Wings Nile Cruises - M/S Jasmin

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I took this cruise (booked with Friendly Planet) in February 2007, and I thought I would share my experience. The ship is a lot smaller than most Caribbean ships, but it was nice. You get to know a lot of people on board this way - there were tour groups from China, Japan, & Australia, as well as ours from the US.

 

Entertainment: every night there was some type of party in the lounge. The first night was a welcome party with free drinks (non-alcoholic). One night was a Nubian party were the men wore galabeyas and performed a traditional Nubian dance. This was a themed night where most people dressed up, so I would suggest bringing something or buying something on the ship. Another night we saw a belly dancer and a whirling dervish.

 

Dress: it is more casual than any other cruise. We mostly wore jeans to dinner. During the day, I dressed modestly. I wouldn't suggest wearing tank tops, but there were people who did.

 

Food & Drink: every meal was a buffet, but I thought there was a good variety. We did use bottled water for everything - even brushing our teeth. I did get sick at the end of the trip, but I was one of the only people who did. You can buy alcohol. In fact, I bought a bottle of wine, but I had to keep it with me and bring it to dinner, which I thought was different.

 

Rooms: our room was tiny, but most of them are. We were on the lowest level and still had a window, which was nice to see the everyday life along the Nile as we floated by it. We didn't have any problems with our bathroom or using the outlet.

 

Excursions: all of our excursions were included with the tour. We would usually get up early and do a tour, spend the afternoon sailing, and do another tour in the early evening. We saw: the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, Colossi of Memnon, Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, Edfu Temple, Kom Ombo, the unfinished obelisk, Aswan Dam/Lake Nassar, Philae Temple, and Kitchener's Island. There is also an optional tour of Abu Simbel, which I recommend highly.