost reduced to tears by the pressure. I'd advise you to give this particular one a miss.

Egypt is one of those places where you really do have to bite the bullet and relinquish your personal freedom to the organisers. However, each day is so hectic and brings such exciting new discoveries, you're too busy to notice, and you merrily join the queue to get back on the coach.

Would I go back? Probably not for a long time to be honest.

Am I glad that I went? Absolutely.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but be prepared to be badgered at every opportunity by vendors, and be careful of the sun whilst cruising on the river, as the wind stops you from feeling the true heat and it's very easy to get yourself badly burned without realising it at the time.

We paid £399 for the 7 night cruise, and thought it was a bargain. You need to be aware that there are extra costs once in Egypt, in particular tips (about £30 plus what you want to give to the guide) and the cost of the extra excursions if you want to do them. You can pay for almost anything in sterling or Egyptian money. We took the trip to the Nubian village, including camel ride (a real eye-opener), Abu Simbel (a very early start by coach but, my oh my, was it worth it), and sound and light at Karnak (not very inspiring but OK). It is useful to have a pocket full of English pound coins, as many of the traders will accept them and you can pick up real bargains this way (eg 5 necklaces for £1 sterling). We had real fun bargaining and there were never any bad feelings when we could not agree a deal. Every now and again a trader will ask you to act as a banker for them and exchange 5 x £1 coins for an Egyptian note. We did this a couple of times without problem. I frequently wore a large scarf like a Hijab, wrapped around my head and covering my shoulders (I am female by the way) and found the traders a lot less pushy when I did this. Wow - I'd love to go back again.

I would highly recommend Discover Egypt and the Viking company. You are looked after from the moment you get off the plane until the moment you check through security. The optional tours are worth doing if you have the energy and the trip to Abu Simbel was worth the very early start! A ride on a camel through some desert to visit a Nubian village was the highlight of the trip, you get a good 25 minutes, it's quite safe and well worth the cost of £15. There is also a hot air balloon option, which I did on the last morning. It costs £70, which includes refreshments on the motor launch across to the west bank, transport to the launch site, an hour long flight, dancing with the ground crew when we landed, a certificate and a T-Shirt. We flew near the Temple of Hatshepsut, Valley of the Queens and the Colossi of Memnon and it was quite magical.

All in all, an unforgettable experience. I would certainly do it again in a heartbeat and fully intend to return with Discover Egypt to discover the delights of Cairo and possibly Jordan.