MS Crown Prince Cruise Ship

We had a fabulous holiday on board this boat. It was a bit frayed at the edges but is going in for a re-fit in May so it should look great after this. The Nile Cruise trip was an amazing experience with a few minor problems which others should be aware of. Firstly, you will be pestered for money all the time. From the guy loading our luggage on to the coaches at the airport who only wanted English pounds to the bus drivers who took us on the excursions who all expected 5 Egyptian pounds. We were hassled every time we got off a bus by sellers who could be quite pushy. What they were offering for sale for 1 English pound suddenly became 25 when we entered their shops. There was also a scam at Luxor airport with charging for excess luggage. We were asked for money from a porter at the desk before he put the suitcases on the weigher, which we refused knowing we were well under the weight. The people at the next desk paid the bribe and were still charged £30 excess when they knew they were well under the limit. It has not put us off going again because we feel that we have only scratched the surface and would like to know more. The guides are fantastic and answered all our questions back on the boat.

Everything about this holiday exceeded our expectations. The boat was spotless, rooms lovely, towels changed twice a day. Food superb, staff very friendly. Iwould rate this boat at 5 star at least. Our tour guide was Shamel, he was very knowledgable and a very pleasant man. I would recommend this holiday. Don't miss the balloon ride, it was wonderful. I wouldn't do the nubian village trip again, although the boat ride there was most enjoyable, once there everybody was intent on extracting as much money from you as possible. Paid for camel ride and then they demanded more money at end of ride, they were very threatening.

HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME, BEAUTIFUL CABIN AND FOOD WAS EXCELLENT,STAFF WENT OUT OF THERE WAY FOR YOU. AND A WONDERFULLY KNOWLEDGEABLE GUIDE .ALL THIS AND THE DARNED NUISANCE OF THE HAGGLERS! I ,WHO CAN USUALLY TALK FOR ENGLAND FOUND MYSELF TOTALLY OVERWHELMED BY IT ALL AND DIDN'T ENJOY GOING OUT IF IT WASN'T IN A CROWD AND ALSO I WAS UPSET WHEN i GAVE OUR CABIN BOY A TIP (£10) HE ASKED FOR THREE MORE .ALL IN ALL I THINK I WOULD GO BACK AGAIN BUT WILL GO AND DO A FEW DAYS AT CAIRO TO SEE THE PYRAMIDS AND THEN THE RED SEA. BUT WHAT AN EYEOPENER!PLUS ON OUR RETURN HOME ,AT LUXOR AIRPORT I WAS CHARGED £27 ODD EXCESS BAGGAGE AND MY COMPANION £76 AND WE HAD ONLY BOUGHT A TOY CROCODILE ! gO FIGURE ...STILL I WILL RETURN INSHALLAH!

The MS Crown Prince/Thomson Nile package is first class. The standards of hygene, quality of food and service on the ship were all of an extremely high standard. Although there are more modern, glitzier ships on the Nile, this package is extremely good value for money. Moreover whilst the ship is pretty large it can travel between Luxor and Dendera, which the larger boats can not currently do because of the water depth. (It is safer that way due to security issues). Under our guide Ahmed, the Horus group were introduced to the history and beauty of ancient Egypt by a highly knowledgable and charming individual who could discuss matters at all levels of interest for both the young and the veteran. If minded to take children 11 is probably the youngest unless the child has a particular interest. Having said that our jetsetter sons of 11 and 14 thought it was the best holiday ever. Whilst there are many otstanding temples you will be shown on the tour, if you can stretch to the extra trip to Abu Simbel, you will not be disappointed - it will literally take your breath away. The reason why Thomson fly to Abu Simbel rather than offer a coach alternative is that there have been a number of serious accidents as the road across the desert becomes extremely slippery due to the sand being blown across the surface. If going in the winter take jumpers and warm jackets - it can get very cold at night. One critisism is the Karnak Sound and Light show. This has the feel of a thirty year old show with very limited lighting effects, and even worse narration. On the night we went a third of the people attending left before the end. So save your money. Other than that it was a fantastic trip with great towel sculptures.

i have to say that this was our first visit to Egypt and on a Cruise.

As soon as you step aboard the boat you are welcomed with a drink and meet all the staff including the Captain.

Then you are shown to your cabin which has a large window with a fantastic view of the Nile as you Cruise along.

Everyday we would return to our clean cabin and find the towels changed and a presentation of towel displays eg;-

Swan / Elephant / Crocodile / Monkey and one day even a surprise guest made up of towels in our bathroom.

The Restaurant food is good with a variety of food to choose from everyday.

You are shown to your table of which you share with at least 6 other people, this is a great idea as you make friends with people from the start. The waiters are very friendly wanting to learn as much from us as we wish to learn from them.

They taught us tricks and we taught them a few too.

The excursions were terrific with an excellent guide to take us on our journeys, he named us his Mango's because he wore an orange cap.

The trips were early in the morning to avoid the Hot Sun in the afternnons, and we were always back in time for lunch. The trips are included in the price of the holiday with the exception of Abul Simbu and The balloon flight which is extra if you wish to go.

The sunbeds and towels in abundance are free and are plenty as is the SUN.

The staff are who made our holiday apart from the trips and we are looking forward to going again this year in May.

We did go to the Red Sea Beach resort of Macradi Bay the 2nd week and did not enjoy it as much as our stay on the cruise, because the resorts are so much bigger and do not have the same personal service you get on the "Crown Prince"

We heard many stories of the Egyptian being dirty and pestering you before we went on our holiday and i will say dont believe any of them.

You are thoroughly pampered and protected by all you come in contact with.

One tip when you go to the toilets off the boat is to take loo-paper with you or you will have to pay each time to use their paper.

One hundred percent reccomend the Crown Prince for a memorble experience.

See you soon

Kim and Dave from London

Wot can i say! took my daughter 'gemma' for her 18th birthday surprise holiday of a lifetime, and it was certainly that, we arrived in Luxor at The crown prince and on entering it, its like you've stepped back in time, it was fabulous. the staff could not do enough for you to make our holiday perfect. look out for George (the restauraunt manager) he's lovely. and of course Amro, (the lounge bar and sundeck manager) he is just so funny,

If when you go on you day trips around the temples and tombs youll be blown away with these vast ruins and all the history that goes with them, you see them in books and on tv documentaries and they look great, but theres nothing like the real thing you just look at them in awe, you cant imagine that they were built by people well over 3,000 years ago, all i can say is they are fantastic, our guide was Isham, he was simply the best out of the four guides we could of had, not only quite goodlooking for his age, but was so funny and his passion for egypt history was amazing, if you book onto this boat you will certainly have a holiday of a lifetime, as we did,

We arrived in Luxor October 17th 2007. When we arrived at the Crown Prince, we had a bit of a shock as we had to walk through two other MS ships to get to it (something that be came quite the norm after a couple of days).

We were greeted by a big smiling guard at our boat and a welcome drink was at hand. We got checked in and were shown to our room. Accommodation was fantastic, with its huge windows that would offer some of the best views whilst sailing the Nile and squeezing through the lock....Twice!

All the sites you want to see in Egypt do not disappoint. Our tour guide Sam, was passionate about everything we saw. You came away being able to pick out letters and words in the hieroglyphics! You think that you haven't picked anything up but in actual fact it's amazing just how much we remembered!

What I would like to say to anyone doing this trip is that you hear so many horror stories about being hassled everywhere you go. We didn't really have any bother off anybody. I pulled a muscle in my leg after over doing it at the Valley of the Kings so was limping for a few days. When visiting one of the temples a police guard offered me the chair he was sitting on. ALL the Egyptian people we met were lovely and friendly.

As for tipping for loo roll, this is one of the few ways these people make any money and if it means I’m using a clean toilet then I’ll tip! 50 pistergies (half of a 1 Egyptian pound) is 5p in our money and they are so happy to even get that! We never felt pressured ever to tip, if anything we were happy to. It isn't set in stone that you have to tip but it is gratefully accepted if you do.

The Crown Prince is fantastic and I cannot praise it highly enough. All the staff are amazing! The guys who cleaned our room provided some of the best entertainment onboard! The things they can do with towels are amazing! And they love to see your reaction to their creations.

Although the buffet wasn't huge the choice was brilliant. All food was fresh and tasted fab! Didn't have any problems with dress codes like on the big cruise liners. Although as long as you don't wear shorts or swimwear to dinner you'll be fine.

We had a Galabaya night on board were you all get dressed up as Egyptians, what a great night! Best by far!

We extended our holiday with 3 days in Cairo (Ramases Hilton) and then 4 days back in Luxor (Movenpick/Jolie villas).Although the latter never happened as we kindly informed that they had sold our rooms and there for were sent to Sharm El Sheik.

It was a real disappointment being sent to a Butlins style resort rather than an island retreat. I wouldn't recommend Mirabel Park, Sharm to anybody. We had dirty bed linen and pillows (complaint has been logged with Thomson), food was bad and we had a building site behind us and our Thomson rep wasn't interested in helping us and promptly left the resort (complaint has been logged with Thomson).

It was a real shame to end such a fantastic holiday this way. We really missed the Crown Prince and we loved it so much that we are thinking of going back sooner rather than later, but not with Thomson!

My husband and I and our daughter (23 yrs) spent a dream week on the MS 'Crown Prince' sailing from Luxor to Aswan and back to Qena.



The accommodation was excellent and room service second to none - our towels were changed at least 2 times/day. Showers were hot with good pressure. Air-conditioning, fridge, safe, TV everything worked fine. Beds were comfortable. Our 'chamber man' was from Nubia and took pride in keeping our cabins spotless and in folding our fresh towels into a vast range of designs - from hearts to swans, crocodiles, elephants, turtles, monkeys - you name it, he did it.

Meals were excellent, buffet style with many choices. Guests were seated at tables of 8 and kept their places throughout the week. We were grouped together with 2 other couples and their daughter and had a wonderful time with them. We had no tummy troubles whatsoever. Service was excellent. Drinks in the dining room or from the bar or lounge were put on a tab to be paid separately at the end of the holiday (1 large 2l bottle of water cost E£ 7.50, approx 75 pence).

The guests on board the boat were split into 3 groups with an Egyptologist/guide assigned to each group. Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained as much as time allowed when we were visiting the various temples and tombs. He always gave us some free time to wander around and get more photographs. He never tired of our questions and was very helpful with any issues on our trip. As he sailed with us, he was always available for discussions.

Whilst we got up early to visit sites before the midday sun, we could relax in the air-conditioned lounge or on the sun deck with swimming pool in the afternoons.

Entertainment was arranged for most evenings - We had a Captain's Cocktail Party, a candlelit dinner, an Egyptian night where most guests dressed in galabaias (bought from the gift shop on board), Nubian entertainment in the lounge, a belly dancer and others.

My husband's birthday coincided with our holiday and he was presented with a birthday cake and celebratory chant and dance.

ALL the staff were absolutely wonderful and friendly and couldn't do enough to please us.

Con: My daughter had a single room next to ours. Hers was at the very front of the boat and was quite noisy while we were sailing (motor, water, pool filling, voices). Most sailings were during the night so she found it difficult to get her sleep. Having said this, it would not stop her doing the same cruise again in the same room, given the opportunity! My husband's and my room was very quiet.

Tipping: We tipped the staff at the end of our journey when paying our drinks bill. We were advised by our rep to put >< E£ 150 (£15)/person into the staff tips kitty. We also tipped a few others separately. The staff on board get paid a very low wage and rely on tips. eg a chamber person earns approx E£ 200 (£20)/month.

Anywhere else, ie temples, towns, souks, streets, toilets, we were hassled for tips (baksheesh) for the slightest service. A firm 'No thank you' (la shukron) was usually sufficient to stop them or (mafeesh baksheesh) 'I have no money'. When we wanted to give a tip but had no small change we would ask if they had change and give them ie E£ 20 and ask for E£10 change.

If we ever have the chance of getting back to Egypt, we would make sure to have a lot of change for tips and would also take things for the children eg pencils, pens, crayons, rubbers, sharpeners etc.

The flight back from Luxor to Newcastle was very cramped with dirty toilets and quite cold air-conditioning. The air-conditioning was turned up after some requests from passengers.