Balcony

Suite

Outside

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection

Europe - All

Europe - River Cruise

Europe River

Portugal

Douro River

Europe - British Isles & Western

Portugal River

Average

Poor

Very Good

Terrible

S.S. Antoinette

S.S. Maria Theresa

River Empress

S.S. Catherine

River Countess

River Duchess

Queen Isabel

River Princess

River Queen

River Tosca

S.S. Sphinx

Joie de Vivre

S.S. Beatrice

River Victoria

S.S. Bon Voyage

S.S. Sao Gabriel

Ganges Voyager II

S.S. La Venezia

Mekong Jewel

Very disappointed 

Previously we sailed with Amawaterways in Bordeaux and Budapest to Amsterdam with Amadeus.  This time we chose Uniworld for the Portugal cruise and Lisbon extension.  Here are the issues we experienced:

The Douro River is beautiful country side.  Steep mountains with vineyards and olive groves stunning the rugged landscape.  This is great for viewing from the ship, but any excursion required a long windy bus ride.  We were accustomed to cruise ships docking at a walkable village as an option to an excursion.  These ships dock double or triple wide at the locations that are in the middle of nowhere.  So, either go on the offered excursion or you have no view and no place to walk off the ship.

The Uniworld cruise itself was also less than expected.  Just ok food with breakfast and lunch being buffet only and the same basic offerings each day.  Dinner was table served and  offered a good wine at each meal.  Food prep was ok, but bland tasting and not very 'creative' in the menu.  Our french balcony stateroom had no chairs, a few small drawers and even the suitcases would not fit under the bed. The best of the stateroom was the marble bathroom and the service of the housekeeping crew. Sad when the highlight of the cruise is the 70's night party. 

The Lisbon extension was ok.  Nice hotel in the middle of a large city, but basically what we expected.

Douro is a No-Go!

This was our first river cruise.  We have previously done ocean cruises with Princess, Silversea and Seabourn.  Once you board the ship, you immediately notice how narrow the ship is.  During the cruise you enter several narrow locks and gain a better appreciation for the fact that the ship is designed to fit within these locks with little room to spare !!  The ship lobby is very well appointed and we were greeted with warm smiles and welcomes.  

The ship only sailed on the river during the day and was docked at night.  At certain docks, our room was below the level of the dock so we essentially had a view of the cement dock wall.  On other occasions, two or three ships were tied up side by side so our view was of a cabin in the next ship.  I only mention these things as it is so different than ocean cruising and came as a bit of a surprise to us.  

The sun deck is the perfect spot to enjoy some fresh air and the views of the Douro River valley.  It was never crowded and chairs were always available.  There is no beverage or other service on the sun deck so in general I would say this deck is under utilized.  The views of the dams and locks were perfect from the sun deck and we enjoyed the precise navigation of the ship into and out of some very tight spaces.  

The bar area is popular since it provides comfortable seating during the day and around cocktail time it is quite crowded.  After dinner, a DJ plays music for those interested in dancing or listening to music.  The bar area also hosts the daily talks by the cruise director as well as certain special events like a cooking demonstration, lectures on the region and special fado and flamenco entertainment shows.  The fado and flamenco shows were real highlights and should not be missed.  One show billed as a night at the opera turned out to be more about Broadway show tunes which had we known we would have attended - - our loss for certain !!!

The dining room serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with breakfast and lunch being buffet style.  Breakfast always included an omelet station as well as various hot and cold dishes.  Lunch also had a daily special that sometimes reflected a dish from the region.  Dinner was served at 7 pm and it was sometimes a bit of a rush at 7 pm to get to the dining room.  The dinner menu was quite varied and we usually enjoyed a starter, soup, entrée and dessert.  The portions were adequate although at times the entrée pieces of fish were more starter sized.  The soups were almost exclusively creamed soup and usually were vegetable based - - asparagus, green bean, potato.  While tasty, it was a monotonous after a couple of days.  Overall, the dinner starters and entrees were good to very good and a few dishes touched outstanding (such as the sea bass one night).  The desserts were all made in house and ranged from interesting to good and the egg custard tarts were a favorite especially with a glass of port.  

Service in the bar and the restaurant was very good with certain individuals definitely in the outstanding category.  In general, we found the servers to be professional, friendly and engaging.  Wine service at dinner (one red and one white each night) was always punctual and my glass was never empty for long.  The quality of the wine varied but then again I am sure that is mostly a matter of taste.  

My wife and I really enjoyed the wine related shore excursions - - the vineyard walk, dinner at the winery, port tastings.  The non-wine shore excursions such as Castelo Rodrigo and Salamanca were much more typical of cruise ship excursions - - bus ride, walking tour, free time, bus ride back to the ship.   These excursions were fine although the 2 hour each way bus ride to Salamanca makes for a long day.  The walking tour of Guimaraes was our favorite as the city seemed to have certain charm that my wife and I found especially appealing.  The walking tour of Porto was a nice introduction although we were a bit disappointed that the tour did not enter the main cathedral.  

Overall, we had a wonderful trip and the Uniworld experience was a good one.  The Douro River is absolutely worth the trip if the wine and port industry is of interest to you (as it was to my wife and I).  A river cruise is the only way to see the area as driving the winding roads or taking the train would not allow you time to truly appreciate the river and all the wine growing area with its ancient buildings and terraced vineyards.  Would my wife and I take another river cruise ?  Probably not as we found the ship and cabins small and even with only 100 guests quite crowded at times.  My wife and I enjoy our space, our ability to escape from others as well as more variety in terms of dining and bar options and the river cruising experience by its very nature does not really allow for that.

First time on a river cruise

This was our third Uniworld cruise and I can’t believe how disappointed We were with the lack of quality  This was very overpriced for the ship, and the disappointment in the quality of the food.  It was mediocre at best, we had many fellow travelers complaining as well. The dining staff was rude, one lady ask if she could have a sample of the entrees, she was told NO”we only serve full portions”!  We asked for an upgrade and for $3000 we got the same size room with a window that went up and down.   The late breakfast was served on the bow bar room, it consisted of a small plate of cold cuts, a small plate of cheese, and fruit, no juice and you had to chase someone to get a cup of coffee, no juice in site, this was the same every morning!  

After returning home I reached out to Uniworld customer service with no response, therefore called my agent who wrote emails asking for a response, all we got was the run around after five months and promised response which had never happened after five months.  I will never use Uniworld again.  My travel agent has assured me she will never use Uniworld again.

We have done one previous Uniworld cruise in Bordeaux in 2018 and absolutely loved it. At the end of that trip we asked our fabulous cruise manager Tania, what cruise she recommended and she suggest the Douro. Due to COVID disruptions, we finally did it in September 2022. We booked a top deck (Azores Deck), cabin No. 309 which was a Suite (220 Sq ft/20 sq m) and were delighted with this cabin. There was enough space in it and enough storage space. As the boats on the Douro are narrow due to all the locks on the river, the cabins are generally narrower so I think the French Balcony cabins on the lower deck at 156 sq ft are too tight. The top deck came with two butlers to service the small number of rooms and they were super friendly and helpful. It was also lovely getting complimentary laundry service by being in a suite. 

Overall I don't think this Douro cruise felt as premium as the Bordeaux one and that was due to a couple of key things. The first is the food and it's probably a combination of Portuguese food being a bit more rustic in nature but also didn't think the options or presentation of the dinners on board were up to the level of our previous cruise. And also the off-boat excursions felt like we were going to the 'mass market' wineries/quintas as opposed to the Bordeaux cruise where the chateaus we went to for lunch and for tours, we were the only group or we'd been split into much smaller groups so we were able to visit much more boutique producers. On this Douro Cruise, the lunch visit to Quinta da Pacheca was in a beautiful barrel hall. The lunch was pretty average (partly again due to the rustic nature of the Portuguese cuisine) but when we came out of the lunch there were at least 5 other buses and so many tourists that we were unable to squeeze into the Tasting Room/shop for more port sampling. For our other visit, we went to Quinta da Roeda (Crofts Port) and on this occasion, two options were offered - the walking tour at Quinta da Roeda and a Sandeman Port visit. Ours was the smaller group of just over 20 people, but the visit to Quinta was just a very standard tour that they would normally offer and unfortunately the guide, Miguel, was completely disinterested in doing the tour, so it was quite disappointing.  However walking around this vineyard was spectacular.   

On this cruise there were only 73 guests on board - two Kiwis, two Aussies, 4 Canadians, 2 British and all the rest American. The American group included a large group which had a historical affiliation and they generally hung out together. The age range on board felt older than our Bordeaux cruise and there were very few people not in their seventies or eighties. Having said that, we made friends with another two couples and we had a great time. 

Having highlighted the negatives, everything else was fantastic. Amazingly we also had Tania as our Cruise Manager (the same one as the Bordeaux cruise 4 years ago) and she is a "national treasure" and really has a positive impact on the entire cruise. The on-board entertainment was fantastic: flamenco dancers, Fado singing (a Portuguese genre of singing), and also some opera on the last evening. There was an on-board lecturer as well but he was rather dull.

The staff were fantastic - esp Manuel the Restaurant Manager and some of the fabulous restaurant staff  Domingos, Magda and Doris. The bar staff were excellent as well. We love the extra touches that Uniworld does ie the sabering of Champagne late one morning on the top deck - accompanied by pastries. Also the demonstration of how to open a vintage port, the cookery demonstration etc. We were busy everyday with activities and tours and the week onboard seem to fly by.  We loved that everything is included in these tours so no need to pay for drinks or tips etc. And wifi is provided as well and that worked brilliantly.

Perhaps if we hadn't done the Bordeaux cruise I'd rate this as 5 stars. Perhaps on the Douro it isn't as easy to arrange visits to smaller quintas -and perhaps things have become more difficult since Covid. But in spite of a few niggles, we really did enjoy this cruise. The Douro is completely spectacular and a much more scenic river than the tidal rivers of the Garonne or Dordogne. It's also so interesting to go through all the locks on the Douro River. 

We will do another Uniworld cruise - just have to decide which one next!

Fabulous Cruise - Perhaps Not Quite as Premium as We'd Hoped.

We had previously been on Avalon (Budapest to Amsterdam), Scenic (Bordeaux) and enjoyed both but had not done the Douro which is why we booked on Uniworld

Food was average - we expected a greater selection of Portuguese food, hot drinks warm only.  The female waiters are the best, they work hard and make sure our needs were met.  That is in contrast to the male waiters that were not.  Tables for breakfast should be cleared before being set

There should have been waiter service on the top deck and glasses were regularly left on this deck overnight

Some of the staff stood out (receptionist), tour guide, waitresses and barman  Cruise Director was a liability and should remember that her attitude to passengers should be kind, friendly and patient - she was not any of those

Bar service was good

On the basis of this trip we would not travel on Uniworld again, this was influenced by Cruise director and male waiters

Douro River Uniworld

Uniworld’s tagline is you deserve the best.  This is a luxury brand and as guests we should be treated to luxury. I have taken three previous Uniworld cruises  that lived up to their reputation. This was far and away the worst of any previous ones taken. The accommodations were cramped, housekeeping was inconsistent, some of the wait staff seemed disinterested and there were times we needed to get their attention as they seemed to be “elsewhere”. On previous cruises the hotel manager sought us out when we complained or questioned things on the Mid-Cruise survey. I’m not sure they were read but no one replied to our response. For example we found toenail clippings  in our stateroom, definitely not ours, and informed them about it in the survey. Another cruise mate also found toenail clippings.  Not sure if COVID is to blame or that they are trying to be more environmentally aware but there were nights when the staff gave menus to the women and asked the men to use the QR code placed around the table. There were times when they had not changed the QR code from one meal to the next and it may have had the lunch menu at dinner. The food was good but not excellent.  There must be more than can be done in Ports of Call. A bus ride up to an hour but then a guided tour that took less time and more time for shopping. Entertainment most evenings was a DJ.  Previous cruises at live entertainment at least a piano player. We enjoyed the Lisbon extension.

I am very disappointed with this cruise and speaking to other Uniworld River Heritage cruisers I wasn’t alone!

Not the Best but Worst

Food not that great. Too much riding buses to excursions.   COVID spread on ship probably due to overcrowding on bus to sites.   Crew very nice.    I would not recommend this Douro cruise. Excursions not that interesting.  Archeological museum tour, there was no museum, only viewed rocks with scratches.   7 km dusty, pothole filled ride to site on overcrowded Toyota SUV.  This was after a one hour ride to board the Toyota SUV  to the site.  Pre cruise literature did not advise that it was a two hour bus ride to Salamanca.

Bus ride from Porto to Lisbon indicated stop in Coimbra for lunch.   Tour stoped instead at Obidos, small uninteresting town. No explanation ever given for the change. 

Several passengers that tested negative on embarkation tested positive a week later.  Restaurant probably source of contamination.

I have sent my review to several representatives of Uniworld and have not heard back from anyone. Very disappointing.

Overrated. COVID spread

I gave Riviera Cruises the worst ever food rating, well here’s some good news for them Uniworld wins hands down for the tasteless school dinners they served up.

Crew were lovely and attentive , ship is new so really nice but the fine dinning you expect For the money they charge is missing. I could write a short novel about the crap they served up but I guess you get the picture. The tours were included and all fine and wearing masks mandatory but that’s fine. 

I must give credit though to the pastry chef who produced the only edible thing on the boat and to a high standard. So never again with Uniworld it’s not value for money anymore you might as well go on one of the cheaper lines. We had a few days with Fred Olsen and the food offering was a delight.

Pity I have travelled with Uniworld before and they were excellent. But won’t risk it again at that price.

Awful

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