MS Emilio

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We are a family who enjoy the Luxor cruises and hotels. We try and do a different boat and also different hotel each time we go.

The Emilio is possibly okay for first timers. The thrill of boat, food, drink and cruise under one umbrella would be an absolute exciting experience.

Unfortunately for us it was extremely disappointing. The Emilio is ageing and it shows. You are met with a bland foyer. The cabins are breaking down in different areas. Arms fall off chairs, hair dryers stuck together with tape. No glasses or accessories i.e face cloths. We had to request for the room to be sprayed to deter being bitten over and over. The dining room is laid out incorrectly. Just one long counter. Soup is set in the middle. Desserts are on the left hand side. Main dishes on the right. Normally people queue from left to right, which in this case causes people to try and get to soup and accused of jumping in. The food in itself was plain, although always hot and well cooked. Not a great deal of variety.

The staff do their best to compensate for a sad situation, but they seem very loyal to the Emilio.

Wi-Fi hit and miss after paying for it.

We feel that the cruise itself was arranged incorrectly. We spent too long sitting in Luxor, both at the beginning and the end of the cruise. Other cruises have either left Luxor straight away and done all of Luxor on return or vice versa.

All of this will not deter us from going back to Luxor but definitely not on the MS Emilio.

It was a fantastic vacation. The best cruise in my life.

We were fed very tasty food, the staff was polite. Along the way, there are many different sights.

The ship was very clean; the crew very helpful, attentive and polite.

BUT the food, while abundant and well-cooked, was very bland and repetitive. We had to bribe the chef to give us a taste of Egyptian food!

Also, the ship did not dock at Luxor on the outward leg (they blamed low water) but in a filthy village 20 miles away.

The beer was ok, but avoid local spirits (whisky etc) as they taste horrible.

Just returned from a Nile cruise on the MS Emilio which can only be described as being well below expectation. Never the 5 star cruise, more like 3 star at best.

We joined the Emilio on the 8th March and were immediately greeted by the tour reps who appeared to have only one thing on their minds - how much money can be extracted out of these customers!!

In the first breath of the welcome meeting we were told that we should pay £27 per person up front to cover tips for the crew. Several on board (including my wife & I) declined to pay this until the end of the cruise. In fact some (including us) declined to pay this fee at all based on the poor attitude and service provided on the cruise. Waiters need more training on how to serve customers properly and at times were rude, crockery was rejected on numerous occasions because they were dirty. We did tip our cabin boy - because he did a great job in our cabin, and one of the waiters - because he was a cut above the rest in his service.

The food was less than inspiring - lunch & dinner consisted of a choice of Chicken, fish or beef in various forms or a basic salad. Note that sometimes they labelled liver as beef - quite common in Egypt it appears.

At no point did the crew conduct any safety procedure during the cruise.

The main reception desk was also unable to provide any currency exchange for us or change large denomination local notes for smaller values.

At no point did the tour reps. provide any itinerary for the cruise or local knowledge which we would have expected to enhance our experience. Additionally, we were very disappointed to be tied up alongside another vessel in Luxor for TWO days before commencing our cruise. This also applied in Aswan where we were tied up for another TWO days. So much for a 7 day cruise!!

Those unfortunate enough to be allocated cabins at the rear of the boat (cabins 326 - 331) on the middle deck suffered from excess noise & vibration, especially when cruising and the main engines were operating. We believe these rear cabins should be sold at a reduced price and not at full value.

There is a Jacuzzi on deck - it was not working for the entire cruise despite being reported to a crew member and it was cold water only.

The Emilio info states that there is a "swimming pool" - this is in fact a plunge pool.

They also claim that there is an open air gym - this in reality is "one" old bike located at the rear of the sundeck!

When we booked the Hotel-cruise package we were not offered the "All Inclusive drinks upgrade". A few were and included this in their booking at £80 per person for the week. We were offered this once on board by the tour rep at £40 per cabin per night - therefore £280 for the week instead of £160 if included at the time of booking. In our view this was an opportunity to "fleece" the customer. So if considering a cruise on this or any other vessel the tour operator needs to be asked about Inclusive packages.

The tour rep spoke at length about a "tour package" at £140 per person. At no point did they offer the £99 package which was available on the tour operators web site.

It should also be said that the local provider ("Meeting Point") of the transfers between the hotel and the MS Emilio cruise ship were incapable of organising the transfers properly. Several of us were left off the transfer listings creating heated discussions with the coach drivers to allow us to board the coaches.

First big hassle at the airport where they would not take the US$25 dollars receipted on the passport and we paid about double that in English pounds. We queried this with the rep and he said that they need "agents" to help with the influx of people and each need a percentage of the Visa charges???

Next was a fabulous 5-star hotel in Hurghada called the Old Palace where we stayed for 2 nights prior to setting off for the cruise which commenced in Luxor! So we travelled on a cheap tinny sort of coach and happened to be sitting above the wheels resulting in backache after a couple of hours. Trip took 5+ hours. The ship looked OK but on further inspection it was very dirty!!! Esp the furnishings & carpet in the bedroom! But the worst to come was the food!!!!!!!! Most of us at our table went down with an intermittent tummy bug throughout the week on board - but my companion and I spent most of the time in bed with severe gastro-enteritis (still have it, and it has gone on for 10 days - just waiting for my GP to ring me now, as too poorly to wait at the surgery). During the week in question, I surfaced about 3x just to have black tea and lots of rice. But as soon as I tried, for instance, beef stew I had the runs again! Likewise my friend. When my friend ordered a coffee the waiter dropped the spoon - and picked it up stirring the coffee again!!! Absolutely disgusting! The staff including the rep were so money-grabbing and deceitful that one just did not want to order anything. When we asked about an excursion, the rep would not give us a receipt or ticket but insisted on cash for the first (and only) trip I did on Day 2! After this I went down with ongoing diarrhoea. The drinks and water were sold at highly inflated prices and when the boat stopped for people to look around, a big sign was displayed stating NO WATER OR DRINKS ALLOWED TO BE PURCHASED EXCEPT ON BOAT!!!!!!!!! i also tripped on one of their carpets and to break the fall stretched out and cut both arms. These were deep cuts and are still suppurating. I asked the Reception whether they had a FIRST AID BOX and he took out a box which contained all sorts other than plasters or bandages or antiseptic!!! The rep never enquired how I was, as most in our party knew I was unwell and in bed - other than when I bumped into him when going for a massage.\ My friend was unable to swim in the pool on the upper deck as water much too cold and "funny colour"...At the end of the journey, I decided to buy a DVD to see what I had missed - and this morning (after getting back in the early hours yesterday: 19 Feb 15) my friend and I had a look, and the first disc showed a very long queue of pple waiting for coffee to be poured (this lasted about half an hour!) - and unsurprisingly the guests looked very bored and annoyed! Another disc showed a party of people going on a motor boat to view the natural beauty and birds in Aswan. I did not recognise ONE of the individuals there and can only assume this was thrown in to fatten up the £20 unbelievably unprofessional photography on these 2 discs. \ I doubt I shall go on a cruise ever again - unless it is the Cunard! The aggressive and nasty begging of the natives was very unpleasant and my friend had a Beduine scarf pulled over his head with the demand for money! Presumably a joke. I rushed to the scene and helped him untangle himself, but he had already paid £20 so I said I wanted a handbag (worth about £5) but not the "scarf"... When once you have paid anything, do not expect change. Give the correct money, as they will have you over a barrel then. These people I encountered were extremely cunning, and proficient in the art of conning. NEVER AGAIN! from Catlover9cleo, London, England.

We have just returned from a 7 nights cruise on MS Emilio and a 4 night stay in the Old Palace Resort in Hurghada which was booked through Travel Interaction the agents in Egypt was You Travel which came under the umbrella of Meeting Point. We started our holiday with a 3 night stay at the Old Palace. The hotel was lovely a truly 5 star Hotel.

We got picked up by Meeting Point for the Journey to Luxor to the boat at 1 pm we had been told that it was a 3-4 hour journey. We in fact arrived at the boat at 7.30 pm as we had spent 2 hours travelling around Hurghada picking up which was absolutely ridiculous.

The booking it at reception was fast and we was allocated our room 329. As soon as we walked down the corridor there was strong smell of diesel as we walked towards the rear of the boat and we was the next to last cabin above the engine room. The room was dreary and was in need of redecorating and upgrading. We set sail that evening and the following morning we moored in Komombo.

Day 1

We had our welcome meeting that morning we were told by the guide that the tips of £27 per person was compulsory. We found later in the week that some people had not paid this but had elected to tip individually. We booked the trips package ( which we thought some was included free with the cruise) which was the visits to Valley of the kings, Karnak, Edfu, Aswan, Komombo temple. This cost £140 per person and we also booked Abu Simbel £80 and a trip to the Nubian Village £24. We met some people who had actually booked all these trips in resorts and got them 25% cheaper.

The first trip to Komombo temple was lovely but it was just a short walk off the boat so could have been done individually at a cost of 30LE ( £3).

Day 2

Aswan… 7 am start and we did the High Dam and Temple trip. Some people just caught a taxi there. The guide Ahmed was really informative but on our way back to the boat we was taken to a perfume shop where we had to endure 2 hours of sales pitch the buy perfumes and essential oils.

In afternoon we went on a motor boat to the Nubian villiage which was lovely and well worth the money of £24 pp.

Day 3

Aswan…. A 2.45 am early morning call to go the Abu Simbel. The journey was about 3 ½ hours but the cost of £80 was well worth it. If you do this trip make sure you take a pillow with you.

Day 4

Edfu… Visit to Edfu temple and then sail straight back to Luxor. Again this trip can be done individually as it is walking distance to the boat cost 30 LE (£2)

Day 5/6/7

Luxor…. We were moored against a disused boat so our view from the balcony window was crates of empty coca cola bottles Which was going to be the view for the last 3-days of the cruise. The first night in Luxor I complained about a smell in the room of diesel and we had an engineer in the cabin at Midnight to investigate. The following morning we was moved to the opposite side of the boat up one floor and this room had a lovely view of the Nile. We felt a bit cheated as this was a Nile Cruise but spent 3 days moored up in Luxor. The trips to Karnak Temple and Valley of the Kings was excellent be aware that you have to go through the Papyrus shops for 1 hour after the visits.

The boat MS Emilio.

Food was repetitive and tasteless with little choice. If you didn’t get in the queue early most of the food had gone and it wasn’t replenished. There was not enough cutlery in the dining room and on more than one occasion I had to stir my coffee with a fork because there was no tea spoons.. None of the chefs were wearing gloves and no tongs for handing dry food like bread. In all the hygiene was poor.

There was little regard to safety we saw fire doors propped open with fire extinguishers. The was no notice of assembly points in case of emergency and we were never told were the life jackets were stored although we found them in the wardrobe. One day we were sailing with the main doors unlocked with just a table in front. Someone complained but they dismissed it saying it would be fine.

You also got an option to upgrade all inclusive for £20 per person per day. We didn’t do this but be aware that some people we spoke to found that they were slow getting served and also you can only get served wine in the restaurant but not the bar although if you weren’t all inclusive you could buy wine in all the bars. If you wer all inclusive you could only get drinks between 11 am -11 pm and not even tea or coffee outside of these times. The drinks were expensive e.g. 42 LE (£4.20) for a 500 ml bottle of lager.

We paid at the start of the cruise £54 in tips so if everyone on the boat paid these that would be over £3500 in tips. There was 60 staff on the boat and we was told that the waiters and bar staff only see £5 of this so what happens to the other £3k.

We did have an enjoyable week sightseeing and would recommend this but the boat was in need of an upgrade it claims to be 5 star but I would rate it 3 star at best

We booked this originally to travel in February on MS Stephanie - but were cancelled because of Egyption Revolution and rebooked for March and upgraded to MS Emilio. This was a special occassion for my wifes 60th Birthday. Our original disappointment was overcome with all of our expectations being surpassed. The boat was excellent - there were 80 crew and only 40 or so passengers - which was brilliant as you got to know most of them and what a good bunch they were. The food was excellent - I dont know of anyone who had pharoahs revenge - and pretty varied. The staff were fantastic - true there were more crew than passengers - but there attention to your needs was second to none. Our Guide - Waleed - not only know his stuff - but went out of his way to make sure that the excursions went off without a hitch - warning of what to do and what not to do - he even stopped at a bank to pick up lots of small change and acted as a personal banker so that we had small notes/coins etc where required. We travelled through Preferred Egypt who managed all of our travel arrangements - which went off withou a hitch - and Orbital Travel were the local agents - who were also excellent.

We spent an extra week in the IBERHOTEL - on an all inclusive basis - well worth doing if you have not been before - again an excellent choice.

We were extremely lucky - due to the revolution - there were not a lot of tourists - so no queues and we could take out time at each of the temples and tombs that we visited. It almost became embarrassing because the local people (not theb traders) were genuinely pleased to see English tourists - some even took our photographs.

We felt entirely safe for the whole duration and would encourage others to take advantage in the lull in tourist activity to get a bargain and beat the crowds.

All in all - a fantastic holiday - and the weather was perfect - a good decision to defer a month

Our ship was the Emilio Domino Prestige and we were very happy with the standard of care and attention given by all the Staff. Two who stood out were Waleed, our guide who is one of the most kind and considerate men you could wish to meet and Mr Isaacs the rep from Orbital travel who was always there when we needed him right up to our final departure. Waleed loved his country and his subject and and his enthusiasm and laugh were infectious. We would certainly recommend this ship.

Very clean ship inside and out making others look shabby. Very friendly and helpful staff always wanting to please. Exceptionally quiet and smooth on the water. Very comfortable king size bed. All Inclusive deal proved excellent value for money resulting in no extra spending. Tour guide Alla extremely knowledgable on Egyptian history and good sense of humour added to a first rate experience. Our booking + tickets through Co-op travel on line proved a little confusing as it wasn't clear who was providing what, so double check on transfers and make sure you have 2 copies of everything associated with the holiday.