Alexander the Great: Nile Cruise Ship

The Alexander the Great Nile cruise: what sort of boat this is

Alexander the Great is a motor cruise ship rather than a small boat or a sailing dahabiya. Ships of this class work the river under engine power and to a fixed timetable, and they carry far more people than a dahabiya does. Scale is what these boats sell: air conditioning that copes with the heat, room to sit away from everyone else, and comfort that does not depend on the wind. The layout and the facilities on board are for the operator to confirm in writing.

Cruise ship, small ship or dahabiya

The three options on the river are genuinely different holidays. A cruise ship of this size is the steadiest and usually the cheapest way to do it. A small ship covers the same route with fewer people aboard. A dahabiya sails rather than motors, carries a handful of guests, and moors at places the big ships cannot reach.

The trade-off runs the other way too. Big boats moor at the main quays in Luxor, Esna, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan, and at busy times they raft up two, three or four abreast. If you are on the inside, your window looks at another boat's window. Dahabiyas avoid that, but they cost far more per person and the sailing schedule bends to the wind.

The Luxor to Aswan route

Luxor to Aswan is a little over 200 kilometres of river, and the stretch nearly all Nile boats work. The sights are the same whatever the boat: Karnak and the Theban west bank at one end, Philae and the High Dam at the other, with Edfu and Kom Ombo in between. What changes is the rhythm. A ship this size moves everyone ashore in coaches at set times, which usually means reaching temples when several other ships are doing the same. Mornings are better than afternoons for that reason.

Who it suits, and who it does not

This style suits first-time visitors, families, older travellers and anyone who wants the main sites of the Nile without much effort. You unpack once, the guiding is organised, and the day is decided for you. Where mobility is a concern, a bigger ship is usually the easier boat to be on, though you should still ask about lifts, steps and how guests get ashore.

It suits other people less well. If you want quiet, or the river itself rather than a schedule, or the feeling of being somewhere rather than in a floating hotel, a big ship will disappoint you. Anyone who has cruised at sea should expect a smaller, plainer version of that, not a match for it. If crowds at temples would spoil the trip, look at a dahabiya instead.

Questions to ask before you book

Five questions separate a good Nile week from a mediocre one. When was the boat last refurbished, and which parts? Which side does the cabin face, and on which deck? Does the boat moor alongside the quay or rafted between others? What is actually included, from drinks and tips to entrance fees and any trip to Abu Simbel? And which guide, in which language, for how many people?

The refurbishment question matters most. Nile boats work hard in heat and dust, and a boat that has not been touched for years shows it in the cabins first. Ask for recent photographs of the exact cabin type you are offered, not the brochure suite. Any honest operator will send them, and will put the answers in an email you can keep.

Specifications, dates and star ratings

Treat anything you read about a specific Nile boat, here or elsewhere, as needing confirmation at the time of enquiry. Fleets on the river change hands, get refitted, get renamed and get moved between routes. A page written last year can describe a boat that no longer exists in that form. Current cabins, sailing dates and what a fare covers should come from the operator, in writing, before you pay anything.

Star ratings deserve the same scepticism. Nile boat ratings are Egyptian domestic ratings, not an international standard, and they are not comparable with hotel stars in Europe. A five-star Nile boat is not a five-star hotel that floats. Judge it on recent photographs and recent traveller reports instead, and on what the operator will put in writing.