Sunset Cocktail Boat

[carrie]

Went there about 4pm with two friends. Lovely views across the river and the sunset but Oh the service, asked for sahlab, was on the menu but not available, OK tea with milk and a vodka cocktail, sorry we don't sell vodka, but it is on the menu, showed it to the waiter and he said "oh yes" will go and see. 15 minutes later came back with neat vodka. No my friend explained I would like a vodka cocktail like it says on the menu, "oh you want it with Gin" no I would like a vodka cocktail with slices of lemon and lemon juice. 10 minutes later the tea arrived but no milk. Asked for milk and then the vodka cocktail arrived but no milk, asked again for the milk when it eventually arrived the tea was cold.
The waiter wasn't exactly rushed off his feet since there were only us three drinking anything.
I will not be going again neither will my friends, a shame because as I said the setting is great.

[Major Thom]

Sorry to say Carrie but this sort of thing is happening all over at the moment, promising the earth and returning very little. Shame really, but imagine someone who had paid say £2000 for a holiday and getting this sort of thing happening to them.
Everything at the moment is geared to making money, from wanting Dollars instead of LE, from low stocks in shops, from commission for everything, we have all experienced it over time, but it's getting worse now. Until a year ago I was blinded, but once my blinkers came off, there was no stopping the dastardly deeds going on, and for me, it's these that took over my life and the nice things faded. I sit here now not thinking of anything good, just of how to protect my wallet, and how to return the ones that have cheated me. It's become an obsession of mine now, even with the ones who think that they do not see me are in the clear. I know there is worse to come!
I don't want to spend all my life having to fight people who think they have a right to what's yours, I prefer a much more serene life where favors are free, where help is free, and where cheating is seen as being unacceptable.

[Horus]

I sit here now not thinking of anything good, just of how to protect my wallet, and how to return the ones that have cheated me. It's become an obsession of mine now, even with the ones who think that they do not see me are in the clear. I know there is worse to come!

Translation please

[Yildez]

Sorry to say Carrie but this sort of thing is happening all over at the moment, promising the earth and returning very little. Shame really, but imagine someone who had paid say £2000 for a holiday and getting this sort of thing happening to them.
Everything at the moment is geared to making money, from wanting Dollars instead of LE, from low stocks in shops, from commission for everything, we have all experienced it over time, but it's getting worse now. Until a year ago I was blinded, but once my blinkers came off, there was no stopping the dastardly deeds going on, and for me, it's these that took over my life and the nice things faded. I sit here now not thinking of anything good, just of how to protect my wallet, and how to return the ones that have cheated me. It's become an obsession of mine now, even with the ones who think that they do not see me are in the clear. I know there is worse to come!
I don't want to spend all my life having to fight people who think they have a right to what's yours, I prefer a much more serene life where favors are free, where help is free, and where cheating is seen as being unacceptable.

What a waste of your life. It's done, get over it. You're not the first, definitely won't be the last, and it happens all over the world - and yes, I've no doubt the gullible are ripped off in Australia too. Sitting brooding about what ifs, what might have, what should have, is a complete and utter waste of time. Like many of us, your allotted time is not too far in the future. I strongly suggest you should set your mind to enjoying the here and now, all too soon it will be too late. And before you say that everything will be rosy once you get to Australia, you're not there yet.

[Dusak]

If its the same one, berthed cruiser, when it was originally a drinks place it was very relaxing, although even then with top number of tourists the service could be a tad slow and confusing, especially when it was add up time for a running bill.

[A-Four]

It is very interesting to carefully study the two main statements above from Carrie and Major Thom, it also helps others to understand that many of the original 'old time' ex-pats like myself, had 'secrets' that we were not prepared to share with others on this site,.......let me explain.

Some on here will remember when the LE jumped from 4.5 to 5.0, then quite quickly to 6.5 then 10.0 LE, prices for the average Egyptian almost doubled over night, but for the tourist prices more than trebled. Those tourists who enjoyed the delights of eat at local restaurants may remember the very slow service at that time. The old Amoun Restaurant that was on the main town square (before moving further along the road, and then again moving upstairs in Savoy Street). Immediately after the devaluation, you would go in there ask for omelette chips and salad, half an hour later you would still be waiting, and if you were carefully enough to observe that staff would be sent over to the market to get eggs, then go back to get tomatoes. When this finally arrived, you would ask for milk for your coffee, off the waiter would go again to purchase milk, of course by the time he returned the coffee was cold. At that time few local restaurants could afford to even switch on their fridges, that why their stocks were always very low. As an ex-pat in those days, you quickly learnt that the bright lights of tourist Luxor was quite expensive, and service remained poor for a long time, even in the four and five star hotels.

My home area on the WB was quite different, if I went into a Gazerra restaurant after 6p.m. when all tourists had left, I paid the local price and this remained so throughout my time in Egypt, though if I had tourists friends with me I always paid the tourist price.

Over the years many tourists have moaned about the two tier price system, where there is no menu, therefore difficult to work out the prices. The reason for this was two fold 1) if you lived as a ex-pat on the WB, which there were far less than today, you paid a lower price although this could vary, usually depending on how long you had lived there. 2) Many restaurants welcomed groups of 12 to 20 people, the local guide would arrange this for a much reduced price for a set meal, and of course take a commission. The guide certainly would not want his group checking the real price.

I know of one certain establishment on the WB who had to keep a list near his till to remind the staff of the different prices charged to different local ex-pats for bottles of beer, and surprisingly no one ever let on. It may come as a surprise to some, but even the two old drinking dens at The Luxor Hotel operated a very similar system,........I joke not.

As I have written in the past, when I lived on the WB, it was quite rare for me to go to Luxor town, and especially to involve myself with the tourists, simply because they were paying outrageous price for local produce. Like Carrie and Major Thom above, I was not poor, and could certainly pay the high prices, it's just that combined with the then poor service and very high prices, I was not going to be ripped off.

It's very strange how all these years down the long road, history repeats itself.

[carrie]

I don't think that I mentioned the price of anything on the boat, we saw the menu saw the price and where quite happy to pay what was asked. Not saying I was ripped off.
It was the very sloppy service, if it had been like Amoun full to bursting then I could have waited and waited no problem but the place was empty and the waiter had to return 3 or 4 times up and down the stairs until he got the order right. Would have saved him a lot of trouble had he listened in the first place.
The boat is newly opened re-furbished and like I said the view is great, clean toilets perhaps it was me and my friends, we were tired, cold, been out all day if it had been a beautifully sunny day we would probably been happy to sit and wait all day.

[Who2]

Quote: It's become an obsession of mine now,

Reckon we realised that some time ago, about 7 years to be exact.....
Ps: Showing my jock mate the square 'power to the people right on!