Nile Capacity Jumps as Travelmarvel Returns and Viking Targets 12 Ships

APT's Travelmarvel brand has relaunched Nile sailings for the first time in more than ten years, putting the newly refurbished 124-guest Travelmarvel Sirius on a 7-night Luxor–Aswan itinerary. The re-entry lands alongside Viking's own expansion plans, which will grow its Nile fleet to 12 vessels by 2027 — a meaningful capacity build for a river segment that had been comparatively thin on branded, Western-sold tonnage.

For advisors, the timing matters: Egypt logged roughly 19 million visitors in 2025, up 21% year-on-year, and Nile river cruise bookings are already running into 2028. That combination of surging demand and incoming new capacity is a rare window — new ships and reactivated brands typically launch with introductory pricing and cabin availability that tightens fast once a route re-establishes itself. Advisors with Egypt-curious clients should treat this as a call to book ahead rather than wait, particularly for peak winter departures.