Nile cruise
 

I have heard good & bad about cruises on the Nile....Like it's just a ditch or it's so romantic...
What are real people experiences?

Like it's just a ditch? the Nile? Seriously? (We didn't do a Nile cruise, but we have many lovely views of the river...it's far from "just a ditch").

The Nile is a very wide slow moving and beautiful river. We took a seven day cruise and were never bored. It was one of the major highlights of the trip. It is an excellent way to observe rural life in Egypt and it also takes you to fabulous destinations! If some one told you it was " just a ditch " you should immediately stop taking their advice !

I think you're confusing the Nile River with the Suez Canal. In reality, the Suez is a ditch that is intended to move ship traffic - nothing more. It's green on one shore (west, toward the Nile) and barren desert on the other shore (the Sinai). The Nile is completely different. We've been on both the Suez and the Nile, and as 12Oaks says, the Nile is a beautiful, lush river - Egypt's historical bread basket. Its shores are lined with the iconic sites from Egyptian antiquity.

I was also thinking the Suez Canal as "just a ditch" certainly not The Nile, yes "the bread basket" of Egypt.

I'm not a "cruise" person, but opted for the Nile, as it's not all that deep, you can easily see both shores (not wide at all), and the boats are flat bottom, most with less than 100 cabins. I loved it.

do you mean a felluca or cruise? i did a private felluca ride on the Nile and the thick smog that hung over the city and the dark waters and motionless current made for a boring experience. it was a windless day, so just bad luck. Our felluca driver was a 70- year-old weathered, tiny man who obviously needed the money to support his son, so we tipped him very, very well. He was lovely and happy and made the ride fun. I'm sure a full cruise will be much more interesting.

Wait a second, lionlove, it sounds like you're talking about a ride on the river <i>in Cairo</i> -- that's hardly comparable to a Nile cruise!

einram, Casual Cairo is an American who lives in Cairo. Grcxx is an American who lived in Cairo for four years. Enough said.

hhmmmmmm.....I've been in and out (mostly out) for the past few days getting my oldest son settled at college.

Did I miss something interesting????????? ;)

Grcxx3:

No... you have not missed anything <b> because </b> I just came on this thread now :)

And we are SOOOO glad to have you!!!! :))

Aahhh , Gee, Thanks ( blush , blush )

You are such and O:)

Good Night I-)

If no breeze, let alone wind, that feluca ain't going anywhere. And yes, Cairo is overcast with smog.

When were were docked on the Nile at Luxor, a windless day, the felucas were just dead in the water. Only the current moved them some and many kept bumping into the side of our boat.

Feluca ain't the same as a Nile cruise which boats actually have engines. even restaurants, shops, bathrooms and a/c, unlike the "loo-less" feluca!

Kind of like the Grand Canyon being just a hole in the ground...

an hour in a feluca is plenty... 1/2 hour on a camel is plenty..

Never heard or read the Nile ever compared to a Ditch !!

Who would ever say anything as silly as that !!

Some people do not know what a feluca is... in simple language ,it is a little "sail boat".

Yep you got that right john61.... one hour and 1/2 hour like you said is plenty !

jwgibbs7475:

if you are planning to go to Egypt, look in a nice Travel brochure that has colorful pictures...then you will see that the Nile is far from being a "ditch"

<B>Insight Tours </B>
has a nice colourful brochure with about 7-8 different combination tours for Egypt.

Better still get 2-3 different brochures and compared them for pictures and quality of tours.

Like sandi said , if there is no wind the feluca is not moving.... so you have to stand up and blow <b> hard </b> against the sail . :)

<<sf7307 on Aug 21, 10 at 3:27am
einram, Casual Cairo is an American who lives in Cairo. Grcxx is an American who lived in Cairo for four years. Enough said.>>

I'm confused like Crcxx is. What happened that prompted this? Methinks something got deleted. What?

I missed what was said too,

JWGibbs, If the Nile Cruise was just a boat on a ditch then millions of people every year wouldnt travel on it. A Nile Cruise can be anything you want it to be, a relaxing holiday, a lovely way to see Egypt, a fun experience, a chance to try out a river boat, a way to meet other people. What it isnt is a trawler on a ditch,

There are boats that are basic and boats that are the ultimate luxury. Depends on what you want and what your budget is. But definately a great experience.

Scotsgirl

Yes I was wondering abouth this "out of the blue " comment also !

Hi Debbie and scotsgirl.....okay,okay you too Grcxx3 :)

Honestly, I don't remember the particular comment, but it was something that made me think the poster thought she knew better than you two, especially as to the attitudes of the locals.

It must have been a good one if the Fodor's editor took it off. HEHEHEHE - I wish I'd seen it. :D

We've been having nice a conversation (a ditch or not), while the OP has yet to return!!!

I think she doesn't like me :-)

Fodors drama??? On the A/ME board??? How fun!!!

Hmmmm !!

Yes, I wonder where jwgibbs7475 is !

Good Night Ladies !

I always miss all the good stuff!

MissGreen :

But at least you found us now :)

Percy - Does MissGreen get to join us for the next party? ;)

Only if she behaves and doesn't drink the expensive stuff !! :)

yeah where is JW? I hope they havent fell in a ditch! :-)

Percy im on the cheap stuff, recession and all that :-)

Scotsgirl

Your my kind of gal scotsgirl.. drinking the cheap stuff :)

Your "good stuff" is safe... I'm not a drinker. I don't need booze to act sillier than I do now! Party???!!!!!

A bit dated but our 2000 trip to Middle East included a several day cruise down the Nile. Great time. At times, while observing life along the river bank it did not take too much imagination to picture oneself back many hundreds of years. Much of the scenery, buildings, agricultural practices seemed to be right out of history. We enjoyed it immensely! And, also had an enjoyable feluca ride at Aswan! Given the geology and setting of the area was what you would expect to see out of the glossy travel brochures. Along the Nile I particularly enjoyed seeing anglers both shore based and in small canoes try their luck. When our cruise boat was tied up along shore I wished I had my fishing pole with me as schools of interesting looking fish were frequently see alongside the boat. The fact that the Nile is relatively calm water during cruises makes for relaxing travel even for the visitor prone to "sea sickness" in other situations.

MissGreen:

You have the credentials to joing our group :)

rsnyder:

What you saw in 2000 is still present today. That is the beauty of it for us tourist.

Ooh goody, I am one of the "in crowd" then!!

MissGreen :

Welcome to the club !

Even if you don't drink , you buy the first round....sort of a "Good Faith" entrance fee. :)

Then when it is our turn we buy you coffee..... hey I am going to like this !!!

Percy... you'll like it even more... I don't like coffee! I get my caffeine buzz from diet coke!!

Darn it.....Diet Coke is more expensive than Coffee, I knew there had to be a catch :)

Welcome to the Club anyway. !

jwgibbs7475 , are you still with us ??

MissGreen - Diet Coke is my caffeine of choice, too.......altho I also like it with a little rum or Jack Daniels!!! ;)

Not here in Oz Percy... so we'll do our "diet coke" partying in Australia... and our "coffee partying" in your neck of the woods!