Ultimate Guide with Photos – Food & Beverage On Nile Cruise
Have questions about food & beverage on Nile Cruise, but cannot find an answer online? Here is what you are looking for and what I had been looking for before my Egypt adventure.
If you are taking a short vacation to Egypt, Nile Cruise is likely to be one of your to-go items. Not only cruising the Nile River itself is great experience, but it is also the most efficient way to cover the landmarks from Aswan to Luxor.
If you are interested in the Nile Cruise itinerary, feel free to check out our Egypt 7-day itinerary. For this article, I would like to focus on addressing some worries about Nile Cruise which are hard to find an answer to online. That is the food & beverage on Nile Cruise by answering some common questions.
Food & Beverage On Nile Cruise Question 1 – How many meals are included?
In a typical full day on the Nile Cruise, you can expect 4 meals. That would include three buffets at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus a tea time at around 4 pm. Of course, the meal sessions would vary depending on the respective day itinerary.
For example, for the first day usually, it will usually begin with buffet a lunch after your check-in. For the days that you need to depart early (i.e. going to Abu Simbel Temple), a packed breakfast will be provided instead of a buffet.
Additionally, tea time would be available only during the days without afternoon activities. For instance, you usually would have tea time on the 2nd or 3rd day when the cruising sailing to Edfo or Luxor.
On the last day which you would go for a hot air balloon and the Valley of Kings, you will have only a packed breakfast. Lunch is also not included on the last day, you could choose to go for the optional lunch (which is very ordinary) or wait until the cruise ends at around 4 pm.
The total number of meals would depend on how many days you stay on the cruise. For example, we had 11 meals (6 buffets) during the 4 days 3 night Nile cruise tour.
You may find the breakdown below and I can assure you the quantity is more than enough.
| Day on Nile Cruise | Meals for on Nile Cruise *meal time could vary each day depending on the itinerary |
| Day 1 | Breakfast: Nil Lunch: Buffet Tea-time: Nil Dinner: Buffet |
| Day 2 | Breakfast: Packed meal Lunch: Buffet Tea-time: Cookie, cake, coffee & tea Dinner: Buffet |
| Day 3 | Breakfast: Packed meal Lunch: Buffet Tea-time: Cookie, cake, coffee & tea Dinner: Buffet |
| Day 4 | Breakfast: Packed meal Lunch: Nil, optional lunch at a local restaurant at an extra fee Tea-time: Nil Dinner: Nil |
Food & Beverage On Nile Cruise Question 2 – How about the food quality?
So if I do not need to worry about the food quantity on the Nile Cruise, how about the food quality? Unfortunately, there is no food menu online or offline for Nile Cruise. However, no worries I will tell you more about this with lots of photos. This is also something I have been looking for but in vain before going there.
Let’s talk about the buffet provided. Despite the cruise is not a 5-star entertainment cruise, the buffet itself is very exceptional. First, for each buffet, you will find a great salad bar with Western and local salads and a session for fruits. This is a great plus for health-conscious travelers (you don’t need to worry about your salad intake. For the main dishes, you will find at least two protein options with carbs like pasta rice, and soup. Additionally, there will be a chef cooking a designated fresh cuisine for you. Sometimes, it is an omelet (during breakfast), pasta (during lunch), or burger (during dinner. Finally, you will also find a corner for a dessert session.
The food is different in each buffet offering great variety which is a great surprise. I still remember there was a night with an Egyptian theme which freshly cooked Koshari (a famous Egyptian cuisine) was served.
For the tea time, you will be served with basic cakes and cookies along with tea & coffee. While the packed breakfast is not as hearty (or nutritious) as the buffets, it still has some bread and cheeses to fill your stomach.
Overall, the food quality in Nile Cruise exceeds my expectations. This piece of information is very important as you usually cannot locate them on other blogs or comment sessions of Viator.
Food & Beverage On Nile Cruise Question 3 – Should I bring water on it?
As you would already know from other websites, there is no free water provided on the Nile Cruise. You could have soup during the buffet, a pack of juice for packed breakfast and tea & coffee at breakfast buffet and tea time. However, there is no complimentary water during the Nile Cruise tour.
I know you may worry whether you should bring all the water on your own. Given, that you would be basically “trapped” on the cruise and we all know that sometimes the local culture could be aggressive.
Although you can bring as much water as you want, I recommend you not to take excessive amounts. Why? Because it is heavy.
On top of that, the beverage cost on the cruise is not expensive. Although you are to spend your coming days on the cruise mostly, they do not excessively over-price the beverage. A 1-litre mineral water would only cost around 48 EGP (~ 1 USD) at the bar. Other than that, you would find other drinks like coffee, tea, juice, or soft drinks at a reasonable price of around 1 USD.
Alternatively, you will also find a lot of local vendors selling drinks near the cruise or landmarks. So for convenience’s sake, you do not need to carry a lot of water.
Food & Beverage On Nile Cruise Question 4 – Are alcoholic drinks allowed?
There is no security scanning for entering the cruise. So, you are free to bring in any water or alcohol. Yet, if you wish to consume them at the bar area you may be charged with open fees.
However, similar to what I just told you, the beverage cost is not expensive on the cruise. A serving of alcoholic drinks is around 6 USD on average. Plus there would be happy hour with 30% around 5 pm every day. So feel free to make your discretions.
Other than the drinks, there will be a performance arranged on some of the days at the bar where you can dance with the locals.
So not only alcoholic drinks are allowed you can definitely have a good time during your cruise without breaking the bank.
Food & Beverage On Nile Cruise Question 5 – Is Nile Cruise worth it?
We talked a lot about the convenience of using of Nile Cruise tour for exploration of Aswan to Luxor, especially for a short vacation in our itinerary blog post. So far I have shown you the better-than-expected food & beverage on Nile Cruise.
So in short, Nile Cruise is surely worth it. I had a good time there, finding the itinerary great, the right balance of outdoor activities & rest, lovely food & beverage, and felt very safe. The room was decently nice, no one asked for tips (you can find a sense of peace finally on your Egypt trip) and all our luggage was secured.
It’s not a 5-star entertainment cruise with a gym and casinos. However, it has a good dining hall, souvenir shops, a sun deck, bar areas, and swimming pools for a great chill out.
I had a wonderful experience with Nile Cruise during my visit to Egypt. I hope you will find the same as well. Please leave me a comment for any inquiry and share your journey.
