There are well over a hundred cruise ships on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan, and many more companies selling places on them. That is why a Nile cruise can cost $450 for 3 nights on a booking site, $1,595 for 4 nights on the all-suite Salacia through an agency, or from $6,999 inside a 12-day Viking package from Cairo.
This hub sorts the Nile cruise companies into four groups, explains how each one sells, and links to our reviews of the ships, lines and agencies. Our editorial reviews are independent: we don't accept payment for them, and the scores are our own.
Four kinds of Nile cruise company
- Ship operators own or manage the ships and run the crew, kitchen and itinerary: Sonesta, Oberoi, Mövenpick, JAZ Voyages, A&K Sanctuary, Mayfair Cruises, SUNRISE, and dahabiya companies such as Nour El Nil and Djed.
- Egyptian agencies buy cabins on those ships and sell packages: cruise, guide, transfers, often flights and Cairo hotels. One ship is sold by dozens of agencies, each at its own price.
- International lines and tour operators sell the Nile inside a longer trip, usually Cairo–Cairo with flights. Some have their own ships (Viking, TUI); most use partner ships or charters.
- Booking platforms (GetYourGuide, Headout, Tiqets) list cruises supplied by Egyptian agencies. They are marketplaces, not ship companies.
When something goes wrong, the contract matters: on a platform your booking is with the supplier through the platform; with an agency it is with the agency; on a direct booking it is with the ship company.
Ship operators: who runs the boats
| Company | Ships | How it sells | Sightseeing in the price? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonesta | 5 cruise ships + 2 dahabiyas | Direct like a hotel room, and via agencies | No, if booked direct |
| Oberoi | Zahra, Philae | Direct, Tauck, Lindblad | Yes: entry fees and guide |
| Mövenpick | 8 vessels incl. Lake Nasser and long cruises | Agencies (Memphis Tours sells Royal Lotus); no fares published | Check with the seller |
| JAZ Voyages | About 13 JAZ ships + 5 Steigenberger | Direct (one booking site) and agencies | No, charged at check-in |
| A&K Sanctuary | 5 boats incl. Nile Seray | Inside A&K journeys and direct | Yes: entry fees; transfers extra |
| Mayfair Cruises | Mayfair, Esplanade, Mayflower | Direct, published per-night rates | Yes, plus airport transfers |
| SUNRISE | Semiramis I, II, III; African Dreams on Lake Nasser | Agencies and UK operators | Depends on the seller |
| Nour El Nil | 9 dahabiyas | Direct (per room, in euros) and luxury agencies | Yes: entry fees and guide |
Two names cause most confusion. JAZ Voyages, part of the Travco group, operates both the JAZ ships and the five Steigenberger ships from the same office and booking site. And A&K Sanctuary is one company: Sanctuary Retreats now trades as A&K Sanctuary, part of Abercrombie & Kent.
Many independent ships do not publish who owns them. When a review says "owner not published", that is the honest answer; book through a seller you can identify instead.
GetYourGuide3 nightsFrom Aswan
From Aswan: 4-Day Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor with Guide
4.3 (654)
from $450Check dates
GetYourGuide3 nightsFrom Aswan
From Aswan: 4-Day Nile Cruise to Luxor with Abu Simbel and Balloon Flight
4.5 (555)
from $580Check dates
GetYourGuide2 nightsFrom Aswan
From Aswan: 3-Day Cruise to Luxor with Hot Air Balloon
4.3 (657)
from $1,000Check dates
Headout3 nightsFrom Aswan
3-Night 5-Star Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor with Abu Simbel Excursion, Nubian Village and Hot Air Balloon
No reviews yet
from $1,000Check dates
GetYourGuide3 nightsFrom Luxor
Luxor: 4 Days Nile Cruise with Guided Tours & Abu Simbel
4.6 (132)
from $690Check dates
GetYourGuide4 nightsFrom Luxor
Luxor: 5 Days Nile Cruise with Guided Tours & Abu Simbel
4.4 (69)
from $840Check dates
Prices checked on 19 October 2026
Egyptian agencies: how they sell
Most visitors who don't use a platform book through an Egyptian agency. The agency sells a package around a ship it does not own: cabin, full board, an Egyptologist guide, entry fees for the standard sites (on most agency packages), transfers and often flights from Cairo.
What to know before you pay:
- Deposits. Memphis Tours asks "typically 20–30 %"; Nour El Nil 25 % within 14 days of confirmation; JAZ's dahabiyas 25 % at booking, 50 % at 60 days and 100 % at 45 days before departure. Get the schedule and the cancellation scale in writing.
- Price tiers shared across ships. Some agencies publish one price for a group of ships, so the same figure can buy quite different boats. Ask which ship, which deck.
- "Or similar" swaps. Packages can switch ships. A named ship in writing is worth more than a star rating.
- Inclusions vary by seller. The same ship can be sold with or without entry fees, the Edfu carriage or the Philae boat. Compare inclusions, not headline prices.
Agencies also sell named ships that platform listings never name, such as Mövenpick's Royal Lotus or the all-suite Salacia. Our two agency reviews:
Wings Tours & Nile Cruises is a case in point: a name with no working website, so book a comparable cruise you can verify.
International lines and tour operators
The big international names sell the Nile as part of a 10–19-day trip from Cairo, with flights, guides and a Luxor round-trip cruise. They cost more, typically from $6,999 to $16,995 per person, but one company is responsible for the whole holiday.
- Viking has its own ships: 12 listed, including eight identical sisters. Beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner are included. Not sold cabin-only.
- Uniworld sails on partner ships (S.S. Sphinx or River Tosca) and includes all gratuities.
- AmaWaterways uses AmaDahlia, AmaLilia and, from November 2026, AmaNubia.
- Avalon has no ship of its own; it sells cabins on MS Farah.
- Tauck uses the Oberoi Philae or Zahra; Scenic uses A&K's Sun Boat III. Emerald has no Nile product.
- Abercrombie & Kent owns the A&K Sanctuary boats and sells small-group journeys on them.
- TUI runs its own ships, TUI Al Horeya and TUI Bahareya, on 7-night winter round trips from Luxor with flights from Gatwick and Manchester.
Booking platforms: GetYourGuide, Headout and Tiqets
The three booking sites sell cruises supplied by Egyptian agencies. GetYourGuide has 64 multi-day Nile products, from 3 nights from Aswan at $450 to week-long packages; Headout has five with almost no reviews; Tiqets has none, only Cairo boats, feluccas and tickets.
None of them names the ship on a normal listing ("5-star ship or similar"), and only Tiqets shows the supplier's name (for example FTS Travels or Black Camel Tours on its Cairo dinner boats) before you pay. GetYourGuide does not, so ignore any claim that a particular agency is "behind" a GetYourGuide cruise. The full comparison is in GetYourGuide vs Headout vs Tiqets.
| Platform | Listing | Rating | Price | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GetYourGuide | From Aswan: 4-Day Nile Cruise to Luxor with Abu Simbel and Balloon Flight · 3 nights | 4.5 (555) | $580 Lowest | See on GetYourGuide |
| Headout | From Aswan: 4-Day Nile Cruise with Luxor Hot-Air Balloon Ride & Abu Simbel Visit · 3 nights | 2.0 (1) | $600 | See on Headout |
| Headout | 4-Day Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor with Abu Simbel and Luxor Hot Air Balloon · 3 nights | — | $700 | See on Headout |
Lowest price per person in US dollars, checked on 19 October 2026. Ship, cabin, departure day and what is included differ between listings: open each one before you pay.
Nile cruise company reviews: how to read them
Reviews of Nile cruise companies are hard to use because they mix three things: the agency, the guide and the ship. A five-star agency score says the agency answered emails and the guide was good; it tells you little about a ship you may not be given.
- Separate the ship from the seller. Read reviews of the named ship as well as the agency. Our ship reviews cover about 55 ships and river lines.
- Treat headline scores as the company's claim unless you read them on the review site yourself.
- Check the date. Ships are refitted, renamed and resold: Opera now sails as Ciela, Iberotel Crown Empress is now JAZ Crown Empress, and Regent and Viceroy became JAZ Elite.
- Look for specifics in recent complaints: ship swaps, entry fees charged on top, rafting (ships tied up side by side) and early starts tell you more than a star score.
Choosing a Nile cruise company
- Decide what matters most: a named ship, a weekday, a price, or one company responsible for everything.
- If the ship matters, book with its operator or an agency that names it in writing.
- Ask what the price includes: entry fees, guide, transfers, tips, Abu Simbel, balloon.
- Ask for the deposit and cancellation scale before you pay.
- Check that the website, address and contact details work and match the booking.
Nile cruise companies: questions
Which Nile cruise company is best?
It depends on what you need. For a named luxury ship with entry fees and guide included, Oberoi or A&K Sanctuary; for transparent published rates, Mayfair Cruises; for one company handling flights and Cairo, an international line such as Viking or Uniworld; for the lowest price with reviews you can check, a 3-night cruise on GetYourGuide from $450.
Are Nile cruise companies in Egypt reliable?
Many are long-established, but quality varies and the same ship is sold by many sellers. Choose a company you can identify (working website, address, written terms), get the ship's name in writing and agree the deposit and cancellation terms before paying.
Who owns the Nile cruise ships?
Some sail under hotel brands (Sonesta, Oberoi, Mövenpick, JAZ, Steigenberger), a few belong to international companies (Viking, TUI, A&K), and many independent ships do not publish their owner. Uniworld, Avalon, Tauck and Scenic use partner ships.
Is it better to book a Nile cruise with an agency or online?
Online platforms offer reviews and free cancellation up to 24 hours on most bookings, but don't name the ship. Agencies sell named ships and full packages, usually with a deposit of 20–30 %. Book through an agency or direct when the ship matters.
What does "5-star ship or similar" mean?
The operator chooses the ship. Most ships sold to foreigners call themselves five-star, and the label covers a wide range; no public ministry list of rated Nile ships exists. Ask for the ship's name after booking.