Several ocean lines have temporarily redirected their itineraries away from the Red Sea, but are river cruise lines cancelling or postponing river cruises sailing the Nile River in Egypt?
We checked in with several lines in the region to understand how Nile River cruise operations and sales are doing. Here’s what they said.
Safety First
AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and Viking all assure the travel advisor community that the safety of their passengers, crew and partners is their paramount concern.
Egypt is rated “Level 3: Reconsider Travel,” by the U.S. Department of State, but according to Avalon, the organization has not changed its travel advisory status for the country since the conflict began.
“Security protocols were already in place prior to October,” said Pam Hoffee, president of Avalon. “Our Egypt operations partner is constantly monitoring the situation, providing insights and responses as needed."
Our Egypt operations partner is constantly monitoring the situation, providing insights and responses as needed.
Each line continues to maintain their existing safety protocols, only making changes if necessary.
“We would not operate if we did not feel confident in our guests' experience,” said Alex Pinelo, senior vice president of sales for AmaWaterways. “Our guests are experiencing our Egypt cruises as they normally would and are having an excellent time, feeling safe and secure.”
Extension Adjustments
For the most part, Egyptian river cruises are operating regularly, but some slight modifications have been made for the time being.
AmaWaterways canceled its Jordan extension. Avalon Waterways is planning to launch its 2025 Egypt product later than in prior years “to provide more time for interest and resolve to catch up for Egypt,” Hoffee said. And Uniworld and Viking have canceled their Jerusalem extensions.
Interest and Satisfaction Remain High
“Egypt has always captivated curious travelers with its rich culture and history, and it continues to be a destination of great interest for our guests,” said Richard Marnell, executive vice president of marketing for Viking.
Egypt has always captivated curious travelers with its rich culture and history, and it continues to be a destination of great interest for our guests.
For Uniworld, there was a brief lull in sales to Egypt when agents and clients initially considered the situation, but confidence has resumed now that it’s better known how far away the turmoil is from the Nile River.
Avalon’s Taste of Egypt cruises were sold out for 2024 by October 2023, but since then, around 40% of sailings were canceled or postponed — many for the first half of 2024. But for the second half of this year, the line has kept approximately 90% of its reservations, indicating a shift in interest and resolve.
At first, AmaWaterways also saw an increase in cancellations, but they too have plateaued. In fact, Pinelo himself is hosting sailings in the region, and the line is actively inviting advisors to tag along and experience it for themselves.
Uniworld shared that it just had Jacqui Gifford, the editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure, and her family sail on its S.S. Sphinx in Egypt recently, and rave reviews and testimonials are pouring in from other cruisers, including onboard journalists.
Both Pinelo and Hoffee shared that these days, guests have fewer crowds to contend with.
“They are experiencing fewer crowds and spectacular interactions, all while feeling extremely safe,” Pinelo added. “Our head of direct reservations even brought her teenage children along and had an excellent time."
Current and Future Sales (and Growing Fleets)
Altogether, Uniworld is optimistic that travel to Egypt will come back as strong as it was before the conflict, and the line reminds the community how important it is for travel advisors to have a voice in that. It’s up to them to educate travelers on the current state of Egypt, which is open to tourists and operating as usual.
Travelers are seeing that Egypt is open and can still be enjoyed — with no disruption — helping them feel confident in resuming travel plans.
“Egypt is an incredible destination and experiencing it along the Nile on a guided, all-inclusive river cruise is very safe and convenient for travelers looking to experience everything that the destination has to offer with ease,” said Ellen Bettridge, president and CEO of Uniworld.
AmaWaterways’ assessment is that occupancy has remained steady, and that interest is now increasing. This April, the line launched AmaLilia, a new Nile riverboat. And Avalon is also recording new bookings, proving the resilience of the destination.
“In the coming months, we have no doubt demand will continue to increase,” Hoffee said. “Travelers are seeing that Egypt is open and can still be enjoyed — with no disruption — helping them feel confident in resuming travel plans."
Viking’s assurance is also on pace. The new Viking Sobek will launch this fall, and this summer, its Viking Hathor sister ship will come online.
“We continue to receive phenomenal ratings from guests who travel with us in Egypt, as well as overwhelmingly positive feedback about the itinerary from our travel advisor partners,” said Viking’s Marnell. “We will continue to monitor the situation in Israel and Gaza closely and remain hopeful that it will be resolved soon.”
