To be the best boat on the Nile, bigger isn’t always better. With only 40 cabins, Abercrombie & Kent’s Sun Boat IV raised the bar last year with its luxury makeover by top Egyptian designer Mohammed Noaman. But, already, the boutique cruiser faces competition. This fall, Oberoi debuts its new 27-suite ship from Luxor to Aswan, featuring the Nile’s first floating spa. The Oberoi Zahra has two “grand suites” comprised of private terraces and separate living rooms as well as an outdoor Jacuzzi tub. If you need a more serious spa immersion, you’ve got four Banyan Tree massage suites available, each with private sauna, shower, and panoramic windows. Zahra’s resident Egyptologist will also give daily audio-visual presentations on the Pharaonic sites you’ll see along the seven-night route. Plus you can star-gaze using the ship’s telescope or smoke a stogy in the cigar lounge. Or just kick back in the library with a good book on Egypt -– perhaps Down the Nile, one woman’s tale of “cruising” the ancient waters in a tiny oared skiff. Well. Sometimes bigger really is better.