Hilton breaks into cruise with a Waldorf Astoria Nile ship

WHEN Marriott dipped into cruising with its introduction of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection brand in 2022, it was the first hotel company to head to the ocean.

- By Fran Golden

Then came Four Seasons, Orient Express, and Aman — all with plans to launch ocean yachts in the next two years. And now, as of May, Hilton Worldwide Holdings has decided to quietly join the fray with its flagship luxury brand Waldorf Astoria, which is set to introduce a Nile River cruiser in late 2026.

The Waldorf Astoria Nile River Experience will bear some of the hallmarks of the hotels that share its name: a Peacock Alley Bar, a monumental lobby clock and art deco design flourishes. (Yes, there will be plenty of Champagne, perhaps even enough to fill the Nile.) But Hilton’s Head of Luxury Brands Dino Michael says the decision to expand into cruising has more to do with the company’s heritage than keeping up with the competition.

Hilton, after all, has a long history in Egypt, stretching from the 1958 opening of the Nile Hilton to the 589-room Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis, which opened in 2023, and the months-old Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi. It also operated two “floating hotels” there in the 1960s, long before the phrase was trendy. The Isis and Orisis, two 184-passenger vessels launched in 1965 and 1966, each sailed for about 25 years up and down the Nile.