out of this world experience! - We took the Luxor to Aswan Philae cruise early feb. We were very warmly welcomed by the staff who took great care of us during the entire trip. They even made special food for us as per our taste.The rooms are very clean well equipped with all modern amenities. The boat has a top sun deck where we enjoyed a lazy afternoon.The sightseeing was smooth and well organised. The egyptologist was quite knowledgeable and told us some really interesting stories. Highly recommend this cruise for a once in a lifetime experience!

5 star experience - There isn’t much more I can say that hasn’t already been said. The food alone on the trip was worth the money. My room was gigantic and everything was clean and fresh. It has everything you need, pool, spa and a gym. The excursions were lead by a guide who sounded like he experienced the actual history. Everything was well planned. Customer service was second to none. Staff is incredible; attentive to your every need and always up for friendly chat. It doesn’t matter if you have any kind of food allergies or that they have a meal plan already in place. The chefs are so talented, that they can whip up anything for you want at a moments notice. It doesn’t matter if you are vegetarian, vegan, or need gluten-free, they will cook whatever you order. I suggest letting them just make up their own because the chef will make some of the most amazing food to the most delicious Egyptian and Indian dishes. I do wish they would’ve given us an evening at the night market in Luxor. It’s nice that you don’t have to tip every time you eat as you tip at the end of the cruise. We were told suggested tip to be between $25-$30 per guest per day. Since this is what we were told by the staff, this is what we paid. Make sure you bring money with you because tipping the people that carry your luggage, the excursion, driver, and your guide to be paid in cash and separate. I would have liked to have added a day of exclusion at the night market in Luxor. Cruise staff, especially Hussian and Nasser taking such good care of me. Unfortunately, I cannot remember everyone’s name of the people that made breakfast lunch and dinner so enjoyable. My only complaint is that excursion leaders always take you to their friends’s shops which is pretty much with every excursion in Egypt. I can’t wait to take another Oberoy cruise.

The Best Boat on the Nile - Fantastic boat fabulous guide, staff were fantastic food was great. Cabins also fantastic. What a boat.

Romantic cruise on the exotic Nile - Beautiful accommodations and amazing crew. Thoroughly enjoyed our passage along the Nile from Luxor to Aswan. Egyptologist was excellent. Food on board was excellent. Only downside was engine noise and vibration in aft cabins but we were docked most nights.

Simply the best - Simply the best. From the staff,accommodations, food and guides to the sites everything was first class. You will notice the difference when you have the sites to yourself or very limited people at them as they do that on purpose so you have the best time exploring around. The tours are limited to only 6 people or less ensuring a private experience. Do yourself a favor and book the suite D05 with the private jacuzzi on the back of the ship, worth every penny. This is the only cruise I would recommend to my friends and family.

Best boat on the Nile - Excellent boat. Staff, room, food, cleanliness, service all top notch! I highly recommend this boat. It is the best on the Nile.

Spectacular luxury experience from start to finish - We just finished a 6 day Nile cruise aboard the Oberoi Philae. Our high expectations were exceeded in every regard. The recently refurbished boat is lovely and luxurious. Spacious cabins with beautiful bathrooms, fantastic quality king beds with high quality sheets and towels refreshed twice daily by attentive housekeeping staff. Meals are all a la carte and the quality and variety of the menu was outstanding. With only 22 cabins aboard the staff quickly learn your preferences and driver excellent service. Of course the daily tours of the magnificent sites and antiquities are outstanding. Maximum group size is 8 guests per Egyptologist (our group had 4). The Egyptologists were outstanding and accompanied us throughout the week. Each transfer was in a comfortable luxury van with plenty of chilled water. We have travelled extensively and had the opportunity to experience numerous luxury brands. This is truly a world class experience. Highly recommend!

Memories to last a lifetime - Going to see the Pyramids is on many a bucket list, but I found the true highlight of my two week holiday in Egypt to be my cruise down the Nile aboard the Oberoi Philae. This incredible river cruiser is built to house approximately 40 to 50 people, considerably less than most other boats of the same size, but travelling during the off-season means there's far fewer guests aboard. When my wife and I checked in, we found that not only had we been upgraded but we were also only 2 of 4 guests aboard, and essentially had the boat to ourselves like a private cruise. Despite this small number, the boat ran with a full roster of staff, determined to make our experience memorable. With the small number of guests onboard, we began to get to know some of the incredible staff, all of whom share the same exceptional passion for their jobs. Emad, Nasser, Rahman, Alaa, Ellia, Farida, and many others turned what we expected to be good to great. From every meal, every interaction, every jaw dropping towel creation during turn down service, every booking at the spa, and every chat about football (which always ended in laughter), the memories the crew have left us with will stay with us forever. Additionally, as my wife and I were also celebrating her birthday, the kitchen went out of their way to bake a custom cake to mark the occasion. But travelling down the Nile and stopping at various sights also meant we needed a guide, and the person assigned to us made us fall in love with Egypt and history in general. Tarek's knowledge and enthusiasm has now set the bar so high that I'm afraid no guide may ever be able to match it. Sightseeing with him felt like retracing the steps of the people from 1000s of years ago, an interactive experience like none other and truly the history teacher I wish I had in school. If you want to be absolutely blown away, make sure you ask for Tarek Ibrahim as your guide and you will not regret it. To sum up this rather long review, I'll simply say that you can't possibly go wrong with this team. They're all collectively pulling in the same direction and that's set a new standard of excellence for hospitality and made us feel like we were travelling with friends. If given the opportunity, I'd love to take the cruise again, if only to experience the amazing service once more.

Worth every penny - My husband and I stayed with the Oberoi Philae for our 4-night journey from Luxor to Aswan, and we couldn’t have made a better choice. The rooms are modern and spacious, and compared to most of the large cruise liners, the Philae has a relatively smaller capacity of just around 22 rooms. The staff was extremely welcoming and made us feel truly at home during our time onboard. By the end of our stay, we knew many of them by name, and looked forward to chatting with them during meals (where there was a different menu every time!) or in the hallways. The spa is also a must-visit after a long day walking around Egypt’s ancient wonders. The itinerary is perfectly balanced so you can enjoy the historic sights, while leaving enough downtime to unwind on the boat. We wanted to add a couple of additional tours to our schedule, and they organized everything seamlessly. Finally, I have to give a special shout-out to our Egyptologist guide, Tarek, who took the entire experience from great to unforgettable. His passion and knowledge for his country’s history was infectious, and we learnt more than we could have ever imagined from him. Truly one of the best tour guides we have encountered on any of our travels. If you have the chance, definitely ask for him as your guide. Overall, I can’t recommend this cruiser enough. And if you can bear the heat, I’d highly recommend going in the off season. We visited in August and were 2 of only 4 passengers onboard!

Superb experience, but certain parts of the ship already show signs of age - As part of our 12 day trip through Egypt, we spent 4 nights on the Philae travelling up the Nile from Aswan to Luxor. Cruising the Nile is really magical and should be on everyone’s bucket list. We experienced so many unforgettable moments during the cruise, be it lazy lunch on deck while sailing, sipping on a cocktail during sunset watching the river, and all the great sightseeing included. I don’t believe there is a more comfortable way to cruise on the Nile than onboard the Oberoi Philae. With its very generous size considering its only twenty something cabins, it never felt crowded or was there any wait for anything. It felt very exclusive and we were oftentimes the only people on the sundeck, in the lounge or in the gym. The facilities are excellent and also include a full-sized Spa with large treatment rooms with very moderately priced treatments and super professional SPA staff from their Bali property. The overall design is very understated and not as “colonial” (or tacky) as on other Nile cruisers. Our cabin (standard “Deluxe Cabin”) was extremely spacious, with twin beds and a separate seating area, large dressing area and HUGE bathroom. The size of the standard cabins was also the reason we picked the Philae over the Zahra. Every day, the house keepers would create some towel animals and caused a lot of fun and surprise. Housekeeping was immaculate and otherwise invisible. As regards sightseeing and activities, the Oberoi team gets in touch with you long before the departure and checks what you want to include on the itinerary and makes sure they customise the itinerary for you. Most sightseeing is included in the rate, but there are certain sights not covered. We did the Philae temple at night and made a day trip to Abu Simbel on top of the regular itinerary, both highly recommended and very well-organized by Oberoi. There is also hot air ballooning and many other activities you can pick from (all for a charge). Since we were the only German speaking guests on board, we got a Egyptologist guide to ourselves and our private van just for the 2 of us (although not a Mercedes Benz van any longer, but Hyundai or Toyota). But normally, they would put a small group of max 6 people together. Our guide and driver were excellent and have repeatedly worked with Oberoi. One advice: Since not all sights are covered, we would encourage everyone to extend your stay in Aswan and Luxor prior/after the cruise. We did 3 nights at the Sofitel Winter Palace and 2 nights at the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract before the cruise which was enough time to cover the most important sights (there is just so much to see in Egypt!!!). Temples of Dendara and Abydos are amazing!!! So is the temple of Khnum in Esna with its gorgeous columns. The stretch of Nile between Assuan and Luxor is not very long, therefore, we opted for the shorter cruise (as opposed to the 6 night itinerary which includes more sights) in order to be able to experience these legendary historic hotels. Although we enjoyed very much the journey, mostly thanks to the incredible team and food, the ship unfortunately already shows its age and could use a retouch: We saw many chipped tiles in the swimming pool and also in the bathroom and a couple of mouldy corners (for which we have deducted a point)… This did not impair our experience overall, but paying USD 1,600 per night (yes, per night, not per cruise!), you don’t want/expect to see something like this. Further, while we understand that they are striving for the “clean” look, I do think that Oberoi could make the ship a bit less “cold” and a bit more “cozy”: e.g. the sun beds are just grey sun beds without any toppers on them. This really does not look nor feel very comfy: As we passed by a couple of Sanctuary Boats, while we understand that these are less “exclusive”, we could not help but think that their sundecks looked much more inviting as the sun beds and chairs all had thick, striped toppers and cushions and they placed some plants and lanterns here and there. To end on a positive note: The entire team onboard was outstanding! Very attentive, welcoming and chatty, but at the same time keeping the right level of distance. Kudos to Oberoi who always manages to train the staff to a level which is rarely met by any other hotel company! We will never forget this cruise. It is a trip of a lifetime!