Egyptian-owned Mayfair Cruises offers unique Nile Journeys
Cairo-based Mayfair Cruises is eager to show foreign tourists what in a sense amounts to its back yard.
The entirely Egyptian-owned company – affiliated with other Egyptian tourism firms that have been in business for decades – now has three vessels sailing the Nile River and company commercial director Maggie Petrova saying it’s being Egyptian amounts to an ace up its sleeve when it comes to competing with foreign firms that also have Nile cruises.
“We compete easily with international brands,” she says. “At the end of the day we know the Nile better and operate with better efficiency and can offer better flexibility to clients.”
Mayfair Cruises only offers Nile sailings, unlike some of its competitors, which sail on waterways in different parts of the world. Three-, four- and seven-night cruises are available, with an Egyptologist on hand to explain to visitors what they are seeing. Transportation is provided between the vessels and visited sites.
The company carries people between Luxor – the onetime capital of Pharaonic Egypt and home to a huge number of reminders of that storied era – and much more southerly Aswan.
Petrova notes Egypt has plenty of other famed archeological sites.
“Luxor is well known for the Valleys of Kings & Queens and Karnak Temple,” she points out. “Giza is famous for the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. However, regular tourists do not realize that that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Dendera, Edfu, Esna, and Kom Ombo are historic gems nested just along the Nile banks. That’s why they are all included in the sailing itinerary of any serious river cruising company on the Nile. E.g., in Kom Ombo — which is the smallest temple of the listed — people may not only see the temple and learn about ancient medicine and the basics of the modern lunar calendar we use today, but also see real mummified crocodiles.”
The vessels serve international cuisine but also offer Egyptian specialities. Vegetarian and vegan dishes are available.
Among Mayfair Cruises is the Mayflower, which has wifi, luxury cabins, a lounge and a swimming pool.
Seven-night Mayflower sailings include a hot-air balloon ride and a brief trip in a felucca, a type of smallish boat traditionally used by Egyptians to travel the Nile.
The Middle East’s tourist trade has suffered in past couple of years as fighting continues between Israel and Gaza but Petrova adds Egyptian tourism “has been picking up quite well” in the past 11 months and the grand opening of the Cairo-area Grand Egyptian Museum – a spectacular showcase for ancient Egypt – in early November is expected to further attract visitors.
Nile cruises aren’t able to reach Abu Simbel – home to massive statues of Pharaoh Ramses II – but Petrova notes that those visiting Aswan can continue to more southerly Abu Simbel by bus or a brief plane trip.
Petrova adds that Egyptian tourism has many other intriguing aspects, including the Valley of the Whales, part of the Sahara that was an ocean bottom “40 million years ago and today still has on display over 20 skeletons of whales with legs/ feet.”
Petrova says the October-March period sees perfect weather for Egypt visits, with mild temperatures and historical sites telling of the Pharaonic, Roman, Greek, early Christianity and Islamic influences that shaped modern Egypt.
She adds that the May-September period is great for vacations along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, with visitors encountering wide, endless, white-sand beaches.
Those same months are good for Egyptian Red Sea vacations, with Petrova stating that that part of the world provides the world’s best diving, but cautioning that June, July and August can be very hot.
Mayfair Cruises commissions start at 15%.
More information can be found at mayfaircruises.com.
