The Nile Collection ยท an independent record
← All vessels

Cleo

Dahabiya. Operated by MELC Travel Group (luxury DMC, Egypt).

Not verified as sailing  checked 12 Sep 2026

We have not confirmed that this vessel is currently in service. That is a statement about our checking, not a claim that it has stopped.

Our view

comfortable

The boat may well be good and we are not saying otherwise. What we can say is that almost nothing on its own website is actually about it, including the prices, the testimonials and the awards. Ask MELC in writing for a rate sheet, a deck plan and a straight answer on the pool before you pay a deposit.

Who it suits

  • Travellers who want a new boat with a large crew for its size
  • Small groups taking the whole boat
  • Anyone booking through an advisor who can get written answers from MELC

Who it does not suit

  • Anyone who needs a price before committing, every figure on the vessel site is unedited WordPress template content and none of it is a rate
  • Travellers who check reviews first, no guest account of this boat exists anywhere we could reach
  • Anyone persuaded by the awards block, a boat whose first sailing was announced for November 2025 cannot hold a 2020 hotel award
  • Guests who want the pool or the jacuzzi confirmed in advance, the operator's own pages contradict each other on both
Service style
Crewed dahabiya from a Cairo destination management company, running one product, a five night sailing to Aswan leaving on Saturdays with an Egyptologist on board.
Nearest alternative: Kemet
Both are recent Egyptian dahabiyas sold direct by a small company with a guide included. Kemet publishes a brochure, a crew list and a full inclusions list. Cleo publishes a website that is still running on its theme's demo content. See its record →
Everything in this box is opinion, not a sourced fact, and we say what it rests on: desk research only, by Christoph Paterok, 12 September 2026. Nobody here has sailed this vessel. Read it as a careful reading of the published record, which is what it is.

Identity · 3 of 4 on file

Official URL
https://cleodahabeya.com/
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy Operator states this, and a second source agrees.
Name variants
Cleo Dahabeya, Our Lady Cleo, Lady Cleo, Cleo Queen of the Nile
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy Operator states this, and a second source agrees.
Flag / registration
not checked
Operating status
unverified
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source One source, or sources that disagree. Treat as provisional.

The vessel · 6 of 13 on file

Launch year
2024
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy One source, or sources that disagree. Treat as provisional.
Last refit year
not checked
Cabins
10
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy, second source One source we consider reliable.
Suites
2
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy One source we consider reliable.
Max guests
not checked
Crew
18
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy One source, or sources that disagree. Treat as provisional.
Length (m)
not checked
Propulsion
not checked
Decks
not checked
Pool
not checked
Air conditioning
Yes
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy One source we consider reliable.
Wi-Fi
Yes
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy One source we consider reliable.
Accessibility notes
not checked

How it operates · 6 of 9 on file

Routes
Luxor to Aswan, Esna to Aswan
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy One source we consider reliable.
Nights offered
5
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy Operator states this, and a second source agrees.
Embarkation ports
Luxor, Esna
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy One source we consider reliable.
Departure days
Saturday
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy Operator states this, and a second source agrees.
Season months
not checked
Whole-boat charter
Yes
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source One source we consider reliable.
Charter minimum cabins
not checked
Booking channels
direct, advisor
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source One source we consider reliable.
Minimum age
not checked

Price · 2 of 5 on file

Rate from
not checked
Rate to
not checked
Whole-boat charter rate
not checked
Inclusions
All meals on board, Guided temple visits with an Egyptologist, Airport meet and transfer on arrival
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy One source, or sources that disagree. Treat as provisional.
Exclusions
Hot air balloon flight over Luxor, Karnak sound and light show, Abu Simbel excursion, Nubian village visit
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy One source, or sources that disagree. Treat as provisional.

Reputation · 1 of 3 on file

Notable history
Cleo is a new boat. MELC Travel Group, a Cairo and Alexandria destination management company, announced a first sailing on 22 November 2025 through its Loop Luxury Fair exhibitor listing. The agency that represents MELC states the hull launched in 2024. The vessel is marketed as Cleo Dahabeya, Our Lady Cleo and Lady Cleo, and it runs one published product, a 5 night Luxor or Esna to Aswan sailing departing every Saturday.
Checked 12 Sep 2026. source, archived copy One source we consider reliable.
Awards
not checked
Guest review sources
not checked

What we could not establish

Every empty cell above has a reason. These are the reasons for this vessel, written down at the time the record was made, including the places where published sources contradict each other.

No rate is recorded. The vessel's own website shows three price cards at 470, 370 and 270 US dollars per night, and an accommodations price of 130 dollars per night. All four are WordPress theme demo content. The price cards sit under a Coming Soon heading and their inclusions read Flight Ticket, Restaurant, Music Concert, Airport Pick-up and Sport Activities, which is template text for a resort, not a Nile sailing. The same pages carry lorem ipsum testimonials and a Luxury Resort App download block. Nothing on the site is a published rate.

The awards field is empty for the same reason. The about page shows a Best Award block reading 2020 European Hotel Association 3 Stars, 2022 Michelin Red Guide Leading Hotel, and 2024 Hotel Committee. A boat whose first sailing was announced for November 2025 cannot hold a 2020 hotel award, and the Michelin Red Guide does not name leading hotels. This is template content and none of it was recorded.

Whether the vessel has a pool or a jacuzzi is unresolved because the operator contradicts itself. The about page amenities list says Free pool access and the about and trade copy both say indulge in the sun deck pool. The home page names the same deck feature Jaccuzi and says Enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the Nile as you indulge in the sun deck Jacuzzi, and separately says the Jacuzzi is in every bathroom. One of the two is wrong. A photograph or a deck plan would settle it.

The guest capacity is not recorded. Ten cabins at two per cabin would be twenty, but the operator publishes no capacity figure and the guest dropdown on its own booking form stops at 10, which suggests either single occupancy in some cabins or a lower real capacity. Lobster describes the last four cabins as single while the operator calls them twin bed.

Propulsion, length, the deck count, flag and registration, the operating season, the minimum age policy and accessibility are not published anywhere we could find. Nothing on the site says whether Cleo carries sails, is towed or runs an engine, so propulsion is unrecorded despite the dahabiya class.

No guest review of this vessel exists in any source we read. There is no TripAdvisor page, no blog account and no third-party reseller listing. That is consistent with a boat in its first year, and it is why operating status remains unverified.

The operator's page for this vessel at https://melctravel.com/cleo-queen-of-the-nile/ renders an empty body. The header, footer and page title load but the content area is blank. The operator's own page for the vessel is therefore recorded as cleodahabeya.com. The operator is MELC Travel Group, which is correct. The vessel site footer reads Middle East Logistics and Consultant Group, Melc Group.

Recorded 12 September 2026. If you can settle any of these, tell us and we will correct the record in public.

Press, awards and guest reviews

What other people published about this vessel. These are not our claims and they are not our view. Where an entry was the source for a fact above, the note says so.

Press

Lobster Communications no date published
PR agency product page, not editorial coverage. It is the only source found for the 18-member crew figure and the launched-in-2024 claim. No publication date appears on the page. The site footer reads 2026.
Loop Luxury Fair no date published
Trade fair exhibitor listing run by Lobster Event GmbH, the same group as the PR agency noted above. The listing carries MELC's own copy. It is the only source found for the first sailing date of 22 November 2025. No publication date is shown.

Something here wrong? Say so and we will correct it in public, with the old value left visible. See the corrections log.