This was out 5th cruise with Uniworld and the previous 4 were great. We were looking forward to seeing Portugal with same quality. Unfortunately, we were disapppomted. Many of the tours Included excessive free/shopping time, and the meals were below the standard that we had come to expect. There was an emphasis on Portuguese food, but it was not planned with an appropriate consideration for the tastes of the non-Portuguese clientele. Hot food was often served warm or cold. There were many times where tours could have been expanded and where experts could have been brought on board during sailing times to improve the quality of the experience while providing better insight to Portuguese history, culture, and customs. Outstanding service and staff support helped to offset some of the problems. We thoroughly enjoyed our trips on the Rhine and in France and are looking forward to a trip in the fall to Italy. Overall, while I would still recommend Uniworld, I cannot recommend this particular trip. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the chance to explore the Bordeaux and Provencal areas of France, and our travel agent recommended Uniworld as being an excellent line. We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful ship with its elegant French décor and contemporary art, its kind and helpful staff, and the surprisingly good food and wine. Our cabin had a French window, very comfortable bed, lovely bath with heated towel bars and floor, and excellent storage. We even took a photo of the closet interior with its shelves, racks, and drawers! The excursions were generally good to excellent, although my husband, who has hearing difficulties, found the microphone system incompatible with his hearing aids. I relayed to him as much as I could of the commentary. High points: the Pont du Gard, the little town of Beaune, and Viviers with its tour of a potter's studio and a potting demonstration by the potter himself. There were a few niggles: we had only 2 1/2 hours in Arles, which surely merits a full day. The person who showed us to our cabin did not explain how to open the window or turn on the lights or activate the light to indicate we were sleeping in. Room service was quite limited. The self service laundry (a fine touch) had machines which needed an engineer to operate. Everyone in the laundry room was extremely frustrated, and there was no promised iron to press our clothing. And then there was the Mistral: powerful winds (at least 40-50 mph) that blew for three days and forced us to walk horizontally on the excursions. We had read about these winds (which are supposedly capable of blowing the ears off a donkey), and now we have met them personally. These are minor points, and obviously Uniworld cannot control the weather. The food was extremely varied and delicious, with efforts made to include the cuisine and wines of the areas we visited. We particularly enjoyed the buffet lunches with their colorful variety and choices, the homemade soups and delectable Chef-made ice creams. One day lunch featured oysters in the half shell! The waiters and wine steward were knowledgeable, friendly, and efficient. We felt pampered and educated by this cruise and recommend Uniworld unreservedly. Read Less

We choose.this cruise in hopes of seeing all that Egypt has to offer and its amazing history and culture. We flew from the US thus the flight time and time difference leave you a little out of sync. Getting test is critical and being organized is a priority. We felt safe during our travels as many safety features are in place. We were able to visit many ket sites that are simply amazing. The Egyptian people are very friendly and want to see a smile on your face. The River Cruise has and outdated ship but very clean. Our main gaol on the ship was to rest and dine. We did not go to Egypt to party and stay up late. The Kitchen Staff goes out of their way all the time on every meal this was surprising the food was good. My only request was that they would offer a package of beverages for free outside of water, tea, or coffee. All drinks are very expensive a small coke cost over 2 dollars. Forget the minibar just water. The rooms were very clean and the service was great. The Bus Rides to destination only offered water traffic was and issue. The 4 seasons Hotel is amazing great rooms make sure you get a high floor to avoid the street noise the Italian restaurant is the best. Pick up to the airport and back was good except for departure you have to leave 4 hours prior to flight. My concern with this trip is we made 4 stops to visit local stores with 30 people on the bus this was a waste of time as we did not travel this far to go to stores they should make this optional I would have rather been at the hotel resting. My biggest concern was when we had locals attached their boat outside our rooms screaming out our window for 45 minutes to buy stuff which was a little to much and concerning. This was on our first day and it happened twice with 2 different boats. I called the front desk multiple times and they told me both time it would take 5 minutes which was not the case. Being upset and concerned about our safety, privacy, and lack of sleep having someone attached to your boat outside your room I was hoping for a more proactive response. The Hotel Manager spoke to me during dinner but his response left a lot to be desired. I mentioned we had flown over 15 hours and the last thing we need is to have someone screaming outside our room latched on to the boat. The Boat crew was over the top nice we had no issues with any one for lack of service. After the first day we had no more issues with the small boats attaching to our Ship. I tried to share in a diplomatic way that we did not travel this far to go into 4 stores with 30 people having to waste about 4 hours time when there is so much more you can be doing that is much more logical. Most of the folks buying stuff was trinkets for friends or family members that you could buy all over the streets of Egypt. Coming from the states were we could buy almost anything from Amazon delivered to your doorstep this was the opposite experience wait fore ever for people to get in and off a bus to go into a store were you are flooded around not having a clue what you are looking at or what it is worth and why the heck do you need it. Everywhere you go in on the Tour you have people trying to sell you stuff our tour guide even thought it was a good idea to have some of the folks come on some mini cruises with us amazing. As far as Egypt is concerned we felt very safe except for the cruise having the boat attached to us. The People are very nice there is a lot of poverty thus they try there best to make a living selling tourist trinkets, garments, it is a rich culture with and amazing history. The River Cruise is well balanced the meals are amazing and the guest blended in well with the crew. The Guides should probably do powerpoint presentations or have in room videos of your daily events for preparation and learning. Having a lecture outside for 30 minuets in the Egypt heat is not good a couple of people passed out. Some of the tours are challenging the guide does not let you know until the day you are there. I do not know if we are spoiled or just take things for granted but with a little coaching this great group of people can have a much more positive outcome for folks who traveled so far to see there great country. the sites were amazing we were blessed with great guest from all over the US and Australia. I only wish we did not waste so much time doing things like leaving 4 hours early to the Airport at Midnight with no traffic or stopping at stores. I am hoping this review helps the folks at UNIWORLD Develop a better game plan as I thing we wasted 2 days of time which is 20 percent of our vacation doing things that could have been avoided. I also heard other guest mentioned that a uniform tip would be helpful rather than having to make multiple stops at banks to pay the Bus driver, Tour guide, Hotel staff etc. Yes we also spent over 1 hour stoping at banks for people to get off the bus to go to a ATM. In summary Egypt is a great place to visit we felt the people were great we only wish that the organization four this amazing country for a tourist to visit had more detail prior to tours and less shopping. I also thing the guides should be more helpful telling the street vendors to give us some space. Prior to leaving get some rest bring lots of small bills and make sure you make time to rest when you get back home. I hope this was helpful and I want to thank all the great people who made a difference in our trip. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we had such a great a few years ago on the aDanube with Uniworld. We wanted to visit France and thought the Avignon to Lyon trip would be good. The ship was clean and elegant. The crew was outstanding including; Paul, Daniel, Christian, Mila, Elana and others. We reunited with Paul, a great waiter, whom we met on the prior Danube trip. His personal service was so nice. We had friend on board from the time of our arrival. Excursions were enjoyable with unique experiences and knowledgeable local guides. Our favorites includes: lunch with the Count, mid day stops in Vivere, Arles and Macon. Great wine tasting throughout the cruise. Those tastings were top notch. Cuisine on board was super. We were trilled at each meal. The dinners were all unique. The daily activities were well planned as well. We would travel with Uniworld again and are thankful for the memorable trip they delivered. Read Less

We have traveled with Uniworld several times in the past and had always had wonderful experiences. This trip was not wonderful. I knew that this ship was leased by Uniworld but did not realize how much difference that would make. The worst time was when a group of 8 of us arrived at the designated meeting spot in Salamanca, Spain only to find that there was no Uniworld rep there to meet us. Nothing like being stranded in a foreign country with no map and no emergency contact information. When we were docked in Porto (actually in Gaia), the docking spot was next to a restaurant with an open deck where loud parties went on till 3 or 5 AM both nights we were there. Cabin cleaning services were random, at best. Food was fine, I guess, but I can think of at least 6 of the guests on this cruise who were sick with some kind of stomach virus during the cruise. The scenery along the Douro is lovely, but don't expect a Uniworld experience. Read Less

The boat was nice, crew friendly, and well organized and food very good. Some points to consider: * We travel often and don’t use a travel agent. Being our first time with UW, we booked by phone. The customer service reps were less than helpful, and when notified of our “late” flight time, said that if we had read the small print in the contract we received a couple of days after booking, that we would have seen that UW doesn’t provide transportation to the boat if you flight arrives after 5 o’clock. (our flight arrived at 6). We would need to find on own way to the ship. We took a taxi to the river, and finally found the boat among the 12 that were there. * All the tours are included in the price of the trip. If you don’t want to take one or more you are paying for them anyway. Some tours are back to back on the same day. If you want only the second tour you must go on the first one or pay for transportation to catch up with them for the second. * A lot of the towns are not close to where the boat is docked. You are bussed into the town and told when the bus will be back to pick you up. If you want to come back earlier you can find a place to sit and wait * Meal times change from day to day as they are arranged around the tour schedules. If breakfast is 7- 8:30 and you don’t want to go on the tour, you still must be at breakfast during that time. Since the eating period is so short the staff move quickly to get you out in time for the tours. Leaving your seat to get additional food will mean that your plate and all silverware will be gone when you get back. If you miss breakfast, room service is a roll, orange juice and coffee. * Schedule times can change daily, so you are given next day’s schedule the night before. Always check with the front desk though, because there may be adjustments. And what’s on the schedule is sometime suspect. One tour was “scheduled” to return to the boat an hour after the boat “left”, another schedule had the boat arriving and leaving at the same time. Read Less

Cruising on Uniworld Joi de Vivre was a pleasure almost beyond description. This small boat had an outstanding staff in every way. Open seating for the meals made dining a pleasure rather than the usual hassle of "cruise food". All inclusive really meant all inclusive. I had a 60.00 Euro bill when I checked out because of laundry and one extra excursion. (A great wine tasting). Our staff called us all by name after the first evening's dinner. The excursions were extremely well planned and all went off without a hitch. The highlight of the trip was the Beaches of Normandy. Our French guide provided an excellent narrative of the days events. Highly recommend this as a trip for everyone. Be prepared for a full schedule on the excursion days. Lots of walking, particularly Richard The Lion Hearts castle. That might not be for everyone. Versailles was also a great excursion but had a lot of steps, so also might not be great for people with mobility issues. Read Less

Horrible guide, dreadful cruise experience as we were not on ship--long bus trips, guide did not give information or attend to our comfort, safety or try to give us a good experience. The food on the ship was wonderful, the people on the ship were wonderful, but 4 days out of 7, no sailing, and the promised excursions mostly did not happen. Instead we got long bus rides to second or third rate destinations, and, most importantly, NO GUIDES!!! The guides waited by the busses, chatting, and left us to find our own way. Silent or chatted with the drivers during the drives. One guest fell land broke her arm, another was left behind when she could not find her way to the bus in time. The guide made strange choices--walking us up long outside staircases by parking garages instead of into main entrances off main streets, putting us in hotels with no porters and not helping with luggage, even for the lady with the broken arm--just generally glad to be home! Read Less

I researched thoroughly and came to the conclusion that Uniworld were the best in the market. I was not in anyway disappointed. The staterooms are a little tight (going to be refitted this winter and more spacious are part of the plan) but the bed and bedding was to die for, there was plenty of space for storage and loads of hangers for the 2 of us. The shower was also excellent, room service superb. We cannot speak too highly of the staff, they work very hard and always have a genuine smile. The food was the best, simply delicious and beautifully served. The bar staff were superbly trained, all were excellent but special mention for Marietta the Bar manager and the Sommelier Nedko, his wine tastings were interesting, informative and fun. Reception staff and crew members were ready to help at any time. Sharon the Uniworld Rep organised all the off boat excursions and did a great job. I would love to mention everyone by name but I am afraid this would go on far too long but they all deserve to be congratulated. We will certainly travel Uniworld again. Read Less

We contracted this cruise with others through a common travel agent and received great value. The rooms on the 3rd level are quite small, requiring my wife and I to signal each other as to where we were headed in the room in order to make space for us to pass. There is sufficient closet space, few drawers, a good safe, and interestingly the wall covers have a foam base which eliminates all noise other than that in the room. The daily trips related to the Jewish Excursions throughout the week and the guides, with one exception, were among the best we have experienced. Everything was easy here, prompted by a rather modest size passenger list. The food was from good to very good, with outstanding restaurant service, especially the maître d' who provided my wife at every meal with a serrated knife since she has problems with her hand. He would come up behind us, wherever we sat, and unobtrusively replace the cutlery. And he had the cook prepare a side dish for a passenger we sat with based on her request. MOST IMPRESSIVE. There is less to do in the afternoons after the tours and other than a piano player, nothing in the evening...with one exception. While the cruise director did good work describing the castles on the Rhine, more information would have been very helpful and more entertainment in the evening would have enhanced the trip. Our room was kept spotless, and the ship itself was exceedingly clean. It was a comfortable cruise with a very attentive staff. I wish that it had some added features in order for me to recommend this excursion to others. Read Less