Classic Holidays Reviews 

There were three elements to this package. The hotels, the cruise and the local organisers, Orbital Travel, who could not be faulted. Brilliantly organised, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable beyond belief. Adel, our guide and mentor on the cruise element, has a PhD in Egyptology and had worked on some restoration, having guided academics and well known figures; we could not have done better in that area.

The cruise was a mixed bag of the stunning Nile and delightful staff/crew (the usual warm Egyptian welcome) and some very disappointing elements. We spent 4 of our 7 nights on the river as the meat in a 3 or 5 boat sandwich. The cabin windows of the vessel next door 5 feet away and little natural light, in spite of being on the highest level. No privacy, no view and due to the idiotic lighting in the cabin, no reading either much of the time. The lights were either All ON or all OFF. On meant ceiling mounted spots directed at the pillows! If one wanted to read and the other sleep, it was impossible.

Our party consisted of well educated people used to reading a contract but still misunderstood the drinks policy. Apart from breakfast (tea/coffee) and an hour in the PM (tea coffee) all drinks were chargeable, including bottled water, which was necessary even to clean your teeth as the water is not potable under any cicumstances. The optional all inclusive deal was expensive.

The cabin otherwise was OK (Stretching the definition of 5 star a bit I think) and the food was fine. The boat had a bit of the happy campers/ Butlins about it and it was mostly a wine free fortnight for me as I was not willing to drink what was on offer; the Steigenberger Nile Palace in Luxor had the same poor offering as the boat (unlike the same company’s hotel in Giza, which had at least one nice bottle and was a nicer hotel generally, albeit out of Cairo center.) In Luxor, the NP was less appealing; think Las Vegas conference centre and it was full of conference attendees and noisy.

Egypt and its people were, as ever, a real pleasure but any return to the Nile would need to be on a smaller, more exclusive vessel, even if at greater cost; it would be worth it.

PS: I think the interpretation of my boat rating experience was a little optimistic. Read again, did I rate it as excellent?
PPS: Those individual elements were very good but they do not affect the criticism stated aove; sorry.

We booked 3 days in Cairo, a week on a Nile cruise, then 4 days in Makadi Bay through Classic Holidays. All was great BUT I would not use them again as long as they continue to use Bedsonline to provide their transfer services. This lot nearly ruined my holiday. They provided transfers between flights in my Egypt holiday booked through Classic Holidays. For our first transfer (for a flight from Cairo to Aswan) no-one told us what time we'd be picked up. The Bedsonline voucher actually listed pickup time as the same as the actual flight time. The contact number they provide is in Spain (!) and no-one ever answers that phone. Their website is constantly crashing so you can't check times that way. And they never responded to any email. Talking to other people on the tour who booked through Classic Holidays they had exactly the same issue. On our return to the UK it was the same - and this was made worse as we had to return due to a family bereavement. Once again we went through exactly the same thing. It was pretty awful given what had happened at home and my wife was stressing about getting back to the UK. I don't think I'd even risk buying a bed from Bedsonline given what a shambles they seem to be.

The company was very informative, i did have to go back to them several times about booking tours etc and they always came back to me.
On arrival to egypt/cario we were greeted with a representative before passport control who was extremely helpful they helped get people visas if required . They informed us of pick up times for our tours the next day and also helped us with our forward travel to the hotels.
The hotel was lovely that we stayed in (steigenbeger pyramids) quite a way out from airport but it was lovely would recommend.
Transfer to Luxor well organised, and met again with a tour representative on landing, so this made joining the cruise easy.
Our ship was Ms Royal Esadora couldnt fault the staff or the cleanliness.
Our tour guide on the boat was Adel he was absolutely brilliant and made the whole trip for us.
He is a fantastic tour guide and the whole trip would not of been the same without him. He helped with my father who is 96, he arranged breakfast for him in his cabin when he was not joining us on our tour, and the crew were also brilliant with helping out.
Only slight moan would be that its not very elderly friendly, no lifts.
But i have to say this is the best way to see the sights and if you get Adel you will be in for a treat he is brilliant.

Unfortunately, I had to rate this holiday as 1 star as it's the lowest you can go but Classic Holidays do not deserve to be rated even a 1. The customer service is appalling. We had a terrible experience on the Semiramis111 in Egypt. We were transferred to this boat at short notice and without consultation. After being assured the standard was equal, It was found to be extremely poor standard without most of the facilities advertised. The staff on the boat were excellent but our experience was severely marred by severe food poisoning,which affected over half the guests. Classic Holidays have not been interested in the plight of all those affected. Also, the boat offered different trips to the ones we paid for. We've been given a small refund after protracted communication in lieu of this but honestly would have preferred the trips. Our first night was spent at a welcome meeting which became very heated as our guide was trying to make the whole group pay for 12 trips we'd already paid for with the holiday. The guide insisted on written proof of this. We've had no recompense for the ruined first night of our holiday.
The whole experience of Classic Holidays has been apalling and strongly advise anyone thinking of booking through them to take note of the comments on this review.
I will never book through Classic again.
Geoff and Linda Vokes

We had a fantastic holiday everything was well organised we loved everything and enjoyed every minute.
We have such lovely memories.
The transfers were well organised and on time.
The boat was great people so friendly and professional.
We stayed in cairo for 3 nights again everything was well organised .
We flew with EgyptAir and enjoyed the flights great service.
We honestly cant fault a thing.
The guides on the boat were excellent we cant praise them enough they made the beautiful historic sites come alive for us.
I have wanted to go to Egypt and see the pyramids forever classic holidays came up trumps for me and my husband.

Booked a Nile cruise trip and the boat was changed 10 days before going to the Semirames III (do not go on this boat as it is certainly not 5 star even though it is advertised as such and the pictures look brilliant. All of my party came down with food poisoning on the last day, not pleasant travelling home) The room was very tired and the shower held up with a stone and the patio door would not lock - not good for security plus numerous other problems. Could not ask for it to be changed as I was travelling with a disabled person who could not manage stairs. Classic Holidays seem to have not vetted any of their tours and taken the word of their people in Eygpt as finding out when complaining about the state of the boat. They seem more interested in your money than giving a once in a lifetime experience. I will not be booking with this company again as the service given was certainly below standard expected for this type of holiday. You have been warned

We had a 2 week holiday including a week on a Nile cruise on Semiramis III and then 4 nights at the Sonesta St George, Luxor and 3 nights at the Steinberger Pyramids hotel in Cairo. The flights were with Egyptair which were very good. The whole trip was superb and well organised. The transfers were always prompt, the hotels really good and the cruise boat excellent in terms of cabins, service and food. We had a slight issue with included trips whilst in Egypt, but contacted Classic Holidays and they dealt with it very promptly and to our complete satisfaction. All our communications with Classic Holidays and receipt of documentation was excellent and they were always very helpful when contacted. I would highly recommend.

Organisation and planning was very good. Only complaint was having no table in the dining room on second day of Nile cruise. Despite being told the table we were allocated on day 1 would be ours for the whole cruise it had been allocated to another group who stayed put! This was basically left to us to sort out which was not appropriate. Otherwise a memorable and fascinating experience.

The week on the Nile was well organised. Our guide George had excellent knowledge and good communication skills. While the starts were sometimes very early this enabled us to see most sites before they got too crowded. The sites are spectacular and the group of travellers we were with were friendly and enthusiastic. MS Royal Esadora was one of the better boats on the Nile. The staff were excellent and the food decent and varied. The second week was spent at Ford Arabesque on the Red Sea. The resort was beautifully kept and the upgrade package that we had there was money well spent as the food and accommodation were of very good quality. The coral reefs were truly amazing. We will revisit this hotel in the future combining it with a few days in Cairo. We were a little apprehensive prior to the holiday due to previous reviews but we were more than happy with the holiday package.

Visiting Egypt and the cruise down the Nile was a great adventure. The culture past and present was interesting and enjoyable. At time we and our fellow travellers felt more communication regarding what and where on arrival and when leaving places. The Egyptian Guides were excellent and made the experience.

The company did a brilliant job with organising the trip. The transfers etc were timely and efficient. No problems with the organisation at all.

Holiday was lovely and we had a great time but customer service was next to nothing from the company when actually there. At the hotels there were no tour rep but we had a guide for the whole time on the boat although he stayed on another boat.

Booking the holiday was not great- meaning the initial consultation. We wanted our children to join us at the Red Sea and this felt very complicated and expensive so we booked through another company. I felt like the woman I spoke to was doing me a favour and they took little time to understand our needs and hopes and share the excitement of planning a surprise trip for my husband.

In Cairo our tour guide didn’t show up and the WhatsApp number supplied wasn’t answered for hours. The hotel tried to contact the company without success. We requested our money back for those two days worth of tours and received it swiftly. The hotel booked replacement tours for us as a fraction of the cost and they were fantastic. I would suggest booking the Cairo tours when there and not beforehand.

Our boat changed last minute and there were very few that spoke English so communication was a challenge on the new boat. Not 5*, more 3. We spend a long time moored with a view of a bedroom on another boat. A shame as I thought we would see the Nile more. Travelling at night meant we missed a lot of opportunities to see it. We were directed to share a dining table throughout the cruise with another couple. They were lovely but we were away for the first time as a couple without the children in 12 years and wanted to dine alone. We were told in no uncertain terms this was not allowed as the other couple were on our tour! I have never come across this before and was saddened that our romantic dining was not to be.

I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday but I feel it was despite the travel agent. We were also asked to fill in an evaluation but were with the guide making it difficult to write what we wanted fully. I am used to being asked for feedback after the event when home, rather than on a print out when there. I would suggest you would get more honest and helpful feedback that way.

Thank you for contacting me on WhatsApp about my review. I am attempting to be honest and fair so other travellers will know what they are getting. Overall a brilliant experience. Main disappointment was the view of other boat’s bedrooms when moored making our room dark and without a view. Highlight was the service at Kempinski Nile and Cairo in general, with the guide organised by Kempinski.

Wow. The response to this response is defensive and not customer focused. Need you read more!!

The holiday we took was as advertised. The staff were very helpful with our booking and made it very easy.
The whole trip was great and good value. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend them

Be prepared to have trip on Royal Esadora cancelled at last moment.
Booked in Feb 22 and paid in full for two week Egyptian holiday starting 14th Nov. 22
3 days before departure holiday was cancelled by Classic holidays. Reason, mechanical issue with boat.
Fair enough, but we subsequently discovered that others sailed on same boat with Classic holidays that week!!
I suggested they had overbooked and requested proof of cancellation by supplier via ABTA
Reason for late post is we tried to get some compensation for out of pocket expenses for late cancellation, along with proof, all to no avail.
Four of us had a special holiday ruined and I wish we had checked Tripadvisor and other reviews before booking. Whilst looking into cancellation I discovered this occurs quite often so why aren’t Classic Holidays doing more to ensure supplier honours booking?
Therefore be very cautious when booking with Classic Holidays.

In response to Classic Holidays confirming boat didn’t sail due to mechanical issue. I have received confirmation from Classic holiday customer that they did sail on the 14th November. See trip advisor comments.
So as originally stated I believe this was overbooked but Classic holidays left it until last moment to advise of cancellation!! Until they submit proof from supplier that they cancelled we will continue to warn customers they could be let down.

I booked this holiday in February/March with a view of sailing on the Esadora. We left in March but was surprised that the boat was cancelled and changed to the Semiramis 3 just before we left. I was told that the new boat had a gym-It did not-It had 3 pieces of equipment which looked obsolete and Im not sure even worked on the top deck of the boat. The 'swimming pool' was tiny. This was most certainly not a 5 star cruise! I requested a double bed-this did not happen and it would appear that this was the case for most couples when discussing this with them on the boat.
The trips were well organised but outsourced and extras such as the papyrus gallery, spice market, perfume shop and alabaster work shop were all add ons with no option to opt out of which annoyed my husband as it encouraged a hard sell approach of which there was plenty of as soon as we got off the boat. There were some unforgettable trips out which we enjoyed but the thing that was the most upsetting is the unacceptably high rate of food poisoning.
My husband and myself are still not right having been back a few days now. It is not ok to blame this on the 'water' in Egypt, this is about poor standards of hygiene and lack of infection control which off the back of Covid needs to be taken seriously on the boat. Out of our table of 8, 5 of us were extremely unwell, knocking out the odd day out. I'm not impressed. There were older people on the boat who could have been seriously unwell. Neither was there any attention to any references/talks re safety, fire etc strategies should there have been an issue. I also feel that some trips were not appropriate for older people, particularly if at night, eg no hand rail, lots of cobble stones missing etc and this should have been pointed out. It wasn't an issue to me but I was left looking out for older travellers.
We were also left stranded at the airport on our way to Cairo after the 7 day cruise and generally were not given all the correct transfer information compared to other travellers. We ordered an uber and this was reimbursed promptly but forget the email, the only way I got hold of anyone was through the whatsapp number. To be fair a transfer was also booked to go back to the airport from our hotel in Cairo but it was booked for far too early in the morning and we arrived an hour too early ( pick up 04.10 for a 09.10 flight) Before going I also had real trouble getting hold of anyone via email and had to call a couple of times requesting a call back.
The Hyatt hotel at the end was absolutely top notch and with an excellent service and food and this was a 5 star hotel but it was a long way out from the Pyramids. I didn't want to be unkind at the end of the cruise to our rep when answering feedback but I am expressing my sincere views so that Classic holidays can attempt to address some of these issues as it would appear that it's not just us re food poisoning and cancelling the boat first shown and replacing it with another seems common place. I don't want a tit for tat reply, Id like to know what they might do to address the points Ive brought up.

We found all the arrangements for our 10 day trip to Egypt was well organised, ranging from our plane tickets through to the Nile cruise. The journey from Luxor all the way down to Aswan was well crafted allowing a nice cocktail of trips and relaxation time.
The only gripe we had was the optional additional expenses which were quite a lot more expensive than if we had organised it ourselves. Ranging from the drinks package on the boat to the day trip to Abu Simbel - I think the individual costs were on the high side.
It would have been good if we had the option to join a small group to discover the wonders in and around Cairo, something that wasn't really on offer. Instead we paid a reasonable amount of money to arrange our own private tours.

Great trip. Organisation superb and all staff at home were very helpful. Guides in Egypt were excellent. Knowledgeable and well organised. Made the whole trip stress free. Would certainly use Classic Holidays again!

Classic holidays were superb. Great communication and organisation of the trip with every detail planned and scheduled as advertised. Would highly recommend.

It was out first experience of a guided holiday and we greatly enjoyed it.

The only annoying thing was when the guide brings you to a perfume/oils shop. I think they get commission because it's a common practice and I felt a bit exploited. Next time I would know what to expect.

That said, I would use this company again!

We were looked after from beginning to end which made the holiday a joy. Our Egyptologist (Ahmed) was excellent . The excursions were well thought through . Staff on the Esadora were friendly and helpful.