Expert review of the Viking Sobek

We are sailing the Nile aboard Viking Sobek, the line’s newest ship on this great waterway and named after an Egyptian crocodile god. Her sister ship, Viking Hathor, bears the epithet of the goddess of fertility.

Both were christened at a remarkable ceremony at the Karnak Temple site. And Viking couldn’t resist getting into the history of the location and occasion, inviting The Honorable Edward Herbert to be the godfather of the Hathor. His great-great-grandfather, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, was the benefactor for the world’s most famous Egyptologist, Howard Carter, whose excavation uncovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun 102 years ago, on November 4, 1922. It is rumoured he died of the Tutankhamun curse.

His work sparked enormous global interest and a whole industry trying to uncover the secrets of Egypt’s great rulers, whose obsession with death led to the creation of the massive monuments that are among the planet’s biggest tourism drawcards.

Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking, is betting big on Egypt. The line runs the world’s biggest river fleet at 70 vessels, and it has another 17 ships on order by 2027.

Viking’s expansion in Egypt

On the Nile, Viking sails six ships, and another four are under construction, giving it the biggest fleet on the world’s longest river.

It’s a bet that seems to be paying off. He recently revealed Egypt 2025 was pretty much sold out on all ships, an astonishing position considering there were so few tourists in 2023.

This river is one of the most awe-inspiring destinations on Earth, but its proximity to recent Middle Eastern unrest has hit tourism – and the Egyptian economy – hard.

But now pragmatic travellers are returning. Canberra’s Department of Foreign Affairs recently updated Smartraveller’s advice on Egypt to “exercise a high degree of caution in Egypt”. That’s a significant step down from earlier warnings to “reconsider travel plans”.

Hagen is one of cruising’s most canny operators. Egypt suits his view of what a Viking guest wants to a tee. He describes his company as “the thinking person’s cruise line”. You’d be hard-pressed to find a destination that is more thought-provoking than Egypt.

“With its abundance of cultural treasures and ancient antiquities, Egypt has always been a destination of great interest to curious travellers, including our guests,” waxes Hagen. “We believe our ships are by far the most elegant vessels sailing the Nile River, and we look forward to introducing even more explorers to this fantastic destination in the years to come.”

He certainly has a point about the ships.

What’s on the Viking Sobek?

We are among the first travellers on board Viking Sobek. She has just 82 guests and a crew of 48. It is, in true Viking style, light, bright and Scandi chic, and packs a lot into her almost 72 metres, including 41 outside staterooms, a library (yes, they have Death on the Nile), a small infinity pool and sun deck, the Aquavit Terrace and lounge, a revolutionary indoor/outdoor viewing area for al fresco dining, and a bar with floor-to-ceiling glass doors.

We are staying in one of the veranda staterooms, which runs to 22 sq m and includes a private balcony. Of course, this comes with Viking’s much-loved value package of included shore excursions, wine and beer with meals, free WiFi, no kids, and no casinos.

It’s a winning formula. Add Egypt’s incredible allure and it is proving a compelling case for intrepid travellers everywhere.

Viking sent 20,000 passengers to Egypt this year – and bookings are stepping up. The problem is capacity – there just isn’t enough to meet demand.

Viking Sobek and Hathor are twins, as are Viking Osiris and Viking Aton. Additional ships in the Egyptian fleet include Viking Ra and MS Antares, a smaller more traditional Nile vessel.

They’ve been tailored to the market: modern, state-of-the-art vessels in an ancient land.

Our suite is on level 2—brilliantly located near the free coffee machines and concierge desk and one floor up to the restaurant and bar. The ship has four floors: an upper sun deck, dining, reception, admin, and passengers. The plunge pool may be small, but the back of the ship on a sunny day is a wonderful place to sit in the cooling water and take in the sights of this great land.

Sobek has no gym or spa and, while the food at lunch and dinner is excellent and there are always local dishes, the action is on shore.

The Viking Sobek Shore Excursions

Egyptologists Hannan El Deib and Sherine Barakat guide us through bustling markets, colossal temples and tombs, and massive museums while regaling us with stories of great Egyptian leaders that are better than any Netflix series could ever dream up.

We all know the story of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt from 51-30 BCE and the original femme fatale, but did we know just how skilled a diplomatic negotiator she was as she battled to stop the rival Roman empire from stealing Egypt’s natural resources? Or what about the queen who pretended she was a man because ancient Egyptians weren’t ready for a female leader?

Their stories are a constant collision between what we know from history and entertainment, and what we know from the ever-evolving world of science and fact. And luckily, Egyptian hieroglyphics give us a lot of clues. We now know just how advanced Egypt was in terms of medicine, construction and logistics. It’s both humbling an awe-inspiring.

Long before the discovery of penicillin, ancient Egyptian physicians utilised mouldy bread to treat infected wounds. This practice inadvertently harnessed the antibiotic properties of the mould. Even their iconic black kohl eyeliner served a medicinal purpose, helping prevent eye infections in the dusty, arid climate.

At 6650 kilometres, the Nile is the artery that keeps the heart of Egypt beating. And it takes river vessels past some of the planet’s greatest marvels. We are sailing a truncated version of Viking’s 12-day Pharaohs and Pyramids itinerary. It sets a cracking pace.

Like most Viking guests, we fly into Cairo and stay at the Nile Ritz-Carlton, a grand dame on the banks of the river with stunning views of the water and the city skyline.

It’s wonderfully located just a few steps from the pink-clad Egyptian Museum, home of Tutankhamun’s gold funeral mask – a rock star of the Egyptology industry. We see the mask on a private evening tour.

But this once great institution is now a poor cousin of the new Grand Egyptian Museum – known as the GEM. It’s a fabulous new addition to the world stage of museum greats, and when completed will be the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilisation.

The collection, consisting of tens of thousands of rare and unique archaeological finds, has a new home in a museum site built on the plateau of the pyramids of Giza, just two kilometres away. Eventually, King Tut’s golden mask will be there too.

A window at the back of the museum allows visitors to see the Pyramids of Giza. But that is nothing to the pinch-me feel of a visit to the real thing, where visitors constantly marvel at the feat of building these giant tombs.

Next stop is Luxor – a true Egyptian gem of a city, with its grand hotels, graceful felucca sailing boats, and hot-air-balloon rides over the burial grounds of the Valley of the Kings.

Viking has been winning plaudits for its Nile itineraries. Viking Osiris was named one of the “Best New Cruises” in Condé Nast Traveler’s “Hot List 2023” and the “Best Luxury River Cruise of 2024” in Forbes’ “Best Luxury Cruises” list.

---

The Big 5 Attractions You Must See

Grand Egyptain Museum

Modern take on creating a monument, this huge museum already holds thousands of exhibits but eventually the centrepiece will be the cache of items discovered in the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

The Pyramids and Sphinx

Just outside Cairo, climb in, walk around, and marvel at how an ancient civilisation managed to solve the problems of building some of the most complex constructions ever.

Valley of the Kings

Egyptian rulers were obsessed with their legacy after death, and went to extraordinary lengths to hide their final resting places, digging deep into the mountainside and even killing or maiming construction workers in a bid to stop them stealing their wealth. A balloon ride over this site is spectacular.

Luxor

The temples of Luxor and Karnak are huge and among the largest religious buildings. Karnak covers about 1.5 kilometres and was a place of pilgrimage for nearly 2000 years. The area of the sacred enclosure of Amun alone could hold 10 average European cathedrals.

Abu Simbel

Built by Ramesses II in ancient Nubia, four 20-metre statues sit in pairs flanking the entrance. But perhaps even more of a miracle is that the complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968 to avoid it being submerged by the Aswan Dam reservoir.