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Massara shipyard floats out Nile riverboat Viking Hathor

Cairo's Massara shipyard floated out Viking Hathor, set to debut in August on the Nile River.

Anne Kalosh, Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

March 21, 2024

2 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

The 82-passenger vessel will feature in Viking’s 12-day 'Pharaohs & Pyramids' itinerary.

Egypt, with its cultural treasures and antiquities, remains at the top of the list for many Viking travelers, Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen said.

Viking Hathor, an identical sister of 2023's Viking Aton and 2022's Viking Osiris, will now be moved to a nearby outfitting dock for final construction and interior build-out.

The vessels sport Scandinavian interior design, a distinctive square bow and an indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace.

Six Nile vessels in 2025

Viking will have six ships plying the Nile in 2025 with the addition of another sister, Viking Sobek, already under construction and scheduled for delivery next year. The company's Egypt fleet also includes Viking Ra and Antares.

'Pharaohs & Pyramids' Itinerary

The 12-day 'Pharoahs & Pyramids' program begins with a three-night stay at a first-class hotel in Cairo, where travelers can visit sites such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the necropolis of Sakkara, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali and the Grand Egyptian Museum. They then fly to Luxor to tour the Temples of Luxor and Karnak before embarking on an eight-day round-trip Nile cruise.

This features visits to the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. There are also excursions to the Temple of Khnum in Esna, the Dendera Temple complex in Qena, the temples at Abu Simbel and the High Dam in Aswan, and a visit to a Nubian village elementary school. The journey concludes with a flight back to Cairo for a final night in the city.

Extension in Britain

Viking also offers pre- and post- extensions. The five-day 'British Collections of Ancient Egypt' begins in London, where participants meet their Viking tour director, an expert Egyptologist, and experience 'Privileged Access' to the Egyptian Collection at the British Museum before it opens to the general public and the home and personal museum of world-renowned architect Sir John Soane, where the tour is illuminated by candlelight, re-enacting how Soane entertained guests and showcased his collection of Egyptian antiquities.

Travelers also visit London’s Petrie Museum, which houses more than 80,000 artifacts from ancient Egypt and Sudan. In Oxford, the tour includes the Ashmolean Museum, home to Egyptian mummies and art, and a behind-the-scenes visit to Oxford University’s Griffith Institute for a 'Privileged Access' visit to Howard Carter’s archives, which detail the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Another 'Privileged Access' visit is at Highclere Castle to view the Earl of Carnarvon’s collection of Egyptian artifacts and archives and exhibits not normally accessible to the public.

The earl is the godfather of Viking Osiris.

Istanbul and Jordan

Additional offerings include a three-night pre-extension in Istanbul and four-night post-extension to Jordan featuring Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Read more about:

VikingTorstein Hagen

About the Author

Anne Kalosh

Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

Anne Kalosh covers global stories, reporting both breaking and in-depth news on cruising's significant people, places, ships and trends. A sought-after expert on cruising, she has moderated conferences around the world, including the high-profile State of the Industry panel at Seatrade Cruise Global. She created and led the acclaimed itinerary-planning case study for Seatrade's cruise master classes held at Cambridge and Oxford universities. She has been the cruise columnist for AFAR.com, and her freelance stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, from The New York Times to The Miami Herald.

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