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Tour Review – Nile Cruise, MS Zaina, Luxor to Aswan, Egypt. Day 2.

Following a disappointing first day on board MS Zaina, it was time for the highlight of the tour, a hot air balloon flight over the Valley of the Kings.

I woke around 3:15am for a 4:00am pick up. The first part of the journey was by chartered motorboat to the West Bank of the Nile, which was rather pleasant in the cool morning air.

I was then taken to the hot air balloon site by minibus, which was overloaded and somewhat uncomfortable, but manageable for the roughly 40 minute journey.

I arrived at the site around 6:00am, in time to watch the balloons being prepared.

It was then time for the breathtaking dawn take-off, along with dozens of other balloons, for the spectacular 45-minute flight over Thebes and the Valley of the Kings.

The balloon flight was a memorable experience and well worth the early start.

The second part of the day’s activities consisted of a tour of the Valley of the Kings, including visits to the Tomb of Tutankhamen and the Temple of Hatshepsut.

Late in the afternoon, I returned to the ship, which began to move towards the next stop of Edfu.

There was around three hours of early evening cruising, as the sun set over the riverside villages.

This had been a very full day of activities and it was with some relief that I heard the following day’s pick up would be a later start at 8am.

This had been a much better day, and I retired to bed in a much better mood than I had the previous evening.

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Tour Review – Nile Cruise, MS Zaina, Luxor to Aswan, Egypt. Day 1.

Following a short stay in Luxor, it was time to join my long awaited Nile cruise on board MS Zaina.

On the first day of my cruise, I was picked up from my city hotel at around 8am, for a pre-cruise tour of the sights of Luxor’s East Bank.

The first stop was the iconic Luxor Temple, known as “The Southern Sanctuary” and dating from around 1400 BCE.

The next stop was Karnak Temple, dating from the reign of Senusret I.

The temple is home to an open air museum and is one of the most visited historical sites in Egypt.

Having spent around an hour at each temple, I joined the ship at around 11am for the passage along the Nile to Aswan.

I had booked my cruise via Get Your Guide and was assigned to the MS Zaina.

Photo courtesy of Egypt Joy TravelPhotograph courtesy of Egypt Joy Travel.

On the face of it, the ship looked comfortable. The cabins were nicely furnished and well equipped, and there was also a rooftop pool available.

Unfortunately, this is where a series of annoyances began.

Firstly, I was informed that all cabins on the ship were non-smoking, despite my having been promised by Get Your Guide that I would be allocated to a smoking ship. I escalated this to Get Your Guide and was simply stonewalled, without even an apology for being misled.

Secondly, it emerged that there would be no actual cruising that day, the ship simply remaining in port, moored tightly between two other ships.

This was my view for the remainder of the day.

The cruise included meals, which were served in a buffet setting. The food was luke warm and rather uninspiring, but at least edible.

After a disappointing first day, I was looking forward to the following day’s hot air balloon flight over Luxor, which will be the subject of my next article.

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