help please luxor nile cruise

weejenny

Started looking for cheapish week sailing from Luxor but as have never cruised before am finding the range of boats a nightmare.
Is there a site that gives reviews of individual boats? I tried trip advisor but there were very few reviews.
Any advice would be appreciated.
WJ

Mark7799

When we went there they seemed much of a muchness - don't expect the same standard as a Meditarenaen (sp) or Caribbean liner though - the best ones were far more basic.

Broken_hearted

Does it have to be a cruise or could it be a multi centre holiday. You don't want my trip review though as thanks to Libra we had a holiday from hell.
I think Luxor would be nice to stay in as long as you don't have any walking difficulties. Drink plenty of water and take one of those water fans.

weejenny

Thanks
Really fancied a cruise although would be happy to combine this with a hotel stay. Have been to Egypt before but there is such a range of boats just wanted to hear others experiences.
Have already found a couple of deals but can't find any info on the boats themselves.
WJ

saveapenny

when do you want to go?

diddydi

Always choose a 5 STAR cruise vessel so as not to be disappointed.a

black-saturn

Travelscope have some good deals on at the moment:

http://www.travelscope.co.uk/Cairo_and_Nile_Cruise.html

saveapenny

Style on the Nile!
A 5-star cruising arrangement on full board, with a programme of optional excursions, whilst sailing between Luxor and Aswan
7 nights from only £375
https://www.vjv.co.uk/destinations/africa/egypt/style-nile/index.html
Jun 5 £375
Jun 12 £375
Jun 19 £375

saveapenny

If your budget can stretch to it go for the Oberoi. I have found an excellent deal on the OBEROI SHEHRAZAD with https://www.longwoodholidays.co.uk
these boats are more like 6*and usualy 1000+
May 29;
Jun 5, 12, 19, 26 649

Markfd

http://www.grand-cruises.info/start.html
This site shows some details of the boats and the trip we went on last year, an excellent week. Try to get a cabin on an upper floor. We were told by others on the boat that, as it spends some nights on the move, it got a bit noisy on the lower decks with the Nile splashing past.
We booked with Panorama Holidays, but I think it is only in their winter brochure. The later you go the hotter it is and the earlier you get up for the trips to the sites, to avoid the worst of it. We were out on the coach by 7am in February.
the locals can be a bit of a pain, but a shake of the head and a best foot forward normally works.

bluep

We have been on several of the cruise ships from Luxor - we found it cheapest to just go for a 2 week deal on a hotel in Luxor (Movenpick Joile one year, Sonesta St George another time...) - £340 pp each time (! - other guests had paid £1000 plus but we didn't tell them!), then book a cruise for a few days in person - its so much cheaper this way. There is a little travel agency just underneath the entrance to teh Winter Palace hotel that charged us £30 per night after a haggle, 3 meals inclusive for as many nights as we wanted (for the two of us) on the cruise, so we took a train down to Aswan and joined the boat there to come back up the Nile over 3-4 days to Luxor. The train ride in itself was quick, easy and an experience - seeing a different kind of scenery.

The boats themselves, the top range ones are pretty much all the same. What I will say though, is all the pictures don't really illustrate the size - imagine a really posh caribbean cruise ship in your mind with sweeping double staircase and all the posh fixtures and fittings, then imagine it being built for people 4 feet tall - that's what the nile boats are like...minature!! and everything looks really posh, but close up, its a bit like a film set - the pillars are plastic, its all like a "mock up". That saying, I loved it!! It was like goign to disneyland, you knew none of the scene was real but enjoyed it just the same. Definately worth going for a cabin with a sea view/small (very small) balcony, don't expect anything TOO clean - not the same standards as the top hotels by any stretch of the imagination, pick one with a small swimming/plunge pool on the roof as it can get very hot, be careful with the day-tours from the boat as they can turn into a bit of a tourist "hunt" by people wanting to make money (as with any cruise ship stop off point really) -we stayed behind some of the days and just wandered around locations by ourselves rather than paying for the guided tour through the ship. Oh, and take a good supply of soft drinks/water/snacks in your luggage from Luxor as onboard/stop-off prices are likely to be at a premium and you are a bit of a captive audience. IF you get a chance, spend a day / afternoon in Aswan as its completely different from Luxor becuase of the African influence from Egypt's southern boarders - plus the Aswan dam if you drive out to it, is a true sight to behold.

I wouldn't however sign myself up to one of these cruises for more than 4 days - you'll just get boat fever as it is TOO small to stay on that long unlike the big cruise ships that have masses to do and go to see.

Hope that helps, feel free to ask me any questions