The centerpiece of most Egyptian itineraries is a three- or four-night cruise between Luxor and Aswan aboard a luxury riverboat. A Nile cruise has ranked among the world’s great travel experiences ever since Thomas Cook pioneered them in the late 19th century. A travelogue published in 1911 declared that “the Nile is the most picturesque river in the world, because the whole of Egypt is, as it were, on its banks.” This is still substantially true today, as becomes obvious with a glance at a satellite image of the country. The Nile nourishes a thin ribbon of green bounded by the golden sands of the Sahara. And yet many stretches of the river remain remarkably unspoiled. A cruise takes its passengers past mud-walled farms shaded by date palms, old villages punctuated by minarets and galabeya-clad fishermen in wooden rowboats. These scenes have changed little in the century since that travelogue was written, or indeed within the past two millennia.

I last cruised the Nile aboard the 27-cabin Oberoi Zahra, an experience that I enjoyed immensely. However, I wanted to compare the Zahra to the 40-cabin Sanctuary Sun Boat IV, which was renovated just before the pandemic in 2018.

Upon embarkation, my first impression was that the Sun Boat IV’s décor had more of a sense of place, with its colorful fabrics, patterned carpets and teardrop-shaped pendant lights. Whereas the Zahra had looked contemporary, the Sun Boat seemed thoroughly Egyptian. At 195 square feet, the Standard Cabins are tight but reasonably comfortable, with large picture windows, a couple of chairs and a shower-only bath. (Try to avoid accommodations on the lowest deck, which have smaller windows.) Since so much time on a Nile cruise is spent on excursions or enjoying the public spaces of the ship, a compact cabin won’t ruin a trip. Nevertheless, I recommend booking a 410-square-foot Presidential Suite or a 590-square-foot Royal Suite, which has the addition of a private terrace. (Cabins on the Zahra range between 285 and 700 square feet.)