Browse the fleet
Nile cruise lines
Every Nile cruise operator in the directory, each with its full fleet compared on cabins, decks, routes and itineraries. Pick a line, or browse by trip length.
Rates checked 2026-08-26 to 2026-10-11. Updated 2026-10-11.
The short answer
Who should I book a Nile cruise with?
There is no single best Nile cruise line. The right one depends on how much ship you want around you, what you will pay per night, and whether you want the classic Luxor to Aswan sailing, Lake Nasser, or a packaged Cairo round trip. This page compares the 13 cruise lines with two or more ships in our directory (58 ships in all) on fleet, cabins, route and the per-person-per-night rate wherever a published basis lets us state one, and links every line and every ship to its own page. Each of them can be booked through This is Egypt.
By budget
Where a published rate states its basis, the lowest nightly figures in our price set are Iberotel Cruises from US$97 and Jaz Cruises from US$116 per person per night; the highest are Oberoi up to US$938 and Jaz / Travco up to US$524. Those are lead-in agency rates for the lowest cabin category, several of them summer tariffs, so most sailings cost more than the bottom figure. As a guide to a typical 3 or 4-night booking, our luxury and deluxe tier pages put the luxury flagships (every Viking, Oberoi, Sanctuary, Mövenpick, Sonesta, Jaz / Travco and Steigenberger ship is on our hand-picked list) at US$800 to US$1,700+ per person for 3 to 4 nights, and the branded deluxe fleets (Iberotel, Jaz Cruises, SUNRISE, Belle Époque, Sabena) at roughly US$500 to US$1,000 per person for 3 to 4 nights. Viking is the exception to per-night pricing: it sells its Nile ships only inside a 12-day Cairo-to-Cairo package, from US$6,999 per person including hotels and tours.
By ship size and style
The smallest ships belong to Oberoi (the Zahra has 27 cabins, the Philae 22) and to Sanctuary Retreats, the Abercrombie & Kent brand (Sun Boat III 16 cabins, Nile Adventurer 32, Sun Boat IV 40, plus the 6-cabin dahabiya Zein Nile Chateau). Jaz Senator is a 16-cabin all-suite boat and Mövenpick's SS Misr a 24-cabin steamer built in 1918. The largest floating hotels are Iberotel's Crown Emperor and Crown Empress (118 and 128 cabins), the 80-cabin Jaz and Steigenberger ships and SUNRISE's 70-cabin Semiramis I and II. Viking's purpose-built ships sit in between, 41 staterooms for 82 guests, repeated across the fleet. Smaller still are the dahabiyas, the sailing boats run by Nour El Nil, Lazuli, Merit and Oriental Nile Cruises, which have their own hub.
By route
Almost every line sails the classic Luxor to Aswan corridor past Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo on 3, 4 and 7-night itineraries. Belle Époque Travel is the Lake Nasser line: MS Eugenie and MS Kasr Ibrim sail between Aswan and Abu Simbel, and Steigenberger's Omar El Khayam does the same. Viking sails only its 12-day Cairo round trip (Cairo, Luxor, Qena, Esna, Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu and back to Cairo). For the long river, Mövenpick's MS Darakum runs 12 and 14-night one-way cruises between Cairo and Aswan.
By who is travelling
Couples and small parties have the widest choice and should pick on ship size and budget. Families usually want a pool and room to spread out: every ship on this page has a sun-deck pool, and the larger Mövenpick, Sonesta, Jaz and Iberotel ships carry between 100 and 253 guests. Groups thinking of taking a whole boat should look at the all-suite small ships (Jaz Senator, 16 suites; Sonesta Star Goddess and Sun Goddess, 33 and 30 suites; Salima, 25) or at a dahabiya.
Side by side
How do the Nile cruise lines compare?
The 13 lines below are every operator with two or more ships in our directory, in order of fleet size. The per-night column is derived from each ship's published rate only when its basis says how many nights and for whom it is quoted; a package, a charter, a child rate or a rate with no stated occupancy is shown on request rather than guessed.
| Cruise line | Ships | Cabins | Tier | From, per person per night | Route | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viking | 11 | 24 to 41 | Luxury flagships | from US$6,999 pp, 12-day package | Cairo round trip, 12 days | A fully packaged Cairo-to-Cairo trip on a purpose-built 82-guest ship; ten of the eleven share one design |
| Jaz / Travco | 7 | 16 to 80 | Luxury flagships | US$117 to US$524 (7 of 7 ships) | Luxor to Aswan | The widest choice of five-star boats from Egypt's largest operator, including the 16-suite Jaz Senator |
| Mövenpick (Accor) | 6 | 24 to 66 | Luxury flagships | US$250 to US$466 (4 of 6 ships) | Luxor to Aswan; Darakum also Cairo to Aswan | A Swiss-branded five-star floating hotel, or the 24-cabin 1918 steamer SS Misr |
| Sonesta | 5 | 30 to 57 | Luxury flagships | US$299 to US$459 (4 of 5 ships) | Luxor to Aswan | American-run five-star ships, two of them all-suite (Star Goddess, Sun Goddess) |
| SUNRISE Resorts & Cruises | 5 | 53 to 70 | Deluxe fleet ships | on request | Luxor to Aswan | Full-size Luxor to Aswan cruisers of 53 to 70 cabins from a Hurghada-based resort group |
| Iberotel Cruises | 4 | 29 to 128 | Deluxe fleet ships | US$97 to US$260 (4 of 4 ships) | Luxor to Aswan | The largest ships in our directory (Crown Emperor and Crown Empress, 118 and 128 cabins) at a mid-tier price |
| Jaz Cruises | 4 | 50 to 80 | Deluxe fleet ships | US$116 to US$144 (3 of 4 ships) | Luxor to Aswan | Branded mid-fleet ships of 50 to 80 cabins, with 7-night round trips from Luxor |
| Sanctuary Retreats / A&K | 4 | 6 to 40 | Luxury flagships | US$414 (2 of 4 ships) | Luxor to Aswan | Small ships run to A&K standards: Sun Boat III for 32 guests, and a private dahabiya for 12 |
| Steigenberger | 4 | 52 to 80 | Luxury flagships | US$160 to US$207 (4 of 4 ships) | Luxor to Aswan; Omar El Khayam on Lake Nasser | German hotel-branded full-size cruisers, and Omar El Khayam for Lake Nasser |
| Belle Époque Travel | 2 | 52 to 55 | Deluxe fleet ships | on request | Lake Nasser, Aswan to Abu Simbel | Lake Nasser and Abu Simbel rather than the Luxor to Aswan Nile |
| ISIS Travel | 2 | 58 to 62 | Luxury and deluxe | US$160 (1 of 2 ships) | Luxor to Aswan | An Egyptian inbound operator, founded in 1933 by its own account, with two Nile Crown boats |
| Oberoi | 2 | 22 to 27 | Luxury flagships | US$855 to US$938 (2 of 2 ships) | Luxor to Aswan | Two small luxury ships (22 and 27 cabins), a heated pool and a spa on both, and Travel + Leisure's top-ranked river cruisers by Oberoi's own account |
| Sabena Nile Cruises | 2 | 25 to 72 | Deluxe fleet ships | US$240 (1 of 2 ships) | Luxor to Aswan | A 72-cabin cruiser (Al Kahila) and a 25-suite all-suite boat (Salima) |
Indicative agency rates, checked 2026-08-26 to 2026-10-11, converted to per person per night from each ship's published basis; a rate whose basis cannot be converted is shown on request. An "N of M ships" count means the range covers N of the line's M ships; the rest are quoted on request. Rates move with season and cabin category, and we quote every sailing live.
By operator
By trip length
By style
Good to know
Nile cruise line questions, answered
Who is the best company to book a Nile cruise with?
It depends on what you want from the boat. For the smallest ships in the luxury tier, Oberoi (two ships of 22 and 27 cabins) and Sanctuary Retreats, the Abercrombie & Kent brand (Sun Boat III carries 32 guests). For a fully packaged Cairo-to-Cairo trip on a new ship, Viking. For a classic five-star floating hotel with a pool and sun deck, Mövenpick, Sonesta, Jaz / Travco and Steigenberger. For Lake Nasser and Abu Simbel, Belle Époque Travel or Steigenberger's Omar El Khayam. For the lowest stated nightly rates in our price set, Iberotel Cruises and Jaz Cruises. Every line on this page can be booked through This is Egypt; message us on WhatsApp with your dates and we quote the sailing.
Which Nile cruise line is cheapest?
Iberotel Cruises has the lowest stated per-night rate in our price set at US$97 per person per night, followed by Jaz Cruises at US$116. These are indicative agency rates for the lowest cabin category, usually in summer; winter and festive dates cost more, and a rate quoted per boat, per package or per child is left out rather than guessed. Our cost page gives the median by tier for 3, 4 and 7 nights.
Is Viking the best Nile cruise line?
Viking is the largest international line on the Nile by ships in our directory, with 11, most of them 82-guest vessels launched from 2022 onwards. It sells them only as its 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids package, Cairo to Cairo with hotel nights and 11 guided tours, from US$6,999 per person. If you want a 3, 4 or 7-night Luxor to Aswan cruise on its own, or a smaller ship, Oberoi, Sanctuary and the five-star Egyptian fleets sail the same stretch and we build Cairo around them.
Oberoi or Sanctuary (A&K)?
Both are small-ship luxury lines on the Luxor to Aswan corridor. Oberoi runs two ships, the Zahra (27 cabins, up to 54 guests) and the Philae (22 cabins, up to 44, with 36 m² standard cabins); their stated rates work out at US$855 to US$938 per person per night across both ships. Oberoi says its cruisers were ranked first among river cruisers in the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2025 and 2026. Sanctuary Retreats is Abercrombie & Kent's boat brand: Sun Boat III (32 guests), Nile Adventurer (64), Sun Boat IV (80) and the 12-guest dahabiya Zein Nile Chateau; its stated rate is US$414 per person per night (2 of 4 ships). Pick Oberoi for the larger standard cabins and the spa, Sanctuary for the choice of three ship sizes and A&K's escorted-tour heritage.
Which operators sail Lake Nasser?
Two in our directory. Belle Époque Travel's MS Eugenie (52 cabins) and MS Kasr Ibrim (55) sail between Aswan and Abu Simbel on 3 and 4-night itineraries calling at Kalabsha, Wadi El Seboua, Amada and Kasr Ibrim. Steigenberger Omar El Khayam (80 cabins) runs the same lake, 4 nights from Monday and 3 nights from Friday. Every other line here sails the Luxor to Aswan Nile.
How much is a Mövenpick, Oberoi or Sonesta Nile cruise?
From our price set: Mövenpick US$250 to US$466 per person per night across 4 of 6 ships; Oberoi US$855 to US$938 per person per night across both ships; Sonesta US$299 to US$459 per person per night across 4 of 5 ships. Each figure is an indicative agency rate converted to per person per night and checked between 2026-08-26 and 2026-10-11; each line's own page lists the ships behind the figure and the ones quoted on request.
Can This is Egypt book any of these lines?
Yes. Every line and every ship on this page can be booked through This is Egypt. Send your dates, group size and the ship or line you have in mind on WhatsApp and a specialist quotes the sailing with live availability; if you are undecided, say what matters most to you (ship size, budget, route) and we suggest two or three options.
