Carol Brandenburg

Dear Mr Fayez,
Our trip to Egypt with Memphis Tours was all that my daughter Anna and I hoped it would be...and much more! You asked for specific feedback:
Egyptologist/Guides
On our Nile cruise (Royal Lily), the guide was Hossam Mohamed Ali. He was great -- not only very knowledgeable about Egyptian history and culture, but an excellent English speaker. (In fact, I told him his vocabulary was better than most Americans'!)
In addition, Hossam was patient, helpful -- always happy to answer questions -- and he has a wonderful sense of humor. I heard everyone in our group commenting about how "professional" he was. We were very sorry to say goodbye to him at the end of the cruise.
Our other guide -- for the 2 days in Cairo and day in Alexandria -- was Ahmed (don't know his last name). He's a very nice man and also knowledgeable about Egypt...but his English is not nearly as good as Hossam's. I often had to work hard to understand what he was saying. And often he didn't seem to understand us very well, either. If Ahmed could have additional instruction/practice and improve his English-speaking skills, he would be a much more effective guide.
I should also note we really liked your representative Hussein in Cairo, who met us the first day at the papyrus store to get my "balance due" payment for the tour, met us at the airport when we arrived from Sharm and also took us to the airport at the end. He was very efficient and personable.
Schedule
If I were going to do it again, I would skip Alexandria and spend an extra day at Sharm, returning to Cairo for only the "Museum" day before leaving for home. We didn't think the sights of Alexandria were worth a 6 hour roundtrip car ride, which is how long it took including the rush hour traffic jam coming back into Cairo. (Abu Simbel, on the other hand, definitely is worth a long car trip.)
Hotels
The Movenpick Pyramids was fine (though I certainly wouldn't call it a "5-star" hotel!) We loved the Basma in Aswan -- spectacular view from our balcony of the pool and mountains beyond. The Royal Peninsula in Sharm is gorgeous, but the food there was the worst we had. Besides that, there was live "entertainment" for the dinner buffet each night: two girl singers who were not only bad, but way too loud! After the first night, we ate outside on the patio, next to a heat lamp.
I would love to return to Sharm, but next time at a hotel on the beach (like the Savoy, which we visited with Pam and Bill Burke, our fellow Memphis clients from the river cruise).
Our best accommodations overall were on the Royal Lily -- beautiful ship, excellent service and great food too! The Christmas celebration and "Egyptian Night" were really fun.
By the way, on Tues Dec 29 in Cairo we insisted Ahmed NOT take us to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch! No Americans we know would ever want to go there, but would much prefer a more Egyptian-type restaurant.
Communications
We were impressed by how punctual our Memphis guides and drivers were -- always on time or even a little early, except...
You already know that when I finally arrived after my 29 hour journey from Minneapolis (all those snow delays in Amsterdam!) there was nobody at the airport to greet me.
However, I called and you answered; Nabil appeared 3 minutes after you said he would.
In Sharm, we arrived at the Royal Peninsula Reception at 8 am Sun Dec 27 for our first snorkel cruise, as directed. The Memphis van did not arrive until about 40 minutes later, however. In the meantime, we grew concerned watching other hotel guests leave for snorkeling, carrying towels and equipment with them (we later learned they had booked their trips thru the hotel, so they were provided snorkel equipment).
We would have appreciated someone from Memphis calling the Royal Peninsula front desk to say the van would be late (15 min OK, but this was much longer). And we would have liked to know that we needed to bring our own towels from the hotel, but that snorkel equipment would be provided by the Dive Center.
On our list of things "included," you always wrote cell phone and water. But we were never offered either! I used my own phone briefly a few times (like calling my mother on Christmas Day), and we learned to take along water bottles we bought at the hotel.
I'd also like to say that, looking back, I think your notes about tipping were a little misleading. I'm always happy to tip for good service...but it sometimes seemed like everyone we encountered expected to get a tip! That was the only big negative about visiting Egypt -- feeling like we constantly had to be handing out money, or fending off aggressive vendors.
Conclusion
These were minor problems in what was overall an incredible, truly awesome experience. I want to compliment you as well. We heard from our tablemates on the Royal Lily that their Memphis tour managers were not nearly as responsive and professional as you have always been. I regret we never had the pleasure of meeting you while we were in Cairo!
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for a trip my daughter and I will remember vividly for the rest of our lives. And do feel free to give my name/email/phone to any prospective Memphis clients who would like a "reference."
Wishing you all the best, with warm regards ~ Carol