MS Crown Prince Cruise Ship

5 readers found this review helpful

1st impression of the crown prince was a wee bit dissapointing as the ship is not just tired...i would say morelike exauhsted.
We were allocated a room on the second floor but as the engine was constantly running the cabin and coriddor were full of fumes from the crown prince and the 4 or 5 other boats lined up in a row also with engines running day and night. We had to insist(along with others)to be moved although the thomson rep told us it was safe(hardly)we were allocated a room on the next floor up at the other end of the boat. The cabins are small with lovely picture windows so when you are not wedged between the other boats there is a lovely view. bathroom is ok although the shower was really grimy so take a scourer if you are particular.
If you like a drink upgrade to the drinks package as the price of drink is ridiculous. We were offered this on arrival £90 per person. There is nothing else to spend your money on so you may as well.
On to the tours...our guide was Boshoy/michael and he is an expert egyptologist, his knowledge never fails to impress and he was also very entertaining altough he never stops talking.
We were a bit templed out as it is a bit much getting up early every morning when you are on holiday so we missed out on 2 temple visits but it did not go down well with the guide. also we hated being dragged to factories after a temple visit..you just want to get back to the boat.
The food on board is good and the staff are fantastic, every night our cabin boy mohhamed turned our towels into a work of art, swans. crocodiles, monkeys and even a man sitting on the toilet reading a magazine, not so good
when you pop into the loo at 3 am 5 sheets to the wind.
The brochure say the boat has a swimming pool..well thats not true its a plunge pool. A notice say's if you have had dihorehea do not use pool.UGhhhhhhh that put me off!!!!
Take antiseptic hand gel and wipes as the egyptian money is just filthy and full of bacteria, also take plenty of small change for tipping as everyone expects a tip even when they have done nothing. Armed security guards at the temple will beckon you over to have a photo taken with him the he will ask for a tip.
To summarise...this is an amazing holiday it is fun and interesting if only for the temples which are truly amazing but Egypt is such a poor country and some of the sights you see especially the poor kids means i will never return.
Must mention Gary Barbera, Bernice and Tyrone, our fellow diners we enjoyed you company.

1 reader found this review helpful

We have just returned from a trip aboard the Crown Prince. Wonderful. Food a little repetitive but very high quality. All the staff are polite, respectful but a load of fun with brilliant sense of humour. Everybody on board could not do enough for us. The boat is fun by an excellent Manager called Ashraf who is friendly and interested in all his passengers. He even sat with us on an evening chatting and having fun. Highly recommend the Crown Prince.

1 reader found this review helpful

We have just returned from a trip aboard the Crown Prince. Wonderful. Food a little repetitive but very high quality. All the staff are polite, respectful but a load of fun with brilliant sense of humour. Everybody on board could not do enough for us. The boat is fun by an excellent Manager called Ashraf who is friendly and interested in all his passengers. He even sat with us on an evening chatting and having fun. Highly recommend the Crown Prince.

we have been on crown prince 6times and each time it gets better,soo looking forward to our next trip in 2011

1 reader found this review helpful

Crown Prince 7 day cruise with Thomson Full Board.
Everything about the Crown prince was extremely good. I would start by saying the best elements were the staff, food ,cleanliness and organisation. We(myself plus 2 children aged 10 and 13)felt comfortable, safe, and recieved a personal service. The food was excellent: plenty of it, huge choice, meat dishes, salads, fish, soup, breads, cheese, vegetable dishes, rice, fresh pasta, puddings, fresh fruit at every meal. If you wanted something not at the buffet the staff would make it for you-for example my daughter wanted chips with her salad one day and these were provided with a smile at no extra cost. We had no tummy bugs. You could see the kitchen through a glass window- the hygiene was excellent. The salads were washed with bottled water.
Drinks were the only extra cost. Whilst these could be bought cheaper in the local shop I was happy with the prices. £1.80 sterling for a diet coke / £1.40 for a large fruit juice / £1.50 for large bottle of mineral water. You would pay double in any english hotel.Alcohol was more expensive but this resulted in people having just enough to enjoy themselves but no binge drinking. Some people drank their duty free which was not a problem at all.
The ship has been refurbished. All the communal areas were of a high standard and very clean. The rooms were of an ok size. Very much like a london 4 star hotel. The bathrooms were very clean indeed. The showers had a good water pressure and there was no fungus etc.The fittings were ok but not luxury. This is Egypt.
Rooms were cleaned twice a day and new towels kept coming. Fabulous service.
The only moan I have is that our 2 cabins were in the bottom of the ship. Hence we had smaller windows. The other floors had huge windows which meant breathtaking views when we sailed. This was a niggle rather than a big deal as we spent most of out time up on the sun deck and just showered and slept in the cabin.There was some noise but it is a ship. If you are a light sleeper either accept that you might need an afternnon nap or avoid this cruise.The noise did not stop me from sleeping- my lost sleep was by staying up too late and then having to get up at 5am-6am for the excursions.
The staff on the boat were lovely. You were made to feel that you were important to them and I did feel genuinely cared for rather than an insincere service hoping for a good tip. Nobody on the ship ever asked for a tip. This was done at the end by placing an envelope in a box in reception. The Thomson rep made a suggestion as to what the tip could be but made it clear that it was entirely up to you- no pressure at all. I was more than happy to pay the suggested amount which worked out at around £2-3 sterling per day for each of the 3 of us. I also gave a couple of the staff a little extra personally as I felt that they had really supported us throughout. If anything I wish I could have afforded to give them more as they work so very hard.
The trips were extremely well organised. High standard air conditioned coaches. Excellent tour guides. Brilliant places to go. You did ofcourse get asked for tips whilst out and about and did get chaps selling stuff hassle you. The reps were very good at telling you how to deal with this. Give tips to coach driver, boat drivers, etc of £5 Egyptian. (about 70p sterling). This was optional.
The chaps selling stuff: if you are not interested just ignore them and keep walking. They are used to this although you might feel a bit rude. They do continue to follow you but continue to ignore them and they do eventially go away. If you look at them or speak to them even to say no they take this as a sign of interest.
If you do want to buy something offer them a price of arount 10% of what they are asking you and negotiate from there. I found if you made them a silly offer and then smiled and looked relaxed you did eventially pay a very bargain price.If you looked intimidated you paid more as they knew you are out of your comfort zone. Try and appear confident and take control of the negotiation. It is fine to walk away if they will not agree to your offer.
I found it more difficult if you had to go into their territory; I.e I did not enter a shop or get into a horse carriage or taxi. I heard some bad stories. £2 turned into £200 etc. Some traders dined out on people feeling uncomfortable and took advantage by being intimidating. The majority of people are decent, but just like in English tourist areas , there are some con men. The good thing about being on the cruise is that you were never alone- there was always a tour guide with you unless you chose to go somewhere on your own.
We had some optional extra excursions: we did the hot air balloon flight and the camel ride. Both were brilliant. I had worried about safely on these but Thomson have worked hard to ensure all is good. The balloon was made by Cameron Balloons in Bristol, England. It was of the highest standard and the pilot and his vast team were great. I would not have booked either of these trips via a kiosk vendor as the cheaper price would potentially mean a less professional service. We were given feedback questionaires whilst still at the venue which meant that the camel/balloon guys were on best behaviour at all times. They could not risk poor feedback. Doing these trips provided an extra dimension to the holiday. I did not do Abu Simbel as I could not afford to but others on the ship did and all of them told me it was breath taking and well worth the money.
The best thing about the trip was the people- lovely crew, especially Amro the bar/sundeck manager. The other guests on the ship , and the tour guides. I would also say the food on the ship but I am sulking as I ate and ate and am now having to shed the extra pounds!
I am a fussy, and sometimes slightly unsociable person, but I can't speak highly enough of this trip. My 2 children aged 10 and 13yr say they give it 10 out of 10 too.

9 readers found this review helpful

Everything on the Crown Prince was perfect. The Cabins had everything you could need, and was kept very clean and tidy. The food was glorious and how the staff produced such wonderful food all cooked from scratch in such a small and meticulously clean galley is amazing.
Found the staff very helpful with a great sense of fun and humour.
Our guide for the tours, Mohammed, known as "Papa" was so passionate and enthusiastic that every trip was a pleasure.
It was an absolute pleasure to sail on the Crown Prince and I wouldn't hesitate to book again.

31 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from our fourth trip on the Crown Prince and it is like going home. The staff remember you, some even remember your names and Wajid the Reception Manager arranged for us to have complmentary bowls of fruit in our cabins (again) The food and service were fantastic and the rooms spotless. The towels get better every year (for the uninitiated you come back to towel sculptures on your bed, the cabin floor and even in the bathroom) The towels are changed at least twice a day. This time we took a friend and our 12 year old grandson. He had a whale of a time, everyone spolit him rotten. He drove the train at Hatshepsut's temple, he danced with the witch doctor at the Nubian night and sounded the horn on the bridge. Amro Farouk, the Bar Manager is one of the nicest funniest guys you could wish to meet. We have seen him grow from a young waiter on our first trip in 2000 to a confident professional bar manager in 2009. Nothing is too much trouble for him (and all his staff especially Nadil) One small constructive criticism the top deck is beginning to be in need of a little tlc e.g. the umbrellas and the pool tiles etc. We hope we will be fit enough to return again in a couple of years, but as our guide said you are not on a holiday but a mission, you certainly need a 2nd week to rest and we would recommend the Sonnesta St. George. It has the edge on the Movenpick Jolie Ville for classiness. The jolie ville reminds me of a butlins with hot weather with all the chalets although the infinity pool is gorgeous. Good places to eat in Luxor are Jebs, Maxims and John&Johns. Please Please do not book rides with the horses or the donkeys, they have a miserable life. It was wonderful to see all the new visitor centres at the temples and the valley of the kings. It is a pity the guides rush you through them as they are worth a short stop especially the 3d map at the valley of the kings.

18 readers found this review helpful

I have just returned from a week's cruise on the Crown Prince and have to say I am in love with Egypt. Certainly my cabin showed no signs of "tiredness" and the staff were absolutely lovely. The food was excellent - we had a vegetarian on our table and the chef cooked something especially for her at every meal time. Meat and fish were well cooked, well presented and tasted delicious. The desserts were worth selling your soul for though - thank heavens for the exercise every day visiting the various sights. I too thought the ship was exclusively Thomson but there were Germans on our cruise too. I know we British call the Germans but this lot were the most miserable you have ever seen. They wouldn't join in any of the games at the galabayeh night and they were extremely rude. Our guide, Tharwat, was great - extremely knowledgeable (as you would expect) and always happy to answer any questions you had. I will definitely visit Egypt again (although not at this time of year because it was just too hot - 45 degrees every day). The hassle you get from people trying to sell you stuff is annoying and can sometimes be extremely intimidating but you just have to be strong and keep saying no. The stupid thing is they don't seem to appreciate that if they got out of your face and just let you browse in their shops, they would sell much more.

26 readers found this review helpful

We boarded the Crown Prince in Luxor and the first meal was a sort of Christmas feast of about 9 courses.
Way too many after eating on the plane and travelling all day but well were on holiday so go for it.
The alcohol on board was very expensive as has been said in other revues at about 45 Egyptian pounds per 500 cl bottle (£5.30) ish depending on exchange rate.
The food after the first night was buffet and really I would have expected more local cuisine but it is an international resteraunt so I suppose they are having to cater for the people who do not wish to be to out of their comfort zone as well as the seasoned ( no pun intended) traveller.
The boat as has been said before is a little tired but I did read that it had had a refit just prior to us going on our holiday (Dec 2008), however if this boat has had a refit it is only the bar area and not the cabins.
The fixtures in the cabins are well worn along with shelves etc in the wardrobe.
Cannot fault the organising of the trips or the guides who really know their stuff but after studying for as long as they do I'm not surprised.
What I did find a bit naughty though was the fact that we were almost told what amount to tip. I would say do not take any notice and tip what you think is reasonable.
The galabaya night was very good also, but I would say that you will find an outfit cheaper in Luxor market than you will in the fixed price shop on board the boat, and the market is very easy to find believe you me.
The tip about ignoring all sellers anywhere unless you want to buy is great but a bit alien at first, however you soon get the hang of it when it stops you getting hassled.
As for the boats being moored side by side this is not a problem as there is always a walkway through each boat and as long as you take note of the one moored nearest the bank there is no problem finding yours later on.
Locals are friendly not threatening unlike a lot of towns in the UK, I would and did, feel safe walking about at night.
Just be aware of the scam/con artists who can do more tricks with money than Paul Daniels can with a pack of cards.
Oh and take every opportunity to try and get one pound egyptian notes/coins for tips as you can, because they seem to be in very short supply. Unless that is the locals don't want to give them to you because they want something larger for a tip.
The waiters as has been said are very good and to be quite honest are gratefull for any size tip & they really do make your break so to these guys be generous as well as the cabin boys. Do however be wary of anyone picking up your suitcase as you get off the coach at the airport because these guys just want you cash and everything that end has been paid for believe me.
Anyway enjoy what is basically a really good but hectic holiday.
There is however always time to relax on deck on free days or whilst sailing so just enjoy.

14 readers found this review helpful

We were worried about spending Christmas away from the family for the first time. After Christmas Day in the Valley of the Kings, brilliant sunshine and fantastic food we are truly converted. The Crown Prince is now a bit tired and faded, but clean and comfortable. The crews are excellent and go out of their way to help you. Drop a fork at mealtimes and they will have caught it before it hits the floor and have a new one on your table in no time! Nothing is too much trouble. Food is very good with an excellent choice. A person on our table needed a special diet and this was provided personally every day by the chef. Drinks are extra on board, so be warned, this does add up. Beer is £40.00 Egyptian (about £5.00)per half litre bottle for example. Many people went out to stock up at less than half price. The shop opposite the gang plank in Luxor sells water a half the price of the boat.
The trips out are very good. The guides know their stuff and make history come alive for you. Some of the sights are abslutely incredible. You can feel a bit "templed out" by the end, but it is worth it. Our trip to Abu Simbel was not by plane, and the coach trip was over three hours each way - avoid that unless you like coach travel. We did't fancy the optional whole day trip to Cairo, an extremely long and tiring day. They left at 5.00am and didn't get back until nearly 10.00pm. All credit to the staff for keeping the restaurant open for them. Most trips start early and are back for lunch - although this is "Egyptian time" and highly flexible!
We did an optional trip to a Nubian village - the information was tucked away at the back of our literature. As a result there were just two of us, and we had our own personal guide, Abrahim, who was absolutely lovely. It was a whole morning out by boat, involving tea in a local house, and a tour round the village. This trip was a delight and is highly recommended. You actually meet local people and get at least a hint of what life is like for them away from the main tourist towns.
A few tips: Take some hand cleaning gel with you and use it all the time. When out and about, don't stop, don't make eye contact, and don't talk, unless you want to buy. It goes against the grain, but it works like a charm. According to our guide people are not offended by this. If you do intend to buy, you must haggle - it's all part of a great game and you can get quite good at it! Have some £1.00 Egyptian notes for tips as tipping is a way of life in Egypt and you just have to get used to it. Many people found it a hassle, but £1.00 Egyptian is about 14p and some of these people are on the breadline.
Over all. this is a fantastic holiday, and I recommend it to anyone - particularly couples, or those with grown up children. I wouldn't take young kids.