Discover Egypt, Viking Premiere

On reading some of the comments and reviews I would just like to say, get a life or try a package tour to Spain where you can get egg and chips and beer on tap!!!! Egypt has its own culture and way of life, which is not designed to suit us which is why we go there, it is a part of ancient life for which are able to look into, my husband and I have done 3 Nile Cruises

which gave us the bug to explore Egypt more we now go every year driving by 4x4 from UK. It is a truly enchanting country and if people do not like having a Little Britain holiday perhaps they should never have gone in the first place, perhaps would be more suited to a Saga holiday.!!! Our experince of the boats and staff were fantastic and still remain great friends, even visiting their homes when we go there. If you don't like it stay away...

Now called Viking Princess. WOW! What a fantastic time we had! Everything was perfectly organised, we knew exactly what was happening (and when) from the moment we arrived at the airport to the moment we left. Hussein our guide was extremely friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The staff couldn't do enough for you, they genuinely wanted to see you enjoying yourselves. The food was lovely and fresh - no upset tums for us! There were lovely small touches such as the towels on your bed that were made into swans, monkeys etc and the hot flannels that we were given each time we returned from a trip. I must say we did feel that the finish of the refurb was a tad poor and maybe not deserving of 5*, however, don't be put off by this comment, everywhere was clean and fresh; i'm only talking about cheap Dado rail/door frames etc which were not cut straight/had gaps, the rest of the holiday was more than 5*

Viking Premiere ship was old and dirty. If was decorated and maintained then the staff might be motivated to keep it that way

My daughter and I have just returned from a 7 day cruise of the Nile on board the Viking Premiere. The cabins were clean, the staff friendly, and the food plentiful and good - if not exciting. The tours were good and the guides informative and interesting. The chef even recognised us from a previous holiday.Very good value for money.

Great holiday from start to finish. Staff on board were wonderful, lovely comfortable boat and good varied food. The trips to the temples were marvellous with our guide, striking a perfect balance between telling us the history and giving us time to ourselves. The hawkers can be a nuisance but only if you allow them to be, just blank them and they move on to the next people. All in all a wonderful holiday and one I would recommend to anyone. A wonderful experience, terrific value for money, I wouldn't have missed it for the world

I asked the discover Egypt rep to make a note of this which she said would happen and a memo would be sent to head office when we returned home. I contacted Discover Egypt to be told they were sorry but had no record of anything so I personally will not be using Discover Egypt again.

Overall the holiday was a bitter experience, we were glad to have seen the sites, but we feel we paid to big a price for the privilege. The constant barrage of people wanting money from us was sickening and this was made worse by the fact that this was allowed to continue. All in all a disappointing experience, and one I would not recommend to anyone else.

We have just returned from a 7 night cruise along the Nile. This was booked months ago as a surprise for my Husbands 50th Birthday.

Firstly the positive: The tours and the scenery were breath taking, we were both a little nervous as we had never done an organised tour but Discover Egypt and our tour guide was faultless. Every day was varied and interesting, with additional tours for those who wanted to go but there was definitely no hard sell for those who did not. My highlight had to be the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, not normally one for history but the feeling you get standing in those tombs that have been there 1000's of years makes you want to see and learn more.

The weather was possibly a little to warm! understatement of the year in fact on an evening visit to the temple in Luxor at 7pm it was still 98 degrees. It was perfect when we were cruising and there was a constant breeze but when in port sandwiched between other ships it was stifling. My advice would be go in the winter months.

The boat itself I would be generous and say it was tired and needed a facelift, however it was very clean and the food although not up to five star standards elsewhere in the world was reasonable and we certainly were never hungry. My one moan about the food is that in the summer months they don't serve butter the reason being is to aid digestion?? and that tea or coffee is not included as part of the meal you pay separately.

Unfortunately while we were on holiday our airline went bust, however Discover Egypt arranged everything for our return flight with no fuss. We were fully informed at all times, we were taken to a hotel once we had checked off the boat and provided with an evening meal and refreshment

Now very sadly the negatives : I was quite taken aback with the method of tipping which is suggested to you by the representatives. The second day of being there we were asked to give one pound per guest per day for the coach driver (we handed over £14.00 as we didn't want to appear mean) then at the end of the holiday although you are told it is not compulsory the suggested rate is £2.00 per person per day for the boat staff, so that was another £28.00 and finally the tipping of your tour advisor who most definitely without question warranted a good tip, so all in all you are looking at nearly £70.00 just for tipping for a weeks holiday.

Then very sadly the most disturbing part of our holiday is that during our stay we had money stolen from our cabin, Yes we were partly to blame because on this day we did not put our cash in the safe it was left in the bottom of our rucksack in the wardrobe. I immediately alerted one of the Discover Egypt representatives who came to the room to go through everywhere to make sure I had not misplaced it, he then said he would report it to reception and possibly the police would be informed which to my mind was the correct procedure but to my horror he returned accompanied and implied I was lying and that it was my fault and "this has never happened before". At no time did I get an apology from Viking management or an assurance that this would be investigated. All Viking were concerned with that the final bill would be covered. So if you are on board be extra careful we paid a high price and had our money stolen don't let it happen to you!

Good staff and clean. Not a 5 star by any means, food average, too many tips, no beer on draught. Overall not a bad cruise but the boat was very disappointing from the advert, let down with the state of the boat when along side other boats which were of far better status.

Having returned last Monday the 14th April from an unbelievable and truly fantastic holiday aboard Viking Premier, my friend and I would like to say a huge thank you to all the staff on board for making our very first cruise such a great holiday. The boat was so clean and totally user friendly combined with staff that were so helpful and polite made our holiday very special. The food was always varied and catered for all. The Tour Guides were so helpful making each trip so interesting and taking care of all who were on the trip. We were so sad when our holiday came to an end, but even then your staff made sure we were all safely aboard the coach to the airport and once at the airport we were ushered into the department area ready for our flight. We both will be returning for another cruise but again would like to take this time to thank you all.