The Steigenberger Royale has 50 double cabins and 2 suites, and sails five days between Luxor and Aswan, visiting Karnak, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae.
You board at Luxor and settle in, with lunch served on board. The afternoon covers the East Bank: Karnak first, with its grand halls, colossal statuary and sacred lakes, then Luxor Temple, joined to it by the ancient Avenue of Sphinxes. Dinner back on the ship and the first night docked at Luxor.
Over to the West Bank after breakfast and into the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings — the burial chamber of Ramses VI is among the finest open to visitors, and Tutankhamun's can be added separately. The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut follows, set against the cliffs, and then the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch on board as the ship sails for Edfu through the Esna Lock.
Edfu Temple first thing — the most complete temple standing in Egypt, with massive pylons and relief work you can read straight off the wall. Back to the ship and lunch while sailing to Kom Ombo, where the dual temple of Sobek and Horus and its crocodile museum record what ancient Egyptian medicine actually consisted of. Dinner and entertainment on board as the ship continues to Aswan.
Breakfast, then the High Dam, the project that brought the river's flooding under control. A boat takes you across to Agilkia Island for the Temple of Philae, built for Isis, whose columns and atmosphere are the reason it is the most-photographed temple in Upper Egypt. The day ends with a felucca around Elephantine Island and the last dinner on board.
Breakfast, then you disembark.
Optional: The Abu Simbel Temples, which can be arranged before your onward journey