Food and Drink on a Nile Cruise: Meals, Drinks Prices, Alcohol and Dietary Needs

What food is served on a Nile cruise?

Most Nile ships serve hotel-style buffets that mix Egyptian dishes with international food such as pasta, roast meats, grilled fish and salads, with a dessert table at lunch and dinner and afternoon tea on the sun deck. On luxury ships and dahabiyas, buffets give way to set menus or à la carte dinners cooked in smaller quantities.

The food is designed for an international crowd, so you will never go hungry if you are cautious, but the Egyptian dishes are usually the best things on the table. Most cruises also run one Egyptian night, often coinciding with the galabeya party, when the buffet becomes a showcase of local cooking, and some include a barbecue on deck.

Ship kitchens buy fresh produce in Luxor and Aswan, so expect excellent tomatoes, cucumbers, citrus, guavas, mangoes in late summer and dates in autumn. Bread is baked on board on most ships, alongside the round Egyptian flatbread, aish baladi.

What does a typical day of meals look like?

Breakfast is early and substantial because of dawn excursions, lunch is the main buffet while the ship sails, afternoon tea fills the gap, and dinner is usually around 7.30 to 8pm. Exact times depend on the day's sightseeing and are posted at reception each evening.

• Breakfast (about 5.30 to 9am): an egg station cooking omelettes to order, pastries, cheeses, yoghurt, fruit, cereals and the Egyptian breakfast trio of ful medames, ta'ameya (fava bean falafel) and pickles. On early excursion days the restaurant opens before departure, and some ships offer a light early-riser breakfast in the lounge.
• Lunch (about 1pm): salads, mezze, a soup, pasta, two or three hot mains and desserts, usually eaten while sailing with the riverbank sliding past the windows.
• Afternoon tea (about 4 to 5pm): tea, coffee, cakes, biscuits and sometimes Egyptian sweets or small savoury pastries on the sun deck.
• Dinner (about 7.30pm): a buffet or a served menu with a starter, main and dessert; theme nights vary the format.

For how meals fit around temple visits and sailing, see a day on a Nile cruise.

Which Egyptian dishes should you try on board?

Look out for molokhia, mahshi, kofta, slow-cooked okra or vegetable tagines, rice with vermicelli, tahini and baba ghanoush, and sweets such as basbousa, konafa and om ali. These appear most often at lunch and on the Egyptian night.

• Molokhia: a silky green soup of finely chopped jute leaves with garlic and coriander, served with rice or bread.
• Mahshi: vegetables such as peppers, zucchini, eggplant and vine leaves stuffed with herbed rice.
• Kofta and grilled chicken: spiced minced-meat fingers and marinated chicken, often from a grill station.
• Koshari: lentils, rice, pasta and chickpeas with tomato sauce and crispy onions, sometimes served as a lunch special.
• Desserts: basbousa (semolina cake soaked in syrup), konafa (shredded pastry with cream or nuts) and om ali, a warm bread pudding with milk, nuts and raisins. Our Egyptian desserts guide has more.

If you enjoy what you eat, ask the chef or your guide where to find the dish ashore. Our Egyptian food guide covers what to order in restaurants in Luxor and Aswan.

Which drinks are included, and what do extras cost?

On most standard and deluxe ships, meals come with tea, coffee and water, while soft drinks, juices, beer, wine and spirits are charged to your cabin; luxury ships are more likely to include soft drinks, local beer and house wine. Inclusions vary even between ships of the same company, so read the fine print of your fare.

Some ships sell a drinks package covering soft drinks and local alcohol for the cruise; it pays off if you would have a couple of drinks a day. Prices on board are higher than in town but generally lower than at international hotels in Cairo, and ships commonly price extras in Egyptian pounds, US dollars or euros. Drinks you might try:

• Karkade: deep-red hibiscus tea, served hot in winter or iced, often as a welcome drink when you board.
• Fresh juices: mango, guava, orange and lemon with mint, depending on the season.
• Mint tea and Turkish-style coffee: usually available in the lounge.
• Local beer and wine: Egyptian lagers such as Stella and Sakara, and Egyptian wines including the long-established Omar Khayyam label. Imported wine and spirits are available on most ships at a significant premium.

More on local drinks is in our Egyptian drinks guide.

Can you drink alcohol or bring your own on a Nile cruise?

Yes, alcohol is served on Nile cruise ships, but many ships do not allow you to bring your own drinks into public areas and some charge a corkage fee in the restaurant, so check the policy before you pack a bottle.

Egypt is a Muslim-majority country where alcohol is legal and served in licensed venues, and cruise ships are licensed. Some travellers buy wine or spirits at Egyptian duty-free on arrival to enjoy in their cabin; allowances and rules change, so check them at the time of travel and read our alcohol in Egypt guide. During Ramadan, ships usually continue to serve foreign guests, though the mood ashore is more restrained, and our Ramadan guide explains what changes.

Drink in moderation on deck in the sun, and be careful on gangways and walkways between moored ships after dark.

How do Nile cruises handle vegetarian, vegan and other diets?

Vegetarians eat very well on the Nile because so much Egyptian food is naturally meat-free; vegans, coeliacs and people with allergies should tell the ship in writing when booking and remind the restaurant manager on the first day.

• Vegetarian: ful, ta'ameya, koshari, mahshi, lentil soup, salads, mezze and vegetable stews are standard. Ask whether soups and rice are made with meat stock.
• Vegan: many Egyptian dishes are vegan by origin, as Coptic Christians fast from animal products for long periods. Bakery items and desserts often contain butter or ghee, so ask. Our vegetarian and vegan guide has useful phrases.
• Gluten-free: manageable with notice; bread is everywhere, but rice, grilled meats, fish and salads are naturally gluten-free. Cross-contamination awareness varies.
• Halal: meat served in Egypt is normally halal, and pork, when offered on international buffets, is usually labelled.
• Allergies: nuts, sesame (tahini) and dairy are common in Egyptian cooking. Carry a card in Arabic describing your allergy and your own medication.

Is the food on Nile cruises safe to eat?

On reputable ships the food is generally safe, because kitchens use treated or bottled water and cook in volume to hotel standards, but stomach upsets do happen, usually from a mix of heat, new food and touring.

Sensible habits help: drink bottled water (most ships place bottles in your cabin and at the gangway), favour hot dishes that are freshly cooked, go easy on buffet food that has been sitting out in the sun on deck, and wash or sanitise your hands before every meal, especially after handling money and temple railings. Ice on ships is usually made from treated water. Bring rehydration salts in case. Our avoiding stomach upsets and drinking water in Egypt guides cover prevention and treatment.

How is dining different on luxury ships and dahabiyas?

On luxury ships and dahabiyas, meals are usually cooked to order for far fewer guests, served at tables rather than from a buffet, and more flexible around your sightseeing.

On a dahabiya with eight to 24 guests, the chef often shops at village markets along the way, lunch is served on the open deck, and dinner may be set up on a sandbank under lanterns. You can usually ask for a favourite dish to be repeated. Luxury ships tend to offer à la carte dinners, a tasting menu on one night, better wine lists and in-cabin dining. See what to expect on a dahabiya and our guide to luxury Nile cruises.