Nile River Cruise
 

What are everybody's suggestions of what boat to take for a 3/4 night cruise from Aswan to Luxor. I want a nice, but inexpensive boat. Also, is it possible to book a cabin on the day of departure?
Thanks In Advanced

Can you define what you mean by inexpensive?

Ms. as219 and I are leaving for Egypt in a week. Her first time, my, well, I lived there for a year. I've done a half-dozen cruises. After a lot of research, we opted for a "dahabiya" (sail/house boat with Nour el Nil. It's not inexpensive relative to other options, but since I don't know you're definition it's hard to say. One thing to keep in mind re price is that you very, very much get what you pay for. The Nile and the temples are, of course, the same no matter what boat you're on, but if you don't sleep well or get sick from the food, it's a little harder to enjoy. That said, when my parents visited years ago, I think the 4D/3N cruise cost $300 p/p. It was decent IMO, but they still say it was the best time they've ever had traveling.

In terms of last minute booking... It used to be as long as you were there in the shoulder- or off-season, you could absolutely do this. Once I walked to the dock, put $100 in the guy's hands, and my then GF and I had a 3D/2N cruise for $50 each! This would have been impossible in the high season, though. These days the stories I'm hearing are mixed. Yes, tourism is suffering, but that has led many boats to be mothballed. So on a given day, there may not be many boats sailing. If your schedule is flexible, this might work; if not, you could be out of luck. Our sailing date for later in February is already sold out. It's a small boat, but still. I would say that unless you (a) have a lot of flexibility and (b) are ok if it doesn't happen, then sure, book same-day. Otherwise you might want to think about booking in advance.

I can't recall the name of the boat I was on, but second that the majority of the boats are not longer in use.

I booked a lower to mid range boat, but about a week before I was told that boat would not be sailing and I was 'upgraded' to a nicer boat. I have always been curious how much nicer my new boat wound up being.

In the LXR and ASW there were MANY MANY boats is various states of disrepair.

I'm sure there are times you could book day of, but I think supply has been cut so heavily, that it no longer benefits the consumer like you would expect.

Sorry in advance for being "one of those" people who answer someone's question with an answer to a question that the person didn't actually ask...

But have you considered not taking a river cruise? I also had in mind that the only thing to do was to take a cruise, but after a gigantic amount of research we (gf and I) instead booked a private car that took us along the exact route as the cruises, but with our own private guide and at our own pace. And then we stayed in some of the very nice (and very cheap) resort hotels in Aswan and Luxor instead of worrying about the condition of the boat. And then we did a few hours of sailing in Aswan in a felucca to get our Nile sailing checkmark. All for quite a bit cheaper than the Nile cruises and for what I think was a perfect way to see upper Egypt.

Feel free to ignore this if you are really set on a cruise!

This is exactly what we did. ^ Private guide for Aswan, the road to Luxor with its various stops along the way, and 2 days in Luxor. We booked our own hotels. (The Hilton in Luxor is excellent, BTW. We had a very cheap hotel in Aswan - name escapes me.)

Wouldn't do it any other way... 4 days would be spent 1 in Aswan, 1 in transit (with perhaps a couple Luxor sites in the late afternoon), and 2 in Luxor. (And then you might want more time in Luxor!) You'd see far more than you'd ever see on a cruise.

Also Nour el Nile - going early Nov. Absolutely that you get what you pay for - did this many years ago on a not bad but not great boat and both of us where sick for 24-48 hours

Go to Luxor a few days and hire a private guide/driver

We finished our cruise on Nour el Nil last week. It was an amazing, unforgettable experience and worth every penny. Let me know if you have any questions...