The Nile Ruby by Sarah

Zander and Kayley infront of the Nile Ruby.

For the last couple of days, we have been on a cruise ship called the Nile Ruby on the Nile River.  We travelled on the boat for 3 nights and 4 days from Aswan to Luxor.  My favorite parts about the cruise were the buffet meals, the cabins, and amenities like the sundeck with the swimming pool, the pool table, and the TV's.

Mia and I staring at a contraption
a waiter made in the ship restarant.

The meals that were served on the Nile Ruby were buffet style for breakfast lunch, and dinner.  The food was hot and there was a lot of it; about 10 different entries, not including soup, salad, breads, and deserts.  They served soup with dinner and lunch, but had cereal instead for breakfasts.  My favorite for lunch and dinner was the fish and salads.  The fish fillets were covered in a creamy sauce and cooked perfectly because it wasn't rubbery.  It melted in my mouth and didn't taste at all like fish.  Even Kayley, who hates fish, ate it!  There were lots of different salads at the salad bar.  I liked the cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper salad the best.  There was also desert for every meal, including breakfast.  I liked that best!  It was yummy. I liked breakfast the most because they served cereal and chocolate cake. The food on the Nile Ruby was awesome.

Kayley and I at the Sonnedeck pool.

The pool on the top deck called the Sonnedeck (sun deck!) was cold when I went in it on our first evening on board.  That might have been because it was cold and windy outside, but if I had gone during the day, it would have been warmer.  For the rest of the trip, it was too cold to go swimming.  Mommy and Daddy used the pool table when I was asleep one evening.  Daddy stayed to play with a crew member who might have gotten fired because of it.  But we're not sure.  There were also TV's in the rooms and at the bar/restaurant, but I didn't watch any for the whole time on the boat!  Instead, I read Harry Potter and finished the Philosopher's Stone (but in the US, it's called the Sorcerer's Stone, but I got mine from Turkey, so it's got a different title.)

Me with a merchant row boat below at the locks.

Me in the Felucca near Aswan before the cruise ship.

The rooms on the cruise ship were like a nice hotel on a boat.  We occupied 2 triple cabins.  Mommy, Daddy, and I stayed in one room; and the other kids shared the other room across the hall. Everyone had their own cushy bed. The rooms were really clean and had big view windows.  I liked seeing the rowboats tied onto the ship as we entered the locks on the dam near Esna. The rowboats were full of merchandise and sales men trying to sell their stuff to people above on the cruise ship.  I liked to watch them throw the stuff up and down and negotiate with the tourists.  I also like that our cabins had attached bathrooms that were nice and the shower actually had an enclosure.

The Nile cruise on the Nile Ruby was like an oasis that Daddy picked out.  I think that we were really lucky to get to spend the days on the nice cruise ship from Aswan to Luxor.  It was way better than 6 days on a felucca which was our original plan.  I really enjoyed the meal, the amenities, and our cabins.  But we saw a nice cruise ship called the "Princess Sarah"  at one of the docks, and maybe next time, we could go on that ship.