Travel Discounters

Consumer Reviews and Complaints

1. 

   Travel Discounters Reviews & Complaints

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   Hello. Through travelzoo top20, I booked the egypt tour starting may 27th called “best of egypt semiramis” package w/pharaohs deal. I’m sorry to say, but I was rather disappointed with my tour to egypt and the nile cruise ship. I had been to cairo about 8 years ago from the norwegian cruise ship tour, so when compared, what I experienced now is such a dissappointment! Egypt has really changed. To me, this country went backwards. I have never experienced so much begging for money in my life! And you guys disguise it as “tips”, but it is really begging. Someone on my tour said the country was poor like the country india. And the company they used, blue sky travel, was a disappointment also. I didn’t like the set-up. From the time I landed in cairo, every minute the representatives were looking out for “tips”. It is appalling how everyone in every phase of the tour was looking out for “tips”, which to me was like “begging”! Here are my issues with this tour: My hotel stay in cairo was very good. But on my return to cairo on day 9, june 4th, they changed my hotel to the sonesta hotel without telling me. I was promised 3 nights at the le meridien pyramids hotel! The first luncheon in cairo on day 3, may 29th was very very good, thank you for that. It was at a place with like a children’s amusement on the grass/front yard. But the rest of the places for lunch and dinner on day 4 (may 30th) was not so good. It was so-so. Abd el wahab was not very pleasant. He needs to be retrained on how to handle tourists. Also, on day 4, he arrived late at the le meridien hotel. We waited for him from like 5:00pm to almost 6:00pm when he finally showed up! Even the guide, maged said el-beh had to leave to go home and so left us there waiting in the lobby! So, because abd el was late, we were only able to get the dinner, but no time for any dessert, which comes after the meal. I was very dissappointed!! When the itinerary says “nile river cruise”, it is deceiving because it sounds like you are moving on the ship to other areas. I didn’t know the ship stayed docked for the first 2 days. The “extra cruise night”, per the pharaohs deal is also deceiving. We arrived past midnight and checked in and was in the room on the ship at like 1:00am!! The extra night sounded like you had atleast some time on the ship before night fell. I might as well have arrived the next day, you know? What a disappointment with this “pharaohs deal”, which was definitely overpriced! What a rip-off! Maged said el-beh, the tour guide never took us to visit the “khan el-khalil bazaar! That was part of the tour I paid for! Maged also fell through with the photo-op for the camel ride! By the camels, he said we would have to pay for the camel ride. Instead, we just sat on the camel that was sitting down on the ground. So, I never received the”short camel ride for a photo opportunity” that was promised to me!!! Very dissapointing!!! The abu simbel excursion costs only $140.00 u.S. If purchased there. You overcharged me by selling it at $199.00 u.S. What a rip-off!!! On the semiramis ii cruise ship, the rooms were not impressive. The furniture is old, the small refridgerator was old and a bit dirty, some of the towels had stained marks on them, the sheets were dingy, the toilet seat had a permanent cigarette bun like stain, there were flies on the ship and even in my room a few times, the t.V. Not coming on for a couple hours due to a power surge on friday afternoon, june 1st, the staff needs to wash their hands often when handling food in the kitchen, some of the staff look somber, some of the cruise ship staff needs to be retrained on how to handle tourists, et., etc., etc. It was not a very pleasant experience. In addition, on the ship by our cabins, there was a plate of small sandwiches wrapped in film see thru paper, on the floor in our hallway, then ended up on a table by our hallway, then a chair in the hallway, then back on the floor next to our cabins in the hallway during the 4 days in the ship. We think it is the same plate of sandwich just floating around our hallway for days. What does that mean? Why wouldn’t they just throw it in the garbage? Very strange and unsanitary! I had diarrhea after eating the breakfast the first meal I had on the ship. It lasted 48 hours. Horribble!!! There was garbage piled up and smelling the street when we rode thru some areas in cairo and by the nile! When driving to the sites/ruins, why was the water in the cooler in the van not free? If you have the drink package, why are they charging us $1 for 2 bottles? We all didn’t care for this set-up! During the visits to the sites, we always had to tip the bathroom person. Someone finally suggested to hussein el mouneir to just take care of all these individual tippings, because it was becoming annoying! In addition, when I had the diarrhea the first 2 days on the ship, at one of the sites we visited on thursday, may 31st, the man by the public bathroom at the site only gave like 4 square bits of the toilet paper. When I asked him for more, he said no and stretched his hand out to get a tip. I needed extra toilet paper and he refused. Thank god I had tissue in my pocketbook! Why is the toilet paper not on the roll by the toilet. Why do they have to give it to you? And in small portions?? What a horrible horrible experience!!! The nubian village excursion was overpriced at $35 u.S. Other vendors were charging $10 u.S. When I took the balloon ride excursion, hussein told us we would have breakfast after the ride. If I am leaving at 3:30am for the balloon ride and not coming back until like 8:00am, why would you not give us a boxed breakfast??? I had to let him know that I need to eat something. I can’t go the morning on an excusrion without eating! I mean, c’mon, common sense you know? These people really need to be retrained on how to handle tourists and how things should be done! In addition, on june 1st (friday night) during the cruise ship moving, we would not have known about the locks, the different stages the ship goes thru with the water lifts like the panama canal, if someone didn’t point it out to him (hussein). Why didn’t mimi and hussein tell us about that? This was something everyone loves to experience. Why wouldn’t mimi and hussein let us know that our ship was going thru that ahead of time?? Horrible! I am sorry to say, but other than the sites/ruins to see in egypt, this trip basically was a disappointment!! I am sorry, but I have told everyone not to go on the sermiramis ship, and not to go with blue sky travel or use travel discounters, because both are a disappointment! I also believe you should give me a refund for some of the things promised to me that did not happen, like the ride on the camel, the not visiting khan el-khalili bazaar, giving me 2 nights at le meridien and not 3 nights, missing our dessert on wednesday rushing during the meal in order to catch our flight because abd el wahab showed up late, overcharging the abu simbel trip, overcharging the pharaohs deal, the extra cruise night being really arriving the next day but early in the morning at like 1:00am (very misleading), the semiramis ii ship needing renovation because it was old and dingy, people not doing what they are suppose to do, etc., etc., etc. Please credit my credit card an appropriate amount, like $100 u.S., thank you. Regards, Ms. Erolyn i. Barrow [protected] [protected]@yahoo.com

   By Rudolph Henneberry

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