Ten members of the Harvard men's heavyweight crew who had planned on spending Christmas break in Egypt never got to make the trip, as a bureaucratic mix-up by Egyptian officials kept the team from taking part in the Nile International Regatta last month.

Coach Harry Parker said yesterday that the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, which co-sponsors the regatta with the Egyptian Rowing Federation, failed to notify the federation that Harvard had been invited to take part. As a result, federation officials did not make arrangements for the Harvard team's visit.

"The people who extended the invitation should have made certain beforehand that everything was settled. But that's not unusual in our dealings with them," Parker said yesterday.

Harvard has appeared in the regatta five times since the Egyptian government first sponsored the event in 1970, and has won three times. This year the University of Washington crew captured first place in the nine-day event.

The change in Christmas plans caused problems for at least two crew members. Daniel R. Marshak and A. Carlton Cuse had cancelled plane reservations to San Diego because of the Egyptian trip, Cuse said yesterday.

After hearing of the trip's cancellation, both men quickly packed their bags and rushed to the airport. "I waited overnight but managed to cram into a plane to Los Angeles the next morning," Cuse said.