We booked this Nile River cruise way back in July of 2023, more than two years ago, so there’s been lots of travel – and lots of anticipation – since then.

We originally booked it with economy airfare, but by the time we’d disembarked from our (included) Business Class flights to join the Viking Sky for our 24/25 world cruise, we realized that we really didn’t want to spend 17 hours in the air in anything but comfort, and upgraded our flights. We know how fortunate we are to be able to afford that, and I often wonder what my parents, who arrived in Canada in steerage class on refitted freighters and (in my mom’s case, at least) never even set foot on a plane, would think about the lifestyle we’ve been able to achieve. Their support over the years helped us get to where we are.

So, off we went, up early for the 9:20 a.m. first leg of our flight. Happily, not too early, since this first leg was domestic – just under 5 hours from Vancouver to Montreal. Having checked in online the day before, we only had to be at the airport by about 7:45 a.m. This is when living a 10 minute walk from the SkyTrain and just 4 stops from the airport is such a big advantage. We only needed to be out the door by 07:15.

We chose not to get up extra early to take advantage of the Maple Leaf Lounge at the airport (it turns out it was full anyway, with a lineup waiting to get in) but Star Alliance also has a new Maple Leaf Café, located not far from our departure gate, so we grabbed our morning coffees there.

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A note about “full” airport lounges. There was a time that a business class ticket virtually guaranteed lounge access, but since lounge access has become a perk on high end credit cards, as well as payable at the door, lounges fill up fast. Hopefully on our upcoming round-the-world trip we won’t be denied access too often; we’re counting on using the Star Alliance lounges during long layovers.

It wasn’t an auspicious start to our travel day when we arrived at our gate to find… no plane. It had arrived in Vancouver early from its previous flight, but was in the hangar having an “engine run” done. Air Canada staff assured us that our connection in Montreal would still be okay.

But then things started to go downhill.

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It was out of our control, so we had no choice but to go with the flow, and yet I couldn’t help but start to fret. We knew we’d still get to Cairo eventually, but really didn’t want to miss any of our Egyptian experience by arriving late.

We finally took off at noon, more than 2-1/2 hours late (after an additional glitch when the tug to get the plane backed away from the gate wasn’t working), with a tentative assurance that, since there were 40 of us on board needing to make the connection to Heathrow, Air Canada would hold that flight out of Montreal for us.

Fingers crossed. Our pilot said a little prayer for tailwinds.

Our Montreal-London flight was scheduled to take off at 19:10. We anticipated arriving in Montreal at 19:30. We too hoped those tailwinds would happen.

As usual, our always amazing travel agent Carol, and Viking, were on the case, keeping track of the flight delays and ensuring there’d be seats held on an alternate flight. Situations like this are why we book our air travel through Viking whenever we cruise with them.

Our first flight to get across Canada from Vancouver to Montreal was in seats 2D and 2G, which are a sleeping pod configuration.

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Neither of us slept much last night – despite a lovely farewell dinner hosted by our neighbours, and being completely packed and ready. After the additional cardio workout (by way of heart-racing with this morning’s delays) we were grateful for the opportunity to relax in comfort.

We were welcomed on board by an (almost) equally frustrated but very professional crew. At our seats were cold bottles of water, and our breakfast menus. No glasses of bubbly to greet us, reminding us that Air Canada domestic business class is not Lufthansa or KLM business class. They redeemed themselves with mimosas at breakfast though.

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Having been able to see the menus in the Air Canada app ahead of time, we both chose French toast; the omelette would be the only hot breakfast option we’d have on our next (hopefully) flight to London, so we didn’t want to duplicate it.

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Our original itinerary had a 2 hour layover in Montreal, but that was more than used up by the flight delay out of Vancouver. Shortly before landing, there was an announcement made by our flight crew that the flight to London was being held for boarding, and asking passengers who were not on the London flight to please let the 38 of us who were off first. Most did.

We ran off the plane and were piled onto a waiting airport cart, luggage on our laps, with a driver who used his horn liberally and channeled either Mario Andretti or Michael Schumacher as he raced us through the airport. Merci, merci, merci!!!

Another bottle of cold water, and our dinner AND breakfast menus were waiting for us in our pods, 1D and 1G this time.

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For the next 7 hours we’ll eat, sleep, and de-stress.

We started with warm lightly salted almonds and cashews, and drinks: a Spanish Finca Vallejo Tempranillo and a sparkling water for me (one to help me sleep, the other to hydrate) and a Creemore Springs Premium Lager for Ted.

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Then our garlic shrimp appetizer, salad, and rolls (Ted skipped the shrimp; I skipped the rolls), followed by our main courses: the lamb shank for me, and the coq-au-vin style chicken for Ted. Cheeses, fruit, a passionfruit coconut tart, and coffees rounded out our meals.

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The back and leg-rests of the seats on this plane adjusted separately, unlike on our first flight, so we were able to put our legs up without having to be prone. Comfy. After dinner I adjusted the seatback down flat and had a nap, but only after finishing watching the newest (and final) Downton Abbey movie that both of us had started during dinner.

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All too soon it seemed we were being awakened (our choice) for breakfast and getting ready to land in London – one step closer to our goal of sailing the Nile.

It certainly hadn’t been a night-time’s worth of hours since dinner, so we really didn’t want anything except a cup of coffee, but who can resist a warm croissant? Sadly, there was too much turbulence for hot drinks to be served, so no coffee with them.

I was originally worried about having only 90 minutes to make our Cairo connection at Heathrow, but after the morning we had that suddenly felt almost leisurely… until I realized that we would arrive in Terminal 2 and needed to depart from Terminal 5.

Carol to the rescue! She pre-arranged with Viking for airport staff to meet us at Heathrow and guide us through to the security check location for our connecting flight. But … no one was there when we arrived.

Nonetheless, we found our way, largely because we’ve been through Heathrow before and (of course) all the signage is in English! A shuttle bus took us on the 10 minute ride between terminals, we found the boarding pass scanners, were put into the Fast Track lane to security thanks to our business class tickets, and got to our gate in time to walk right onto the plane.

Side note: We got our UK ETAs online back in July, but had not yet used them. Since they’re “invisible” (simply attached electronically to our passport numbers), their first seamless use today was reassuring. They’re valid for two years, so will also be used next May when we’re back in England.

The final 5 hour leg from Heathrow to Cairo was on British Airways, on an older plane with no entertainment system. While we were still technically in Business Class, this airplane configuration only offered something called “Club Europe”. We were in seats 5D and 5F, with seat 5E between us made into a table surface. There was decent legroom, so all good. By this time we were just happy to be in the final stretch.

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There was more lovely food offered. Flying east through 10 time zones means it’s breakfast time again, although it seems we’ve been eating non-stop. Still… Greek yogurt and peppermint tea for me. Just coffee for Ted.

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We landed in Cairo around 5 p.m.

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Our first priority was clearing security/customs and getting our Egyptian tourist visas. We’d tried in vain several times to complete that process online; fortunately Canadians and US citizens can apply on arrival. There was a Viking representative waiting for us at the airport to point us to the currency exchange booths that also sell tourist visas. $25USD each later, we were approved and officially in Egypt.

The visa is quite pretty!

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We were escorted to the airport exit by Viking’s “airport staff”, and met our Program Director, Egyptologist Walid Wafaee, at the coach bus that would transfer us to our hotel. En route, he told us a bit about his background and education (both in Egypt and in the USA), familiarized us with what our daily routines would be, talked about dress codes in Egypt (virtually none for tourists unless visiting a mosque), warned us about exorbitant prices for imported alcohols – and never to drink the tap water – and distributed our hotel room keys. Understanding that we’d all be tired after long flights, Viking did our hotel registrations for us ahead of time, so there was no need to line up at reception. They even had someone collect our passports in bulk for mandatory photocopying (hotel security) and return them to us, all in the time it took for the hotel porters to tag our luggage.

Our complement of 50 passengers has been divided into 2 groups for excursions. Walid will be our group leader for the entire trip; the other half of the group have a second Egyptologist, Amin Serag, who’ll also be on our boat.

And so, on our first evening here our routine was simply to settle into our room at the Sheraton Cairo Hotel & Casino.

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We’re always interested to see what kind of hotel rooms we’ll be assigned when travelling with Viking. On optional extensions, there’s often a choice (at different price points) of standard vs premium. In Bruges, we stayed in a fabulous Burgundian Duke’s palace (Episode 349). In Prague we stayed in a gorgeous former Augustine monastery (Episode 366). This time, we were not given an option, and we’re booked into the least expensive cabin on the Ra (our river boat), so assumed from what previous folks on this cruise have shared that we’d also get the least expensive hotel room option.

If that’s the case, our room here in Cairo is pretty great, with a luxurious bathroom, and a large balcony.

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The hotel overlooks the Nile River, giving us a spectacular view, although sitting on the balcony also treats us to a cacophony of car horns, even on a Friday night, which is the quietest time of the week in Cairo.

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We’d seen good reviews for the hotel’s international cuisine restaurant, Rawi. We’d also been eating seemingly non-stop for 24 hours.

Sleep was a higher priority than food. Our group breakfast tomorrow will be in Rawi.

Here’s what’s in store over the next 8 days:

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Tomorrow is our first “real” day in Cairo, and we’ll jump right in with a full day at the Sakkara Step Pyramids and the Citadel of Saladin.