My fantastic trip to Luxor with Discover Egypt on the Royal Viking Nile Cruise Vessel

I recently had a fabulous opportunity to travel to Luxor, Egypt with Discover Egypt and stay on their 5* Deluxe Nile Cruise vessel the Royal Viking.

I flew out on Monday morning from London Gatwick.  The chartered Monarch flight went well apart from the fact that there was unfortunately a sand storm in Luxor and the flight couldn’t land there for safety reasons.  We landed at Hurgharda  instead and fortunately after approximately an hour and a half were able to fly over to Luxor.
I have been told that this is a rare occurrence so nothing to worry about.

On arrival to Luxor we were greeted by Mohammed Samie the Discover Egypt resort manager.  Everything went like clockwork going through the airport, we were very well looked after from the moment we landed.

We were transferred to the Royal Viking shortly after landing which only took about 10 minutes, so no sitting on a transfer coach for a long time thankfully.  The boat was docked right in the heart of Luxor which was very convenient.

Upon boarding we went to the ships bar/lounge area for guest registration, this again was a swift hassle free process, helped by the fact that you just don’t have the sheer volume of people as on an ocean cruise.

The Royal Viking is a lovely looking vessel, she is only 4 years old, I really like the way she was done out, here is the main reception area of the ship.  Everything is very clean, well kept and modern.

I was fortunate enough to have my own cabin on the boat, the cabin really exceeded my expectations.  Have a look at my cabin tour (sorry it is in portrait mode.).

Once I had settled in I went for some dinner, the dining on the Royal Viking is buffet based.  The dining experience is not what you would expect from an ocean cruise line in terms of quality but this is a completely different product and I must say that I found the food on offer to be absolutely fine and the service from the crew on board this vessel is faultless.

In fact, I took some photos of the menus to show you what type of food is served on the buffet…

There was still a bit of a sand storm going on during the first evening but I managed to pop out for a quick horse and carriage ride into Luxor, have a look at this, you can even see the grains of sand flying past the camera….

I did manage to drink a couple of alcoholic beverages on board the Royal Viking (for educational purposes of course) I managed to take a photo of the bar prices which were very reasonable (click to enlarge) and no 15% surcharges here like we often get on cruise ships.

The prices are in Egyptian pounds and there is almost ten to a pound so a half litre bottle of Sakara beer (very nice) is just under £3.  Also if you would like a cocktail that isn’t on the menu just ask, I had a long island ice tea and it was just 40 Egyptian pounds, approximately £4.

Tips are not mandatory on board but about £25 per adult per week is recommended which is very reasonable.

One of the great things about Discover Egypt is that there are many free excursions included.
On Tuesday I visited the valley of the kings, the temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon, these type of excursions would normally cost quite a lot with a regular cruise line.

The excursions were very well organised and run and Mohsen, our guide, was very knowledgeable.

There really are some interesting sights in Luxor, it has to be seen.

I did also go on an optional excursion to see the Karnak Temple sound and light show which was only £15 and well worth seeing.  During the show the voiceover said “Listen to the sounds of the Karnak Temple” and during the brief silence someone’s Nokia ringtone went off, it was so comical 🙂

On return to the Royal Viking in the early afternoon we managed to do a small amount of sailing on the Nile, the sailing was so smooth there was no noise, rocking or vibrations at all !
There were loads of comfortable sun beds and a large sheltered area with tables, chairs and a bar.
After having a long winter at home it was nice to chill out for a while on a sunbed by the pool with a long island ice tea, you can also smoke on deck (not in the cabins) if you smoke then you are in for some good news, 20 Marlborough lights are about £1.50 a pack.

You really did get the small boat feel on the Royal Viking, it was quite an intimate atmosphere and never too crowded.

I can’t think of a better way to experience Egypt than a Discover Egypt Nile cruise as everything is taken care of by them and you are right in the heart of Egypt from the get go , so no sitting for hours and hours on tour coaches.

Many people may ask what the situation is at the moment with travelling to Egypt as a tourist since the Egyptian revolution.  I can tell you that there were no problems at all and it is perfectly safe out and about.  There are many armed security guards around but that is always how it has been and this should not be a cause for concern.  I had a chat to a few holiday makers (ladies travelling on their own) on my flight home who said that they travel to Luxor all the time and they love it and have never experienced any problems there.

One thing that can be noticed is that a lot of the Egyptians are very poor and seem desperate to sell you things, this can feel a little uncomfortable to begin with as none of us like to be hassled but you just have to learn to say no and ignore them and you won’t have any problems.  If you do want to buy something make sure you have a good barter first or you will pay over the odds.  Our tour guide Mohammed told us what we should be paying for things to help out.

I did go and see some hotels while I was in Luxor and actually had dinner with the governor of Luxor, Ezzat Mohammed Saad, he was very pleasant.

I am not going to go into the details of the hotels I visited here at the moment but it was very useful to have visited them as you can add on a stay with Discover Egypt to your Nile cruise for a very reasonable price and the hotels I visited were all very luxurious and highly recommended.  I would be more than happy to make descriptions and personal recommendations based on experience if you make an enquiry with me.

I did also make a visit to Alexander the Great, a boutique 5* Luxury river boat run by Discover Egypt, I will be giving more details of this in another blog in the near future.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Discover Egypt for my time with them, they really made me feel so welcomed and looked after, especially Philip Breckner the company director.

If you have any questions or enquiries about Discover Egypt please call me directly on 0800 408 6095 or email me at [email protected] and I will try my best to help you from my personal experiences and knowledge.

In my true blog fashion I am now going to post some extra pictures from my experiences, enjoy……