Egypt-Nile Cruise?

javajim

Could any of you please recommend a good holiday site for a Nile Cruise?
I have seen that Thomson have a cruise, are there any other cruise lines that do similar? Or are the cruises on the Nile better?
Some tours there seems to be lots of extras ie paying to visit tombs etc whereas others have admission included in their prices.
We would also like to see Petra if that is possible.
Any do's and don'ts would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance

Pollycat

Hi
I'd recommend that you try asking the same questions on a holiday-specific website such as Holidaytruths or Tripadvisor.

Lots of helpful people on both websites.

On Holidaytruths, there's specific sub forums for Nile Cruise reviews and Nile Cruise Q & A.

One of the most popular routes is Luxor up to Aswan and back.
This takes 7 days and usually includes visits to the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's Temple, and temples of Luxor & Karnak in Luxor.
It visits several temples along the Nile and at Aswan there is an optional trip to Abu Simbel by road or air.

There are hundreds of boats cruising the Nile at any one time.
However, these are not the same type of ship as the ocean-going vessels.
Which Thomson cruise have you seen? Is it a Nile Cruise?

It's not exactly the relaxing holiday you might imagine it to be.
Because of the heat, most excursions are timed for the beginning of the day so you'll be up quite early for breakfast.
But there is time for relaxing afterwards.

Some boats offer All-Inclusive, some full board.

I think you can also do cruises on Lake Nasser, Abu Simbel is located on the edge of the lake.

I'd be inclined to pick up some brochures from a High Street Travel Agency and see if it looks OK to you.
Then start looking at what boats are available.

We've done this twice, staying for an extra week in Luxor afterwards - it's a fab trip if it's 'your thing' - IYSWIM.

hollie.weimeraner

javajim wrote: »

Could any of you please recommend a good holiday site for a Nile Cruise?
I have seen that Thomson have a cruise, are there any other cruise lines that do similar? Or are the cruises on the Nile better?
Some tours there seems to be lots of extras ie paying to visit tombs etc whereas others have admission included in their prices.
We would also like to see Petra if that is possible.
Any do's and don'ts would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance

The best time for a Nile cruise is between February and April or Oct/Nov. The main reason is that during the summer months the water levels drop in the Nile and the lock at Edfu can close down in order to preserve the levels. This has the knock on effect of all the boats mooring up at Edfu and passengers are then coached everywhere which makes for very long days.

We went 3 years ago and had a fantastic time. We looked at Thomsons. Thomas Cook and Kuoni. Kuoni were very competitive, offered scheduled flights and better class hotels and boats so we chose them and weren't disappointed. We chose 3 days in Cairo (hotel was Four Seasons first residence which was fantastic) and then 7 nights on MS Sun Ray which again was fabulous. An Egyptologist accompanied us everywhere and a lot of the trips were included. There were other additional optional trips that we wenton (most notably Abu Simbel).

We were bed and breakfast in Cairo but eating out was relatively inexpensive and whilst on board we were full board but had to buy drinks.

Petra wouldn't really be an option unless you tagged 7 days or so onto the trip at Tabba heights on the Red Sea.

There's loads of info available on Trip Advisor but for me Kuoni have got to be the best tour operators we've ever been with.

javajim

Thanks Pollycat and Hollie for your answers.
The Thomson cruise I saw was on the Celebration ship (Red Sea voyage and Red Sea Magic) so they are not actually Nile cruises.
I will look at Trip Advisor and Holidaytruths.
Thanks again

alisont

This is on my list of things to do holiday wise!

My friend went with Archers and could not fault them - got a really good deal too - even going on her own. She had to go in August due to work and said the heat was in the 50's but she managed ok.

Il go one day as a single traveller but Id also have to go in school hols so worried about the heat and Id also have to do a lot of research as Im vegan see if they cater for vegan diets.

Have also heard good reviews of Kuoni and the massive thread on HT forum is great for info/people who will help out.

roddydogs

Been watching Joanne?

moonrakerz

I went in January this year with Saga - very, very good. But over 50s only I'm afraid. Our tour guide had worked for Thomson and said they were "variable."
Have booked again for next Jan with Kuoni (because I am meeting up with some American friends and Saga didn't do what I was after).

Whatever else you do - GO to Abu Simbel !!

....and watch out for the dust storms in March.

PS: When you visit the temples your guide will tell you all about it. The quality of the guides is variable and they can leave you with about 5 minutes to "do your own thing".
I bought this long before I went:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Temples-Ancient-Egypt/dp/0500051003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272112551&sr=8-1-spell
there is also a companion volume on the Valley of The Kings.

Read it before you go, several times ! Take it with you, then read it immediately after visiting each site - everything falls into place then.

javajim

Thank you all for your replies
We saw the first Joanna, missed the second (waiting for a repeat?) My wife has always wanted to see the pyramids etc. So decided it was time to do the trip.
Moonrakerz, the Complete Temples book looks good, thanks.
I am sending for brochures, which as there seems so many will confuse us even more!

Pollycat

Hi Javajim
I was confused about roddydogs' reference to 'Joanne' - but I understand now.
Can't you watch episode 2 on ITV Player?

If your wife wants to see the Pyramids, a cruise from Luxor to Aswan and back will not be the right one.

Maybe consider a Nile Cruise with additional days in Cairo.

On both our Egypt holidays, we had the week-long cruise then a week in Luxor.

During the week in Luxor, we did an overnight train journey to Cairo to see the Pyramids and the Museum (marvellous).

It also gave us the opportunity to revisit Luxor and Karnak Temples at our leisure.

We also did a day trip to Dendera and Abydos Temples which are futher up (down?) the Nile from Luxor towards Cairo.

Maybe a trip to your local library to get some guide books out will allow you to see where places are so you can decide just what you really want to see and then check out what options there are.

Strange as it may sound, we were actually more impressed with the Temples along the Nile than with the Pyramids.

I agree with Moonrakerz - don't misss Abu Simbel.

Also agree (this is assuming that you're really interested in Egypt) with doing your research before you go so you can take in what your Egyptologist is telling you. I did the same as Moonrakerz.

We thought our first Egyptologist was fab, he was so passionate about his country and its history.
The guide on our second trip was a bit disappointing, he seemed to be just going through the motions as quick as possible so he could go off and have a cigarette.

Moonrakerz
I might take a look at Saga trips.

dolly47

We did a Nile cruise in Nov 2008 using African Safari Club. It consisted of the Luxor to Aswan route but with additional trips included although there was the option of adding others including Cairo and the pyramids for an additional charge. I can highly recommend it

kindofaverage

hi - we went with archers - couldn't fault them - very professional