Oct 6, 2024
Aswan to Luxor cruise - Amazing experience - I booked the Aswan to Luxor cruise directly with the company via email . What an amazing and seamless experience making last minute late night additions, the inclusions , the on time drivers , tour guides , assistance from the agency and of course the total price . This was the best part of our trip . Thanks to the team
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Nov 21, 2023
Amazing Nile cruise - It's a really amazing nile cruise. It was one of the most beautiful times I spent in Egypt. The Opera boat was clean, and all the employees were friendly. They always asked about our conditions, whether we were happy by service or whether we were missing anything. Ahmed, our tour guide, was always smiling and answered all questions before asking. It was really the most beautiful 4 days in Upper Egypt. We recommend it to anyone who wants to take a Nile cruise in Egypt. Thank you, Fayrouz Tourism Company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 22, 2022
Loved it! - We enjoyed that tour a lot! The tour guide was very knowledgeable, always in a good mood, smiling and very helpful. We particularly enjoyed how accommodating he was as he adapted the tour to us and what we wanted to see or do.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 3, 2022
AMAZING - Was amazing, everything all organised in a perfect manner.
Would recommend this tour, drivers & organizer so good with perfect english
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 7, 2022
Excellent tour - Booked this tour for me and my wife back in February and I am honestly without words of how much an amazing experience this was. The attention that was given was beyond excellent. Highly recommended to anyone visiting Egypt
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 29, 2022
Excellent service, top to bottom !! - We had a great whole day tour. They picked us up at the train station, took us for a quick breakfast before starting the tour. They took us to Karnak, valley of the kings, hatshepsut, collosi of Memnon and Luxor temple. At lunch they took us on a beautiful boat ride to Banana Island where we had a delicious lunch at a great restaurant. At the end of our tour we went to a cafe before dropping us at the train station for our return to Giza. They waited with us until we were on board our train to make sure it was the correct one..
The guide, the driver and all the people we met were very kind, helpful, funny and knowledgeable. Thanks to all of them we had a great time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 27, 2022
Great visit with Ammar and his guide - I booked for my son and I the East and West banks excursions from our hostel (Cairo Hub Hostel).
The communication with Ammar was great friendly and clear ! He was waiting for us at the train station, picked up us on time the other days and the transport to the airport was also on time !
During the visit of the East and West banks, the guide Ammar came with was amazing. Good english, answering all my son's questions and gave us a lot of informations about the places we visit.
I recommend this tour, which is a no-brainer for a great stay in Luxor.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 27, 2022
Experience in luxor - An excelent experience, the tour guides were very friendly, love the experience, karnak temple was my favorite place in luxor.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 1, 2023
An Honest Review - pricing, quality arrangements - TLDR - significantly overpriced, very responsive customer service, accommodating, but not 5 star cruise closer to 3 star, itinerary and arrangements need consistent follow up (via Whatsapp). Nothing like the pictures, actual 5 star cruises can be booked for a similar price instead or one can book these 3 star cruises in Egypt with the tours at 50-70% of the price.
In chronological order - day one was picked up on time at the meeting point to be driven around for 1 hour picking up and dropping off other guests. After an hour, we were dropped off at our dock which was 400m from the starting meeting point at our dock, at the cruise it was clearly a three star quality cruise that must have been stunning in its prime but has aged significantly and is no longer of five star quality.
At this point I had realised that I had paid ~ USD 1300 for two people, for a cruise that should cost USD 600-800 for two people, (from other guests and ship crew). The couple staying in the identical cabin next door had in fact paid less than USD600 for two people. Understanding the premium to perhaps reserve rooms (although there was some issue finding the booking when we arrived on board), if one uses the most expensive cruise pricing, the tours would then amount to USD 500 which is on the very expensive end, one can arrange private tours for less than that price via the ship or at the destinations. Other guests that had booked with the same tour company while in Egypt had paid ~USD 900 for the same experience. All this to say it is well worth the time to spend a day extra in Egypt and book this experience locally or book directly with a true 5 star cruise operator. This is the full extent of my dissatisfaction with this experience and more so because a 5 star experience was promised at a 5 star price and not delivered.
Special mentions:
Fatima who was the agent I was in communication with at Fayruz via Whatsapp, who helped me with some alternate arrangements and was patient with my follow ups - thank you for your assistance.
Mohammed, our driver in Luxor who was very accommodating of our schedule and very friendly and hospitable. While in Egypt my partner was informed of an interview that she had to attend during our last day in Luxor. We asked for this to be accommodated and Mohammed found a quiet place to park, put up privacy shades and set the air conditioner so that she could do the interview comfortably, she was successful in that interview. during that time we had coffee and he was not at all impatient and allowed her to take the time she needed. Thank you again Mohammed.
For the cruise (cruise operator is independent from Fayruz) in general the service was good, the staff were friendly, and the food was local cuisine with a beef, chicken and sometimes fish or duck options. Three-course buffet that tasted great. The deck facilities were good although I had not tried the massage facilities or the pool. The crew was also accommodating in letting us watch from the front as they navigated through the canals. We were allowed to keep our bags on board on the last day after disembarking and make use of a cabin for showering before heading to the airport.
The tour on day one with Mary and her husband as tour guides of our small group of 8 was great and their passion for teaching us the history was clear. We were not rushed and had sufficient time at the attractions although we ran into closing time at the temple of Philae, I think it was probably better to experience the temple while it was not as busy. our guide spent his time explaining details that was insightful for the rest of the our visit in Egypt.
On day two we had woken up early and headed to Abu Simbel, which was beautiful. guides are busy here and there is a lot of staging time before one gets to view the temples. That said there was enough time to view the temples. We arrived a bit late in Kom Ombo but our guide got us and gave us enough time when we rejoined the group of 8 to take it all in. This was a spectacular temple and our guide did a great job.
On day three we woke up early and headed to Edfu temple, nothing noteworthy.
That evening we arrived in Luxor and a bit later than expected. Given our flight time from Luxor I had requested a private tour and transfer on our last day in Luxor, which was arranged by Fatim at an addition USD100. I think this was fine since we actually had requests to structure the tours to give us some free time to attend to the beforementioned interview and arrive timeously to the airport. I was notified that we would go on to see Luxor temple that evening instead of the next day. It then appeared that this would be part of the private tour arranged for the next day. The Luxor temple was our favourite. Seeing it at night was spectacular. The tour was a bit rushed despite it being private bit we took our time when viewing it on our own without the guide.
Day four was an early morning to get to the balloon ride. The balloon ride is operated by a third party. Arrangements were fine, although missed sunrise and the balloon ride was essentially over some farmland with a distant view of hatshipsut temple, and the nile. Pleasant but nothing noteworthy. We were picked up by our private tour guide and Mohammed directly after. We headed to the Valley of the kings which was quite eye opening, we tried to see as much as we could as per guide's recommendation, but he also kept us to time so we could fit in our flexible requirements. Our final stop was at Karnak temple which was awesome with all of its history. the tour was again rushed but we could take our time viewing the temples without the guide. We were taken back to our cruise, although they we disembarked. we were allowed to wait there until we needed to leave to the airport. Mohammed was on time for our pick up and dropped us off at the airport on time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 5, 2023
STAY AWAY FROM THIS TRAVEL AGENCY - The bottom line: this agency has no concept of a five star cruise or of customer service.
I am an older woman, traveling alone, who wanted to take a Nile River cruise. I knew I would be in a vulnerable position, and safety was of great concern, since I was traveling in a country where I did not speak the language, and it was uncommon for a woman to be traveling without a male companion. With this in mind, I booked a luxury, five star, 3 night/4 day Nile River cruise with Fayruz Egypt Travel, starting in Aswan and ending in Luxor. After booking, I sent them several messages requesting additional details about the cruise, but the agency ignored each one. I was forced to call TripAdvisor directly, and TripAdvisor facilitated a 3 party conference call so that I could obtain answers to my questions, including the name of the cruise line.
This agency refused to provide me with the information requested, but claimed it would provide that information 15 days prior to my departure. At this point, it was too late for me to change my travel plans, since I had already booked my flights. But for the booked flights, I immediately would have canceled the booking, because the red flags had pushed me beyond my tolerance point.
Unsurprisingly, the agency provided me absolutely zero information about any trip details 15 days before, or at any time before, the scheduled departure. I sent urgent messages to the travel agency at 5 pm the day before the cruise departure day requesting that it inform me of the details for the next day’s pick up. Predictably, I received no response. Panicked, I called the travel agency through WhatsApp, but they declined my call. At 7:20 I again messaged the agency, expressing my dismay that they had provided me no details. At 7:24 pm, they sent me a 3 line message indicating that I would be picked up the following morning. But, the agency gave me no contact details, for that pick up, or for any of the remaining drivers and guides.
I was so relieved when the tour guide actually arrived the next day, and dropped me off at the cruise dock. Since the boats had to line up stacked next to one after the other, I walked through the lobby of two other ships, and they were luxurious. My boat was not. If a Weston is akin to a luxury boat, I would say my boat was Best Western Plus, maybe a 3.5 star boat, not anywhere near a 5 star boat.
But, that ended up being the least of my worries. I was never given the contact information for any of my guides or drivers. Others on the cruise ship knew well in advance what time they would need to eat breakfast and lunch, the name and contact information of their drivers and guides, and the itinerary for the day. When I again asked the tour agency for that information, they responsed "the guide each time will come to you in the reception he know your Cabin number." So, I would go down to the reception, fingers crossed, that someone would come find me in the chaos of the other tours also being picked up by their guides
The final day of the tour was the most action packed, as it consisted of visiting six Luxor bustling tourist sites in one day. According to the original itinerary, I assumed that I would be with the same guide/driver the entire day, especially since it was an ambitious schedule in a country where everything takes more time than it would in the USA. The day started with an early morning hot air balloon ride. Unbeknownst to me, the hot air balloon company and the Luxor tour guide were unaffiliated.
This is where it turned into a frightening, scary, fear for my safety, situation. After the hot air balloon adventure concluded at 9 am, the van stopped at a random place, and I was instructed to exit the van, and wait at the Ali Baba Cafe for my next tour, all by myself, with no one else in the same predicament. Doing as I was told, I stepped out of the van, and it drove away, and left me all alone. At first, I expected a guide to approach me right away and connect me with the city tour.
However, no one appeared. I was alone, at a random cafe, in a middle eastern country, without anyone to assist me. I immediately sent a message to the tour operator informing them that I was alone, uncomfortable, and I needed my guide to contact me immediately. I received no response. I then called the tour company through WhatsApp a couple times, but no one answered. I then sent another urgent message demanding that they contact me immediately. Still, nothing. I then sent another urgent message stating that "You just don't leave a woman traveling alone without any way to contact you." Still nothing. I was stranded, and surrounded by pushy men, praying on tourists, and asking if I wanted to buy coffee or some food.
Finally, at 9:30, two young men approached me, and told me I was to get into another white van. They had no ID, no proof that they were connected with any tour company. I reluctantly approached the van, and was handed over to a tour guide. I was hysterical at this point. The guide had to spend several minutes calming me down, and reassuring me that he was legitimate. The tour they placed me on was a budget tour geared towards those staying at hostels, not to individuals who were promised a 5 star luxury cruise. The tour company finally messaged me at 11:03 am asking if I had met up with my guide, or over two hours after I first informed them that I needed immediately assistance.
The Luxor tour itself was a disaster. We spent more time waiting in line to buy tickets and walking long distances to the temples, than inside the sites. When the itinerary mentioned that the tour spends 1.5 hours at a site, that included the entire rigamarole to park, get to and from the actual site, and actually see everything at the site. The actual time at the site was about one third of the time listed on the itinerary, each site was crowded, and the entire time was spent rushing from one temple to another. The morning portion actually ended at 3 pm, and there was no time for lunch. I ate an energy bar on the go.
Because I booked a 7 pm flight from Luxor that evening, based upon this agency’s recommendation, I missed the Luxor Temple. When I asked the tour company for a refund for the Luxor Temple, they said it was my fault I missed it, because I had to get to the airport. They never apologized for abandoning me, or accepted any responsibility for failing to provide what I paid for. It's been a week, and I’m still shaken when I think about the fear I experienced.
In the end, I was robbed of my luxury cruise, and the once in a lifetime opportunity to really experience the ancient Luxor sights. I immediately contacted Viator and explained the disaster and asked for a full refund. Viator said it would contact the tour operator to get a response. After a week, Viator informed me that the travel agency refused to refund anything. In the end Viator did the right thing, and provided me with a refund. The bottom line: this agency has no concept of a five star cruise or of customer service.
Review provided by Tripadvisor