The question I am asked the most as a cruise journalist and blogger is, “What’s your favorite cruise you’ve ever taken?” I have never had an answer, until now.
I have cruised all around the world from the Caribbean to Southeast Asia and Europe. I have taken over 80 cruises and visited more than 40 countries over the past 10-15 years.
While I’ve never had one particular favorite cruise, I did have a list of 10 that have stood out more than the others. They are:
- 7-day Hawaii on Norwegian’s Pride of America
- 7-day Iceland with Viking
- 7-day Southern Caribbean with Royal Caribbean
- 13-day Mediterranean with Holland America Line
- 7-day Christmas markets river cruise on Viking
- 7-day Alaska with Princess Cruises
- 4-day Southeast Asia on Royal Caribbean
- 4-day Bahamas on NCL (my first cruise)
- 7-day Mediterranean with Virgin
- 3-day Bahamas on Disney
A couple weeks ago, Viking invited me to Egypt for the christening of two new river ships for the Nile River and preview cruise to get a sample of their 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary.
After spending six days in Egypt with Viking, here is why this cruise is now my favorite cruise I’ve ever taken.
The trip starts with three nights in Cairo so you get two full days there with an excursion included each day. On our preview trip, we stayed two nights and crammed as much as we could into the one full day we had.
The map below from Viking shows the full 12-day itinerary.
Our day in Cairo started off by visiting the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx. This was a dream come true for me as I’ve wanted to visit the pyramids every since I was a little kid.
Here’s a few photos I took as we stopped at several locations around the pyramids including an up close look at the Great Pyramid of Giza.
An optional excursion in Cairo is a trip to the outdoor Khan el-Khalili Market at night that includes a traditional dinner at a local restaurant. We did this in the evening and I loved every second of it. There’s just something about night markets that allows you to soak in local culture.
While in Cairo, you will also visit The Egyptian Museum, also known as the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. This was one of my favorite places to visit in the city. It’s filled with ancient artifacts that range from sarcophagi to statues to mummies.
After visiting Cairo, you take a one hour charter flight to Luxor to begin the cruise portion of the trip.
Our cruise was on Viking Sobek, one of six custom built Viking river ships for the Nile River. You can take a photo tour of the ship here. The ship only has 41 cabins and a maximum capacity of 82 guests. It quickly became my favorite river ship I’ve ever sailed on.
After the first day on the Nile River, I realized that this was not a trip of a lifetime, but THE trip of a lifetime.
“The Trip of a lifetime”
One of the things that blew me away is the condition of the temples that you visit along the Nile. Because of the dry climate and due to many of the temples being buried in sand over time, they are very well preserved compared to other temples around the world (Greece, Rome etc.).
The Hathor Temple at the Dendera Temple Complex in Qena the one of the best preserved temples in all of Egypt.
As you sail on the Nile, Egyptian enrichment sessions take that include the following:
- Presentation on Egypt and the Nile
- Hieroglyphics class
- Falafel making class
- Presentation on Medicine in Egypt
One of the biggest highlights of the cruise was visiting the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. We went inside King Tut’s tomb and were able to visit three other tombs of our choice.
When you visit the Valley of the Kings, make sure to visit the tomb of Ramses III. The size of it and the etchings on the wall are just incredible.
Viking also offers privileged access to the tomb of Queen of Nefertari.
One unique feature of these cruises is that most of the crew are Egyptian. One night, I was talking to a bartender and the piano player and they were telling me about different places in Egypt that I should visit. They seemed to know everything about where we were visiting.
I asked one of them where he lived and he said he lives less than a 10 minute walk from where we were currently docked.
Because they are from there, they have a knowledge about the area that you don’t find on cruises in other parts of the world. This greatly enhances the cruise experience.
Before I was even home from the trip, this became my favorite cruise I’ve ever taken. It’s one of those trips where you won’t be disappointed, you’ll just be amazed.
To find out more about this incredible experience that Viking offers in Egypt, you can visit their Pharaohs & Pyramids page.
