nile river cruise
 

Found inexpensive deal on nile river cruise, it is on m/s magic.
need advice, is it safe in Egypt now and did any one have experience/kno wledge of this ship?
Thanks

Just a heads up. There are some 500 cruise ships between Aswan and Luxor. About 2 for every Km of river and you'll see them tied up 6 across at either port. Lots of competition so you're as likely to find deals when you get there.

i totally agree, there are alot of cruises out there, and expecially that there isnt alot of tourists u should find a good deal

the safety question , if u do come to Egypt just stay away from protest areas in cairo and alexandria. Luxor doesnt have in general demonstrations, but there are fewer tourists than it normally would have ( but that just makes the sites a bit emptier to see)

nile river cruise
 

We took a Nile river cruise last July, not on the same ship though, we were on the Champollion II. We felt perfectly safe. The people were friendly and proud to share their country with us. Most of the 'trouble' was in Cairo which is a long way away from where we were, between Luxor and Aswan. Whilst we were docked at Aswan, we were told there would be a demonstration in the city after Friday prayers and not to go there, so we didn't and there wasn't a problem. We had a guide with us the entire trip and were very well looked after. For more information see www.anileadventure.eu. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

We ended up flying one way (Luxor-Aswan) and hiring a driver to come back...I think we hit most of the sites you'd get on the cruise, if not more in Aswan proper, in about half the time.

We felt like we covered a lot more of Egypt in less time by staying off the Nile.

Same thing for Abu Simbel...we saw ads to take 3 day cruises down there but it was unclear what else you really got out of it. (I'm sure a few ancient sites on Lake Nasser?) We flew down to ABS and back, same day. That was worth it...but 3 days wouldn't have been.

I think that the Nile Cruise is sort of a part of the Egypt travel experience.

You can find many through packaged tours or by turning up last minute - likely much more supply than demand these days.

I was last in Egypt in May 2011. I didn't have any issues with security, although there were unscheduled evening protests happing around Tahrir in the evenings.

I don't think you'll have any trouble, unless you decide to go looking for it.

Bumping an old thread...

Does anyone have any (relatively) recent experience booking a Nile cruise?

I used to live in Egypt, and in my experience back then (1990s) booking a cruise outside of Egypt was significantly more expensive than doing it in Cairo. Once a friend and I even showed up on the dock at Luxor with a couple hundred US$ in hand and "finagled" our way onto a 3 night cruise... :D Fast forward, I'm curious as to what peoples' experiences are. Given that tourism is so depressed, it seems to me I can't go wrong -- even in high season -- waiting until I get there to book, but I'd feel better knowing others are doing this as well.

Thanks!

Feb '14 experience from me.

Booked online in advance. Because so few boats are actually operating, I was upgraded to a nicer boat and ended up being the only booking with my company for an English tour so I received a private guide.

I flew to ABS, but am very happy to have done the cruise for Luxor>Aswan. very fair price, paid in advance. Felt very safe and my guide kept most of the touts away.

Thanks! Do you mind saying how/where you booked?

I booked years ago through an Egyptian company "Lady Egypt". The whole 6 week personal tour for myself and husband with guide and driver was half the price than something that Scenic Tours had for a bus load of people. I still chat with one of the guides from my trip.

I booked in June 2015 for a cruise starting in May 2016.

My TA used Sun Island Tours and gave me a price. Expensive..but OK this is the heart of our trip so wanted to lock it in to arrange everything else.

Viator released their prices and it was about $1500 (AUD) less than quoted by Sun Island. My TA went back to Sun Island and had them see what they could do. Sun Island matched the price albeit a bit reluctantly - even my TA was surprised.

I have booked a number of tours and transfers with Nader of Nasco tours at the Hilton in Luxor - often a lot cheaper than my TA is quoting.

Nader is very responsive - [email protected] - and as he is based at the Hilton I am hoping we get Hilton level service.

I think I used memphis tours. They wanted to charge me about 60usd for the sheraton after my cruise in lxr, but i found a rate for 45 with a nile view on my own. So shop around for the extras.

I think I paid just under 1k usd with a few extras and transfers to make my life easy. No clue if that was a good value, but i really enjoyed my trip.

All great info! Many thanks!! ^

was in aswan/luxor in october
rather depressing to see those boats along the river, and clearly some did not move for long time
Even for a cheap price, i am not sure i d like to be on those ones

If you read french , i have seen only excellent reviews for this boutique nil cruise company. Small boats for yourself and your company.
http://www.les-greements-du-nil.com/

otherwise , Egypt is fantastic , 3rd time there, and it s amazing to see so many wonders nearly for yourself. In 10days with my wife, 10y daughter and mother in law, we never had the beginning of a problem. And we travelling on our own, no guides , no Tour operators package. Perfectly doable.
even touts in luxor were manageable.
Actually i feel really really sorry for all egyptian people
Whatever you end up doing, a more than nice treat is ending with a couple of nights in the old cataract in Aswan. So low occupation that it costs you as much or less than an hotel room in paris. And it lives up to the legend. Most fantastic view in my travels.
Enjoy Egypt, it s worth it