My parents are so anti-cruise that when we visited Alaska for my 21st birthday, we took a series of planes, trains, automobiles, and ferries to experience what a cruise would have made possible with a lot less planning and logistics on our part.
Now that I’m older, I decided to finally give cruising a real try.
With my husband and I both turning 40 this year, I wanted us to take an epic trip to celebrate, and I set my sights on a four-day, three-night Nile River cruise.
Having enjoyed short excursions on rivers around the globe, from the Douro River in Portugal to the Amazon River in Brazil, I suspected that I’d like the experience. It did not disappoint.
Since coming back from the trip we took in mid-February, I can’t stop talking about river cruises to friends, family, and strangers.
I didn’t experience many common issues ocean cruisers complain about
We sailed on the Lilac Nile Cruises H-S Moondance, a ship with 58 double cabins and eight suites and a capacity for up to about 132 passengers.
That’s a mere fraction of the guests you’ll find on major ocean cruises with lines like Royal Caribbean and Carnival, where massive ships accommodate anywhere from 1,900 to more than 5,000 travelers.
With a few dozen passengers, only four floors, and a few amenities — a roof-deck with a pool, a lounge area, a gym, a gift shop, a spa, and one buffet-style dining room — this ship didn’t feel like anything like the stereotypical “giant floating resort.”
This smaller size also made it easy to walk around the ship, and we didn’t have to deal with some of the common issues I hear about from cruisers, like crowded buffets and fights to reserve deck chairs.
We rarely had to wait in lines for the buffet, and when we went to the roof-deck, we easily found loungers and often had the pool to ourselves.
When we weren’t out and about, we were in our spacious cabin.
Our triple room included a king bed for my husband and me, a single bed for our oldest daughter, and space for a pack-and-play for our 1-year-old.
It even had a table and chair, a mini fridge, two closets that fit our three suitcases with room to spare, and a compact shower-bathtub combo in the bathroom.
Traditional river cruises don’t have interior cabins, so every room has a view, including ours. Our accommodations also felt surprisingly spacious, in part because there were so few cabins on the ship.
Being on a river was quite calming and good for my peace of mind
We experienced several benefits of sailing on a river, which is much calmer than the ocean. None of us — not even my 8-year-old and husband, who are prone to motion sickness and have gotten ill on much shorter boat rides — ever felt nauseous.
When we came home, my daughter even said she missed the feeling of falling asleep on the water.
I also felt better being on a river, especially with small kids. For one, since my youngest doesn’t know how to swim, the thought of being in the open sea made me especially anxious.
I also don’t like the feeling of being stuck, surrounded on all sides by water, in the middle of the sea. On the river cruise, being able to see land at all times gave me peace of mind.
Not only did I never feel trapped, but I also felt confident that if an emergency happened with either of our kids, we could get help fairly quickly and easily.
Our itinerary kept us busy but gave us lots of time for relaxation
Another nice thing about river cruises is that some excursions are generally included in the cost, which isn’t common on ocean sailings.
Given that we were traveling with small children, we only opted for one excursion per day, which was included in the price of our trip. If we wanted, we could have gone on two outings per day for an added fee.
As it was, we saw plenty of incredible historic sites and got to try a mix of international and local cuisine throughout our time on land and on the ship.
We sampled Egyptian desserts every day, I ate several different local salads at each lunch and dinner, and I even got my falafel fix one night.
Planned activities aside, finding myself poolside on a roof-deck with good weather and idyllic views is my idea of paradise — and the river cruise I went on allowed me to pass plenty of blissful hours soaking in the Egyptian countryside from the comfort of a lounge chair.
As a family, we enjoyed plenty of swimming, playing, and taking in the scenery together up on the roof-deck.
When our toddler was napping or sleeping, my husband and I were able to take turns enjoying the pool or evening entertainment with our older daughter without having to do anything more than walk up a flight or two of stairs. While one of us was out, the other stayed in the nearby room and got to catch up on shows or sleep.
Win, win — and another perk of a small ship.
After this, I’d definitely take another river cruise
Honestly, our river cruise was just so beautiful and relaxing.
I’ve traveled to 30 countries with my oldest daughter and nine with my youngest, and I can say from plenty of experience that no trip with small kids is ever easy or restful, so being able to fit in moments of relaxation into this vacation was priceless.
As I look ahead to future travels, I would love to incorporate cruising into my family’s adventures, particularly as a way to get one-of-a-kind views of places we’ve never been before.
Although I’m still not sold on ocean cruises, I’d happily do a river sailing again — even if just to experience a new place by water while avoiding crowds and seasickness.
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