Dahabiya Judi
Cruise ship review Dahabiya Judi
Age: >70
Travel time: in December 11
I travelled as: Family
Children: > 4
Duration: 5 weeks
Type of trip: Cruise
Booked via: Travel agency
Recommendation: No
Average rating of this review: 4
Family excursion on the Nile with a group of 22
Enlarge letters A A Downsize letters A AA wonderful old Nile ship indeed. In all its simplicity of a sailing ship It certainly had allure and offered an old colonial, luxurious feeling. It only just fitted our family group of 13 children (aged 5 to 17) and 9 grown-ups. The beautiful suite accomodated 4 children. It was therefore quite a mess and never cleaned. The cabins were, including the towel sculptues on the bed. One friendly guy took care of us with respect to setting the table, serving food and tending the bar for drinks. He also kept account of our drinks which were not included in the trip and had European prices. Coke and fanta had finished in Edfu and was not replenished. We have a lot to complain about the food and the variey of thefood. Breakfast was the same every day; for five days we had the same brown pita bread (more and more stale over the five days of our trip) and that when Egypt has such a variety in bread and kids just want sandwiches. Half of our group fell ill with serous gastro-enteritis. Nothing was done with respect to special food such as rice and broth. The food on the Judi was a very big negative asset all in all.. It is utterly unaccepatble to give"a "tip advise" that confuses a tip with a fee. The Judy had the nerve to advise a "tip" of Euro 40 per person per day. When we offered the captain the envelop with our tip and had not complied to that amount he was furious indeed and at a moment we thought we should take it back all together. After all a tip is a tip and we were certainly not happy with everything.
CabinNice cabins, each with its own bathroom. Unfortunelately we indeed needed those bathrooms extensively. Cabin maintenance and cleanliness was good.
GastronomyThe setting of the dinner table on the deck of this old ship was beautiful. However the food was very mediocre. New Years dinner with some tough bird was the absolute culinary low I heard from the few family members that were not sick and attended. Personally I can't comment. I was so very sick that I was even too weak to dye let alone even think of food. When I could, there was nothing for a disturbed bowel system. The cook insisted on his routine menu and which was also incredibly salty, like brine. We just couldn't get any positive feed-back from out comment and plates we returned untouched.
ServiceThe good Ahmed who served us food and drinks was a nice, politely man. He hardly spoke any English and didn't know what to do when we started complaining about no replenishment of coke when it finished, no other bread than the pita bread, And the increasing amount of untouched food he had to take back from the table. With respect to service; the crew of the Judi basically had no clue.
Sport & Entertainment not availableThe Judi is not a cruise ship but an large old Nile sailing boat for 18 people. In the "entertaiment program" we were promised to have an "Egyptian show". This meant that the crew was dancing around with some drums for 15 minutes.
Land excursionsThese were standard and all right. We happened to have an excellent guide with us.
Other tips and recommendationsMy general advise is to be very assertive, to have a good look at your travel program that you booked and don't get fooled by what the captain has in his program. (eg we have to leave early because of the lock. Which doesn't exist) Take all sorts of things for gastroenteritis. More than half is caused by norovirus and to a lesser degree by bacteria. Beware of dehydration and take ORS with you. Take games and cards on board and lots of books. In the fall and early spring-the best time to see Egypt- the days are warm from 10 to 16 and cool off quickly so you certainly need warm clothes as well as tee shirts. Take extra time for Aswan and Luxor.
Additional info about your cruise ship review
| In which waters did you travel? | other |
| What language was spoken on board? | English |
| Did the cruise ship meet the standards of its official catalogue description? | No, worse |
| Does the cruise ship deserve its star rating? | No, worse |
| Were you satisfied with the tour operator? | No |
| How would you describe the value for money? | Rather poor |
| Where did you book your cruise? | Travel agency |
| When did you book your cruise? | Well in advance (more than 3 months before departure) |
| Where do you want to travel to next? | Irland |
| How often do you travel each year? | More than 8 times |
