River Cruise Newsletter

Dear Reader,

In this newsletter, I'd like to tell you about cruising the Nile River in Egypt, and about some of the extraordinary sights one finds along the way. My family and I sailed the Nile with tour operator African Travel last summer, and I'll share some of our experiences below.

Nile River cruises are part of longer Egypt land tours, and they are offered year-round. I think October through April is probably the best time to visit, unless you -- like us -- are restricted by school schedules. On our July trip, we encountered daily high temperatures between 115 and 120 degrees.

Nile tours typically travel round trip out of Cairo, a sprawling metropolis of 17 million residents. Most trips spend at least a couple of nights here. Sightseeing excursions in Cairo visit the Egyptian Museum, where you can see hundreds of statues and artifacts from temples and tombs, including that of young King Tutankhamun. I remember staring into the face of the mummified Ramses II, one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs and arguably the greatest temple builder of all time. Despite being dead for more than 3,200 years, he still looks like the type that gets things done.

There also are side trips to Giza to see the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids. The largest is the Great Pyramid of Cheops, which rises 448 feet and has a base that covers an area of 13 acres.

Nile River cruise passengers often board their ship in Luxor, where archaeological marvels include the massive Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple, built more than 3,000 years ago. Across the river lies the Valley of the Kings, where Egyptian pharaohs were buried from the 16th to the 11th century B.C. (some wives and children were buried in the nearby Valley of the Queens). Nine tombs are open to the public at the Valley of the Kings, including the tomb of Tutankhamun, the only tomb that still contains the mummy of its pharaoh.

At Edfu, guests visit the well-preserved Temple of Horus, while farther south in Kom Ombo is an unusual double temple. One part is dedicated to a crocodile god, and the other was built to honor a falcon god.

One of the most memorable events of our cruise occurred as our ship waited to go through a lock at Edfu. Suddenly, our vessel was surrounded by rowboats filled with men selling galabeyas (traditional ankle-length robes), tablecloths, shawls and other linens. In a chaotic scene, these salesmen flung their parcels of goods three floors up, onto our deck, in the hope that passengers would purchase something.

At Aswan, travelers view the High Dam. Completed in 1970, it doubled Egypt's electricity supply, greatly increased the amount of water used for irrigation and ended downstream flooding. Aswan also is home to one of the country's most beautiful temples, Philae, which was dismantled and carefully reconstructed on an island to protect it from rising water behind the dam.

But often it's the simpler scenes from the river that make some of the most lasting impressions. The Nile is lined by a green ribbon of fertile land, and beyond that lies a dry, harsh desert. We saw men, women and children swimming, bathing, playing and working along its shores, while water buffaloes grazed in nearby irrigated fields. It was a reminder that the Nile continues to play a vital role in everyday life in Egypt, just as it did centuries ago.

You can learn more about Nile River cruises at www.NileRiverCruise.com. Here we've listed itineraries from all major tour operators, with departure dates and prices. Also at the site, you'll find details about the small, intimate river vessels used for Nile River cruising.

This week, I've created a Top 10 list of vacations offered by the world's most respected operators. All prices are per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability.

1) 8 Day Affordable Egypt with 3 Day Nile Cruise, 8 days with Gate 1 Travel. Begins and ends in Cairo with visits to Aswan, Kom Ombo and Luxor. Air-inclusive price starting from $1,549. Departures from October 2, 2008 through May 28, 2009.

2) Munich (Passau) to Munich (Passau) on MV Casanova, 8 days with Peter Deilmann Cruises. Begins and ends in Munich with stops in Durnstein, Bratislava and Melk. Land/cruise-only starting from $1,635. Departures from September 27, 2008 through October 25, 2008.

3) 12 Day Danube River Cruise 2009 (Regensburg to Budapest with Prague on MS Royal), 12 days with Gate 1 Travel. Begins in Prague and ends in Budapest with stops in Passau, Vienna and Bratislava. Land/cruise-only starting from $1,849. Departures from March 11, 2009 through October 14, 2009.

4) Enchanting Danube 2009 (Budapest to Passau), 9 days with Uniworld. Begins in Budapest and ends in Passau with stops in Bratislava, Vienna and Salzburg. Save $600 per couple when you book and pay in full. Land-only starting from $1,859. Departures from March 28, 2009 through November 7, 2009. Book now!

5) Romantic Rhine 2009 (Amsterdam to Basel), 9 days with Globus. Begins in Amsterdam and ends in Basel with stops in Cologne, Heidelberg and Strasbourg. Land/cruise-only starting from $1,989. Departures from April 25, 2009 through October 31, 2009.

6) The Legendary Danube 2009, 12 days with Globus. Begins in Prague and ends in Budapest with stops in Nuremberg, Regensburg and Vienna. Land/cruise-only starting from $2,399. Departures from April 22, 2009 through October 28, 2009.

7) A River Voyage of Discovery, 8 days with Cruise West. Begins and ends in Portland with visits to the Columbia River Gorge, Hells Canyon and Walla Walla. Exclusive Vacations To Go rates! Land/cruise-only starting from $2,689. Departures from September 19, 2008 through October 10, 2008. Book now!

8) Paris & European River Romance 2009 (Nuremberg to Paris), 11 days with Uniworld. Begins in Nuremberg and ends in Paris with stops in Miltenberg, Rudesheim and Trier. Save $600 per couple when you book and pay in full. Land/cruise-only starting from $2,799. Departures from May 12, 2009 through October 5, 2009. Book now!

9) Treasures of the Rhine 2009 (Basel to Antwerp), 15 days with Viking River Cruises. Begins in Basel and ends in Antwerp with stops in Breisach, Rudesheim and Amsterdam. Save $1,000 per couple when you book and pay in full. Land/cruise-only starting from $2,999. Departures from April 5, 2009 through November 8, 2009. Book now!

10) China's Cultural Delights 2009 (Beijing to Shanghai), 17 days with Viking River Cruises. Begins in Beijing and ends in Shanghai with visits to Tiananmen Square, the Three Gorges Dam and Mount Jiu Hua. Save $1,000 per couple when you book and pay in full. Land/cruise-only starting from $3,799. Departures from March 23, 2009 through October 9, 2009. Book now!

US River Cruises

Mississippi River Cruises (includes Ohio and Tennessee rivers)
Pacific NW River Cruises (includes Columbia River)

International River Cruises

European River Cruises
Amazon River Cruises
Nile River Cruises
Yangtze River Cruises
Russia River Cruises

Once you've found a river cruise that interests you, call us toll free at 800-510-4002 (US and Canada) and a river cruise specialist will attend to your needs. Customers from the UK, please call toll free 0800 279 8084. All other international customers, please e-mail or call us at 001-713-974-2121.

To search for a river cruise anywhere in the world, click here. To see our worldwide listing of escorted tours, independent tour packages, train tours and safaris, click here. For hotels and resorts in the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Europe, Canada and the continental US, click here. For savings of up to 75% on ocean-going cruises, click here.

Please e-mail me your comments, suggestions and questions at alanfox@rivercruise.com and I will respond the same day.

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Sincerely,

R. Alan Fox
Chairman & CEO