The Oberoi Philae
Small river ship. Operated by Oberoi Hotels & Resorts.
Sailing, two sources checked 12 Sep 2026
Our view
Philae is the quieter of the two Oberoi ships and the one where the crew to guest ratio shows most. The unexplained verandah removal is the open question, because two trade partners still date the refit to 2015 while a 2026 guest describes later work nobody has published. Expect to enquire for a rate, because Oberoi prints none anywhere outside its booking engine.
Who it suits
- Travellers who want hotel standards on the river
- Couples travelling without children
- Anyone who values a high crew to guest ratio
- Guests who need a lift on board
Who it does not suit
- Families, children under seven are not accommodated
- Anyone who wants a price before enquiring, Oberoi publishes rates only inside its booking engine
- Travellers booking for a private verandah, a June 2026 guest account describes a renovation that removed them and Oberoi has not dated the work
- Anyone using Tripadvisor to decide, there are three separate listings for this cruise and one of them reviews the selling agency rather than the ship
- Service style
- Hotel service model run by a hotel company, with meals, transfers, entrance fees and guiding included and 65 crew for 44 guests.
- The cabin we would book
- One of the four suites, and ask in writing whether it still has a verandah before you pay. With 65 crew for 44 guests the service is the same everywhere on board, so space is the only thing left to buy.
- Nearest alternative: The Oberoi Zahra
- Same company, same standards, same ports and the same two departure days. Philae is the smaller and older hull at 44 guests, cut down from 100 berths in 2015. Zahra is the 2007 build at 54. See its record →
Identity · 3 of 4 on file
The vessel · 12 of 13 on file
How it operates · 7 of 9 on file
Price · 1 of 5 on file
Reputation · 3 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.
No rate is published on any page we could reach. Oberoi shows rates only inside its booking engine; the offers, policies and vessel pages carry no figure. The only published number we found was Adventure Life's "12 days from $13,746 per person" for a land and cruise package. That is not a vessel rate, so the starting rate is left empty.
Guest capacity is contested. Lindblad's ship page says 44, Lindblad's own PDF fact sheet says 42, and Oberoi states no total.
Two trade partners give 2015 as the refit year. A June 2026 guest review describes a renovation that removed cabin verandahs, which may be later work that Oberoi has not dated publicly.
No source we read gives the flag or registration.
No source states the propulsion type, though a 72-metre, five-deck river ship is plainly engine-driven.
Charter availability, the charter rate, and any charter exclusions are not published.
Cabin counts per category are not published by Oberoi. The split of 18 cabins and 4 suites comes from Scott Dunn and matches the Lindblad deck plan.
Tripadvisor carries three separate listings for this cruise with contradictory ratings. One of those listings reviews the selling agency rather than the vessel.
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.
Awards
Guest reviews
Something here wrong? Say so and we will correct it in public, with the old value left visible. See the corrections log.