Toronto_canucks

Got in touch with Memphis just as I was about to book a Aswan-Luxor, 3 night Nile cruise with another company. Memphis astounded me with the prompt responses. With other operators, I would email 3 questions, wait a day (time change) for a response and only get 1 question answered. And so it went back and forth for a few weeks. With Memphis, Mohammed Amer was so fast, he must have lived in the office as he always seemed to be online and was very good at answering all my questions. Booking was a breeze. On arrival in Aswan, the Memphis driver and our guide, Ahmed, met us at our hotel and drove us around town looking for a bank machine that would accept our card. We then transfered to our boat, the MS Nile Dolphin, which was wonderful (see separate review)! Our guide on the boat was another Ahmed, and he was fantastic. His knowledge of Egyptian history was truly impressive. He organized our day tours and was always there if there were any issues. Our group was 11, a good size, and Memphis offers some nice extra touches, like a cell phone during your trip and water and soft drinks during your excursions. Although a bottle of wate is inexpensive to buy, it is a very nice touch that Memphis includes it. Part of our tour included a felucca ride in Aswan. There was some confusion so we were given a motor boat ride instead - still nice, but not as peaceful. Ahmed quickly offered to get us a felucca ride in Luxor to make up for it - without us even asking. Truly great service. Our only comment would be regarding tipping. Memphis gave us the option to tip by hand (individually) or to group tip a fixed amount per person per day. Most go with the group tip to avoid the perceived hassle. We decided to do the group tip as we thought it would be easier, however, in hindsight, we should have done it individually. We were still hassled for tips regardless and we have no idea how much and who received tips in the end. By tipping individually you control who the money goes to and can tip more or less based on the service and experience you have. Overall, would highly recommend Memphis!