Egypt with Amawaterways -First time River Cruiser-Advice/Suggestions?

[CDNPolar]

20 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

This is making me dizzy!!!

 

Right?????  Imagine too much to drink and come back to this....

[LibertyBella]

Well, I was in Egypt a long time ago when I was much, much younger, and yes, drank the local water and became ill, but that was just the way it went.  We took the trains everywhere, and explored the country from north to south for weeks, in the heat of the Summer. We stayed in non- air-conditioned cheap hotels, and had to stand in the shower just to catch our breath sometimes. Oh, those youthful poverty travel adventures are nice to remember, but do not need to be repeated.

 

It has always been my dream to return to Egypt, and most definitely include a river cruise component (pure luxury), because Agatha Christie made cruising on the Nile a MUST!! 

 

I have been researching different lines for a while (hey, I really like that Uniworld fancy decor--you might have convinced me!), but I also want to go when there is a bit of heat, because I do like the sun, and some cruise ships were just avoiding Egypt in the Summer. I also am considering a week long cruise, because I do not want to pack and unpack too often, and I want a bit of elegance.

 

I read a review of some folks on the Egypt Tauck tour/short cruise, and they said they wore jeans most of the time.  No, not for me, I want to change for dinner!

 

I just booked an Israel land tour for next July, and we were just cruising in Greece two weeks ago and it was scorching, so I if I have air-conditioning in my hotel or on my ship, I can handle a few hours of intense sun excursions almost anywhere.  We may aim for 2026 as well, because I am hopefully planning for India for 2025 (land tour).   Still waiting to do my China river cruise, cancelled due to Covid.

 

The planning is always great fun--enjoy!!

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

@LibertyBella if you want a long cruise, on a ship with real Egyptian style, at a time of year with a little heat [October or May hot enough? – but there are also sailings in the cooler months for wimps like me 😉], you might consider one of these.  12 or 14 nights – all onboard the ship, which sails all the way from Cairo to Aswan [nobody else that I have found sails that far North] so no need to shift to hotels:

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/2980/jewels-of-the-nile/?search_url_id=26

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/3203/timeless-nile/?search_url_id=24

 

This ship is SS Misr, originally built by the Royal Navy in 1918 and later converted into a luxury Nile steamer for King Farouk.  She was rebuilt according to the original drawings in 2006 as a five-star deluxe propeller steam vessel with spacious, air-conditioned cabins and suites.  Misr means 'the Kingdom of Egypt' and the decor throughout the vessel reflects the period.

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/ships/river/misr/

 

 

[CDNPolar]

3 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

 

 

I have been researching different lines for a while (hey, I really like that Uniworld fancy decor--you might have convinced me!), but I also want to go when there is a bit of heat, because I do like the sun, and some cruise ships were just avoiding Egypt in the Summer. I also am considering a week long cruise, because I do not want to pack and unpack too often, and I want a bit of elegance.

 

 

 

 

I am still in touch with one of the servers from our Egypt Uniworld cruise - we connected on Instagram.  He went off for four months May/June/July/August because they don't said during these months, just too hot.

 

We went the end of March and we had plenty hot...  35C+ many days, no breeze, and of course no shade, so there is plenty of heat in the spring.

 

As you know when you are in the middle of the desert in a location like Abu Simbel you are just going to bake.

[CDNPolar]

3 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

 

 

I just booked an Israel land tour for next July, and we were just cruising in Greece two weeks ago and it was scorching, so I if I have air-conditioning in my hotel or on my ship, I can handle a few hours of intense sun excursions almost anywhere.  We may aim for 2026 as well, because I am hopefully planning for India for 2025 (land tour).   Still waiting to do my China river cruise, cancelled due to Covid.

 

The planning is always great fun--enjoy!!

 

 

We are all about the planning.  We have 2024 and 2025 bookings and planning underway now.  Our friends think we are crazy sometimes, but we love having these trips to look forward to and researching and planning and searching flights and, and, and.....

[CDNPolar]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

@LibertyBella if you want a long cruise, on a ship with real Egyptian style, at a time of year with a little heat [October or May hot enough? – but there are also sailings in the cooler months for wimps like me 😉], you might consider one of these.  12 or 14 nights – all onboard the ship, which sails all the way from Cairo to Aswan [nobody else that I have found sails that far North] so no need to shift to hotels:

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/2980/jewels-of-the-nile/?search_url_id=26

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/3203/timeless-nile/?search_url_id=24

 

 

Uniworld sails Cairo to Aswan - actually Dendera to Aswan.  Uniworld flys you from Cairo to Luxor, then you sail to Dendera and then  turn around and sail to Aswan.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Uniworld sails Cairo to Aswan - actually Dendera to Aswan.  Uniworld flys you from Cairo to Luxor, then you sail to Dendera and then  turn around and sail to Aswan.

That's similar to AMA (7 nts onboard and 4 in a hotel).  The Noble Caledonia cruises I linked to above actually sail from Cairo (the ship serves as the lodging for the Cairo and Giza sightseeing) straight to Aswan or vice versa – no internal flights or hotels.

[cruiselvr04]

I’m actually looking at Feb or March of 2026 for Egypt.  I’ve ruled out Viking ( we’ve done them before) because of their final payment so far in advance.  I’ll look at scenic and AMA instead as 4-6 months out I’m comfortable with.  I need to do more research on which one to choose so we can be ready.  Viking for 2025 is almost booked out.  I do want to add Petra but I didn’t see that with AMA so I’ll look again.  
 

Whoever posted the meds they took, thank you.  DH already has issues.  I carry Cipro, Vancomycin and Flagyl for certain possibilities whenever we travel but will discuss this trip with his GI doc before we go.  I’d like to go prepared. 
 

If you’ve gone before I have a question. We normally fly in a day before we start our trips.  If we did this we’d be on our own.  This doesn’t sound like a good option as we’d have to get our own transportation even if we stayed at the hotel we were to start from.  Do we just risk the travel as arranged by the river cruise line and hope for no cancellations or delays? Jet lag is an issue also. 

[LTC]

47 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

I’m actually looking at Feb or March of 2026 for Egypt.  I’ve ruled out Viking ( we’ve done them before) because of their final payment so far in advance.  I’ll look at scenic and AMA instead as 4-6 months out I’m comfortable with.  I need to do more research on which one to choose so we can be ready.  Viking for 2025 is almost booked out.  I do want to add Petra but I didn’t see that with AMA so I’ll look again.  
 

Whoever posted the meds they took, thank you.  DH already has issues.  I carry Cipro, Vancomycin and Flagyl for certain possibilities whenever we travel but will discuss this trip with his GI doc before we go.  I’d like to go prepared. 
 

If you’ve gone before I have a question. We normally fly in a day before we start our trips.  If we did this we’d be on our own.  This doesn’t sound like a good option as we’d have to get our own transportation even if we stayed at the hotel we were to start from.  Do we just risk the travel as arranged by the river cruise line and hope for no cancellations or delays? Jet lag is an issue also. 

Hi, We are going to Egypt in November with AMA and they do go to Petra. Look under Egypt Extensions and then Pre Jordan. We are doing that and can't wait to see Petra.

[cruiselvr04]

1 hour ago, LTC said:

Hi, We are going to Egypt in November with AMA and they do go to Petra. Look under Egypt Extensions and then Pre Jordan. We are doing that and can't wait to see Petra.

Great, I found it!  
 

AMA has a little tougher cancellation policy and of course bigger deposits than Viking right now.  DH and I will have to discuss what we want to do.  Going with AMA I’d need to insure the deposit as with the airfare it’s about $3100 to book.  But waiting to pay final until the end of next year works better for us.

 

 I want someone to guide us through, keep us as safe as possible and I think any of the lines do that. For us, river cruises are more about travel and immersion while oceans I want some luxury.  
 

The u tube guy who reviewed his recently had no big complaints except the noise level in his room with AMA. 

[CDNPolar]

17 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

I’m actually looking at Feb or March of 2026 for Egypt.  I’ve ruled out Viking ( we’ve done them before) because of their final payment so far in advance.  I’ll look at scenic and AMA instead as 4-6 months out I’m comfortable with.  I need to do more research on which one to choose so we can be ready.  Viking for 2025 is almost booked out.  I do want to add Petra but I didn’t see that with AMA so I’ll look again.  
 

 

 

We originally booked on Viking but had to cancel because the ship we were booked on was not even launched about 9 months before our scheduled departure.  This is when we decided to go on Uniworld.

 

I have only been on the Uniworld ship, but I would do Viking just because their two ships are brand new and from what I saw sailing past, are up to Viking standards which is much higher than many of the other river ships on the Nile.

 

My understanding is that Viking do not own these ships but they were purpose built for Viking to their standard.

The Uniworld ship we were on, belonged to someone else before and although okay, we are used to a much higher standard of decor and repair.  This Uniworld ship was not a comfortable ship but the beds were fine.

[CDNPolar]

17 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

 

If you’ve gone before I have a question. We normally fly in a day before we start our trips.  If we did this we’d be on our own.  This doesn’t sound like a good option as we’d have to get our own transportation even if we stayed at the hotel we were to start from.  Do we just risk the travel as arranged by the river cruise line and hope for no cancellations or delays? Jet lag is an issue also. 

 

With our Uniworld Nile cruise, we were at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo overnight for one night, and we accepted that as good enough in advance, but in essence it would not have been if we were severely delayed arriving.  I believe that our bus left the next morning for the airport to fly to Luxor quite early.  We did also have a briefing to attend in one of the conference rooms and that was for every guest, and that started at 9:00am.  We would not have wanted to miss that.

 

We tend to go one day early just to mitigate any issues.

 

I would not hesitate to go one day early on your own, depending on what you want to do with that day.

 

First - arrange your hotel with the same hotel as the cruise line - and if The Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton, you are completely safe.

 

Second - arrange your transportation from airport to the hotel through the hotel you are staying at.  Most hotels will do this for you, so you are assured that you are getting a trusted company to meet you at the airport.  It might be a few dollars more, but worth it in Egypt if you are not 100% comfortable.

 

Finally, I would also ask the hotel to suggest a private tour guide for your advance stay and book something again, that the hotel is suggesting.  This unless you just want to hang out in the hotel until your cruise gang arrive and things get going with that.

 

My only suggestion is that you only eat in the hotel and only drink bottled water, unless the hotel is guaranteeing their water for your safety.  Don't eat or drink outside of the hotel on the first day that you are in advance of the cruise tour.

[LibertyBella]

Hello to Jazzbeau and All-

 

Well, my husband knows I am researching a Nile River cruise in between all our other travel adventures, and he found information about this ship and showed it to me--the original steamboat Agatha Christie sailed on that inspired her to write the novel Death on the Nile, the PS Sudan.

 

https://www.steam-ship-sudan.com/en/

 

The ship is quite old and small, and may lack many of the modern conveniences, but of course it is a historical treasure.  I probably will NOT book a cruise on her, because we like swimming pools, but she is quite lovely to see.

 

There are many YouTube videos available to watch about the boat, and each cabin is unique with a special name.  The kings and queens of Egypt used to sail on her, so you will be following in the footsteps of royalty if you reserve!  Bon voyage!

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks for this very interesting link @LibertyBella

Like being in a classic Hollywood movie – most cabins will put married couples in twin beds!  Also I didn't see any mention of air con? [hopefully an oversight]

 

As I read more reviews of Egypt tours, it's also clear that there are two factors beyond itinerary and décor:  the quality of the food, and the quality of the guides.  So I will stick with providers that I already trust, like AMA, Noble Caledonia, and Scenic.

[CPT Trips]

We’re trying a different approach than many described here whe we spend two weeks in December along and on the Nile. We’ll have five nights on a dehabeya as we go from Luxor to Aswan. 
 

 

[franski]

We did Egypt, Israel and Jordan a few years ago (just got back into the country as the world starting closing due to Covid!!).  We did not go with any of the main stream companies, but did have a 7 night cruise on the Nile.  I have a few suggestions/comments.

 

1) If possible, take the 7 nights on the boat.  You see the exact same things on the 3 or 4 night  cruises, but your days will be jam packed. Nice to have the stops spread out over 7 days IMHO.

 

2) Going in a day early would be good given the state of air travel now.  As mentioned, just book an extra night at the hotel you will be staying in at the start of your tour.  Whatever company you choose to go with, ask if they can arrange airport to hotel transfer.  If they cannot, then ask the hotel. 

 

3) Do Abu Simbel if you can.  Even if you have to pay extra for it.

 

4) If there does not seem to be a lot of differences in the various tours, look at things such as timing of excursions.  We were at the Pyramids by 7:30 am - and were grumbling about the early start.  When we left, there were throngs of people lined up at the gate to go in.  Glad we went early...

 

5) Climbing up into the Grand Pyramid isn't a great idea if you are claustrophobic.

 

6). If you want to see Petra, look for a tour that is there more than a few hours.  The treasury (which is what everyone associates with Petra) is only about halfway down to the village. And it is really just a facade... We walked down into the "village" - and, by the time we walked back to the entrance we had walked about 10 km.  If you are happy just walking through the Siq to see the Treasury, then a part day should be long enough.  An interesting book - if you are going to Jordan/Petra is "Married to a Bedouin".  People do not live there anymore, but it gives you an idea of what life was like when people did live there. 

 

7)  We went at the end of January and the weather was ok - not particularly hot.  It might have been nice to go a couple of weeks later, but would take cool over stinking hot any day. 

 

Think that is it for now.  Happy to answer any questions about visiting the area if you have any.

 

Fran

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, franski said:

We went at the end of January and the weather was ok - not particularly hot.  It might have been nice to go a couple of weeks later, but would take cool over stinking hot any day.

Not sure what you mean.  Would February be cooler or warmer than when you went?

 

I am thinking about going in November – and I definitely want to avoid heat!

[cloudninecat]

7 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Not sure what you mean.  Would February be cooler or warmer than when you went?

 

I am thinking about going in November – and I definitely want to avoid heat!

We were thinking about October. I hear it gets very cold at night in the winter months. It would be nice to hear from someone that has experienced it though so yes, I would love to know the answer to this too. Is it still warm in January? We'd like to go when it's nice both during the day and night. No more than low 80's during the day and 60's at night. It's a dry heat and we're use to humidity so low 80's wouldn't bother us. 

[franski]

21 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Not sure what you mean.  Would February be cooler or warmer than when you went?

 

I am thinking about going in November – and I definitely want to avoid heat!

Sorry - should have been a bit clearer.

 

February would have been warmer.  It would have been nice to have it warm enough to use the pool on the boat, but it was just a bit cool for that.  Early mornings were cool enough to need a light sweater, and it warmed up as the day went on. 

 

October/November would be a good time to go.  We didn't have an option as we were on a trip that was organized and escorted by a company out of Toronto - this was their only sailing. 

 

Fran

[ljandgb]

We're doing a Road Scholar tour next year that includes a 4 day Nile cruise.  I haven't been yet, obviously, but everything I've seen/read makes it look like I would not compare it to a traditional European river cruise.  I certainly would encourage to OP to made a judgement on whether river cruising is for them based on a European trip and consider any Nile cruise to be unique to the area and not a representative of overall river cruising. 

 

Regarding GI issues, I am a magnet for GI bugs, no matter how careful I am.  I've started taking a peptobismol pill at every meal (after some research on how to prevent traveler's diarrhea.)  I did 3 weeks in China and 3 in South America and never got sick.  In fact, there were 6 of us in China, and I made everyone take a pill each meal and none of us got sick.  It has to do with coating the GI track to prevent germs from taking hold, essentially.  Not a huge scientific study, but the trips I haven't done it, I've gotten sick.

 

And FWIW, our Road Scholar Nile cruise is part of a larger trip that includes 2 nights in Petra.  It's those 2 nights I'm most stoked about.

[franski]

On 8/17/2023 at 7:43 AM, ljandgb said:

 

And FWIW, our Road Scholar Nile cruise is part of a larger trip that includes 2 nights in Petra.  It's those 2 nights I'm most stoked about.

 Nice!  They do have some evening hours that apparently are candle lit as you walk through the Siq.  We didn't get to do that (not available when we were there...) but I would imagine it would be magical!!

 

Fran

[vino100]

On 8/15/2023 at 8:22 PM, franski said:

We did Egypt, Israel and Jordan a few years ago (just got back into the country as the world starting closing due to Covid!!).  We did not go with any of the main stream companies, but did have a 7 night cruise on the Nile.  I have a few suggestions/comments.

 

1) If possible, take the 7 nights on the boat.  You see the exact same things on the 3 or 4 night  cruises, but your days will be jam packed. Nice to have the stops spread out over 7 days IMHO.

 

2) Going in a day early would be good given the state of air travel now.  As mentioned, just book an extra night at the hotel you will be staying in at the start of your tour.  Whatever company you choose to go with, ask if they can arrange airport to hotel transfer.  If they cannot, then ask the hotel. 

 

3) Do Abu Simbel if you can.  Even if you have to pay extra for it.

 

4) If there does not seem to be a lot of differences in the various tours, look at things such as timing of excursions.  We were at the Pyramids by 7:30 am - and were grumbling about the early start.  When we left, there were throngs of people lined up at the gate to go in.  Glad we went early...

 

5) Climbing up into the Grand Pyramid isn't a great idea if you are claustrophobic.

 

6). If you want to see Petra, look for a tour that is there more than a few hours.  The treasury (which is what everyone associates with Petra) is only about halfway down to the village. And it is really just a facade... We walked down into the "village" - and, by the time we walked back to the entrance we had walked about 10 km.  If you are happy just walking through the Siq to see the Treasury, then a part day should be long enough.  An interesting book - if you are going to Jordan/Petra is "Married to a Bedouin".  People do not live there anymore, but it gives you an idea of what life was like when people did live there. 

 

7)  We went at the end of January and the weather was ok - not particularly hot.  It might have been nice to go a couple of weeks later, but would take cool over stinking hot any day. 

 

Think that is it for now.  Happy to answer any questions about visiting the area if you have any.

 

Fran

What tour company did you use that sealed the Nile for 7 days. 
thank you for sharing your experience. 

[franski]

On 8/19/2023 at 7:21 AM, vino100 said:

What tour company did you use that sealed the Nile for 7 days. 
thank you for sharing your experience. 

We booked with a tour company out of Toronto - Wheel & Anchor tours.  They worked with a company in Egypt when they set up the tour --> we had 2 Egyptologists that were with us the entire time we were in Egypt --> SO knowledgeable...

 

Fran

[rrgator]

“Think that is it for now.  Happy to answer any questions about visiting the area if you have any.

 

Fran”

 

Fran, or anyone else. We are going with Viking to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan in a couple weeks. My wife and sister in law are ok with clothes for them, but I’m confused about clothes for men in these countries. Especially shorts. If the internet is to be believed (😜), it appears that shorts are never appropriate in Egypt or Jordan, but ok in Israel. If you have an opinion, I would love to hear it. We are expecting very hot weather during our trip and not being able to wear shorts is concerning due to the expected weather. Thanks. 

[gnome12]

4 hours ago, rrgator said:

 

“Think that is it for now.  Happy to answer any questions about visiting the area if you have any.

 

Fran”

 

Fran, or anyone else. We are going with Viking to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan in a couple weeks. My wife and sister in law are ok with clothes for them, but I’m confused about clothes for men in these countries. Especially shorts. If the internet is to be believed (😜), it appears that shorts are never appropriate in Egypt or Jordan, but ok in Israel. If you have an opinion, I would love to hear it. We are expecting very hot weather during our trip and not being able to wear shorts is concerning due to the expected weather. Thanks. 

For Israel I would say that it very much depends where you are going whether shorts are acceptable or not.