One of many Most Luxurious Cruises in Egypt

We got here to Egypt for the temples. To see Dendera, Karnak, and Kom Ombo, the place the traditional columns and obelisks, 1000’s of years previous, nonetheless bear traces of paint. To study in regards to the pharaohs and their gods, and the way historical civilizations have been formed by the Nile River.

We’d see them over the course of every week aboard the 84-passenger Sphinx, one of many latest and most luxurious vessels on the river. Operated by Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, the most effective river-cruise traces, the ship was the “manner in” for our household of three. My husband, Rob, and I each fell for Luxor Temple, which we had nearly to ourselves throughout an after-hours tour underneath the moonlight. For our eight-year-old son, Bobby, a memorable second was seeing King Tut’s wizened and fragile mummy up shut, throughout our time within the Valley of the Kings. Equally spectacular have been a collection of vivid stars, traced on an electrical blue ceiling, within the tomb of Ramses III.

However there was extra — rather more — past the monuments that made this journey so compelling.

One morning, the Sphinx docked within the southern port metropolis of Aswan, famend for its Philae temple complicated, which dates to the seventh century BCE, and the Previous Cataract Resort, frequented by Agatha Christie. With temperatures hovering round 100 levels, our household set out on a small motorboat with simply 4 different visitors — the remaining have been apparently content material to remain behind, cocooned of their plush, air-conditioned cabins.

We had been crusing the Nile for a number of days, and the riverbanks, as seen from the Sphinx’s stress-free high deck, had begun to tackle a distant, rhythmic high quality: mountains, brick houses, youngsters splashing alongside the shore. Extra mountains, a area or two, maybe a high-speed practice, all brushstrokes on a portray. This experience, at eye-level, felt extra alive: large boulders lay interspersed amongst swaying bamboo grass, tempting me to achieve out and contact. The sky was unusually cloudy, a reduction given the stifling warmth.

After weaving in and round a number of channels, we arrived at an impossibly tall sand dune, sharp-edged like a blade, with a small seating space on the base. “We get to climb that?” Bobby requested. “Cool!” No sooner had we disembarked than the sky turned a disconcerting, Fanta orange; we took shelter from the sandstorm in a close-by residence, the place the proprietor proudly confirmed off his pet crocodile. (Evidently, that’s not a part of the common itinerary.)

Twenty minutes later, the storm had handed. Rob powered up the sand, gradual and regular, with Bobby in tow. I waited on the base, iPhone on the prepared for photographs. The not-so-graceful pair slid down on their boards to shrieks of enjoyment, falling into the sun-baked earth. Sweaty, drained, and lined in a skinny layer of grime, all of us have been relieved to return to the ship, the place recent juice awaited us, because it did after each tour, because of the ever-attentive crew.

Certainly, one may argue you select the Sphinx, certainly one of two Uniworld vessels in Egypt, for the intuitive, faultless employees. Its 58 crew members, all of whom have been male, following native customized, sorted us with nice care. (As a result of our end-of-season crusing wasn’t full, we loved near a 1:1 guest-to-staff ratio.)

Along with the common crew, there have been three Egyptolgists, all professional historians, on our crusing, to information us by means of the monuments, museums, and temples. We met our assigned Egyptologist, Akram Abdelmonein, in Cairo, earlier than even boarding the ship. He walked us by means of the grand halls of the unique Egyptian Museum, a 1902 landmark that’s residence to some 170,000 artifacts. Abdelmonein by no means left our group of 15, even flying with us to the grand, rock-carved temples of Abu Simbel, close to the Sudanese border. He answered each query with frankness and reassured Bobby that no query was too small — the signal, for my part, of a very nice information.

Here’s a nearer take a look at what you’ll be able to anticipate — on and off the ship — once you journey to Egypt on the Sphinx.

The Staterooms

Launched in 2021, the Sphinx stands out for its Egyptian craftsmanship and vivid colours. Framed, black and white photographs and drawings of historical ruins line the hallways and the bedrooms; Arabic espresso pots relaxation on small inlaid stools; brass lamps adorn the bedside tables; and the visitor room palette embraces royal blues and vivid golds, with carved, blonde-wood ceilings to present a good larger sense of peak.

The 42 cabins, unfold throughout three decks, vary from a French Balcony (233 sq. ft) to a Royal Suite (495 sq. ft). All class sorts have French balconies, or home windows that decrease to permit in recent air, however I by no means as soon as thought of opening mine, for worry of the warmth and bugs.

My household and I traveled in a 430-square-foot Grand Suite, on the sixth, or “Karnak,” deck, which had a small vainness, beneficiant closets, and a well-appointed seating space, with a settee, espresso desk, and two chairs. Like our eating desk again residence, it turned our “stash” pad, the place we might place our leftover gear — on this case, tickets, souvenirs, and whisper gadgets — upon coming back from an tour. The spacious, tan-and-blue tiled toilet got here with a well-pressurized bathe and a deep soaking tub: a real splurge-worthy perk for resting weary ft. The Grand Suites, of which there are 20, are the most well-liked class; we discovered it provided greater than sufficient house for our group of three. (It’s price noting that youngsters should be at the least 4 years previous to sail in Egypt.) The great housekeeping workforce got here twice every day to freshen the room.

Bars and Eating places

There’s one foremost eating room on the Sphinx, positioned on the fourth, or “Luxor,” deck, the bottom degree accessible to passengers. Intricate, pebble-tiled flooring, picket columns, carved chairs, and lamp-lit tables give the room a grand, formal feeling. But the world just isn’t so stuffy that passengers can’t costume casually, be part of different teams on the massive tables, and make new mates. Each meal we had was plentiful, recent, and glorious; I’ll always remember tasting roasted Nile perch for the primary time, filetted proper in entrance of me by one of many useful culinary workforce. One other spotlight: the possibility to pattern okra soup and hawawshi, pita full of minced meat, on “Egyptian road meals day.”

Breakfast and lunch are served buffet fashion every day. At breakfast, Bobby made a beeline for the recent watermelon, whereas I opted for the selfmade pastries, the whole lot from chocolate croissants to delicate bars, sugar-flecked and crisp. Our eating room servers, Mosan and Omar, rapidly started to know our favourite drink orders — Turkish espresso for Rob and I; milk for Bobby — in order that they have been prepared inside minutes of strolling in.

At lunch, the chilly salad and bread station was a gem, with fattoush, tabouleh, cheeses, a number of types of olives, and home dressings; the new part showcased a grill choice (lamb, rooster, fish) and several other entrées, the whole lot from biryani to recent pasta. Mosan typically stunned us with a neighborhood Egyptian dish to share on the desk — one specific favourite was ful medames, or stewed fava beans — earlier than we even stood as much as fill our plates.

Dinner was at all times a la carte, with a selection of a starter, soup, entrée, and dessert. A few of my favourite dishes included the rooster shawarma and saffron marinated sole; we regularly paired our entrées with home Egyptian wines, which accompanied each meal.

The sunshine-filled foremost bar and lounge, on the fifth, or “Dendera,” deck was the gathering place for a night cocktail; it was additionally the place for “port talks” and different lectures about upcoming factors of curiosity. The ship’s solar deck additionally has drink service and the occasional gentle chunk, resembling a champagne breakfast or afternoon tea.

The place the Ship Sails

The Sphinx, like its sibling ship, River Tosca, operates eight-day, spherical journeys from Luxor. Passengers should first fly to Cairo, the place there’s an non-obligatory one- or two-night keep within the Egyptian capital, together with issues like visits to the Egyptian Museum, the Alabaster Mosque, the Citadel of Salah al-Din, and the Pyramids of Giza all included. (The long-awaited, much-discussed Grand Egyptian Museum was sadly closed on the time of our go to, although it’s on many Uniworld itineraries.)

On my journey, all of the Sphinx passengers stayed on the luxe 4 Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza, a centrally positioned choice with a stunning, shaded pool deck; a superb Lebanese restaurant; and not too long ago renovated rooms, all light-filled and stocked with books on Egyptian historical past.

After a brief, one-hour and forty minute flight south to Luxor, we have been bused to the Sphinx, our residence for the week. Ports of name on all Uniworld voyages embody Dendera, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Esna, and Aswan. Most temples and monuments have been simply accessed both on foot or with a brief bus experience; visiting the temples at Abu Simbel requires a one-hour flight from Aswan Worldwide Airport to Abu Simbel Airport. This glorious tour is obtainable for an additional price, however I extremely suggest it.

Shore Excursions

Uniworld contains one or two shore excursions, relying on the day, within the value of the cruise. Lots of them depart fairly early, to beat the warmth; on my journey, that meant departing as early as 7 a.m.

On our first large outing, nonetheless, there was no avoiding it. Shortly after touchdown in Luxor, we have been bused to the close by Karnak Temple, an unimaginable, open air complicated that’s arguably the most important spiritual website on the planet, courting to roughly 2,000 BCE. It’s rightly well-known for its beautiful ramshead sphinxes and the columns of the Nice Hypostyle Corridor, but it surely was additionally filled with vacationers from all around the world. Regardless of the warmth and crowds, Abdelmonnein, our considerate Egyptologist, shared tales of pharaohs and set the stage for the varied Egyptian dynasties we’d be exploring throughout our journey.

The subsequent morning, after we arrived on the Dendera Temple Complicated, the distinction was outstanding. Our Uniworld group was the primary into the location, which is dominated by the Temple of Hathor, courting to 54 BCE. “Think about a whole lot of Egyptians coming to this place,” stated Abdelmonein, as we wandered the halls devoted to Hathor, the goddess of affection and fertility. There have been no different selfie-taking vacationers; it was simply us and the birds and some stray cats. With no crowds to jostle us, we may take our time inspecting the 1000’s of hieroglyphics that adorn the partitions and ceilings. Abdelmonein even identified a uncommon depiction of Cleopatra and Caesarion, her son with Julius Caesar.

In a while within the cruise, we loved the temple of Kom Ombo, which is devoted to Sobek, the crocodile god, and Horus, the falcon god. It’s residence to a small museum full of mummified crocs — creepy, and really cool. We additionally visited Abu Simbel, by the use of a round-trip flight, organized at additional expense by Uniworld. The journey was price it to see the bigger than life statues of Ramses II — and to marvel at the truth that this 3,000-year-old monument was saved by preservationists through the Nineteen Sixties, when it was moved through the building of the Aswan Dam.

Facilities and Leisure

Don’t select the Sphinx — or any Egypt crusing, for that matter — in case your imaginative and prescient of a cruise trip contains a number of bars, water slides, and nightclubs. Like different ships on the Nile, this one is gorgeous however compact, with just a few key facilities, resembling a small top-deck pool with solar loungers. A lot to our shock, my household and I have been typically the one individuals cooling off on the pool, whether or not after a morning tour or a leisurely lunch.

The spa is actually extra like a therapeutic massage room, although the remedies I had have been glorious and inexpensive.

At evening, native musicians and dancers would typically carry out for us, in addition to the Uniworld crew — one spotlight of my journey was seeing certainly one of my favourite bartenders, Ashraf, transferring on the dance flooring. However most evenings have been comparatively quiet, with issues winding down by about 10 p.m., in preparation for no matter adventures the subsequent day would possibly maintain.