Some recent unsolicited comments from our clients:

From: Kay Simpson
Sent: 12th February 2010
To: Info Subject:
Orbital Travel Nile Cruise.

Good Afternoon

I am writing to congratulate you on providing the best holiday we have had.We had the pleasure of being aboard the M/V Stephanie on week commencing 25th January 2010. Not having been on a Nile Cruise before I was a little apprehensive on what to expect, but having boarded the ship it became obvious that little was left without prior thought and consideration.
From the cleanliness, to the food and the politeness of the crew - all proved to be of an excellent standard.The excursions themselves were so enjoyable and the hours flew by! I enjoy taking photographs and having a little time given at the end of each tour was really appreciated. (Picture of sunrise from Stephanie attached)
In particular, our guide, Emed, was brilliant!!! Well done on finding such a treasure!He is sooo good!! I did hear that some others on the cruise had made complaints, about the food, and I feel this is so unfair that I have to contact you.
Peter, (I’m sorry, don’t know his last name) was a super host, a very affable friendly guy, and I’m sure that nothing untoward would escape his attention. (And I hope he finds his supply chain of Branson pickle!)
I’ve never written to a holiday company before, but I can’t have people complain about M/s Stephanie when all is as it should be – and more. We had a second week at the Hotel Isis, Luxor, which was really nice but not to the standard of your ship. Hence delay in writing to you.I hope that you pass on our thanks to those concerned – it’s easy to moan and complain, but not many pass out plaudits when they are really deserved – the best things usually just get taken for granted.

And that is a bit unfair.....So thanks again for a brill holiday!! I loved it!!!!! Kind regards and best wishes to all.     
Kay Simpson
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From: Garry Cummings
Sent: 11 January 2010
To: Info Subject:
Nile Cruise

Dear Sir / Madam, 
We have just returned from a Nile Cruise on the S.S MONICA.From 23/12/2009 till 0/12/2009. May I say what a fantastic week we had, the staff aboard the Monica could not have been more attentive,they looked after our every need,They were brilliant.

But your team were incredible,in particular Walid El-Barbary,what a gentleman he's Knowledge, he's manners,he's personality were second to none, he looked after our every need, he cared for us from the moment we joined the boat until the time we left, we just can't thank him enough for making our holiday so memorable We were part of he's Pharaoh group and at the end of our holiday the whole group felt a genuine sadness that it had come to an end, such was the bond he had created in such a short space of time.

Although we thanked him before we left, could you please thank him again for everything he did and wish him, he's team and yourselves  "A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR"

Yours Sincerely
Garry Cummings

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From: Malcolm Turner
Sent: 21 December 2009
To: John McCallum
Subject: MS Monica
 
Dear Mr McCallum,

My Fiancee and I have just returned from a Nile cruise on the above cruise ship. After reading both positive and negative posts on Tripadvisor I felt that I should write to you personally with my experiences as we feel all the negative posts are completely untrue. Our holiday was booked with Orbital through Nile Cruises 4u (Barbara Maddocks) and the whole holiday was a complete success. 
 
All aspects of the trip that where dealt with by Orbital ran like clockwork which also includes all the relevant transfers. There was no searching for contacts at the airport, transport
arrived at the time stated. Brilliant!
 
The 3 Egyptologists on board the the Monica Alaa Ezzat, Maged Habib and Amir Helmy where truly outstanding. We had dealings with all 3 during our time on board but most of our time
was spent with Amir Helmy. Amir is very passionate about his subject and was really helpful and informative, he gave every excursion a personal touch, he really is an asset to your company. We could not thank him enough he made our holiday in Egypt very special.
 
We do intend on taking another cruise and will ensure that we use Orbital and hope that Amir will by available to guide us once again. 
 
Thanks to everyone  
Mr M Turner & Miss J Cooper

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Subject: A Fantastic Cruise: Ms Stephanie 9th November 2009
Dear Sir/Madam

We have just returned from three days spent in Cairo followed by sevendays on the Nile cruise ship Stephanie, from 5th to 16th November. We would like to compliment Orbital Travel on the superb organisation by your tour guides, who arranged a complicated set of tours with no hitches whatsoever and the staff on Stephanie who made the whole trip  so enjoyable by being so friendly and helpful.

In particular we must express our thanks to our tour guides, Amir Milake on the cruise and Hany Safwat in Cairo, who explained the  history in such a clear, informative manner and whose great sense of humour made the trip so outstanding.

Many thanks Barry & Win Ross

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Subject: Great holiday - Nile Cruise 9/11 to 16/11/09 Ms Monica

I've just returned today from a one week Nile cruise on the MS Stephanie booked via Holiday Experts.I would just like to congratulate your company on giving excellent service throughout. Our nominated guide/Egyptologist, Amir was both very informative as well as humorous. He made our trip much more than just a holiday.

The staff on the boat were also very friendly and welcoming with a couple that stood out as exceptional, Mohammed (21 year old barman) and Ahmed (18 year old dining room waiter). Many others made our experience such a pleasure, not least the ones who made the funny shaped creatures from towels in our rooms. The whole trip, from landing in Luxor was just fantastic. 

I and my 3 colleagues will not hesitate in recommending Orbital for similar excursions in the future. It was such a pleasure to have seen so many enthusiastic people, intent on giving us a good time. You have certainly built a first class team.Feel free to include me in 'email marketing' about other holidays that you do.

Thanks again,
Keith Holman,
Sunderland

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Subject:Ms Monica 4-11-09

Hello Just a note on our return to UK to express sincere thanks to Orbital for a wonderful holiday.Having been in the travel business myself I was probably looking through a critical eye, however found the whole organisation from start to finish to be extremely professional.

The first impression upon arrival at Luxor was impressive, starting with the appearance of the Orbital team /the outstanding guides on board and the extreme professionalism of the on board team.
It was my first experience of using Orbital and will certainly not be the last.

Kindest regards and sincerest thanks.
Helen Lawbuary and Paul Whitlock
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To: Info
Subject: M/s Stephanie 7th September 2009.

We have just returned having cruised on the Stephanie from 7th - 14th September 2009, this must rate as the best holiday we have had in years, thanks to your fantastic organising skills.

Our complete holiday was arranged through Your Travel, but the transfers to and from the Nile, and the cruise & excursions were Orbital, everything happened the way we were told it would.
the Stephanie was brilliant, the staff couldn't do enough for you, meeting us on our return from hot excursions with cold flannels and cool drinks.

Our guide, Amro, was the one who really made the difference, he must be about the nicest person we've ever met whilst on our travels to other countries, his knowlege about ancient Egypt is unquestionable, his committment to his task undeniable, his expanations on Egyptology and his
considerations for his "groups" wellbeing in the hot sun was, without doubt the most professional we have come across, a true gentleman.The food and comfort onboard the Stephanie was first class, and it does deserve the 5 star status.

We can certainly recommend Orbital travel and the M/s Stephanie, and will be be doing so to all our friends and family.If possible, can you pass on our thanks and best wishes to all the staff & crew on the Stephanie, and of course to Amro, for whom during Ramadan, it must have been a very difficult job to do. We will go back to the Nile sometime in the future, but wonder if there are longer cruises
available on the Stephanie, or if you have any plans to do cruises to the north of Luxor.

Thanks again for everything.
Philip & Audrey Di Sotto

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To: Info
Subject: Nile cruise 7-14th Sept 2009 Ms Stephanie.

Dear Sirs,

On having just returned from our Nile cruise on the MS Stephanie i thought i would write and thank you for a wonderful holiday. It is the first time my wife and i have been on a Nile cruise and we did so with some trepidation after reading some rather negative comments from travel forum sites.

We thought the standards of service, quality of food and the cleanliness of the cruise ship were
excellent.Our tour guide Sam, was a credit to your company. He was very organised, polite and extremely witty. His knowledge of the subject matter was incredible and he is very passionate about the history of his country. His presentation of the guided tour was both articulate and interesting - his knowledge of the English language exceptional.

We enjoyed all the tours immensely - even with the early starts, which are essential to escape the heat of the midday sun! We certainly did not enjoy the harrassment of the street sellers whilst visiting the sites. This was a comment echoed by nearly everyone on board. We feel if Egypt is to prosper as a tourist attraction, this is one element their Government will have to address if they wish to encourage more European people to visit. Europeans will certainly spend money whilst abroad but they like to chose how to do it. They would rather browse and look at things rather than be pestered and harrassed in the streets. This is not meant to be a criticism of the services you have provided but constructive critisism for your tourism industry to ensure that people are not put off from returning to Egypt again.

We really enjoyed the entertainment on board and in particular the Egyptian night. Everybody joined in with the fun and dressed up in appropiate Egyptian dress. It was a huge success. We also enjoyed all the other shows, particularly the Nubian folk show. We met and enjoyed the company of some wonderful people on board who, like us, were having a marvellous holiday.
All in all a wonderful experience and we would have no hesitation in recommending your company to friends considering a trip to Egypt. 
 
Kind regards
Mr and Mrs A + S Gilmour

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Received via email 19th June 2009.

We have just returned from a Nile Cruise on the MS Monica, and wanted to let you know how fantastic the guide was, and we hope that you will pass this information on to your colleagues at your offices in Luxor. 

Our guide was Magred (think that is how you spell it, we called him Magic!). We must say, that he made our holiday, his knowledge about Egypt and his attention to his guests was exceptional. Nothing was too much trouble. He is a credit to your Company. 

At the airport we spoke to other holiday makers who had been on other cruise ships and were not happy with their guide. We had no complaints, we were on the MS Monica from 10th to 17th June, and could not have wished for more. 

Please pass on our thanks and we will certainly be recommending your company to others. 
Regards 
Daren and Michelle Grainger
Daren & Michelle travelled with us on Ms Moncia on the 10th June 2009

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Received via email on 13th March 2009.
My wife and I would like to thank yourselves and Holiday Experts for our recent Nile cruise on Ms Stephanie. The ship was immaculate with good food. The only complaint we had was the condition of the towels provided in the cabin, which were  worn and not pristine white.
The staff were all very friendly and polite and very honest. My wife lost her gold necklace with diamond pendant on it  on the evening of the Egyption night where we all dressed up. Later that evening after we reported the loss ,one of the staff found the necklace without the diamond pendant on it and handed it to reception.
Two days later after we had given up hope on anyone finding or handing in the diamond pendant, we were asked to go to reception by our cabin steward as he had found the diamond whilst cleaning in the main lounge bar where the entertainment took place. In this day and age, with the world as it is,we cannot thank them enough for their honesty, particulary as the value of the item was probably more than they earn in a year.
We would also like to  inform you of how well Marco our tour guide,organised our trips and how knowledgable and informative he was , along with his ability to be humourous and keep the British group,who had never met each other before the cruise, all together, everyone said it was one of the best holiday experiences they have had.
Perhaps you would be good enough to forward a copy of this to Holiday Experts Ltd.

Mr and Mrs Ray and Jill Heathman.
Travelled on board Ms Stephanie during 23rd February 2009.

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Thank you from my family and I.

Regards Stephanie Johnson.
Stephanie travelled with us during December 2008

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By email.
Good afternoon John,

Apologies for not sending this email earlier but since we returned from our wonderful holiday in Egypt our feet don’t seem to have touched the ground.

The holiday you arranged for us was indeed wonderful; far better than we ever imagined. It was made so good because of the great organisation that Orbital has in Egypt. Everything went like clockwork- if somebody said that they would meet us at a certain time it was always with punctuality, even in Cairo with the traffic problem!

The Egyptologists were both good and John, who was with us throughout the Nile cruise was exceptional. Even though he called for early starts it paid dividends as we were always among the first to arrive at the various temples which, particularly at Abu Simbel, meant we had the place to ourselves.

Many thanks for arranging our holiday which turned out to be an experience of a lifetime.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you and all your colleagues.

Best wishes. John Doyle. 

Mr Doyle's holiday was our Classical tour program (Cairo and Nile cruise) during November 2008.

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Everything has been perfect. The tours and information given by the guide were amazing - the food and waiters were excellent and all the staff have been friendly and helful. We would not have changed anything and have had the experence of a lifetime. Thank you !

Client Thompson who travelled on board King Tut III on the 8th September 2008

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This is one of the best holiday's I have had been on. I have travelled the world but the ease at which everthing was organised was excellent a big thanks to the guide for his knowledge. I will come back.

Margaret Willis travelled with us on the 8th September on King Tut III

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You said "We hope that you enjoyed your cruise with us and that Egypt was everything you hoped it would be"
 
Well that's an understatement. I wasn't what I hoped for - or even what I dreamed. I can't believe that I have never been there before and now I can't wait to visit Egypt again.
 
I went because my partner wanted to go not because it appealed to me - but what a culture shock!
 
I wasn't looking forward to the people as I had read the holiday reports - but in context it made it only more interesting and I became very, very fond of them once I accepted the way they worked.
 
I wasn't looking forward to the heat as I can get sunburned in England in the spring - but found that it was just perfect especially being on the boat.
 
I wasn't looking forward to being dragged around all those temples by my partner - but John the guide made them so interesting that we wished we had more time at each site.
 
I wasn't looking forward to the noise from the ships engines as we had heard bad reports - but didn't notice them at all.
 
So - it's the pyramids next. I know we can't visit them without seeing Cairo and I've heard very bad reports about that too. I expect my misconceptions will be put to rest yet again . . .
 
Many thanks again. 
Ted

Email from Mr. Ted Champion who travelled with us 11th February on board King Tut1.

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Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 3:27 PM
Subject: review

We've just enjoyed a wonderful Nile cruise, King Tut 1, Cannot praise your company enough, we were met at the airport & quickly transferred to the boat where we were met by the friendly staff who made our week really enjoyable. Our guide Jon must be one of the best on the Nile, what he didn't know isn't worth mentioning & he made each trip so interesting & we always had time to sunbathe on deck after the trips.  The 2nd week we also had a fantastic time in the Sofitel Karnak which we would heartily reccommend as being just out of Luxor it is very peaceful. Again the staff were very nice, food was good & rooms really comfortable. We will definitely return to this hotel, but a free week there would indeed be most acceptable !!!!!
 
Jenny & Charlie

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"Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2008 2:29 PM
Subject: Nile Cruise 10th Dec KIng Tut 1

Having been on a Nile cruise 7 years ago we new roughly what to expect. I have to say that the trip that you organised exceeded our expectations . The Organisation to and from the airport was excellent with no hassle.  The boat was very clean and of a 5* star standard.
Excellent food and staff who certainly provided superb service. The all inclusive option works really well and should be encouraged. The wine and food have improved considerably over the  years.
Our guide John did a first class job , keeping us informed of changes and organising alll of the trips effortlessly for us. The buses were clean and well ventilated . He certainly went out of his way to ensure a succcessful holiday for us.
I appreciate that going in early December is perhaps the optimum in terms of weather and a reduced number of passengers and boats. Nevertheless  the holiday was excellent and our friends who were first time on the Nile have enthused about the trip and Orbital to their friends.
I will certainly recommend Orbital Travel to my friends who want a great Nile experience. Thank you"  

Mr Harry Dowson - received via email 6th January 2008

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"Fantastic weeks trip on the Nile - King of Egypt was excellent, very clean and staff excellent. Excursions very good and our tour guide Eman was excellent and very knowledgeable. Taking time to explain all temples in detail. He was considerate and helpful to my mother who is not so quick on her feet. Would definitely recommend to friends and family when back in England. Thank you to all staff for their excellent service and a huge thank you to Eman."

Bob and Jean Woods – King of Egypt cruise 6th June 2007

FULL COMMENTS

"We have thoroughly enjoyed our trip. Jon, our guide was superb. All staff were friendly, I will come again and recommend to all our friends"

Mr & Mrs Lupton, King Tut 1 cruise dated 7th May 2007.

FULL COMMENTS

"The cruise has been a wonderful and memorable experience with everyone on board going that extra little bit for our enjoyment. However, I feel we should give an extra mention to our tour guide Jon who has been a wealth of information, extremely helpful and above all a friend. Thank you for an excellent and most wonderful time."

Alison and Darren O'Neill, King Tut 1 cruise 7th May 2007

FULL COMMENTS

"We came on the cruise in September 2005 - same cruise ship, we enjoyed it so much we were happy to return again with my 3 brothers and their wives. We recommended this cruise ship as we had such good service before. Once again we are very pleased to have chosen you - thanks also to Michael our tour guide for such enjoyment, such organisation and his knowledge."

Mr T and Mrs PM Gibson, El Fostate cruise 18th April 2007.

FULL COMMENTS

"A wonderful experience from start to finish"

Mr & Mrs Banks, El Fostate cruise 25th April 2007.

FULL COMMENTS

"The transfer at the airport was the best that I have had in Egypt. Trolleys were waiting for the luggage and the Visa had been paid, saving a lot of time. Other passengers were in huge queues. All excursions were well organised and punctual. I would not hesitate to recommend this cruise to any of our friends in England.

Thanks for such an enjoyable holiday"

Mr & Mrs Payne, King Tut 1 cruise 28th May 2007

FULL COMMENTS