Ra I Nile Cruise

The cabin and bathroom were very shabby but bed clean and comfortable The carpets throughout the ship were stained and needed deep cleaning. The was little variety of food and some dishes were overcooked to toughness, beef and chicken for example; however, quantity ensured adequate nourishment. The staff were very pleasant and smiling. My cabin stewards would make swans and animals from towels to leave on my bed but omitted to vacuum the edges and corners of the carpet which had a border of thick dust. Although informed that the cabin bill could be paid by card, at the time they were 'temporarily couldn't make a connection' and I had to find an ATM. The holiday, however, by tollerating these faults, was excellent. The guide was very informative. M/S Ra is definately not 5* by any standards.

Arrived at the Ra I for a Nile Cruise on 6th April 2009 for four nights.

Rate this boat as a 3* certainly not 5*

Re own moorings - only at Luxor

At Aswan moored alongside RA11

Otherwise moored alongside several boats

Visits to temples etc very rushed.

On arrival staff on reception confirmed we could settle our drinks bill by card at the end of our stay but when we came to do this they said we had to pay in cash as they had not facilities to take a card. Our guide on the boat queried this for us and in the end we paid by card!

Overall enjoyed trip and glad we went, although we will not go again.

My Nile cruise (12-15th Dec) aboard RAV-1 ship was very disappointing. Eastmar advertises RAV-1 ship as a 5* cruise but I am curious to know by what criteria can this be classified as a 5* cruise. Considering the quality of its facilities this cannot even qualify as a 3* ship. The rooms felt too cramped and uncomfortable to me, they had a very poor finish, the wooden furniture and walls appeared damaged at places. To make matters worse.

1. One day all of us were having dinner in the restaurant and suddenly the person who I believe was in charge of the restaurant came to our table and took the water bottles and put them below the table, asking us not to keep them on the table (we were carrying our own bottles since the ship was not offering water). Next in a few seconds a waiter came and started removing all the glasses from our table. It was only on our strong objection that they retreated and apologised.

2. One evening, a traditional dress entertainment event was organised in the bar. Around seven families (I think there were only around 12-13 families on the ship) waited at the bar for half an hour after the stipulated time. Since there was no action, they enquired at the reception and were cooly told that the event has been cancelled.

In my opinion some of the staff had a disappointing attitude. The staff gave the impression of not being approachable.