Egypt Luxury Nile River Cruises

What Luxury Actually Buys

Cabin size is the usual proxy for class, and on the Nile it stops working at the top. A deluxe cabin on the MS Farah is 22 m². On the MS Sonesta St George I it is 22 m². On an ultra deluxe ship like the MS Mövenpick Royal Lily it is also 22 m². Square metres are not what you are paying for. These are:

• A bathtub, on the ships that have one — Below the luxury tier a bath on the Nile means a suite upgrade or nothing at all — standard, deluxe and most ultra deluxe cabins have shower rooms. On the MS Sonesta St George I every bathroom has a tub. It is not universal even at this level, so if a bath matters to you, say so when you enquire and we will confirm it for your ship and cabin category.
• À la carte dinner — Buffet breakfast and lunch, then a proper served dinner from a menu with a smart casual dress code. Every class below this one serves dinner from the buffet too. If dinner is part of the holiday rather than fuel between temples, this is the line where that changes.
• Windows that actually open — Worth understanding the vocabulary here, because the Nile trade uses the word balcony very loosely. Genuine walk-out balconies are rare on river ships of any class. What the better vessels offer is a French balcony — a full-height window or glass door that slides open onto a safety rail, so the outer wall of the cabin becomes the river without giving up floor space. Further down the fleet you get a window that opens partway, or one that is sealed. This varies by vessel and by cabin category rather than neatly by class, so ask us what your specific cabin has and we will tell you plainly rather than calling a window a balcony.
• Genuine suites — The Sonesta St George I carries ten — six Presidential at 44 m², three Elite, and one Royal Suite of 45 m² with a marble bathroom, positioned forward. The MS Farah’s Royal Suites are 40 m² with a separate lounge and bedroom.
• A lift — Both luxury ships have one. Most standard and many deluxe ships do not, which on a five-deck vessel is the single most underrated comfort question on the river.
• A full-service spa and fitness centre — Not a massage room. Both ships carry a proper spa and gym; the Farah adds a library and a coffee bar.
• Service ratio — Fewer guests per crew member. The Farah carries a maximum of 110 guests across 62 staterooms; a standard ship of similar length carries 140 or more.

What It Doesn’t Buy

And the part we would rather you heard from us than discovered on board. None of the following changes with class, and any operator who implies otherwise is selling you something that does not exist:

• The itinerary — Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, the Colossi of Memnon, Edfu, Kom Ombo, the Temple of Isis at Philae on Agilkia Island, the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk. Same sites, same order, same days as the $590 ship.
• The guides — The same qualified Egyptologists work across every class. You are not getting a better explanation of the Hypostyle Hall.
• The entrance fees — Included on every class we sell, luxury or not.
• The moorings — Luxury and standard ships tie up at the same quays and are frequently rafted side by side. Your walk to the coach is the same walk.
• Access to the sites — There is no luxury queue at the Valley of the Kings, and no ship’s class gets you into Tutankhamun’s tomb without the separate ticket.

We put this in writing because a luxury Nile cruise is worth its price for what it genuinely is — a materially better hotel on a better ship, for a week — and not for what it is sometimes implied to be. You are buying the vessel, not more of Egypt.

How the Four Classes Compare

Two things this table is deliberately careful about. First, the cabin-size row rises through the lower classes and then flattens — 22 m² is roughly the ceiling for a standard cabin anywhere on the Nile, luxury included, so anyone selling you a ship on square metres alone is selling the wrong thing. Second, there is no balcony row, because window and balcony arrangements vary by individual vessel and cabin category rather than tracking class in any reliable way. Ask us about the specific ship.

Our Luxury Ships

MS Sonesta St George I

Launched 2006 · 57 cabins · from $1,500 per person

French-period decor, and the strongest bathrooms on the river — every one of the 57 cabins has a bathtub, which no other class on the Nile offers as standard. Forty-seven deluxe cabins at 22 m² with a king bed and a sofa bed for a third guest, plus ten suites: six Presidential at 44 m², three Elite, and a single Royal Suite of 45 m² with a marble bathroom, positioned forward where the view is best. Double-glazed panoramic French windows throughout. The main dining room does buffet breakfast and lunch and à la carte dinner; there is a piano bar under a hand-made chandelier, a lounge with a dance floor and nightly entertainment, a pool deck with its own bar and barbecue area, and a full-service spa and fitness centre. Sails 3, 4 and 7 nights.

MS Farah

Launched 2011 · 62 staterooms · from $1,500 per person

The newest of the two and the more contemporary in feel, operated by Avalon Waterways and capped at 110 guests across 62 staterooms — a low density for a ship of her length. Deluxe staterooms are 22 m² with pillow menus and in-room kettles, and the operator specifies French balconies throughout; the Royal Suites are 40 m² with separate lounge and bedroom areas. On board there is a pool, a gym, a spa, a library, a coffee bar and a lift, plus something genuinely rare on the Nile: an alfresco dining area on the sun deck, so at least one dinner a sailing is served in the open air. There is also a telescope on the sun deck, which on a moonless night moored off Edfu is better than it sounds.

Both ships hold Egypt’s 5-star category and both earn 5★ on our own scale — the only two in our Luxor–Aswan fleet that do. If neither has your dates, the next tier down is ultra deluxe, where the cabins are the same size and the difference is in the bathroom, the dinner service and the public spaces.

Luxury Ship or Dahabiya?

There is a second way to sail the Nile at this level, and for some travellers it is the better one. A dahabiya is a small twin-masted sailing boat carrying eight to twelve guests rather than a hundred and ten. It actually sails, rather than motoring; it moors at sandbanks and villages the large ships cannot reach; and you will often be the only boat there.

What it does not have is a pool, a spa, a lift, a gym or a choice of bars, and the cabins are smaller. The trade is straightforward: a luxury ship gives you facilities, space and a polished hotel operation; a dahabiya gives you privacy, silence and a version of the river that has largely disappeared. Couples and honeymooners tend to prefer the dahabiya. Families and anyone who wants the pool and the gym should take the ship.

Sailings and Departure Days

Departure days are fixed and weekly. Both luxury ships and the 4-day package sail the same Luxor–Aswan stretch in one direction or the other.

Three nights normally runs north from Aswan with the current; four and seven nights run south from Luxor. Both directions cover the same temples, so let your arrival city decide. There is a fuller comparison in our guide to Nile cruise routes.

How the sightseeing runs. The 3-night (4 days) and 4-night (5 days) sailings are fully private — your own Egyptologist and your own vehicle at every stop. The 7-night (8 days) sailing runs as a small group capped at 16, with a fully private departure available on request.

Meet and greet. An Egypt Best Vacations representative meets you inside the arrivals terminal at Luxor or Aswan airport holding a signboard with your name, and stays with you through to the vehicle.

What the Price Covers

Included on every luxury sailing

• Meet and greet by an Egypt Best Vacations representative inside the arrivals terminal
• All transfers in air-conditioned vehicles as per the itinerary
• Accommodation on board on a full-board basis
• All sightseeing tours listed in the itinerary
• Entrance fees to every site named in the itinerary
• A qualified Egyptologist guide throughout (English; other languages on request)
• All service charges and local taxes

Not included

• Egyptian tourist visa — $30 on arrival, payable in cash at the airport
• Drinks beyond what is noted below
• Tipping for the ship crew and your guide
• Optional tours such as Abu Simbel, the Luxor balloon flight or a Nubian village visit
• Separately ticketed tombs in the Valley of the Kings (Tutankhamun, Seti I, Ramses V/VI)
• Travel insurance

On drinks, because this is the one place luxury genuinely differs. On most Nile ships nothing but the tea and coffee at meals is included, and everything else goes on a cabin account. On the MS Farah, one drink with meals is included in the fare, along with Wi-Fi and room-service breakfast. Beyond that, soft drinks, bottled water outside meal times, beer, wine and spirits are charged and settled at the end of the cruise. Confirm the exact drinks position for your ship and sailing date when you book — it varies by vessel and by season.

Prices, Children and Extras

• From-prices — Per person sharing, in US dollars, in low season. Suites, twin occupancy and high-season dates cost more. Rates move with season, with the highest bands over Christmas, New Year and Easter.
• Single supplement — 70% over the twin rate. On a luxury ship this is a material sum, so if you are travelling alone it is worth asking us about our dedicated solo departures, where a private cabin is included with no supplement added.
• Children — under 6 — Free when sharing a cabin with two full-paying adults.
• Children — 6 to 11 — 50% of the adult rate.
• Children — 12 and over — Full adult rate.
• Cabin occupancy — Deluxe cabins on both ships take a third guest on a sofa bed, so a family of three fits in one cabin. A family of four needs two.
• Festive sailings — Christmas, New Year and Easter departures are priced separately, with the gala dinner already included in the quoted rate. It is never added as a supplement.
• Egyptian tourist visa — $30 on arrival in cash. Not included in any cruise rate.

Who Luxury Suits

A luxury ship is the right call if

• You are booking the seven-night round trip and will genuinely live aboard for a week
• Dinner matters to you as part of the holiday, not as fuel between temples
• Anyone in your party would benefit from a lift and step-free movement between decks
• It is a honeymoon, an anniversary or a milestone trip
• You want a bathtub — below this tier that means a suite upgrade or nothing at all

Consider a lower class or a dahabiya if

• You are sailing three or four nights and the cabin is mostly somewhere you sleep
• You would rather put the difference towards Abu Simbel, a balloon flight or extra nights in Cairo
• You want privacy and silence more than facilities — that is a dahabiya, not a bigger ship
• The temples are the entire point and the vessel is transport with a bed