Hello Frank and welcome to the Forum!
Eight days is not a lot of time in Egypt, I spent about that time in Luxor alone and struggled to see everything within the area. I would think you would need 2-3 days in Cairo/Giza/Saqqara, 3-4 days in Luxor (absolute minimum) and 2 days in Aswan/Abu Simbel.
I would strongly recommend adding Dendera to your attractions - it is a day trip from Luxor. The big benefit of Dendera (it was back in 2002) is that you are able to walk on the roof and descend into the crypt - great fun for kids both big and small. Also, if you have time to see two other museums, consider the small but beautifully presented Luxor Museum and the large, and equally beautifully presented Nubian Museum in Aswan.
As for suggestions to the places you are already seeing, you are on a tight time frame, so here are my suggestions as to the best bits of each area.
In Saqqara I'd recommend the tombs of Ptah-hotep, Mereruka and the Mastaba of Ti. There are some stunning high-reliefs in this area. Whilst in Saqqara, you may be able to go inside of the Red Pyramid.
In the Valley of the Kings, I liked the Tomb of Ramses III, and to a lesser extent those of Tawosret/Sethnakht and Merneptah), but found the tombs in Valley of the Nobles (especially those of Menna, Nakht, and Sennofer) are of much better quality. However, the best of them all is the Tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens - this outshines any other tomb by a very large margin, so if it is open to the public, then you must see it.
Also, whilst in the Valley of the Kings, hike across the hills to the Temple of Hatshepsut (bring water) - it is a great high vantage over the temple as you close in on the temple.
If you are hiring a car and driver, be very sure of what you are promising to see, and be wary of what they tell you. For example, the taxi driver I negotiated with for a day trip to Saqqara tried to tell me that the Tomb of Ptah-hotep was closed. He did this so because he wanted us to return to Cairo quicker, thus he would get the same money for less time. However, I had spoken to other tourists in the area, and knew it was open, so after insisting we must visit "just in case it was open" you could imagine my pleasure (and his obvious disappointment) when we arrived to an open tomb, and so I spent a lot of time in there just to prove my point.
Finally, instead of a Nile Cruise maybe take a sunset felucca trip in Aswan. Only lasts for an hour or so and it is great value, but haggle hard.
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