Uniworld Boutique River Cruises hosted 140 travel agents from Australia and New Zealand on a full double-ship charter across Egypt, its largest famil program run exclusively for trade.
Double-ship charter covers Cairo and Nile cruising
The hybrid itinerary combined three nights in Cairo with seven nights cruising the Nile from Luxor to Aswan and return, using both the S.S. Sphinx and River Tosca, each carrying 82 guests and 60 crew. Uniworld ANZ managing director Alice Ager said demand led the company to charter both vessels rather than one.
“We were thrilled to charter just one of the ships, but when that filled within a week, we thought, why not? Let’s charter both,” Ager said.
The famil followed Uniworld and Luxury Gold’s Splendours of Egypt and the Nile itinerary, covering Saqqara, the Grand Pyramids and Sphinx in Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum, and temple and tomb sites between Luxor and Aswan including Dendera, the Valley of the Kings and King Tutankhamun’s tomb. Groups travel in maximum sizes of 27 guests with a private Egyptologist.
Egypt sales up over 100 per cent for 2028
Ager said Egypt sales for 2028 were up more than 100 per cent year-on-year across both Luxury Gold and Uniworld, prompting the decision to run the double-ship charter ahead of the season’s official start in mid-September.
“Egypt is trending and I know double-ship charters like this will create even greater support for Egypt as a destination… I can see Egypt becoming our biggest program outside of Europe,” Ager said.
During the famil, EgyptAir announced its intention to connect Cairo and Sydney with flights starting next year, a development Ager said would further improve the destination’s accessibility for Australian travellers.
The 12-day Splendours of Egypt and the Nile itinerary, sailing Cairo to Cairo aboard the S.S. Sphinx or River Tosca, is priced from $11,899 per person twin share, including a $2,000 per person air credit available until 31 October. Agent rates are available on select S.S. Sphinx sailings departing 31 October and 7 November.
