Standard Nile Cruise Egypt

A standard Nile cruise gets you the same river, the same temples and the same guides as a ship costing four times as much. What you give up is on board, not ashore. This page is about deciding whether that trade works for you, and which standard ships are worth shortlisting.

To see the ships themselves, go to the standard Nile cruise listings, where all 17 are compared with cabins, routes and starting prices.

What standard costs

Across the 17 standard ships we list, starting rates run from $429 to $539 per person, averaging $468. Deluxe averages $710 and luxury $1,354, so standard is roughly a third of the price of the top tier.

These are indicative per-person rates in a double cabin, confirmed at quote stage once cabin category, dates and group size are known.

What you are not giving up

This is the part worth being clear about, because standard is often described as though it strips the trip back. It does not.

• The itinerary is identical. Standard ships sail the same Luxor to Aswan route, calling at Edfu and Kom Ombo, and their passengers visit Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and Philae alongside everyone else.
• The inclusions are identical. Ships that publish a list record the same four items at every tier: full board meals, guided shore excursions, entrance fees to the scheduled temples, and port taxes.
• The basics are universal. All 17 standard ships list a restaurant, a lounge and a sun deck. Cabins have private bathrooms and air conditioning.

What you are giving up

Chiefly certainty about the pool, and cabin choice.

Not one of the 17 standard ships confirms a swimming pool outright. Eleven use the hedged phrase “pool where available”, and six list no pool at all. That is the single most important thing to check before booking at this tier, and it is the claim most often overstated, including previously on this page.

If you are travelling between May and September, treat a pool as something to get confirmed in writing rather than assumed, or move up to deluxe, where 10 of 22 ships state one definitively. No standard ship has a spa or a fitness room.

Cabins are also described in one line rather than by category, so there is usually no upgrade path on the ship. What you book is what you get.

Which standard ships to shortlist, and why

• Cheapest on the river: Nile Story at $429, on a fixed weekly departure pattern that is easy to plan flights around.
• Best value for the fittings: A Sara at $440, five-star rated at close to the lowest rate in the catalog.
• A suite category at a standard price: MS Monte Carlo at $469 lists 66 junior suites and 2 superior suites, which is unusual this far down the market.
• Consistent cabins throughout: MS Al Nabilatan at $449, where all 65 cabins are described to the same standard, so allocation matters less.
• Longest track record: MS Nile Dolphin, sailing this route since 2007.

Ships to look at more carefully if a pool matters: the Nile Monarch, Nile Empress, Lady Sophia and Grand Star all list none.

When standard is the right call

Standard makes sense if you are travelling October to April, when you are off the ship at temples through the cooler daylight hours and deck time is not what you came for. It makes sense if the budget is fixed and you would rather add days, or Abu Simbel, than upgrade the cabin. And it makes sense if you accept that the ship is transport and accommodation rather than the destination.

It makes less sense in high summer without a confirmed pool, on a longer sailing where you will be on board more, or if you want a choice of cabin category.

For the full tier-by-tier numbers see our standard vs deluxe comparison, and for what the trip costs beyond the fare, the total trip cost guide.