4 Days 3 Nights Cruise From Luxor to Aswan including Hot Air Balloon&Abu

8 reviews for 4 Days 3 Nights Cruise From Luxor to Aswan including Hot Air Balloon&Abu

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   MICHELLE_B – August 31, 2021

   Amazing experience excellent customer service! Heba was very attentive from start to finish and Whatsapp communication was quick and easy. There’s a lot she can help with that isn’t listed in this itinerary as well so whatever you need just ask! Erase and friendly customer service vegan from booking and continued with the pickup at Luxor airport by our guide Mohamed who speaks very clear English and is very knowledgeable and friendly! We started in Luxor and the tours, the ship Princess Sarah, and the staff were amazing. This was our wedding anniversary and we did medical tourism so had limited diet after surgery for two of our party, and Heba worked that out as well, the chef was ABSOLUTELY THE BEST, came out and checked on me every meal, and we loved everything. They even surprised us with an upgrade to a suite and it was SO romantic, I highly suggest anyone travelling with children or more than one couple get the suite! They also surprised us with anniversary cake in the dining area. This was actually our first cruise ever and the scenes down the Nile, the tours, all worth it. I picked this tour originally because it for nicely into our itinerary and was not too short where we would get no rest between tours, and not too long where we wouldn’t get enough time at our next destination. Heba also arranged our transfer from Aswan to Hurghada and Ahmed our driver was right on time, even early, spoke enough English to allow us to get some ice cream when we wanted and answer my curious questions about the towns and people we passed. He was very nice although for Americans he may drive faster than they are use to. Only con is it’s way harder to get decent price flights at reasonable times out of Aswan to Hurghada than it is to get affordable flights out of Luxor to Hurghada, so if you are planning to go on to Hurghada after this cruise as we were, make sure to stay in Aswan and end in Luxor. That way you either have a quick drive or a quick flight to get there.
   I would definitely book this again.
   I do suggest a little email reminder be sent out 3 to 5 days before the trip starts with a lot more detail about what to expect as part of each day and each tour… List everything by day and the expected wake times, travel times, and whether that trip will be videotaped as well as prices and typical tips in Egyptian pounds. Some of us are not morning people and a video camera surprising us first thing in the morning as we go on a tour needs advance notice. We loved the video result though for the hot air balloon tour and ended up buying it for the memories!
   Also, I don’t remember his name but the Nubian driver who took me and Mohamed to the Abu Simbel tour was an excellent driver and he should definitely be hired again!
   Thanks to Mohamed for his patience with us always being late to start the early tours, and thanks to Heba for an incredible anniversary celebration! We loved this experience.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Andre_C – September 25, 2021

   Very good experience. The boat had very good conditions and the staff of the boat was very kind and careful. Our guide was great.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Phoenix_R – December 17, 2021

   We were lucky to be able to book this cruise last minute and it was so relaxing after the hustle of the city.
   Our guide was Hossam Rashwan and I would highly recommend asking for him when you book. He goes above and beyond to make the experience as smooth and easy as possible. He is very knowledgeable about all the sites and knows the best times and ways to get everywhere for the best experience.
   The cruise had a good selection of vegetarian food and the towel animals were wonderful.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   waad_K – January 8, 2024

   It has been a great experience! The cruise was well planned and everything went seamlessly! We had a great tour guide, his name is Ahmad, he was very knowledgeable and patient! I recommend it!

5. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   Ariel_S – March 6, 2024

   This cruise and tour includes many components, so I will summarize each of them separately below:
   Transportation and tours: 5/5
   Tour guide: 3/5
   Safety (Covid): 1/5
   Cruise staff: 5/5
   Accommodations: 2/5
   Food: 2/5
   First off, the trip was well organized and run by the tour group and cruise operators. Heba, despite not being on our tour, communicated with us throughout via Whatsapp and went above and beyond to make our experience seamless, including arranging a free airport pickup when we were planning on simply taking a taxi. There was one minor snafu when we arrived in Edfu, but other than that, we did not have to worry about planning or timing much which is a great feeling on vacation. The sites themselves were incredible and we would gladly revisit all the temples and tombs all over again.
   As for our guide, Ismael – he is very knowledgeable and well-versed in Egyptian history and was able to tell captivating stories in each of the sites. However, his tours felt rather impersonal, as he did not take the time to learn our names, which would have been a nice touch given we were spending 4 days together. Additionally, since we traveled halfway across the world to visit Egypt, it would have been nice to have the opportunity to spend more time marveling at each of the sites. Our guide was very concerned about keeping to a strict time schedule, which made us feel rushed in exploring on our own and taking some pictures. He was oftentimes visibly and audibly displeased if we were more than one minute late, even though it did not materially affect any of our subsequent plans. Ismael also told us how much to tip various drivers and cruise personnel. While we felt this was helpful information, we understood it as a guideline and not as a mandatory number that we must give. In the United States, we tip based on the quality of service so if the service is not good then the tip should reflect that. However, if we did not tip what he told us, he was rather aggressive and told us it was not sufficient, which was a rather uncomfortable situation.
   In regards to Covid safety and protocols – while the tour listing may state that the tour and cruise staff take precautionary measures to keep everyone safe, this is simply not the case. Our guide and none of our drivers ever wore a mask. The cruise staff, for the most part, did their best to keep us safe with masks. However, if you are worried about getting sick abroad and not being able to return home because of Covid, I would discourage you from taking this (or any) cruise. They have strict meal times where every cruise passenger (several hundred) is served their meal indoors, in an enclosed room downstairs, with no windows and poor ventilation.
   Cruise staff gets a 5/5 overall: they were very friendly, helpful, kept up with safety precautions for the most part, and delivered impeccable service.
   The cruise accommodations were suitable, but far from luxurious or what would typically merit 5 stars. The bed was hard and the blankets were not very breathable. The room was carpeted, which captures a lot of dust over time. The shower was hot, which was nice, but it did not keep a consistent temperature, oftentimes fluctuating between scalding hot and ice cold. We had to keep the toilet lid down or else the entire room smelled like sewer.
   Finally, the food, which was an Americanized buffet for all meals but one, was mediocre and generally composed of soggy dishes. There was one dinner that was primarily Egyptian food, which we really enjoyed, and would have liked to experience more often. We didn’t travel to a foreign country to eat the bad version of our own food. It was disappointing.

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jeff_W – March 15, 2024

   I just wrapped up the 4 day/3 night Luxor to Aswan cruise. The food was delicious, the tour was paced well and riding the hot air balloons was the highlight of the trip! Our guide, Hossam Rashwan, was incredible. Very knowledgable and funny, we enjoyed having him. He had an extensive knowledge of each site, but also gave us time to explore the locations with free time. Great experience!

7. 

   Rated 1 out of 5

   Thomas_M – April 7, 2024

   Absolutely miserable experience.
   – Visits to Papyrus “museum” and Alabaster “workshop” added to itinerary without prior warning. Took time out from what was available to view the actual sites listed, essentially scams that sell the exact same prints/products as every other iteration of these places throughout the country.
   – Poor quality and limited vegetarian food options. Set menu lunch on first day the option was the same plate as the regular meal just with the meat removed – so rice and vegetables. The rest were buffet but with limited options, staff didn’t seem to understand “vegetarian” so ended up with meat dishes on my plate multiple times despite asking them what did/didn’t contain meat. Requested vegetarian “breakfast box” on final day and received a chicken sandwich.
   – Room was average at best, quite dirty in the bathroom and the fridge actually warmed anything placed inside. Had better results cooling anything but using the room air conditioning. Impossible to sleep, work or really do anything while the boat was sailing as the entire room vibrated/shook violently due to the engine leasing to severe sleep deprivation.
   – Tours were OK, but very short and with excessive focus on hieroglyphics leaving little time to appreciate or pay much attention to the actual structures/temples/etc. A common comment I’ve encountered when researching visiting Egypt was to use guides as they provide context to what your viewing/seeing – however it felt like at times it swung too far in the other direction and was provided a lot of context and information about minutiae for something I didn’t really get to see.
   Biggest concern was the papyrus/alabaster stores effectively being snuck into the itinerary – if they had been mentioned at any time prior I would not have booked at all or would have cancelled. Seems to be common to tours here as it was the 5th time I’d been in such places due to being snuck into other tours as well.
   On the last day, after barely sleeping for two nights I ended up leaving early before I completely lost my mind. I had heat stroke due to the the driver on the way back from Abu Simbel ignoring requests to turn up AC from an incredibly weak setting – combined with accidentally taking a bite of the chicken sandwich included in the breakfast box that I was assured would be vegetarian, was simply too much on top of everything else.
   Overall a highly disappointing, and overall miserable experience that was not remotely worth the cost. Severely soured my experience in Egypt.

8. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   Elizabeth_W – March 26, 2024

   Really enjoyed the cruise! We got to see many sites including temples and historical areas
   Pros: not having to coordinate travel to/from sites, getting to see big highlights like Valley of the Kings and Abu Simbel, common facilities were very nice
   Cons: food was hit or miss, not up front of certain prices, schedule/itinerary changes without notification (papyrus shop, perfume factory, and alabaster store), boat maintenance (window wouldn’t lock, bathroom tiles broken)