Luxurious Nile Cruise Experience: MS Renaissance

Overview

Enjoy your Egypt Nile cruise aboard the luxurious MS Renaissance with Next Holiday Travel, The 4-night, 5-day Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan downstream will assure you of a journey that can never be forgotten, covering some of the major ancient marvels: the Valley of the Kings, Luxor Temple, and the Karnak Temple, the Luxor-Aswan Nile cruise allows for a trip along a portion of the Nile, sometimes aboard a felucca, one of the most ancient boats in the world, Nile cruise in Egypt will take you through plenty of Egyptian heritage, while the MS Renaissance opens up to an unforgettable adventure.

Itinerates

Lunch on board the Nile Cruise is delightfully served right after embarkation. Immediately start your fascinating tour with a visit to the East Bank of the Nile, first stopping at the magnificent Karnak Temple. Much more than a temple, Karnak is an enormous complex of temples, sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons, and obelisks, all dedicated to the Theban gods and the glory of Egypt's Pharaohs. It was the central site for the worship of the Theban Triad: Amun, Mut, and Khonso. This will be followed by the Luxor Temple, a wonderful sight and mostly built by Pharaoh Amenhotep III, completed by King Tutankhamun and Ramses II. The first pylon, built by Ramses II, is famously decorated with scenes of his Battle of Kadesh. Conclude your day with dinner and an overnight stay aboard the cruise in Luxor.

A delicious breakfast on board starts the day. Then comes the West Bank of the Nile, starting with the Valley of the Kings. In ancient times, it was known as the "Great Place of the Truth." This lovely valley was designed for the tombs of the Pharaohs, with big stone sarcophagi standing guard to take them onward into immortality. The surrounding mountains loom above this valley, their peaks pyramid-shaped.

Next will come the Colossi of Memnon, two gigantic statues, each about 18 meters high, these monumental shapes are what remains of the Tag's largest temple complex on the West Bank, built by Amenhotep III.

Visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, elevated in a series of terraces from the desert plain-an amazing building that, if seen at sunset with its sheer limestone face looming as the backdrop of the Theban Mountains, is surely one of the most startling sights.

At 13:00, start sailing to Esna Lock, having lunch on board while sailing. Arrive at Esna Lock at 18:00, then sail to Edfu to have dinner. The overnight stay will be aboard the cruise in Edfu.

Buffet breakfast will be enjoyed on board. At 07:00, an excursion to the Temple of Edfu-one of the best-preserved Upper Egyptian sites dedicated to the great hawk god Horus, this Ptolemaic temple was initiated during the reign of Ptolemy III (246 B.C.) and completed in later periods, built upon the site of an earlier temple. The temple walls are inscribed with the mythological battle between Horus and his uncle Seth, which probably was enacted annually as a religious drama.

Sail to Kom Ombo at 09:30, lunch on board. At 15:30, arrive at Kom Ombo and visit the Temple of Kom Ombo. This unique temple, 40 km north of Aswan, is dedicated to the gods Sobek and Horus and dates to the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods (332 B.C.-395 A.D.).

Sail for Aswan at 5:30 PM, dinner aboard while sailing. Arrive at Aswan 9:00 PM and overnight aboard.

Start your day with an 08:00 breakfast on board the cruise. Continue your tour in Aswan, visiting its major sights, starting with the Temple of Philae: the last of the classical Egyptian temples, whose building started about 690 B.C., and the Temple of Isis, one of the last places where the goddess was worshipped. Next, enjoy a pan Else take a scenic tour by felucca around Elephantine Island; visit the impressive Aswan High Dam, completed in 1968, which forms Lake Nasser and is vital in controlling the flow of the Nile River.

Continue this day in the Unfinished Obelisk, which lies in the Northern Quarries. This enormous obelisk, still in its quarry, if completed would have attained 42 meters in length and furnishes interesting information about the technique of ancient stoneworking. Weighing 1168 tonnes, it would have become the largest stone monument ever carved by the Egyptians if completed, Back to the cruise for lunch at noon; dinner and overnight on board.

Enjoy breakfast on board the cruise before taking an optional tour of the incomparable Abu Simbel temples. The two temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari carved out of the mountain on the west bank of the Nile between 1274 and 1244 B.C. are a feat of ancient engineering.

A colossal statue guards the entrance to the Great Temple dedicated to Ramses II and the gods Ra-Harakhty, Amun Ra, and Ptah. The smaller temple, no less spectacular, was dedicated to Queen Nefertari and the goddess Hathor. To save them from the inundation, both temples were dismantled and moved to higher ground; this is one of UNESCO's greatest successes in preservation.

After having seen these magnificent ruins, return to your boat for the end of the tour.

Included

You will be entitled to a meet-and-assist service on arrival and departure.
Our staff will attend to you through the stay on and outside excursions.
Transfers will be done in a modern, air-conditioned deluxe vehicle.
You will be put on a 5-star cruise, including a full board meal package.
The trips down the Nile Cruise will be according to the schedule and the program presented for the group traveling with the Nile cruise.
Entry tickets for all the sights in the area between Luxor and Aswan.
An English-speaking tour guide during the excursions.
All the taxes and service charges.

Excluded

Additional expenses and personal expenditures.
Gratuities.

Notes

All the above is just an offer subject to your acceptance , no booking are done yet, space will be subject to availability while we go through booking.
Rate based on the above mentioned number of travelers, in case there is an increase or decrease in the number of travelers or change of date, Next Holiday Travel keeps the right to change its rate accordingly.
All transfers throughout the entire trip on private basis by A/C Deluxe Vehicle.
All above mentioned sightseeing on Private basis on Cairo and joining other guests on board the cruise, including entrance fees
Rates are including taxes and service charges
Full Day tours 6-8hrs.
Half Day tours 4 hours.
Our rates do not include insurance.
There are 2 accepted ways of payment :
Credit card (fees 2.5% of total amount).
Bank transfer (excluding banking fees according your bank regulations).