Sanctuary Sun Boat IV
Small river ship. Operated by A&K Sanctuary (Abercrombie & Kent).
Sailing, two sources checked 12 Sep 2026
Our view
Sun Boat IV is the easiest vessel in this collection to compare on price, because it is the only A&K boat in Egypt with a full published rate table. It is also the one where you are furthest from the water and from the crew, at 76 guests across four decks. The 1996 hull and a single undated 2006 refit entry are the weak point, and A&K publishes neither number itself.
Who it suits
- First visit to Egypt
- Travellers who want a published rate card they can compare
- Guests who want a spa and a large sun deck
- Anyone who prefers a bigger ship to a small boat
Who it does not suit
- Anyone who came for intimacy, this is the largest and least intimate boat A&K runs in Egypt
- Wheelchair users, A&K rates the boat Limited Access and publishes nothing about a lift between four decks
- Guests who expect drinks included, everything beyond water, tea and coffee at meals is charged
- Families with children under 10
- Anyone who wants a refit date, the only figure in circulation is a single undated third party entry for 2006
- Service style
- Hotel service model on the operator's largest Egypt riverboat, with a fixed daily programme and A&K's own Egyptologists.
- The cabin we would book
- One of the four suites. On a 76 guest boat they are the only rooms that buy you space, and this is the one A&K vessel whose published rate table lets you see what that costs before you enquire.
- Nearest alternative: Sanctuary Nile Adventurer
- Same fleet, same inclusions and the same rate structure, to the point that the two tables share a low season figure. Nile Adventurer is the older and smaller boat at 60 guests and tops out below half Sun Boat IV's highest rate. See its record →
Shown in the currency the operator published it in, on the basis the operator sells it on. We do not convert currencies and we do not divide a package total into a nightly rate, because both would produce a number nobody quoted. See how this compares on the rates page.
Identity · 3 of 4 on file
The vessel · 12 of 13 on file
How it operates · 7 of 9 on file
Price · 4 of 5 on file
Reputation · 2 of 3 on file
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.
The cabin count is the main unresolved item. A&K states 38 cabins and 76 guests on its vessel page, in its FAQ, and in its riverboat guide fact sheet. Its short property description splits that same total as 34 cabins plus 4 suites. Every third-party source gives a different figure. CruiseMapper and Adventure Life say 40 cabins and 80 guests. Tripadvisor says 26 cabins and 70 crew. A 2015 Wexas review says 40 cabins. The third-party figures also carry 5 decks and three different crew counts, which suggests they are stale.
The crew count is unresolved. CruiseMapper says 75, Tripadvisor says 70, a Travel Weekly snippet says 55, and A&K publishes nothing on this point.
The flag and registration are unresolved. A Travel Weekly search snippet gave Egypt, but the page itself returned a 403 error, so nothing was confirmed.
The refit year rests on a single undated database entry giving 2006. That figure should be treated as soft.
No departure days are listed. A&K's published 2026 departures run every four days and rotate through the week, with embarkation dates including 22 September, 26 September, and 30 September 2026. There is no fixed weekly pattern.
No awards are listed. A&K's own page title, meta description, and image alt text all use the phrase "Award-Winning", but no award name or year appears anywhere on the page, and no specific award was found for this vessel.
The charter rate and charter minimum are unresolved. Charter is offered across the A&K fleet, but no price or cabin minimum is published.
This is the largest vessel in the A&K Egypt fleet and the only one of the five with a fully published rate table.
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
Guest reviews
Something here wrong? Say so and we will correct it in public, with the old value left visible. See the corrections log.