Cruising the Nile in a 5 star ship conjurs up visions of romance and interest.
Now we have that fantasy out of the way….
Egypt is still suffering the lack of tourism from events a few years ago; and we were told back then, many more cruise boats crowded the Nile. A horrifying thought to compare with todays experience.
Cruise boats are lined up side by side sharing a dock. 2 to 5 deep at times, more in the heyday, you enter from the street down uneven stairs, cross a rickety gangplank, and then make your way through other people’s boats to your own. Whilst they used “boarding pass cards” at times to check guests back in, there was an overall sense of little security.
The boats for the most part have seen better days; and are not 5 star by any western standard; especially more recent years with cruise ships resembling high rise cities.
After sitting in dock the first day and night in Aswan (hardly a cruise, more just a float), the boats pretty much all depart at the same time, which means arriving at the same time to the couple of temple stops heading north to Luxor. Problematic for numerous reasons.
Final day of the 3 requires passing through a lock, and so looking up and down the Nile, you will see a procession of these ships/boats with some eager captains overtaking to get that bit ahead.It also provides some entrepreneurs the ability to circle the ship and throw clothes up for bargaining (photos below)
Paid Wifi was rubbish, but if you buy yourself a data sim when you arrive in Egypt, reception from the top deck was not too bad for most of the cruise from Aswan to Luxor.
Would I do it again ? No, but it was an experience.
