We chose the Enchanting Danube cruise mainly because my husband wanted a trip for his 50th birthday which included a river cruise in Germany and the Neuschwanstein castle. Uniworld offered both, plus a Generations cruise for these areas so that our 13 year old son could have other kids on the ship to play with. We opted to arrive a day early to spend extra time in Munich. The hotel which Uniworld selected was Roomers. While the hotel was obviously fairly new, clean and had great staff, there were a lot of down sides. First, it was nowhere NEAR the center of town. That was very inconvenient unless you enjoy walking for an hour to get to the main part of the city. Second, the beds were hard and very uncomfortable. The hallways and elevators were very dark and there were a lot of mirrors. We found it a bit creepy, actually. The only restaurant at the hotel was very upscale Asian food with a strict dress code. Not the place to go after a long day seeing the sights. Now to our biggest disappointment. As I said earlier, our MAIN reason for choosing this cruise was for the castle. At the briefing the night before the trip started, we were informed of the land itinerary. And there was NO mention of the Neuschwanstein castle! When I inquired in the session about the castle option, I was told that Uniworld had decided to drop that option from the itinerary as they rarely had enough people who wished to go. There were 15 people in the room that day who had planned on going to the castle. I told her that I had inquired 4 times on the phone to Uniworld to make sure that the castle was still offered, and was told it was. The Uniworld representative was quick to point out that Uniworld has the right to drop any option and has no liability. I told her that I understood that, but with NO warning? I could have made our own arrangements if I'd had even a couple of days notice. The Uniworld rep stated that Greyline Tours offered the castle trip and the front desk of the hotel could help. So, my husband and I went immediately to the front desk. Greyline was, of course, completely booked for the next day. Our LAST day in Munich. We spent hours trying to find other options. By 10pm we had to give up. All the tickets were sold out for the castle tours. My husband had that castle on his bucket list for decades. And for him, THAT was the highlight of the trip. And now that was off the table. Next we went to Passau, a lovely city. We boarded the Maria Theresa there. We were brought right to the ship, and embarkation and settling in was easy and delightful. Lunch was being served so we could have a leisurely lunch while our luggage was brought to the room. The ship is lovely. Very ornate, gilt and mirrors, etc. The beds were outrageously comfortable. The staff, every single one of them, were helpful and cheerful. The food was a bit of a let down for us. It certainly wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as the reviews led us to believe. The desserts were ok. Not as good as some I had in local bakeries. There weren't enough German food options, which is what I was hoping for. I wanted sausages, cheeses, dumpling variations, schnitzels with various sauces, etc. And while there were a few items, not nearly what I would expect for a German cruise. We did enjoy the open air balcony in the room very much. Lovely touches included fresh chocolates in the room and 2 large glass bottles of water with the turndown service every evening. The activities ranged from amazing (a Mozart concert with opera singers in a small, intimate venue in Vienna, a city tour of Bratislava (a hidden gem!) and Budapest), to bleh (a tour of the church where Maria married Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music in the film took WAY too much time in Salzburg). This was a Generations Cruise, so they had activities for the children. There were about 30 children, I think, onboard. And the majority were between 11-15 years old. And one option was to …..draw and color in a monastery garden. Really? The activity said : Painting in the monastery garden. I thought that sounded great. My son and I could paint on a canvas in a wonderful spot, maybe learn a technique. But..no. Drawing and coloring. There were many bike riding options offered, but most of them were over 15 km. And that was a bit much for our 13 year old to do. And a parent would need to go with our son on any excursions. Adventures by Disney had many excursions for the children to do, AND had dedicated guides with them so the adults could do a different excursion. I had expected something similar, so that was disappointing. On the next to last day they finally offered some activities our son enjoyed. A mixology class onboard where the children could create their own Mocktails. And then a scavenger hunt. There was a pool onboard, but it was VERY small. You certainly couldn't actually swim in it. A cinema room was on the lower deck. A small room with seating for maybe 20, but that became the kids room during this cruise. There was a nice Viennese salon on the lower deck where a hot dog bar, television and a variety of cookies and cakes were always available. The salon also had a great self serve machine for macchiatos, espresso, coffee and hot chocolate. I really enjoyed that space. Our son, who tried the hot dog bar, said the hot dogs were good, but the buns, even when heated, were hard. There was a self serve washer and dryer as well. I didn't use it, but many of the passengers did. Summary: The hotel was not enjoyable. The ship was beautiful. The food was average. The staff was wonderful. The shore excursions were hit or miss. The room was excellent. Canceling a HIGHLIGHT of the tour with NO notice was inexcusable. We would not travel with Uniworld again. The prices were very high and if the experience matched it, my review would have been very different. Read Less

I was desperate for information about Uniworld, and this particular itinerary, after we booked more than a year in advance. So, I'll do my best to review and help others out. After having been on several ocean cruises, our first impression was "wow, this is really small!! lol We identified our luggage next to the coach, then some of us checked in, but instead of standing in line, Ken and I went for lunch! The "light" lunch buffet was delicious and varied - a dozen different salads, meats and potatoes in steam trays, Panini sandwiches, a carvery, and the most delicious soups! If this was an introduction to Uniworld, it was already a GREAT cruise! As we sat visiting after lunch, the announcement came that our cabins were ready, no later than 2:30 or 3 pm. We were impressed... once again! So, the stage was set for our daily routine. The restaurant had plenty of seating for everyone, and breakfast was either buffet or a menu if you wished. The buffet varied from day to day, sometimes mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and beans for breakfast, always potatoes, always bacon and sausages, always a cheese board. Lunches were buffet-style, with a different soup every day (tomato, cheese, potato, cauliflower, leek, all delicious), always a carvery always a grilled sandwich option. Always an ice cream bar, too! Yay! Several different flavors of ice cream, with a variety of toppings, to well... top off your lunch. We were very pleased with the quality and variety of the food - something for every palette. Dinners were menu-based, with a variety of dishes, and always at least one local favorite was included on the menu. You could always get a New York strip steak, chicken, or a vegetarian option, plus 5 or 6 different entrees, which changed each night. Substitutions were allowed with a smile, and all (except one) of the wait staff had a ready smile for each of us. They learned our coffee or tea preferences, whether we wanted bread with our meal, and whether we drank red or white wine. They spoke of their homes and families, but were very proud to be employed by Uniworld, and spoke highly of the company. Our favorite bartender, Branislov, (Branny), figured us out the first day, and he never forgot. Two beers (Becks on tap all week), and he kept our glasses full. Salty bar munchies in the afternoon, and a decadent Mozart chocolate liqueur and a B & B after dinner made us a couple of very happy campers indeed! They had every brand of liquor imaginable, plus 6 or 7 different craft beers in bottles, served cold. They switched up the brands of wine, depending on the region we were sailing through, but were always open to corking a favorite if requested. Each evening at 6:45, in the lounge before dinner, our delightful Cruise Manager Ann gave a detailed overview of the next day, which excursions would be going where, and reminders of where we would be docking, and when we would be setting sail again. We found the included excursions very well planned for the most part, with a few hiccups, but nothing earth shattering. There were a couple of popular tours (Marksburg Castle or the Bike to Boppard) that filled up quickly, so I would recommend signing up for the tours you want earlier rather than at the last minute. We did not sign up for any optional tours on board, and we were kept very busy. The first full morning on board at 9:30 am, Cruise Manger Ann presented a Cruise Overview in the lounge to detail all activities and port excursions for the week. Don't miss this presentation! It was full of information and insights you might otherwise miss out on. There was entertainment every afternoon in the lounge, either piano or the resident house musicians Greg and Margaret. After dinner, there was always music and dancing in the lounge, but we were usually too tired to enjoy it. One morning before Koblenz, a young German historian made a very interesting presentation on "Do I feel European", and shared his perspective on identity from the middle ages to modern days. The lounge also had two automated 24/7 coffee/tea/ or specialty push-button drink machines available, along with sweet snacks or pastries in the early morning. The wellbeing coach Andrei led stretching or light yoga each morning at 7 am, and there were movies in the cinema available. The World Cup matches had started, so 3 games a day were shown in the cinema. There were very few sports jackets worn by the guys, and no one felt under-dressed in a collared shirt without a tie. The ladies wore a variety from dressy pants to skirts to capris and a dressy top. I managed to get in a load of laundry done while sailing, and the machines worked well (3 washers and 3 dryers all complimentary). Complimentary washing Tide-like pods are given readily at the reception desk, but no dryer sheets if you use them. We took part in a "Sharing Dinner" onboard, a German family-style meal in L' Orangerie, where we were served mounds of sausages, kraut, ham, soup, pretzel logs, pork chops, salmon, potatoes, cauliflower, and a chocolate coma dessert plate. Wonderful experience, and limited in the number of guests, so sign up early. We also signed up for a Wheelhouse Visit with 1st Captain Menno one afternoon. This was interesting, learning how the nuts and bolts of the ship work. Maximum of 10 guests on this tour, and it was only offered this once during the week. On the last day, we came back to the ship, and found lunch in both the restaurant, and a hamburger station, which had been set up in L'Orangerie, for a change of pace. The last night's dinner was bittersweet, but delicious. Only once did I hear the words "Gentle Walking" all week. We saw some folks really struggle getting up to the sun deck, as the elevator does not go there (there is a chair lift on one side), and struggle to walk to the bus, which has to park some distance away sometimes. We're in fairly good shape for our age, and get around well, but our knees were sore from the climbs and steep stairs. We had to raft another ship once, in Breisach, and a couple of folks really struggled to walk up and down and over the other ship. In our opinion, to do this itinerary right, you need to be able to walk a half mile without resting, stand for 15-20 minutes without sitting, and climb some steep stairs as needed. All in all, it was a top-notch adventure with Uniworld, and we are already scheming to find another itinerary we like. We were offered a 5% discount on our next Uniworld cruise if we booked on board, but we just weren't ready to choose a date and itinerary, and pay right away. I wish you could just purchase a voucher, like some cruise lines offer, and redeem it at your leisure. I hope you enjoyed reading along as much as I enjoyed re-living the journey. Read Less

Arriving at the ship, AMG had a lovely canopy and were taking the cases of their passengers, we had no one, took our own case to a row of cases then embarked. A sad first impression for 6 star, especially when the competition is doing more for their guests. Having seen the ship featured on a TV documentary we were excited to book and try our first river cruise, as seasoned ocean liner travellers at the top end, we could see this was our standard, and the price per night was actually more expensive than 6 star cruise ships so we feel we justifiably had high expectations. The ship is beautifully finished and very impressive looking, very elegant, the cabins were fine, after all is it a river ship so smaller is reasonable, and the en suite shower room was the best I have ever seen on a ship. The beds were great and small touches like chocolates in a jar were great. I hated the non provision of fresh cold water and no fridge, for 6 star I expect a cabin fridge and I am not interested in having to refill a tiny water bottle ever time I go out, then carry it around to bring back. I understand its about saving water and plastic, but this deep love for the environment was not extended to saving forests with loads of ridiculous letters, envelopes etc... being delivered daily. I don't mind the letters, but whilst I value the planet, on my holiday I would like some cold water provided on tours. Perhaps guests should be given a choice of refilling daily a small metal canister or having chilled bottled water for a tour. On arrival there was some fruit in the room, this disappeared after 24 hours. The cruise manager Kirsten was outstanding, and actually most of the staff were impressive, the reception desk staff were second to none, and bar staff brilliant also. I thought the food was exceptionally disappointing as was the whole dinning room experience, on occasion I felt more like I was at camp than 6 star. Buffet breakfast and buffet lunch, with tepid food and moderate dishes. Shared tables and slow clearing of plates, and slow drink delivery - such that often the drink arrived at the end of the meal. The evening meal served at 7pm daily was of a very low standard, cheap ingredients, I was looking forward to Lobster, Dover Sole, Scallops etc.... think more a bit of trout, a falafel ball or a bit of salmon. Usually cold, and on occasion the wrong order. 3 desserts, usually one of which being fruit salad, one being an ice cream and the other the main item, but often a cake. Ridiculously although the menu has the 3 desserts on occasion you are given without choice a special 'treat' dessert even if you don't want it. This was the worst dining experience I have ever had on a ship and not worthy of the hefty uniworld price tag. Heaven forbid you want to eat something outside of the very limited restaurant hours, the room service menu is dreadful and after 5pm even worse as it changes. The Viennese cafe, had a exceptionally limited range of offerings, but did usually have one nice, cake, come cheese and hot dogs. The tours were excellent, and the concert evening in Vienna very special. Be warned this is an action holiday, tours leave 8-9 depending on the day and you need to be ready and fed before departure. Thats fair enough, its the river cruise formula, although on some occasions we did wonder why they started quite so early as it did not seem necessary. On balance we did have a great holiday but we felt the price and six star offering were misleading, staff other than food staff were 6 star, the food was 3 star and value for money was very low. We will probably river cruise again, and whilst I am happy to pay for luxury, I am not happy to pay for it and then not get it, so I shall look very hard at the price and offering of the competition next time round. Uniworld, You need to up your game big time on the total experience the moment a guest enters the dininig room. It transforms 4-5 star to 2/3 star. Read Less

This was our 3rd Uniworld cruise and our last. The food was passable at best, with poor meat quality, limited fruits, and the worst bakery products ever. The chef is into recycling and as an example we had duck with sweet/sour red cabbage at night; the next day the remaining red cabbage was mixed with white rice. Another example of the quality is a snack when we returned from the Strauss Concert; hotdogs. pretzel buns, and goulash soup at 10:30 pm The buffet has limited hours and about 1/2 way though the opening hours items are combined to one side, cheese board never replenished, etc. Not one dinner entrée was outstanding ; the veal and beef items were tough. Soups were either salty or watery. Cakes were dry, breads choices repetitive and wine selection adequate. Service on Uni continues to be their best product. Our waiter "Z" was superb as was the entire staff. Excursions were a mixed bag with a superb tour of Linz, a spectacular concert in Vienna, and the remaining ok. Tours tend to stop for hours at churches eliminating the time in the cities. The guides were good for the most part; I am sure it is Uniworld who plans the itinerary. By the way Brataslavia is a find, and Uni would do well to spend more time there and less in Durnstein. Uniworld has decimated their value and you might as well take a mid range line with the largest cabin . Read Less

Arrived at St Petersburg one day early, took a cab to the hotel we booked online, then took a cab to the boat dock the next day. No problems and STP is easy if you are within walking distance of the City Centre, as we were. English widely spoken. If you are using taxis, write (or have somebody write) the address in Russian. Even better, spend part of a week learning Russian Cyrillic before you leave home (it's very easy, although you may not know the Russian word once you translate it). This will save you tons of time when looking for restaurants, etc. Google Maps does NOT show the boat dock address correctly (it shows the address in the middle of an industrial road, under a highway bridge a half mile away from the correct location!). All of the boat staff were Russian, except for the concierge, who was Bulgarian. Absolutely great service and enthusiasm - five stars for the staff!. The guides were great, the buses pretty new and we took advantage of all the "Do as the Locals do" tours and walking alternatives (instead of busses). Food was always great. Lots of non-meat alternatives. Breakfast & Lunches (and some late dinners after the ballet or other shows) were buffet-style. Wine was like other cruises, just so-so. Older well-traveled crowd, no children. No pool, walking deck, kid-type games; this cruise is for adults who aren't afraid to travel and interact with other cultures. Everything perfectly safe and enjoyable. This was our ninth cruise (fifth river cruise) and, except for a small-boat cruise down the interior Amazon, probably the best. Fairly basic on-board facilities, especially for a Uniworld cruise. Very small fitness room and library. Massage was just OK. Very nice 24-hour coffee/cookie rooms which we used every morning. Onboard entertainment was simple but very nice; nightly musical concerts from a pianist and/or a saxophone player and/or a balalaika player and/or two singers. Daily lectures about Russian history and culture which were frank, open and extremely well done. Three days in St Petersburg were not enough (we actually had four, because we arrived early) and three days in Moscow also not enough. The week on the rivers (we were on four) was a good break from the cities; small towns, more free time, interesting rural river views. The weather in late June varied from the low 60's to the mid 80's. We are fairly well-traveled (over sixty countries to-date) and we enjoyed every stop and tour. If you're main interest is the boat - plush, super-comfortable cruise facilities - you will probably be disappointed. If you are looking to preliminarily explore Russia in a comfortable and safe manner with helpful staff, and great guides, you can't miss with this cruise. Read Less

Started Wed June 13 in Lisboa. Met at airport and transferred and given handout for restaurants etc around hotel. Site representative and most folks start the next day. We visited the zoo on Thurs. Briefing was Thurs night. Fri was city tour in am and on own in PM (too few picked extra cost optional). Sat was on own or optional extra cost guided tour. Sun transforms to visit with stop at Coimbra Univ. Then finally on ship at Cais Gai. Trip ok. Problem for me is other than visits to Port vineyards and hearing about port wine, there didn't seem much of interest on the Douro. Maybe that is why the start in Lisboa and day trip to Salamanca. And after getting to Salamanca we were mostly by ourselves. Memorable events were the visit to the Archeolgical site at Coa (NOT for folks with mobility issues), going through the Carrapatelo dam (2nd upriver from Porto) the deepest in Europe and "Mr Bean" at the dinner at the Enoteca da Avessada. The most memorable was an accident. The ship was docked at Cais Gai the evening of June 23 before Sai Joao day. Great fire work display at midnight right in front of us from boats in midriver and the bridge. Unlike others I really like the diff Portuguese food. And one could always ask for e.g. the striploin steak and fries etc from the alt menu. Read Less

Our June trip was a chartered cruise we chose with a group for continuing education but also for the opportunity to experience the amazing Uniworld service and the beautiful Bordeaux region of France. We were met at the Airport (CDG) in Paris and drove into Paris by a driver in a van, which was a very slow and heavily trafficked route. We took advantage of Uniworld pre-cruise nights in Paris at the Westin Vendome to hit the major sites (hint, get your Eiffle tower tickets early to avoid disappointment, they are available online 3 months ahead of time) The day of the cruise we were escorted in a motor coach to the speedy and smooth TGV first class train to Bordeaux , which is also easily done on one's own if desired. The River Royale is beautiful, the service is impeccable. After a short 10 minute wait we were checked in at the boat. Our category 2 stateroom had lots of storage and a comfortable bed, but not much room to walk around besides that! Each member of the staff is friendly, welcoming, and attentive. The food is excellent. The wines were delicious. we had an enjoyable wine tasting seminar with the sommelier. The included tours were informative. We took bikes out in Bordeaux along the river for a lovely ride on the first day. There were optional tours, we did the cooking class with a master chef in a chateau which was magical. The Cognac tour sold out quickly so darn we missed that one. There was a WW2 bunker tour which was favorably reviewed by my husband. We especially enjoyed bike tours through the vineyards. The motorcoaches are luxurious. Evening entertainment was low key except for one dance party night, and very enjoyable. Uniworld sets up a rooftop self-serve bar which is nice in the evening, and we enjoyed evening fireworks due to the Festival of Wine in Bordeaux happening concurrently. We used the fitness center 2 times, the bikes, and active tours, as well as the jacuzzi and sauna. Read Less

I chose the cruise because it was a decent price and I had never visited Venice before. I wasn't overly excited for the cruise before leaving, as I love cruising on the rivers and this was not on a river. From the moment we boarded though, we were totally pampered. The ship was beautifully decorated and even though we were on the bottom level, we never felt like we were less than the passengers in the suites. The drinks were free flowing and the bartender was always willing to try a new concoction. Our chef Bogdon was brilliant and made every meal special and delicious. When I saw him buying the fresh octopus at the local fish market, I thought to myself "Not eating that". Well I did eat it and it was so delicious, I had seconds. Our waiter Dan made every meal a fun experience. Always had a great smile and a little joke for us. It's little things like that that make a cruise special. The excursions that Uniworld arranged were great. We had wonderful and knowledgeable guides giving us so much information on the history of everywhere that we went. One thing that I was disappointed in was Uniworld's decision to discontinue the "Easy walking tours". I have a very bad knee and had some rib bruising and could no way keep up with the group. We also had people well into their 80's (87 yrs.) that had health issues and had a hard time keeping up. Take note Uniworld, most of your passengers are 60+ and some have health/physical problems. They should beable to be comfortable taking the tours and not have to struggle to keep up. Read Less

My fiancé received an incentive trip provided by Brother sewing machines. We started in Amsterdam and also stopped in Germany, Switzerland and ending in Basel, France. All the way from special dining foods and wines in what ever region we were in was a delight on this all inclusive cruise. The service by the wonderful crew was superb! Nicolay runs a wonderful dining room, any request I had he fulfilled for us. Great waiters and waitresses, all had their own special qualities Plus the bar with Mariya and Silviya working very hard to please, constantly smiling. They never tell you no. Anthony making sure we were introduced to each city we came into port on great excursions. Our cabin was wonderfully taken care of by Tihimore who had a ready smile she shared. It felt like home the entire stay. Thank you so much, made many memories for myself and my fiancé. Read Less

I chose this cruise because I have osteoarthritis in my knees and they advertised "gentle walking". I've been on over 20 cruises, but this was our first river cruise. We stayed at the Corinthia in Budapest for two nights before leaving on the cruise. The hotel is affiliated with Uniworld and we booked through them. We really loved the hotel; it was lovely, comfortable, and centrally located. Our transfer to the ship was smooth. The River Dutchess was built in 2003, and needed an update. We had one of four suites, which was considerably smaller than I expected. One of the amenities advertised for suite guests was a spa service. When I asked about that on board, the spa manager told me that this amenity was discontinued. On our first evening underway, the cruise manager told the passengers that the gentle walking option was also discontinued. Some of the passengers were using canes. Many of us were upset by this. The cruise manager then agreed to see if some gentle walker guides were available for the excursions. As it turned out, about half of the walking excursions offered this. Although these groups were supposed to be for slower walkers, if you stopped to take a picture or look in a shop window, the group moved on. Almost all of the excursions involved 2 to 4 miles of walking over cobblestones. 16 to 24 mile bike excursions were also offered. The excursions were centered around wine or beer tastings, and alcohol was the prime entertainment activity on the ship. Alcohol was included in the price, and some people drank from early morning to midnight. The food was plentiful and tasty but tended to be heavy German dishes. Wine was sometimes added to soups and poured over ice cream. If you prefer not to imbibe, you are out of luck. The service was very good, and we enjoyed the ports, but unless you are a brisk walker and heavy drinker, find another vacation alternative. Read Less