Gillian Kenny

My partner and I have had many foreign holidays but we both agreed that this was the best we ever. The staff were friendly and attentive and went out their way to make us feel comfortable. Our waiter, Meena was a delightful young man as was the barman Tito who always remembered our favourite tipple, and our cabin boy Micheal delighted us with his towel sculptures. I hope that if the opportunity arises that you will give their employers this feedback. The standard of hygiene on the boat was very high and we enjoyed the food which was good and plenty of choice.

Special mention should also be made of our guide, Romany Ayoub. His professionalism ensured that every trip we made ran like clockwork. He was highly organised, transport was always there ready for us and tickets quickly purchased to give us access to sites. His knowledge of Egyptology surpassed our expectations. He was able to tell us in detail the stories behind each temple, in perfect English, and on two occasions he got members of our party to act out the stories in mini plays. This was great fun and very inspirational. He knew the highlights of each site and was able to lead us to them and explain their importance and this must only have been possible with a great deal of preparation from him, which of course we never saw. We were astonished by his ability to read hieroglyphics and the fact that all this information was at his fingertips – not once did we see him refer to notes.

The Egyptian night was very entertaining and Romany joined the party and encouraged everyone to join in, as he did on our felucca trip at Aswan where we all sang Nubian songs. Lots of the party had individually asked him questions about Egyptian politics and life in general so he arranged a special meeting one morning so that we could have an open question session with him. It was these thoughtful extras which made him such an exceptional guide. Nothing was too much trouble for him and he was always the same – buoyant, pleasant and cheerful whether it was six in the morning or ten thirty at night. It was clear that he really enjoyed his job and I consider that we were extremely fortunate to have him as our guide. I cannot recommend him too highly and hope that you will be able to offer future customers the opportunity for Romany to be their guide.