Dear Friends, This review is intended to be helpful in providing some detail and some questions answered. First off we traveled August 28th thru Sept. 10th. We booked 8 day land/river cruise through Viking. This is our 2nd Viking river cruise. We took a short flight from Cairo to Luxor where we embarked the ship. Viking Nile River Cruise: We booked Viking because we had a great experience with them in Europe on the Rhine. They didn't disappoint. Their representatives were at the Airport (at 1:30 AM) to meet us and escort us through the airport to their airport shuttle. Due to a schedule issue we had to wait to check into our hotel room but our Viking rep George negotiated with the hotel staff to get us in at 7AM. Thanks! The list of included Tours was very comprehensive and can be challenging. You don't need to do something every day but that's what we did. Michael (our guide) was a trained Egyptologist and a really nice & helpful guy. He's a 10 in our book. The tours included nearly everything you could want. There are extra charges for the tour of King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings but it was provided for by Viking as an inclusion on the shore excursion tour. We chose to fly to Abu Simbel to see the monuments to Ramsee's the 2nd. Pretty expensive but worth the money. A lot of fellow passengers did a hot air balloon ride. The ship was nicely appointed, had a pool and a spa, plenty of upper deck space, spacious guest rooms and dining rooms. A+++ Lots of little touches - pool towels, cookies and coffee 24/7. The ship (the "RA") was small with room for around 50 guests. I believe our head count stopped a 42. We split into two groups and toured using nice comfortable, secure air conditioned, well marked buses. Our room on the Viking river ship "RA" was laid out with a front room, separate bedroom w/a queen bed, good sized bathroom with a separate toilet stall, sink and shower with a rain head, and a small balcony with two chairs. We were at the front of the ship in #201. You can really hear the anchor when they drop. That was the only time we were bothered by noise. The room was generally facing the river vs. the river bank side as we traveled. I will review the sights in separate posts. The staff was great and saw to our every need. They handed out water as you got off and had a cool towel and something to drink or a sweet treat as you got back aboard. Our room was kept clean and supplied - no issues. A+++ Bottom line - We will go again on another Viking trip. Highly recommended. Things to keep in mind; It's hot so bring lots of light cotton or linen clothes. You will need a change of clothes daily. Take advantage of their laundry service. A wide brim hat like a Tilley, Sunglasses, Sunscreen. We found it helpful to bring a sling to carry a bottle of water in while visiting the sights. Also a small compact umbrella can be nice. Viking provided a full size umbrella and so this isn't necessary. We wanted a small one. We used a sturdy walking shoe and that was good for the uneven terrain you will encounter. For some a walking stick might be helpful. Bring a small towel to wipe off with once you get back to the bus. Weather: Hot - people I mean hot. We recorded a couple of temps during the day well above 100 degrees or 38 Celsius. If you are sensitive to heat and moderate walking then you may want to consider this. We were literally on the very start of the Nile cruising season. December, January, February are not as hot. Money/Currency: Take lots of $1 and a few $5 US bills. You will need small bills for tipping and purchasing. We brought $100 in Ones and $50 in Fives. We purchased about $50 in Egyptian pounds which equates to about $2,400 Egypt. We used the instant cash machine at the Sheraton Cairo. Plan on paying $1 to use restrooms so keep some in your pocket. Tipping is expected and is how many locals earn a living. They will gladly take your photo but expect to pay $1 or $2. We were generally happy with this photos taken by the locals and they know some great vantage points and other tricks for your enjoyment. Don't be afraid to be generous. When in the airport men and women are sent to different screening areas/machines and when you go through you will be patted down by a man for men and a women for the ladies. You will need to remove your shoes and belts. It's not unusual to go through more than one security check point. Your bags/carry on's will be scanned each time. Do yourself a favor and take any pointed items out - ie. nail file. Feel free to write if you have questions. Thanks for taking so long to read this.

It was a great experience, the explanations were clear and if i had questions i got the answer right away. Very fun experience

It was a very nice balloon tour, they picked us up from our hotel and took us there, everything went very well, only it was late for us to go up in the air with the balloon, there was only us in the air, being in the air with other balloons could have created a more beautiful view. But still, we did not regret choosing this tour, many thanks to everyone who contributed :)))

We had a great time with our guide Amil and our driver Carlos. Amil was so friendly, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and kind. It made discovering luxor and karnad temple real highlights of our trip so far. We hope to do future tours with them during the eest of the time we have in Luxor!

Top notch tour from the second we were picked up from our hotel on time we were offered snacks and drinks in our air conditioned minivan by Ahmed who was extremely friendly helpful and full of information. He said he would get us to Luxor on time and true to his word, we were the first boss there we were a mess by our tour guide said and again he was very friendly extremely knowledgeable about all Egyptian history. He was very patient as we have a very active eight-year-old ha ha whom was able to keep very interested and involved in every step of our tour our guide said spoke with us in perfect English and made our tour an exciting experience, back on the bus with Ahmed who supplied us with more drinks and snacks and got us back to our hotel in plenty of time for dinner earlier than expected. Overall I would highly recommend this tour and Ahmed and said as to very friendly guys.

We have booked a trip with Sheba/Cupid EgypT through Tripadvisor/Viator. This was a couple of months now for a trip later this year. This company is not reliable as both me and Viator/Tripadvisor have reached out to them as I wanted to confirm my details and check the finer points for my December Nile Cruise, but unfortunately they just aren't responding. I have tried on WhatsApp too and no response. We have paid in full for this trip and it is now frustrating that we can't get hold of anyone. Avoid this company as they are obviously scammers.

Very enjoyable tour. Our guide is Ashraf, who’s very knowledgeable and speaks good English. The whole tour is not rushed at all and Ashraf gave us enough time to take photos and to explore the places freely. My husband loves the lunch included (I lost a bit of the appetite after seeing Tut’s mummy and learning the horrifying story of the “screaming mummy” from Ashraf 🫣). Mesmerizing places absolutely worth a tour. Ashraf also helped us to bargain at the local market. 10 out of 10

Though probably you wake up- super early - after an intense day sightseeing and you'll doubt if its worth while... DO IT! The spectacle even start when you get to the launching camp. seeing how the balloons get filled, then launching, being able to observe everything from those heights... and watching the sunrise ! (have to confess that several tears also came out to watch Ra reflected on the Nile). Simple unbelievable. Of course it has an extreme factor to it. A hot air balloon, filled with fire, that rises to great heights is no minor task. But you forget the scare with the whole spectacle.

My son and I had a great experience doing the sunrise hot air ballooning. The driver was waiting for us in the lobby before our scheduled pick up time. Everthing was well organized and the balloon pilot was amazing. We got to see a lot of historical sights from the air, and the landing was very smooth. Mirna was very responsive with communication.

My first time in ballon!!! Really amazing view. The company picked us up in the hotel, and a ride with car, with a boat to cross the river to the west side. It was good weather and soon we had the ballon flight!!! I took a lot photos!!!

This boat might be 5 star Egyptian rating but it is 2 star at best in my experience … bed is hard as a board, pillows too uncomfortable, all showers are over deep tub… too hard to get in and out. Pool is tiny and the 4 flights of stairs to negotiate several times a day was too much. The buffet food is ok if you are locals, and the waiter thought it was funny to constantly speak to our group in a high pitched Minnie Mouse voice like we were 5 year olds… very annoying! This boat is old and tired and needs a revamp plus the male reception staff give zero care factor of dealing with requests from women … had to ask 3 times before any of them to sort my requests … felt like we were annoying them … terrible service which we had to pay big tips!

3 awesome places to visit and trip came with options for even small river Nile cruise on authentic Egyptian boat! Talk to the tourguide he knows more. Bring plenty of water 2 liter per person because of the heat!

The guide mimu was really good.. lot of informations and really nice guy! price is fair.. attractions have been beautiful.. nice experience

We did this wonderful balloon ride last week and it was absolutely amazing from the tour operator to the ride. thanks to Mirna from Sheba tours . She was very helpful to book and decide on the time and it was one of the best events I have done in my life

It was a very pleasant way to spend a week on the Nile and discover the history of one of the greatest civilizations. Our representative Mirna at Sheba Tours was very communicative and made sure to text us in the morning and in the evening to confirm the schedule and to make sure that everything was going as planned. She went out of her way to address the few issues we encountered. She deserves 5 stars out of 5. The cruise itself was lovely and relaxing. The ship (“Victoria” aka “Ra I”) looks a bit outdated, but the crew members were nice (though they mostly spoke little English), the food was good, and the cabin pretty comfortable. WiFi was a major issue, as it was not working most of the times and it was unreliable when it was indeed “working.” So bring a book or two to enjoy on the sun deck while taking in the breathtaking sunsets. I can’t rate it 5 stars because of the tours that were included in the package, with some of them requiring an early wake up call just to be done by lunchtime and without anything else to do for the rest of the day. But the worst part were the tour guides… a literal torture (we had 4 of them over 8 days). None of them spoke good English, they mostly gave us basic information, they were very pushy in regard to reviews and tips, and some of them were shady about money (one kept asking us to give him cash so we could skip the line… no one was in line to buy tickets). And the tour of Abu Simbel was shameful: 4 hours to get there, 4 hours to get back… and only 20 minutes inside the most beautiful of all Egyptian temples. Make sure to communicate with the agency so they can accommodate your interests. Maybe we were just unlucky, but the selection of the guides needs some improvement. I would recommend this package based on the fair price and the overall experience.