Great cruise and amazing tour guide
As soon as we got on the boat we were greeted with friendly and attentive staff. Food was good with a buffet that changed daily. The highlight of our entire Egypt trip was Mina our guide. An Egyptologist with lots of knowledge and enthusiasm about what he was teaching us.
R7274PPjulieb · 2026年2月 · Tripadvisor より
Great guide and sites, shop definitely not 5 star.
The sites and the guide were easily 5 stars despite the crowds and queues. Our guide ‘King Mena’ was excellent, not only very knowledgeable but went out of his way to make our visit enjoyable. The 4 star review is purely down to the ship, the ‘Coral 2’ , It was certainly not 5 star as advertised and would barely get 3 stars if reviewed on its own. We booked an ‘upper deck cabin’ but were given one deep in the bottom of the ship with only a small dirty window just above water, it smelt strongly of damp with a hint of diesel. Despite our complaining, all we got was shrugged shoulders. Eventually the did find a room the smelt slightly less but still not what we paid for. Food onboard was ok if a bit bland and the whole ship was a bit tired. Staff seem to think a forced smile equates to good service. I don’t mean to be all gloomy, it was still enjoyable, if it was sold as a 3 or 4 star ship it would be fine, pretty clean and everything worked but looking at many other ships around, it was definitely bottom of the pile.
JamesDGould · 2026年2月 · Tripadvisor より
Great way to see the sights, brilliant guide, but beware of terrible cruise ships
Joined the cruise after taking the overnight night train from Giza.
Our guide for the 4 days was King Mina, who was brilliant and deserves a 5* rating on his own. He was very knowledgeable, patient and excellent at guiding us around all the sights, telling us interesting facts and things to look out for which kept the teens engaged. He looked after the entrance tickets, tips, and all the arrangements which meant we could focus on sightseeing the amazing places we visited. He definitely made the trip.
The cruise ship on the other hand was a huge disappointment. The itinerary we booked stated “5 star cruise with upper level cabin”. We were on the Coral 2 ship, which barely deserves 3 star, and were given cabins on the lowest deck on the waterline. The lower deck was damp and smelt of diesel. The rooms were damp and smelly too, and we couldn’t open the window - all our clothes were damp by the end of the trip. The shower was a trickle, and the stewards didn’t keep things very clean - one morning plates full of food were left in the corridor by the room opposite and remained there all morning until I asked for it to be cleared. The food was very basic using cheap cuts - the chicken served each day was just wings and thighs. Salad bar was good though.
Having seen some of the other ships I can definitely say we didn’t get what we paid for, or what could be possible on this trip. When we complained we were told all the ships were full and there was no alternative. So if you book this trip recommend you ask which cruise ship you will be allocated!
We visited in February, which is not the high season but a lot of the sights were still very busy. All the ships arrive at places at the same time, which means hoards of tour groups all congregate at the entrances at the same time. There is no means of crowd control or funnelling people, so often there is a scrum just to get through the ticket barrier. Be aware if you are travelling with anyone who can’t manage tight crowds. Once inside people spread out a bit, but you still may shuffle in a queue slowly past the famous parts.
Overall, a great family trip, well worth it for seeing the sights of southern Egypt without spending ages in buses or cars. Shame the cruise ship was not aligned with expectations.
ameliag731 · 2026年2月 · Tripadvisor より
guide good, boat bad
boat: 2/5
guide: 5/5.
our guide (king mina) was amazing. incredibly informative, and recommended us some lovely spaces and even saved us some money and time on tickets. the boat however (coral II) was not great. having seen images of beautiful rooms, with french windows and tasteful furnishings, we expected such, however when on the boat we were placed in small, barely passable rooms with leaking fridges and tiny showers, on the lower deck on the waterline. we had a small, dingy window with painted over seals, and our room constantly smelt of something unidentifiable, and anything left out would be damp within an hour. the corridors always stank of diesel and cigarettes. the food was bland, and unvaried, and drinks costed a fortune. we also sailed with a flotilla of other cruises, however these were all scheduled to arrive at ports and visit landmarks at the same time- this created massive congestion, with packed temples and massive queues. there was also a shop on the middle deck of the boat, selling the same touristy Tat as every stall on land, however nothing useful like water or soap. the only saving grace was the guide, as i said, and some of the staff who were very pleasant, although sometimes playing loud arabic music in the bar (which cleared everyone out quick)
dylong2026 · 2026年2月 · Tripadvisor より
Try to avoid!
This was really a horrible experience. Me and my husband are well travelled, experienced backpackers and our kids extremelly flexible and used to travelling. I still need to rate this program with 1 star only. Most of the time we spent waiting for the information when we would supposed to go somewhere, the reat of the time we waited for the tour guides. At 8 p.m. we were finally informed that the driver will pick us up at 8.30 a.m. the following morning to take us to the cruise. 2 were given 1 cabin for 4 people (2 beds per cabin!) even though we paid for 2. It was impossible to book 1 cabin for 4 people, believe me, i tried:). The next message came at around 2 p.m. from a guide. An hour later we got a message from another guide saying he will be our guide.. at 4 p.m.we finally went to philae island after we received a call to the cabin (luckily we were there). We were too later for the aswan dam and din't see it. Please bare in mind that we had more than enough time to visit it by ourselves if we knew the agency will simply skip it. Later we received instructions that we need to be ready at 3.45 a.m. to go to the abu simble. For some reason the agency ordered a wake up calll at 3 a.m. (who needs 45 minutes??), the guide showed up at 4.30 and we left aswan at 5.30!!! The next stop was kom ombu. The guide contacted us when we were already 15 minutes in the temple. It took her another 15 minutes to get to the temple where she was explaing things so fast that i wasn't able to translate stuff to the kids even though i kindly asked her to slow down a bit. The next day we received a wake up call at 3.10 a.m., the guide showed up at 4.55!!!! And for the grand finale they told us to get from the boat at 8 p.m., no one was there, of course, our youngest started to cry that she had enough of this... the driver showed up about 20 minutes later, took is to the luxor temple, where the guide told is that we are too late and we'll drive back to the ship. And then we qll melted down. The entire group freaked out, both of our kids started crying... peiple from the group shared even worse things they went through... horrible!
NATASA_P · 2026年2月 · Viator より
Buena comida, visitas rapidas y Templos por el Nilo
Es una excelente opción si quieres conocer los templos mas importantes de Egipto sin pagar estadía adicional, todo comienza en Aswan, nos recogieron en nuestro Hotel muy cumplidos, te llevan al barco donde te reciben con una bebida, te reunes con tu Guía, nuestro Guía Mani fue excelente, muy amable y siempre atento a todo.
Te habla de las propinas, las cuales son 10 dolares por noche por persona y toman tu pasaporte que te lo regresan después en recepción.
Nos entregaron la habitación temprano y en nuestro caso pudimos relajarnos mientras empezaba el primer recorrido a la Presa de Aswan, este se hace por la tarde, no es muy llamativo el recorrido, pero te ofrecen otra opción por unos 40 Dólares (Muy costoso y no lo tomamos) la comida en el barco es muy buena, con varias opciones, no tienes incluida ninguna bebida, pero puedes comprar algunas aguas antes de ingresar al barco para llevar a los recorridos si no quieres pagarlas allí un poco más costosas. En el barco puedes comprar gaseosas (80EGP), aguas (70EGP), cocteles (300EGP) y cerveza (250EGP) te dan un ticket y al final de tu estadía pagas toda la cuenta junta en recepción.
Todos los dias hay que madrugar mucho, te llaman de recepción para asegurarse de que despiertes, el segundo día sales a un recorrido en bus de 4 horas de ida y 4 horas de regreso y en el templo estás alrededor de 1 hora, es muy agotador.
El barco zarpa el segundo dia en la noche y por la mañana ya estas en otro lugar, ya el último día sales muy temprano y dejas tu maleta en recepción para el check out y luego te la llevan al carro que te transporta durante el último dia.
El almuerzo del último dia no está incluido, te llevan a un lugar de "comida típica egipcia" pero es muy costoso (750EGP) y no comimos allí pues no vale la pena.
Ten presente que en cada templo vas a tener entre 20 a 30 minutos libre sin el Guía para tomar fotos, asi que debes correr un poco si quieres tomar buenas fotos.
En general es una buena elección si no quieres preocuparte por los traslados y tener la comida asegurada, si esperas ver los templos con calma y con mucha paciencia esta no es la mejor opción, para nosotros que no somos tan fanáticos de la historia y de tomar foto a cada jeroglífico esta opción fue ideal.
Sebastian_O · 2026年2月 · Viator より
Wonderful Nile Cruise Experience on MS Monaco
Wonderful Nile Cruise Experience on MS Monaco
We had an amazing experience on the MS Monaco Nile cruise. Everything was very well organized from the beginning to the end of the trip.
The ship has a beautiful and comfortable interior — clean cabins, cozy common areas, and a very pleasant atmosphere on board. The food was excellent, with a wide variety of fresh and delicious dishes at every meal.
The organization of the excursions was excellent. All visits were well planned, punctual, and smooth, which allowed us to enjoy the temples and historical sites without stress.
Special thanks to our guide Khaled, who was professional, knowledgeable, and very friendly. His explanations were clear, interesting, and full of fascinating historical details. He made ancient Egyptian history come alive and was always attentive to the group.
The service on board was outstanding. The staff were polite, helpful, and always smiling, making the whole journey comfortable and relaxing.
Cruising on the Nile was truly unforgettable — beautiful views, peaceful atmosphere, and perfect balance between sightseeing and relaxation.
We highly recommend the MS Monaco Nile cruise to anyone looking for comfort, great food, excellent service, and perfectly organized excursions.
georgesK4976WC · 2026年1月 · Tripadvisor より
Good experience on the cruise from Aswan to Luxor
Khaled is a knowledgeable and informative guide. The cruise experience is good and the crew on the ship are friendly. Got to see many temples and places of interest.
Pioneer52412078966 · 2026年1月 · Tripadvisor より
A perfect way to explore Egypt and the Nile
Our experience with Mr. Khaled was truly exceptional from start to finish. As a guide with a PhD in Egyptology, he combines deep academic knowledge with practical experience, making every site we visited come alive with fascinating historical context and stories. He is extremely well organized, professional, and clearly passionate about sharing his expertise.
Even though this was not our first time in Egypt, we learned an incredible amount of new and interesting information at each location. Mr. Khaled has a remarkable ability to point out details that most visitors would easily miss and to explain them in an engaging and understandable way. His guidance added a whole new dimension to places we thought we already knew well.
He was also very considerate and attentive to our needs throughout the trip. After the tour he kindly gave us a ride back to our hotel, which was greatly appreciated and showed his genuine care for his guests. Thanks to his planning, we were able to visit a large number of sites without ever feeling rushed or overwhelmed.
The Nile cruise on the “Moon River” was another highlight of the journey. The boat was comfortable, clean, and well maintained, with private bathrooms and showers in each cabin. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the overall atmosphere was very relaxing. The food on board was delicious, with a wide variety of options. As vegetarians, we were especially pleased to find plenty of tasty and well-prepared dishes that suited our diet.
Overall, this tour exceeded our expectations in every way. For anyone looking to explore Egypt in a meaningful, comfortable, and well-organized manner, we cannot recommend Mr. Khaled and this experience highly enough.
edgarasz2026 · 2026年1月 · Tripadvisor より
Perfect way to explore Egypt - much recommended
Mr Khaled has a phd in egyptology and is a very organized and experienced guide. He is clearly an expert in his field and in every location we’ve visited we found many new interesting things about the sites although it’s not our first time here. He was very considerate and gave us a ride to our hotel after the tour. We visited a lot of objects and had a truly good time. The cruise “Moon river” was comfortable and clean. We had bathrooms and showers en-suite. The food was tasty and fitting for vegetarians with good variety.
tomassE4010WP · 2026年1月 · Tripadvisor より