Pyramids, Sphinxes, and King Tut: Here’s What It’s Like to Take a Cruise Down the Nile
That bucket-list trip to Egypt’s ancient tombs and temples you’ve been postponing for all the best reasons? You might want to reconsider. I’m glad I did—partly because I traveled on the AmaLilia, Ama Waterways’ new Nile river vessel shortly after it launched in September, but mostly because there have been no security incidents in the country in 2024, and only one since 2019.
Of all the ways to take in Egypt’s towering ancient wonders, there’s no safer mode of travel than a luxury river cruise, cruise analysts say, because you dock near the tombs and temples, and all excursions are chaperoned. Many of the on-board, happy-hour discussions among my 35 fellow passengers—the majority Americans—were about the safety we felt touring the temples, tombs, and pyramids with our onboard Egyptologist, always flanked by a security guard and cruise director.
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The tour turned out to be an action-packed, 10-day itinerary, starting with three days at the beautiful St. Regis in Cairo before the cruise, exploring the Pyramids of Giza—including a touristy ride on a camel around a pyramid’s base—the domed medieval Citadel of Saladin, and the Egyptian Museum, the Middle East’s oldest, which featured the golden treasures of boy king Tutankhamun along with more than 170,000 other artifacts.
The long-awaited (and air-conditioned) Grand Egyptian Museum recently opened several of its halls for a trial run, though the official opening has yet to be announced. It might be best to plan any cruise after it’s officially open.
After a flight to Luxor, the boat became home for seven days, on a 124-mile river cruise from that ancient city to Aswan, and back again. The 236-foot AmaLilia provides a luxurious, leisurely way to see the celebrated waterway and a relaxing counterpoint to our three-sites-per-day schedule. Beyond the ancient history that appears on the river, the banks are largely undeveloped, lined with palm trees, farms, goats and cows nibbling grass, and kids splashing in the shallows. In the few cities on the route, mosques broadcast the call to prayer, while multi-story houses for multiple generations of families sit on the banks.
When we neared the Esna lock and dam that moves the boat onto a higher part of the Nile, men in boats lined up to throw packages of tablecloths, T-shirts, and kaftans in plastic bags on board, and if you negotiated a good bargain by shouting back and forth, money would be placed in the bag and thrown to the vendor. Talk about the ultimate touchless transaction. We called it “the Nile shopping network.”
One of the cruise’s standouts was the Valley of the Kings to see Pharaoh Seti I’s tomb, discovered in 1817, and one of the largest and most highly decorated in the valley. The original pigments on the reliefs are still vivid, including the blue sky dotted with stars overhead, as were depictions of Seti with various gods such as Anubis. The burial chamber, with its large, vaulted ceiling, is surprisingly well preserved. By comparison, Tutankhamun’s nearby tomb was modest and mundane, except for his mummy, which is still on display.
Similarly impressive was female pharaoh Hatshepsut’s temple, a masterpiece of scale, boasting both Greek and Egyptian architecture dating back to the 18th dynasty. It also had the Disney-worthy back story of an ambitious queen-turned-king who restored Egypt to prosperity.
On board, the new vessel has 41 staterooms that include 13 suites across four floors, with a rooftop deck and pool, where a group of us gathered each evening with drinks to watch the sunset. My Luxury Suite was ample, a 430-square-foot space with its own balcony, living area, and large bathroom. The Grand Suites on the Lily Deck has the same square footage, while the larger Owners Suites measured 522 square feet.
Compared to river cruises in Europe, there was no free time to go exploring on your own (not a great idea, anyway), and the food and drinks had a regional focus. As a Muslim country, alcohol is not available off ship. Our all-inclusive menu also included only Egyptian spirits and wine—drinkable but not exactly world-class—as the government heavily taxes imported alcohol. American brands are available at a surcharge.
Dinners were in the ship’s main restaurant or top-floor Chef’s Table, which served multi-course Egyptian and Mediterranean dinners. Tajine dishes, lamb, dolma, soups, and moussaka were favorites among the passengers. There’s a salon and spa room for massages and other treatments, as well as a gym and gift shop with necessities and galabeyas—the Egyptian kaftans we wore one night for dinner and dancing.
At the lower end of the Nile, Aswan felt like a shift from the ancient world to Victorian times, especially high tea at the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Hotel. There, Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile during a year’s stay at the hotel in 1933. Originally built in 1899 in Victorian style but with beautifully tiled Moorish interiors, it was a favorite of Winston Churchill and other heads of state. The $10,000-a-night Churchill suite is the most popular in the hotel, with a wide sweeping balcony claiming the best Nile view in Egypt.
Most four-day Nile itineraries tend to be too packed with visits. At seven days, Ama’s offered a little more breathing room. The silver lining of traveling at this time was that our boat was operating at less than half of its 82-person capacity. It felt like a smaller, more intimate cruise where we got to know each other and the crew better.
The downside was the September heat. Temperatures topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit every day. The most comfortable cruising period is November through March, when temperatures drop by 20 to 30 degrees, serving up ideal weather for strolling through Egypt’s mostly outdoor museums.
Because many Americans are hesitant to travel to Egypt, the upside is that cruise lines are working hard to fill spaces, making it a good time to score excellent prices and upgrades, says Bob Levinstein, CEO of Cruise Compete, an online cruise market. “It’s always going to be a struggle [getting people to cruise] in the Middle East,” Levinstein says. But with Egypt, he adds, the concerns may be “more about perception than reality.” That was certainly the case on our trip. Bucket list checked.
The price for the Luxury Suite and Land Package, including airfare, was $18,596.
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