Egypt and Jordan Luxury Travel Review: Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Temples, Museums, Nile River Cruise, Petra, Wadi Rum

Generally speaking, this company did a satisfactory job helping us to create this itinerary. There were communication issues along the way… particularly with the time it took to respond to inquiries/questions. Many times requiring me to repeat a text, voicemail, or email to get a response at all. Their main phone number was never answered by a real person, ALWAYS went to voicemail. This communication lag was irritating before our deposit was made, even more so after our final payment was made.

Our experience with the travel company had some minor to noticeable glitches. For example, the air transfer from Aswan back to Cairo on Day 12 October 13 was scheduled for 8:00 p.m. We would have greatly appreciated consultation around this timing as we noticed that there were nearly hourly flights available back to Cairo that day/eve and waiting til 8:00 p.m. to catch that flight became sort of an enormous waste of time for us. Considering there are few flights in Egypt that are not delayed for various reasons -- and that flight was no exception… we didn't get back to Cairo that evening til after midnight. Our "relaxed evening in Cairo" became less than three hours of sleep/rest at best at the hotel as our flight to Jordan was scheduled VERY EARLY the next morning. We would have greatly preferred more time at the Cairo hotel and less time in Aswan waiting endlessly for an 8:00 p.m. flight. We felt this part of the planning was not client friendly… and could easily been avoided had we been pulled into the conversation on timing preferences. This is one example of not being included in choices around timing. And lastly, there was moderate disappointment with the cruise selection. Initially, we were offered another cruise which excited us for its elegance, and overall "refined and subdued atmosphere and excellent food". As this ship couldn't be booked as planned we were told the second option would be a perfect substitute, equal in ambience. It was not. The dining room was so loud as to make dining unpleasant. There were zero individual tables for two persons. The food on a scale of 1-10 was about a consistent 6. The one night they served on the top deck, outdoors was truly a break from the unpleasant, overcrowded, and exceptionally noisy dining room. One redeeming quality for the cruise was the staff. Exceptional service from the staff. Additionally, the guides/drivers in Egypt were generally very knowledgeable and fun to work with. We were thankful to have Quincy, Zicasso Senior Traveler Care Specialist, available and helpful as we utilized her advice, acknowledgment, and comfort being overseas and unable to reach the travel agency in a timely manner for additional small issues that arose. We had an exceptional extension to Jordan-- well organized -- great guides-- with the exception that the communication between the agency and their Jordan affiliates was a bit shakey. Our Jordanian private guides were unaware of our itinerary or what was "included" or not on a daily basis. This was clarified by me having a printed copy of the agreed itinerary to show them with the travel agency’s heading. Once again, communication didn't appear to be stellar with the travel agency and their affiliate in Jordan. Our Jordan section of the itinerary was amazing...the guides/drivers WONDERFUL in every aspect.