We came to Egypt to see the temples — Dendera, Karnak, Kom Ombo — where traces of color still remain on ancient columns and obelisks from thousands of years ago — to learn about the pharaohs and their gods, and how the Nile shaped ancient civilizations.
We were introduced to one of the newest and most luxurious ships on the river during a week-long trip aboard the 84-passenger Sphinx. Operated by Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, one of the best river cruise lines, the vessel was our “gateway” for our family of three. My husband, Rob, and I were both enthralled by the Luxor Temple, which we had almost to ourselves during our after-hours tour under the moonlight. An unforgettable moment for our 8-year-old son, Bobby, was seeing Tutankhamun’s wrinkled, fragile mummy up close in the Valley of the Kings. Equally striking was the array of vibrant stars painted on the vibrant blue ceiling of Ramses III’s tomb.
But there was much more than the monuments that made this trip so fascinating.
One morning, the Sphinx docked in Aswan, a southern port city famous for the 7th century BCE temple complex of Philae and the Old Cataract Hotel, a frequent visitor to Agatha Christie. With temperatures approaching 100 degrees, my family and I set off in a small motorboat with four other guests, the rest of whom seemed content to stay tucked away in their luxurious, air-conditioned rooms.
Emri Bendiksen
We’d been sailing the Nile for a few days, and from the Sphinx’s relaxing top deck, the riverbank was beginning to take on a rhythmic appearance from afar. Mountains, brick houses, children splashing on the shore. More mountains, a field or two, a high-speed train. It all looked like painterly brushstrokes. This voyage felt more alive at eye level. Huge rocks were dotted among the swaying bamboo, inviting us to reach out and touch them. The sky was unusually overcast, a relief given the stifling heat.
After weaving through some waterways, we reached an impossibly tall sand dune, with knife-sharp edges and a small seating area at the base. “Can we climb up there?” Bobby asked. “Awesome!” As soon as we disembarked, the sky turned an unsettling Fanta-like orange. We took refuge from the sandstorm in a nearby house, where the owner was proudly showing off his pet crocodile. (Needless to say, this isn’t on the regular itinerary.)
Twenty minutes later, the storm had passed. Rob led Bobby down the beach, slowly and steadily. I waited at the base with my iPhone at the ready to take photos. The not-so-graceful pair slid off their boards, letting out screams of joy as they plummeted to the sun-baked ground. Sweaty, tired and dirty, we were relieved to return to the boat, where fresh juice was waiting after every excursion, thanks to the ever-attentive crew.
In fact, we chose Sphinx, one of two Uniworld ships in Egypt, for its intuitive and impeccable staff: In keeping with local custom, the all-male crew of 58 took great care of us (it was an end-of-season voyage and not full, so the guest-to-staff ratio was nearly 1:1).
Emri Bendiksen
In addition to the regular crew, our voyage was accompanied by three Egyptologists, all of whom were history experts who guided us through the monuments, museums, and temples. We met our Egyptologist, Akram Abdelmonein, in Cairo before we boarded the ship. He showed us the magnificent halls of the original Egyptian Museum, built in 1902 and housing some 170,000 artifacts. Abdelmonein stayed with our group of 15, even flying with us to the magnificent rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel, near the Sudanese border. He answered all questions openly and reassured Bobby that no question was too small, which I think is the mark of a truly great guide.
Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect on and off the ship when traveling to Egypt aboard the Sphinx.
Sphinx
The 42-room, 84-guest Sphinx features colorful décor that reflects local architecture and design. Though there is only one restaurant on board, the food is excellent and the staff is quick to learn your preferences. Most tours are included in your cruise fare, led by Egyptian experts. See Egyptian sites and temples, including Luxor, Karnak, Abu Simbel, Dendera and the Great Pyramids of Giza.
Rooms
Courtesy of Uniworld
Opening in 2021, Sphinx highlights Egyptian craftsmanship and vibrant colors. Framed black-and-white photographs and paintings of ancient ruins hang in hallways and bedrooms, Arabic coffee pots sit on small inlaid stools, and brass lamps hang on bedside tables. Rooms are decked out in royal blues and vibrant golds, and carved blond-wood ceilings add to the feeling of height.
The 42 staterooms across three decks range from French balconies (233 sq ft) to royal suites (495 sq ft). All categories come with French balconies, windows that can be lowered to let in fresh air, but I was so scared of the heat and bugs that I never thought to open mine.
My family and I stayed in a 430-square-foot Grand Suite on the sixth deck, the so-called “Karnak” deck. The suite had a small vanity, a spacious closet, and a well-appointed seating area with a sofa, coffee table, and two chairs. Similar to our dining table at home, the suite became our “stash” and a place to put leftover gear (in this case, tickets, souvenirs, and whisper devices) when we returned from our excursions. The spacious, brown-and-blue-tiled bathroom, with its high-pressure shower and deep tub, was truly worth the money for a splurge to rest our tired feet. With 20 Grand Suites, they are the most popular category, and there was more than enough space for our group of three (note that children must be at least four years old to sail in Egypt). The excellent housekeeping team came to clean our room twice a day.
Bars and Restaurants
Courtesy of Uniworld
The Sphinx has one main dining room, located on the fourth or “Luxor” deck, the lowest level accessible to passengers. Intricate pebble tile floors, wooden columns, carved chairs, and lamp-lit tables give the room a grand and formal feel. However, the area is not so formal that passengers cannot sit at the large tables in casual attire and mingle with other groups and make new friends. Every meal we had was hearty, fresh, and excellent. I’ll never forget my first taste of roasted Nile perch, filleted right in front of me by one of the friendly culinary team. Another highlight was being able to try okra soup and hawausi, pita bread stuffed with minced meat, on “Egyptian Street Food Day.”
Breakfast and lunch are served buffet-style daily. For breakfast, Bobby headed straight for the fresh watermelon, while I chose from a chocolate croissant to a delicate bar, a flaky housemade pastry dusted with sugar. Our dining room servers, Mosan and Omar, quickly learned our favorite drink orders, and we ordered Turkish coffee for Rob and me and milk for Bobby, and had them ready within minutes of walking in.
At lunchtime, the cold salad and bread section was excellent, with fattoush, tabbouleh, cheeses, a variety of olives and house dressings. The hot food section offered grilled dishes (lamb, chicken, fish) and a variety of mains, from biryani to fresh pasta. Mosan would often surprise us with local Egyptian dishes to share at the table; a particular favourite was the full medames (stewed broad beans), which were served before we even had time to stand up and fill our plates.
Dinner is always à la carte, with a choice of starter, soup, main course and dessert. Some of my favourite dishes include the chicken shawarma and the saffron-marinated flounder, and the mains are perfectly complemented by the Egyptian house wine that accompanies every meal.
The bright Main Bar and Lounge on the 5th “Dendera” Deck is the meeting place for early evening cocktails and where talks on “Buzz on Port” and upcoming attractions are held. The ship’s Sun Deck also offers drinks service and occasional light snacks, including a Champagne Breakfast and Afternoon Tea.
Where the ship sails
Like its sister ship, River Tosca, the Sphinx operates eight-day round-trip voyages from Luxor. Passengers first fly to Cairo, where they have the option of staying one or two nights in the Egyptian capital, with tours of the Egyptian Museum, the Alabaster Mosque, the Saladin Citadel, the Giza Pyramids, and more. (The highly anticipated and much-talked-about Grand Egyptian Museum is included on many Uniworld itineraries, but unfortunately it was closed when we visited.)
On my trip, all of the Sphinx passengers stayed at the luxurious Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza, which has a central location, a lovely shaded pool deck, an excellent Lebanese restaurant, bright, recently renovated rooms, and a selection of books on Egyptian history.
After a short 1 hour 40 minute flight south to Luxor, we were taken by bus to the Sphinx, where we would be staying for the week. All Uniworld cruises call at Dendera, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Esna and Aswan. Most temples and monuments are easily accessible on foot or by bus. To visit the temples at Abu Simbel, you will need to take a 1 hour flight from Aswan International Airport to Abu Simbel Airport. This fantastic tour is offered at an additional cost, but is highly recommended.
Shore Excursions
Emri Bendiksen
Uniworld includes one or two shore excursions in your cruise fare, depending on the day, many of which leave fairly early to avoid the heat. On my trip, that meant leaving as early as 7am.
But for our first big outing, there was no avoiding it. Shortly after landing in Luxor, we were driven by bus to the nearby Karnak Temple, a stunning outdoor complex built around 2,000 BCE and possibly the world’s largest religious ruins. Famous for its stunning ram-headed sphinxes and the columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall, it was packed with tourists from all over the world. Despite the heat and crowds, our thoughtful Egyptologist, Abdel Monein, was happy to tell us tales of the pharaohs and set the stage for the different Egyptian dynasties we’d explore during our trip.
Arriving at Dendera the next morning, we were greeted with a contrast. Our Uniworld group was the first to enter the ruins, dominated by the Temple of Hathor, built in 54 B.C. “Imagine hundreds of Egyptians coming to this place,” Abdelmonein said as we walked through a hall dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of love and fertility. There were no other selfie-taking tourists, just us, the birds, and a few stray cats. Without the jostling crowds, we were able to leisurely explore the thousands of hieroglyphics that decorate the walls and ceilings. Abdelmonein even pointed out a rare depiction of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar’s son, Caesarion.
During the second half of the cruise, we enjoyed the Kom Ombo temple, dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Horus. There’s a small museum here filled with crocodile mummies, which is creepy, but very cool. We also went to Abu Simbel on a round-trip flight arranged by Uniworld for an additional fee. The trip was worth it, not only because we got to see the larger-than-life-size statue of Ramses II, but also because we got to marvel at the fact that this 3,000-year-old monument was saved by preservationists when it was moved during the construction of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s.
Amenities and Entertainment
Courtesy of Uniworld
If you’re hoping for multiple bars, water slides, and nightclubs on your cruise trip, don’t choose the Sphinx, or any Egyptian cruise ship for that matter. Like other ships on the Nile, the ship is beautiful and compact with some essential amenities, including a small top deck pool with sun loungers. To my surprise, I often found myself and my family the only ones cooling off in the pool, whether after a morning excursion or a leisurely lunch.
The spa is actually more of a massage room, but the treatment I had was excellent and reasonably priced.
Occasionally in the evenings, there were performances from local musicians and dancers, as well as Uniworld crew members. The highlight of the trip was seeing one of my favorite bartenders, Ashraf, take to the dance floor. But most of the night was relatively quiet, and everything wrapped up around 10pm to prepare for the next day’s adventures.
