Classic Holidays レビュー 

Went on the 7 day boat cruise from Luxor and 2 nights in Cairo. Egypt Air all flights very good. Food and staff on the Iberotel Crown Empress cruiser very good. Boat needs a bit of a refurb though. Our guide Hany was fantastic, a very nice guy with super knowledge and a great sense of humour. Negatives: Super early starts that progressively, wore us out despite being very fit people. My wife got severe gastric problems starting on day 5 and myself on day 7. We had only eaten on the boat at that point, still not fully recovered yet. When the boat was docked which was a fair percentage of the time, we were constantly subjected to nauseating diesel fumes as the boats can be stacked up to 4 deep next to each other. But need to to be running their engines 24/7 to provide electrical power hot water etc. (Was grim, like standing next to the tail pipe of an old diesel London cab.) So you couldn't have your windows open in the cabin. Cairo has to be one of the most polluted cities on earth. Relentless pursuit of tourists by local people, who are quite desperate due to the economic situation in the country. We tipped generously on top of the £50 extra each we had to give for tips on arrival. Sorry to put negatives in, but I wanted to give a fair appraisal of the holiday plusses and minuses. PS The Nubian village was very interesting apart from the cruelty to the crocodiles. I suggest you remove it from the itineraries, because otherwise I will be forced to make it a bigger issue. Thanks in anticipation

A week on the Nile on the Royal Princess. I chose the boat before i chose the holiday as i liked the more 'old fashioned' elements of the Royal Princess. First ever trip to Egypt, first cruise. Pick up from airport was smooth (it was a late night flight) and baggage was in my cabin by the time i was. Travelling solo i did not have any issues. Our guide (Sam) travelled with us and was so knowledgeable but also great on helping on the general stuff too. I was lucky to meet some lovely people and the staff on the boat were great. Early mornings for Valley of the Kings and the final morning's Balloon ride - but well worth the early starts. Being aged (!) and not 100% mobile i did pick and choose on the excursions - enjoying some lovely time on the boat. Best excursion for me was actually the bird watching - great 'birdman' and a lovely morning on the felucca (motor boat). Food was good, company was grand, i did the tourist things - bought the video and the gallabiyah for the Egyptian night. Can recommend the cruise, the boat, the guide and Classic for making this such a memorable first Nile experience. Going back next year :)

I have to say we had an amazing holiday. As ever, there were a couple of niggles but nothing that spoiled our trip of a lifetime….tick on the bucket list!
3 nights in Cairo were amazing. The Steigenberger Pyramids hotel was stunning. Staff, food & excursions were spot on. Eesam was so personable & knowledgeable. The trips were brilliant. Lovely after a full day to go for a swim, have a drink at the pool bar & look at the pyramid. The food was great too. Lots of choice including lots of local dishes.
The cruise on the Royal Esadora was generally good too. Some of the food could have been hotter but there was always something that took our fancy & the freshly cooked pasta, with a choice of sauces was lovely. It was fairly basic but perfectly palatable. The choice of fresh breads/croissants were lovely in the morning along with meats, cheeses & salads. The cakes/deserts were divine. The choice was good bearing in mind it was a relatively small boat. The beers could have been better chilled & sometimes there was a shortage of staff.
One of our group had a birthday & the dining room staff did an amazing walk through of waiters, chefs etc playing musical instruments, singing, with a lovely birthday cake & then a similar display on our last night, saying ‘Goodbye’ which was lovely.
Our guide, Adel (Addy), was astonishing. An Egyptologist with so much knowledge. My brain nearly burst!! Keep together (as a group) like ‘sticky rice’ is a saying we’ve brought home for when we’re out with the grandchildren!!
The boat was generally good. Our room was perfectly adequate & in fact bigger than some of the larger cruise ships. Housekeeping staff were so helpful & decorated our beds with petals, towel models etc.They missed one day & I was so disappointed!!!
We went on after the 7 day Nile cruise to Hurgharda. The Fort Arabesque hotel was beautiful. The food was delicious, the room amazing, the pool bar fun, the beach & sea perfect, the staff so lovely, my husband’s massage was brilliant & although I think I had covid, I thoroughly enjoyed the time there. Again, the staff were amazing.
I would definitely book again & are planning a return trip.
Thank you to everyone concerned

Overall we had a great time with a few minor issues. All flights and pickups were on time which was one of my main concerns after reading other reviews. We stayed 3 nights in Cairo at the Mena Marriott hotel service was excellent apart from the last night dining where I can only presume the waiter was new. The room was amazing and the view of the pyramid 500m away outstanding. We did 2 full day tours whilst there with Essam our guide it was a whirlwind of sights and very exhausting but well worth it.
On arriving at the boat the Royal Esadora we were given a set meal as we were one of the first to arrive. Our cabin was quite spacious and the boat looked very clean. Staff were amazing although you did have to hunt for bar staff on the odd occasion. Food was basic buffet style but there always something to eat and the cakes were lovely. The food however was not piping hot and the beer was never cold could do with a small fridge in the restaurant to sort this out. Our swimming pool was drained for 3 days due to the pump being broke and it was regrouted at the same time. However because we were moored next to another boat belonging to the same company we were able to use their pool and get our drinks from there with no issues. My husband also had a massage on board and said that it was very good.
Now for Adel our Egyptologist what he didn’t know about Egypt wasn’t worth knowing he was absolutely brilliant with his Addy family shouts and his happy clappy and his 10 times of counting people on the coach to make sure no one was left behind at each of the sights. He was absolutely amazing and I can’t thank him enough for showing us the temples and the sights.
Our only gripe with the boat was being moored up between other boats and having no view from your cabin apart from when you were travelling.
For the last 4 nights we stayed at the Sonesta St George in Luxor hotel was lovely however it would have been nice to be informed beforehand that there was building work going on here just by the swimming pool. There was banging and grinding and welding going on for the most of each day and this rather spoiled it for us as we just wanted to relax. The views however were excellent looking out over the Nile especially in the morning watching the hot air balloons rise across the river and the evening sun setting.
All in all it was a trip of a lifetime and my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it

I had a 10 day Egypt experience from 8th September to 28th 2023 and the hotel in Cairo and the excursion and guide was wonderful the flight to Luxor was ok and getting us on the Esadora cruise boat was very good. The quality of the boat was of a medium state the staff were great as was Adel our Egyptologist, but the food quality was poor and hot food was either cool or cold. A lot of my fellow travellers stayed the same and some of us left on 18th September and flew home some others had an extended trip in Cairo or Hurghada but some of us including me started with diarrhoea on Tuesday 19th and I still have it 10 days later and am waiting results of stool samples. Classic holidays have replied to me saying they had no complaints and it must if been from the plane or off of the boat, but not all who are unwell flew home at the same time . I would not recommend classic holidays and would not use them again

My daughter and I booked with Classic Holidays on board the MS Esadora in February 2023. We had the holiday of a lifetime. We were looked after from the plane door until we boarded to leave. Our guides were so knowledgeable and friendly as were the crew. Food was basic but plentiful with high hygiene standards. Highly recommend

Very helpful when booking the holiday that was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime. Only after booking and on final receipt of travel details did we realise that every single aspect of the holiday was subcontracted to third parties. To promote themselves as Egyptian holiday specialists is missleading.
The transfer arrangements through "Bedsonline" were appalling, no contact from local agent and on three occasions we had to get the hotel we were staying in to try and get in touch.
The actual 7N Nile cruise was provided by Orbital Travel and that was excellent.
Egyptair's timetable is a work of fiction and every flight was at least an hours delay. As a result the delayed connecting flight from Luxor meant a mad dash across terminals in Cairo to catch flight home. We learnt from other passengers that there is a direct daily flight from Luxor to LHR, but we were never offered this at the booking stage.
Lastly we were given a WhatsApp number to use when away in Egypt. I sent THREE messages and never received a single acknowledgement, let alone a constructive reply to my queries.

Further to your response, I beg to differ on two points. You may have booked the Nile cruise (which I rated as excellent), but in reality it is operated by Orbital Travel. My comments on Egyptair timetable were specifically about over 1 hour delay in connecting flight from Luxor to Cairo and not when the flight from Cairo to LHR landed.

Fabulous holiday, will definitely be booking again for next year. Loved the cruise, the staff on board the boat were amazing. Nothing was too much trouble and very friendly and the hotel was perfect. Only slight misunderstanding was the transfer to the hotel from Cairo airport, but we soon sorted it when we realised messages had been sent via WhatsApp and from that point it worked well.

Fantastic tours but the quality of food and drinks on the boat were poor and the flights were appalling. Do not fly with Egyptair!! Every flight was late and the service provided was the worst I have ever experienced

In reference to the reply from Classic holidays below….my name is Kellie not Keith so I have no idea how you have referenced my feedback accordingly! I also believe you are being disingenuous with your response as we marked food and drinks as low as possible on the feedback form…so if you think this is acceptable…that’s a reflection of your standards….not mine. If I’m being fully honest….the dining area was like a cattle market and was far too small and cramped….but you would have read that from my feedback!

Additional update
As a last piece of feedback…. I would recommend that the people at Classic Holidays do not request feedback from customers if they are not going to take any of it onboard. Any future customers should view your commentary as a reflection of the type of company you run!

This is the second time that we have been to Egypt with this company and we have enjoyed it so much that we are thinking about going again next year

We had a great sense that we were in safe hands...from the moment of arrival at Luxor the Orbital tour reps ushered us around in a polite & helpful way that removed any sense of anxiety. Information regarding what to expect was provided throughout the trip.
The accommodation, meals and excursions were of a very high standard.
The tour guides (both with PhDs in Egyptology) were charming and pitched their talks at the 'right' level. The excursions felt unhurried.
Classic Holidays answered all queries in good time before the trip and there were no hidden extra costs whatsoever.
Altogether a very professional experience.

The organisation of our holiday couldn’t have been better right from being met by your representative before we even went through passport control at Cairo airport.
To when we flew out of Luxor. Bessem our guide was excellent and very knowledgeable, and our group was only 6 people which we really liked. Really liked our boat the Royal Princess which was really traditional in design.

There were three elements to this package. The hotels, the cruise and the local organisers, Orbital Travel, who could not be faulted. Brilliantly organised, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable beyond belief. Adel, our guide and mentor on the cruise element, has a PhD in Egyptology and had worked on some restoration, having guided academics and well known figures; we could not have done better in that area.

The cruise was a mixed bag of the stunning Nile and delightful staff/crew (the usual warm Egyptian welcome) and some very disappointing elements. We spent 4 of our 7 nights on the river as the meat in a 3 or 5 boat sandwich. The cabin windows of the vessel next door 5 feet away and little natural light, in spite of being on the highest level. No privacy, no view and due to the idiotic lighting in the cabin, no reading either much of the time. The lights were either All ON or all OFF. On meant ceiling mounted spots directed at the pillows! If one wanted to read and the other sleep, it was impossible.

Our party consisted of well educated people used to reading a contract but still misunderstood the drinks policy. Apart from breakfast (tea/coffee) and an hour in the PM (tea coffee) all drinks were chargeable, including bottled water, which was necessary even to clean your teeth as the water is not potable under any cicumstances. The optional all inclusive deal was expensive.

The cabin otherwise was OK (Stretching the definition of 5 star a bit I think) and the food was fine. The boat had a bit of the happy campers/ Butlins about it and it was mostly a wine free fortnight for me as I was not willing to drink what was on offer; the Steigenberger Nile Palace in Luxor had the same poor offering as the boat (unlike the same company’s hotel in Giza, which had at least one nice bottle and was a nicer hotel generally, albeit out of Cairo center.) In Luxor, the NP was less appealing; think Las Vegas conference centre and it was full of conference attendees and noisy.

Egypt and its people were, as ever, a real pleasure but any return to the Nile would need to be on a smaller, more exclusive vessel, even if at greater cost; it would be worth it.

PS: I think the interpretation of my boat rating experience was a little optimistic. Read again, did I rate it as excellent?
PPS: Those individual elements were very good but they do not affect the criticism stated aove; sorry.

We booked 3 days in Cairo, a week on a Nile cruise, then 4 days in Makadi Bay through Classic Holidays. All was great BUT I would not use them again as long as they continue to use Bedsonline to provide their transfer services. This lot nearly ruined my holiday. They provided transfers between flights in my Egypt holiday booked through Classic Holidays. For our first transfer (for a flight from Cairo to Aswan) no-one told us what time we'd be picked up. The Bedsonline voucher actually listed pickup time as the same as the actual flight time. The contact number they provide is in Spain (!) and no-one ever answers that phone. Their website is constantly crashing so you can't check times that way. And they never responded to any email. Talking to other people on the tour who booked through Classic Holidays they had exactly the same issue. On our return to the UK it was the same - and this was made worse as we had to return due to a family bereavement. Once again we went through exactly the same thing. It was pretty awful given what had happened at home and my wife was stressing about getting back to the UK. I don't think I'd even risk buying a bed from Bedsonline given what a shambles they seem to be.

The company was very informative, i did have to go back to them several times about booking tours etc and they always came back to me.
On arrival to egypt/cario we were greeted with a representative before passport control who was extremely helpful they helped get people visas if required . They informed us of pick up times for our tours the next day and also helped us with our forward travel to the hotels.
The hotel was lovely that we stayed in (steigenbeger pyramids) quite a way out from airport but it was lovely would recommend.
Transfer to Luxor well organised, and met again with a tour representative on landing, so this made joining the cruise easy.
Our ship was Ms Royal Esadora couldnt fault the staff or the cleanliness.
Our tour guide on the boat was Adel he was absolutely brilliant and made the whole trip for us.
He is a fantastic tour guide and the whole trip would not of been the same without him. He helped with my father who is 96, he arranged breakfast for him in his cabin when he was not joining us on our tour, and the crew were also brilliant with helping out.
Only slight moan would be that its not very elderly friendly, no lifts.
But i have to say this is the best way to see the sights and if you get Adel you will be in for a treat he is brilliant.

Unfortunately, I had to rate this holiday as 1 star as it's the lowest you can go but Classic Holidays do not deserve to be rated even a 1. The customer service is appalling. We had a terrible experience on the Semiramis111 in Egypt. We were transferred to this boat at short notice and without consultation. After being assured the standard was equal, It was found to be extremely poor standard without most of the facilities advertised. The staff on the boat were excellent but our experience was severely marred by severe food poisoning,which affected over half the guests. Classic Holidays have not been interested in the plight of all those affected. Also, the boat offered different trips to the ones we paid for. We've been given a small refund after protracted communication in lieu of this but honestly would have preferred the trips. Our first night was spent at a welcome meeting which became very heated as our guide was trying to make the whole group pay for 12 trips we'd already paid for with the holiday. The guide insisted on written proof of this. We've had no recompense for the ruined first night of our holiday.
The whole experience of Classic Holidays has been apalling and strongly advise anyone thinking of booking through them to take note of the comments on this review.
I will never book through Classic again.
Geoff and Linda Vokes

We had a fantastic holiday everything was well organised we loved everything and enjoyed every minute.
We have such lovely memories.
The transfers were well organised and on time.
The boat was great people so friendly and professional.
We stayed in cairo for 3 nights again everything was well organised .
We flew with EgyptAir and enjoyed the flights great service.
We honestly cant fault a thing.
The guides on the boat were excellent we cant praise them enough they made the beautiful historic sites come alive for us.
I have wanted to go to Egypt and see the pyramids forever classic holidays came up trumps for me and my husband.

Booked a Nile cruise trip and the boat was changed 10 days before going to the Semirames III (do not go on this boat as it is certainly not 5 star even though it is advertised as such and the pictures look brilliant. All of my party came down with food poisoning on the last day, not pleasant travelling home) The room was very tired and the shower held up with a stone and the patio door would not lock - not good for security plus numerous other problems. Could not ask for it to be changed as I was travelling with a disabled person who could not manage stairs. Classic Holidays seem to have not vetted any of their tours and taken the word of their people in Eygpt as finding out when complaining about the state of the boat. They seem more interested in your money than giving a once in a lifetime experience. I will not be booking with this company again as the service given was certainly below standard expected for this type of holiday. You have been warned

We had a 2 week holiday including a week on a Nile cruise on Semiramis III and then 4 nights at the Sonesta St George, Luxor and 3 nights at the Steinberger Pyramids hotel in Cairo. The flights were with Egyptair which were very good. The whole trip was superb and well organised. The transfers were always prompt, the hotels really good and the cruise boat excellent in terms of cabins, service and food. We had a slight issue with included trips whilst in Egypt, but contacted Classic Holidays and they dealt with it very promptly and to our complete satisfaction. All our communications with Classic Holidays and receipt of documentation was excellent and they were always very helpful when contacted. I would highly recommend.

Organisation and planning was very good. Only complaint was having no table in the dining room on second day of Nile cruise. Despite being told the table we were allocated on day 1 would be ours for the whole cruise it had been allocated to another group who stayed put! This was basically left to us to sort out which was not appropriate. Otherwise a memorable and fascinating experience.