The Newest River Ship To Sail The Nile

Sailing the Nile River is a bucket list adventure with many appeals. Among them is tracing the legendary river’s rich history to witness the pyramids, temples, and other marvels of ancient civilizations.

And Agatha Christie’s iconic novel Death on the Nile adapted many times for theatre, television, and film (most recently in 2022) has imbued the journey with the allure of mystery and romance.

A new launch from Viking

This week, Viking announced the naming of its newest vessel, specifically built to navigate the Nile, Viking Alon, the identical sister ship of Viking Ostris (launched in September 2022).

Both river ships sail the cruise line’s popular Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary.

Each of these intimate, state-of-the-art river vessels holds 82 guests in 41 staterooms. The public spaces and four categories of staterooms share the same elegant Scandinavian decor and design found across the line’s growing fleet of ocean and river ships.

The Nile itinerary

Prior to setting sail, guests on Viking Alon spend three nights at a first-class hotel in Cairo. From that base, they get to tour the Great Pyramids of Giza, the necropolis of Saqqara (home to the oldest pyramid in Egypt), and the Ottoman-style Mosque of Muhammad Ali.

The group then flies to Luxor to visit the Temples of Luxor and Karnak before boarding the river ship for their 8-day roundtrip cruise on the Nile.

While sailing on Viking Alon, guests will visit the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings.

Other guided excursions during the voyage include visits to the High Dam in Aswan, which controls the flow of the Nile, and to a Nubian village to visit a traditional elementary school.

Guests then fly back to Cario for their final night in the city, ending their 12-day journey.

Meeting the demand for Nile River cruises

“With the extraordinarily strong interest in Egypt among our guests, we are proud to bring another state-of-the-art vessel to this region, and we look forward to introducing even more curious travelers to the country’s rich cultural treasures,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking, at a naming ceremony in Aswan, Egypt.

Viking’s architect and designer for the last decade, Richard Riveire, principal of Rottet Studio, was named godfather of Viking Alon.

Viking plans to have six ships sailing the Nile by 2025. Viking Ra and MS Antares currently sail the Nile and Viking Harthor and Viking Sobek are under construction with anticipated delivery dates in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

For pricing and details about the sailings, visit the Viking website.