Sunrise Select MS Semiramis II

external cabin with tv (which we never used - too much to do!!), Air-con, safe, fridge (to chill the water we needed for excursions) 2 telephones bathroom with brilliant shower - power shower, plus body jets... a real luxury after a morning 's hard walking plenty of sockets to re-charge camera battery etc...

1 restaurant - very friendly & helpful staff - I have an allergy to peppers & the chef always made sure there was at least one dish I could eat. All meals gave plenty of choice & as it was a buffet - we all seemed to eat far too much, it was that good !! Needed the excursions to walk it all off again Varied cuisine -predominantly European with an Egyptian twist - very pleasant

As previously stated all the staff from the manager down were very helpful indeed - their English was very good & nothing was too much trouble. When I was unwell, the Manager arranged for a member of staff to go to a pharmacy to get me some anti-biotics, which was great & greatly appreciated Additional services - on-board photographer was good Video photographer was brilliant - very unobtrusive, in fact, I didn't realise he was there most of the time & the dvd is a fantastic way to remember a brilliant holiday Masseur was also great - I had 2 treatments & they were fab, especially after a long days walking

Small plunge pool on the sun deck, which I'm sure comes in useful in the summer months, but not many people used it in December Entertainment was good - usually something most nights, otherwise music was played. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the 'Whirling Dervish' on our last night, made a very good end to a fantastic trip

The Egyptologist assigned to our group was very knowledgable indeed & made the temples & tombs etc that we visited come alive for us I would thoroughly recommend anyone who wishes to discover Egypt to make this trip - you come home hungry to learn more

Egypt can get very hot during the summer months, so December is definitely the best time to go to discover the sites. All excursions take place in the morning - take an alarm clock (even though you get a wake-up call!!) & be prepared for an early start - in some cases, very early, but it's definitely worth it... to see the sun rise over the NIle & be back for lunch & relaxing on the sun deck ofr the afternoon as you sail slowly down the river tips on what to take - a good pair of walking shoes are a must as a lot of the excursions are to temples & tombs that are uneven underfoot. A decent camera - to capture all the wonderful sites & even the quirky ones - eg, a cow being transported across the river by falucca