*This is a short cruise, good for those who want to get just the cruise experience in glance and still enjoy the temples in between.
Please Note: It is very important to have your own tourist guide onboard during your cruise visits.
*This is a Medium range type cruise, good for those who want more of the cruise experience.while adding one extra night for more leisure time Good for those who would like to extend their stay to see Abu Simbel.
This scheme basically includes all the visits mentioned above, but divided over 7 nights, which gives you in total more free nights to relax. It is very good choice for those who seek full relaxation.
Please Note:When leaving ship for sightseeing you will be given a boarding pass. This is to help you identify your boat later on in case you got lost, as well it helps the boat to know if they have all passenger onboard, so that they can continue sailing to the next stop of the cruise. While on tour Don’t lose it! Keep it in a safe place and hand it over to reception each time you come back from a tour. The following chart will explain to you what you should visit during the various cruise schemes.
If you choose to go on a Nile cruise, make sure that the cruise is taken as “all inclusive”, i.e. accommodation, sightseeing tours and transportation! This option is the best way for you to see all the possible Temples en route. We would therefore recommend, for health and safety reasons, to choose only the five star or 5 star + Nile cruises ! The cost for one night accommodation, ranges between $90 and $150, per person, per night in a twin room.Today there are more than 220 Nile cruisers on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan, including 4 star, standard 5 star, deluxe and imperial Ultra deluxe.
Prices of accommodation depends largely on which deck you have chosen to stay, staying in the lower decks is generally cheaper thanstaying on the upper deck. Try and obtain a plan of the boat before you book. Your cabin will be fitted with air-conditioning and a TV set. Any good cruise boat will keep the cabins that are closer to the engine, for the staff! The guests staying away from engine noise.
Accommodation aboard the Nile cruise is entirely based on full board basis. (All meals are included) mostly in an open buffet manner with many varieties, depending of type and quality of the cruise boat you have selected; these meals are served with a fixed timetable each day. Tea and coffee are available on board, served every day around 5:00 pm to 5:30. Other drinks are offered in the bar area are with additional cost.
During the daytime, while during tours, you can wear whatever you really like,(Shorts are ok) though due to the extreme heat it is recommended you wear lightweight clothes. While relaxing on board, and in doors you may wear shorts and swimming costumes, if you wish.Breakfast and lunch can be taken dressed like this, but for dinner, please wear smarter clothes! But beware of too much exposure to the sun! Apply plenty of high factor sun block!
All extras such as consumed beverages, laundry, and telephones bills, should be settled and paid at the last day of your cruise when you check out. Payment can be made with credit cards, traveller’s cheque, or cash. Make sure you have enough cash, just in case your card transaction didn’t go through. Please note:Many Nile cruise boats do not accept personal cheques or money orders ! many other don’t accept travellers checks as well.
Don’t forget to leave tips for the cruise staff, not less than $ 5-8 USD per person per day! For 3 nights cruise it should be 15-25 USD per person ( in total) For 4 nights cruise it should be 20-35 USD per person ( in total) For 7 nights cruise it should be 35-55 USD per person ( in total) This tipping should be given to the boat reception, simply put your tip in an envelope and hand it over to boat reception. This money later will be distributed evenly among the crew onboard. This way each person will get his fair share. Please Note:This does not include tipping to your Tourist Guide, this should be separate, and it is entirely up to you to decide the amount of tip that you will give to him/her.Know that these are only guidelines, gratuities are personal matter and tipping is entirely at the discretion of the individuals.
All Nile cruises are equipped with safety features and life jackets are normally placed under your cabin bed. You should avoid drinking large amounts of alcohol especially if you have equilibrium problems. You are not just putting yourself at risk but also the other guests and staff too. People with equilibrium problems should not spend too much time on deck at night, on a fast moving ship; it is dangerous in case you fall over. Smoking in bed is dangerous; the mattresses are very flammable! People who tend to sleep walk should never take a cabin with a balcony, an inside cabin with a window would be far safer. Make sure that you know where the muster stations are, in case you have to abandon ship. If you get sick whilst on board, some cruise boats have a resident doctor on board. If not, they have doctors assigned in each town that can be called on in case of emergency. If you need some more heath and safety tips, please read our Egypt health page to know more about health and safety on board a Nile cruise.
Firstly after checking-in at a cruise, it is advisable to leave your valuables in your rooms’ safety deposit box. As all cabins have a private safe If you wish to buy any items from the shops on board, the opportunity for shopping is generally limited due to the small size of these shops. But on the otherhand you will get plenty of time to check what you are buying, and haggle over the price! To call home, most of the cruise boats offer telephone facilities onboard, but the sound quality is not as good as onshore. We would recommend visiting a bank, to change your money, before cruising, as most of the boats do not offer exchanging money facilities and you will not get access to onshore banks while you are cruising.