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Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection

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Europe - British Isles & Western

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S.S. Antoinette

River Empress

Queen Isabel

River Duchess

Joie de Vivre

River Queen

S.S. Maria Theresa

River Princess

S.S. Sao Gabriel

River Countess

S.S. Catherine

Great ship and cruise

I will start with the things I like and that was the ship.  It was very nice and cabin was very comfortable.  We had the deluxe french balcony.  One closet that had draws below was useless because it hit the night stand and you could not open the draws.  As usual the service was excellent.

Now on to what I did not like.  I thought the food was just OK.  I never had a meal where I said that was wonderful.  The last night of the cruise I got halibut for dinner and it was dry and tough.  Not good.  Breakfast and lunch were buffets and they were good.  

This was our third cruise with Uniworld.  The first was Budapest to Prague and the second was Paris to Normandy.  My favorite so far was Budapest to Prague.  I thought the scenery on the Castles along the Rhine was not as pretty as the Danube.  The ports where we docked the areas was more industrialized.  I enjoy being able to just walk off the ship and walk into the towns.  This cruise most of the stops you had to board a bus for the excursions to get into the towns.  Not a big deal just my preference to just to be able to walk into town.  

We also did the pre-extension in Lucerne and that was wonderful and I think worth the cost.  We also did the post extension in Amsterdam and I think I could of done that much cheaper on my own.  So not my favorite cruise but I am already looking to book another.

Castles along the Rhine

Basel to Amsterdam…an area we had not explored…last time on Uniworld was 2008….much improved since then, the cabin was a suite on Princess deck 4**, while pricey we enjoyed all the little perks like the well stocked frig, snacks, loads of storage for a river boat plus the little balcony. Tho for the most part the weather was typical of that time of year, cloudy followed by rain and more cloudy…the windows in the balcony comes half way down….the lighting in the room was very dim…but all the little niceties like reading lights & TVS….food was a real bright spot much better then we had in the past…Buffett breakfast & lunch…rotating menus for plated dinner…

Wines very good most European  wines from the areas. Bar service was great. Most the staff were men from Romania. 

Not done well was the transfer into Amsterdam from a small town about 45 minutes from Amsterdam…bus was fine but we were not told in advance that we would not be docking in Amsterdam…so bus let us off near the train station with mobs of people and quite a hike with luggage to get in line for a taxi….should have had someone to assist the guests….we were on our own…

Would we cruise with them again yes, most likely with our adults children…just wish the cruises were longer!

Pleasantly Surprised 

What a fantastic itinerary on the Rhine River and I just loved this ship! She is small and compact but brings the destination on board with local meals and local wines. I would recommend this itinerary for anyone who wants to see lots of small towns and villages in Europe. The crew on our cruise were outstanding and the attention to detail in the dining room was very impressive. Our waitress recognised from our last cruise and it felt lovely to be remembered. We love that Uniwrold includes everything and that we get a selection of shore excursions each day. That is what sets Uniworld apart from Viking. I also love not having to sign for our drinks and have the gratuities included. In fast I love paying for my holiday before we go with Uniworld. Can highly recommend this trip and would consider doing this again for hte Christmas season.

Loved this itinerary and this ship

Jost Van Dyke

We traveled on the SS Antoinette from Amsterdam to Basel on October 2-9, 2022.  The ship is decorated in Uniworld unique décor that is very ornate. Our room 314 was nice and had comfortable beds, ample storage, nice sized bathroom and worked well for our stay.  I would liked to have had more USB type outlets. Just one outlet next to bed.  There is a tv mounted with many stations, music, movies, and ship cameras.  Tip, use the lounge camera and turn the volume up and you can listen to the next day’s briefing from your room.  The French balcony window was very nice. We were blessed with nice weather and would lower the window many times.  Maria (with the pig tales) took great care of our room and we had no issues with it at all.  The ship is nice and has the type of layout of river ships with a lounge, dining room but in the case of SS Antoinette also a top deck dining area (which was closed for season on our trip), and a top deck lounge, the Leopold room where we spent many a night after dinner.  There is a gym on board with several machines to ensure a good work out.  Also on board is a pool with a resistance jet that allows you to swim laps and remain stationary.  This was a great feature and we swam daily.  Exercise classes were held every morning in the pool area but I never made it to any.  Also near the pool area are the SPA treatment rooms. Many guests I spoke with had massage and said it was one of the best they had. One the lower level there is a cinema room decorated with classic movie posters and there were movies shown but I never attended. Also on this level is a small boutique and self-service laundry.  This was a great feature.  Wash pods were available from reception and included in the cruise. 

We found the food on board to be very good. There was always something we enjoyed to eat at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The German themed lunch was great, and the Lamb wellington we had one day was great.  Oh and the rack of lamb was very nice.  I was glad that diner portions were not too huge and you left full but not over stuffed. The staff were attentive and worked hard to accommodate you. 

In the lounge there were two automated coffee machines that you could get a latte or espresso.  These came in handy, and of course pasteries in the am and cookies in the pm. Also here were jars of sweets like gummy bears. 

Our journey on the Rhine was very nice and we stopped at many locations.  Excursions were hit or miss for me. Some were excellent (vinegar tour)  while others particularly Heidelberg left too little time to explore the town.  To each his own I guess.  Overall we enjoyed our trip and I can see the value of a Uniworld cruise over other lines. 

One comment about the ship is the lighting sconces in the passage ways to rooms. These should be replaced. I stepped out of way as someone passed by and bumped one which left a bruise on my arm. These need to be ADA compliant and should be higher so this could not occur. Maybe the next re-fresh it will be addressed.

Enjoyable cruise 

11.24.22


We recently completed a Uniworld Cruise (Castles Along the Rhine) on the ship, SS Antoinette from Basel to Amsterdam (09.25.22 to 10.02.22 with a post-cruise extension for all in Amsterdam until 10.04.22).  two (2) Parents (us), two (2) Adult children with spouses for a total of six (6) guests.  

We as parents paid for all the costs including air from Uniworld Air Dept, Uniworld Insurance, and excursions.  A substantial cost to say the least: around $75K.  No small sum.

VERY DISSATISFIED.

Here was the problem:  fully 80 guests out of the 120 on board (2/3) were part of a group/convention (another unhappy guest gave us this information).  And we were in no away aware of this in advance.  This was a great problem for the rest of us.

I wrote a letter to Uniworld on Oct. 8 AND returned their online survey to let them know how extremely disappointed I was with absolutely no reply from them as of November.  

First, I want to commend the ship’s Captain, crew, staff, dining staff and housekeeping for doing an excellent job throughout the cruise.  They were always professional, helpful, and cheerful.  Nice, hardworking staff just like other Uniworld cruises that we as parents have joined:  Rhine (Amsterdam to Basel), Milan to Venice to Rome and The Seine to Normandy in France.  This was our 4th European river cruise with Uniworld.  In the past, cruising with Uniworld has been an exceptional experience.

However, that is the extent of our satisfaction. The overall experience was negative.

After the final payments were made in March of 2022, I checked the website often to see how the cruise was doing and found “sold out” in most every cabin category.  So, I know that Corporate knew of this group/convention in advance. How about some communication to the rest of us?

These comments are based on actual observations:  

*Instead of a quiet, stress-free vacation, we found ourselves among the group who had moved chairs, etc. in the lounge consistently in order to congregate en masse. Definitely not serene, quiet place to enjoy! 

*In addition, the dining room became a stressful race to obtain a decent table before the group overran that area.  We are talking about probably 3 meals a day times 7 days.  21 races to the dining room. My daughter overheard the group trying to reserve window seating for themselves which the cruise personnel were able to carefully manage.

*Then there were the excursions:  The group pretty much dominated and filled up the options that had limits.  Some of the group that I talked to shared that their ‘Director’ took care of everything.  I definitely DID NOT see 80 people standing at the front desk to individually sign up for excursions with limited spaces. Not at all.

* If I had known that this large group would be on board and dominated the public areas and excursions, I would have changed our sailing dates and never have kept the dates that we had!

Suggestions:

1.  If there is a large group booked, Uniworld should notify the other guests and offer them options, i.e., rebook another time at no cost, etc. I would NOT have kept these dates knowing at least 2/3 of the guests would be part of a cohesive group.

2.  Uniworld should consider limiting the spaces on the limited excursions proportionately to how the large the group is:  2/3 of the ship, 2/3 of the available spaces possibly for them, and the rest open for other guests. 

At least others would have a chance.  The process should be fair and not dominated by a large number (or cohesive group) of guests.  Once, I was on a wait list as was the guest in front of me because our choice was full, and we are still waiting on the ‘wait list’ after over one month after the cruise ended.

3.  Of most importance to me was taking the family to the Heidelberg excursion early on the cruise because my family roots are from that area, and I wanted the kids to experience the castle and scenic views. This was the main purpose of our trip.  Totally disappointed.  Booked and no room for us. Our alternative, an unguided walk into Mannheim which was totally disappointing.

4.  Same with Rudesheim Walk with Cable Car Ride.  No room for us.

It should be noted that I did talk to staff about my disappointment.  I shared my overall disappointment with the Hotel Manager and the Cruise Manager.  Short cursory conversations with no real apologies or solutions.

*Finally, other guests not in the large group were similarly affected as I did observe a man angrily and loudly protesting the dining issue when he was at the front desk on the very first night, Sunday, Sept. 25 and heard dissatisfaction occasionally as I passed other guests during the cruise.

It would be nice to know how Uniworld will handle dining and excursions on an equitable basis under these circumstances in the future when most of a ship is occupied by a large group.  It is certain that this was a negative experience for our family and will influence our consideration of future Uniworld Cruises.

Totally disappointing

Our cruise was great value. The "Marie Antoinette / Louis VI" decor was good fun - lots of mirrors and gold, like Versailles. 

Restaurant and meals were excellent, drinks unlimited, service great. 

We had the lowest deck cabin, with just a high window, but it was fine. We spent all our free time on deck, or the lounge etc. I wouldn't pay more for a French Balcony or Full Balcony, on this or any ship. 

Everything was in excellent condition and worked perfectly. 

Our cruise was Basel to Amsterdam. On board cruise director Martin Kummer very good and entertaining. 

We were lucky with weather, a morning of cloud and fine drizzle through some of the Rhine Gorge and Lorelei, but otherwise fine. 

Excursions great. Recommend vinegar tour, Heidelberg, Koblenz, Rudesheim. I heard the winery (alternative to vinegar tour) was a bit average. But I think we've all seen enough wineries these days. 

 The Gerard Richter window in Koln Cathedral was simply mind-blowing.

Our travel agent recommended this cruise line over others. We had had a wonderful experience with Tauck’s musical cruise on the Danube but she said there’s no comparison in terms of Uniworld being a better experience.

My first reaction upon entering the boat’s lobby is that it looked cluttered. There is a large blue chandelier that overpowers the small area. Downstairs in the reception area there is a table with blue and white vases and green apples that provided a pleasing vignette. The stairs themselves are rather steep and curved, which to me seemed like a recipe for a fall if not being very careful. 

About a month prior to departure we were offered an upgrade to a suite, which we were glad we took, since it offered much more space than the French balcony. That classification offers butler service, but we rarely took advantage except for laundry, which always came back later in the day and was beautifully done. The “balcony” is actually an inset into part of the room with two small chairs and a table plus a window that will open half way. It was nicely appointed including a live orchid. There was limited opportunity to use the balcony, as most of the time the boat moved at night and when docked, we were either up against another boat, a concrete wall, or similar uninteresting view.  The room decor seemed a bit heavy but the bed was very comfortable and we like the size of the bathroom and the storage under the two sinks, plus towel and floor warmers. The shower often backed up into the main floor area. 

One major disadvantage to that particular cabin (402) is that it can be noisy with lots of footsteps outside and overhead, evening during the night. It is near the main gathering area, which added to the noise, plus the neighboring room played their TV hanging on the wall adjacent to our bed loudly playing past midnight. I mentioned something to the hotel director, suggesting that our neighbors play the TV by their bed instead. That worked one night only... .                             

One of our major complaints about this ship is that the gathering areas were very noisy...We traveled with another couple and could barely hear each other while dining. Upon request, they reserved a table in the back of the room, which helped. Even with the room partially filled, the sound level was very high and one could clearly hear conversations from two or three tables away. It did seem as if the there was fairly steady drinking among this crowd, which may have added to the decibels. 

Another serious issue was our experience at dinner. First, the waiters were understaffed, meaning that there was a sense of frantic about them (tho they were very pleasant and tried to be accommodating.) Often they tried to serve us the wrong order and usually it took well over 30’ to have our dinner plates removed. The food itself was sub par. There was only one night that I thought the entree was edible. Every other night I couldn’t eat it. When asked why my plate was full when they removed it, I told them and they responded “I’ll let the chef know”. All four of us on the cruise felt that the quality of food at dinner time tended to be dry as if sitting for too long before being served...and often without much taste. The breakfast was very nice and lunch was okay, tho repetitive. The offered cheeses, many of which were not of high quality...almost stale in some cases..and the fruit was usually unripe. We have been on several tours and sea cruises (Tauck, Lindblad, Crystal, Celebrity) and in all cases their food quality and service were superior to this.

The cruise director was upbeat and accommodating. That said, we thought the guided tours were rather bland and generic. We suggested to him it might be nice to include more information about the architecture and art/music in the particular areas and he said this “market” wasn’t interested in this. 

I want to reiterate that the crew were all very pleasant and worked hard. It seems that perhaps the corporate section of Uniworld needs to consider addressing some of these concerns, as I see that many other reviewers with similar comments.

Noisy and disappointing dinners

My wife and I just returned from our second Uniworld cruise.  The first was on the S.S. Catherine going from Lyon to Avignon in 2016.  It was excellent and initially we were a bit concerned that the Castles along the Rhine (Amsterdam to Basel) cruise might not live up to our experience in the south of France.  But it certainly did!

We spent 4 days in Amsterdam before boarding the S.S. Antoinette for the cruise.  (a perfect beginning we recommend for everyone)  We've read a few reviews complaining about the condition of the Antoinette - we have absolutely NO complaints about the ship.  

We booked a French balcony cabin which was very nice.  On our first trip we opted for a full balcony - which, as far as we are concerned was a mistake.  The French balcony configuration on the Antoinette is exactly the same square footage as the full balcony.  As on all river cruise lines, the staterooms are small but very functional.  We had no complaints about the cabin, amenities, bath, AC, steward service, or anything else.  All Uniworld ships are non-smoking except in specific above deck areas so there was no smell in the cabin.  As a safety engineer, I was pleased to see that all areas of the ship are sprinklered with smoke detectors.

Dining was excellent - plenty of choices for all meals.  Uniworld is all inclusive so all beverages were included.  Other reviewers have commented on the noise level in the dining room - and we experienced a similar issue.  But, it was NOT awful, contrary to other comments we've read.  However, we do suggest that the noise level in the dining room be evaluated to see if anything could be done to attenuate the noise.  (There was a large group (40+) of passengers, all on a sponsored excursion from one US State, who added greatly to the overall noise level.)

The excursions were also excellent, and the local guides were very knowledgeable.  The excursions themselves were very interesting and we really enjoyed the small towns we visited.  Strasbourg is a don't miss experience.  Definitely don't miss the vinegar tasting excursion!

The castles along the Rhine were beautiful.  The Cruise Director ("Pete"), told interesting stories about the history of each one.  In a nutshell, he did a fabulous job.

We chose to do a progressive dinner (small group) which included appetizers and a full meal and dessert while taking a guided tour of the ship including the kitchen, engine room (spotless!), and bridge.  It was very interesting seeing the inner workings of the Antoinette.

We had read about the low water level problems on the Rhine.  Although it was low, it was still passable and our sailing was just fine.  Fortunately, our weather was perfect the entire trip.  Bright sunshine all the way.

The crew was great - professional, helpful, and friendly.  All spoke English very well.

We didn't go on a river cruise expecting Las Vegas style entertainment.  But what there was, was nice.  Especially the guitar playing "guy with 2,000 songs."

Finally, we love the fact that river cruising is on small ships with far fewer passengers than on those ocean going monsters.  There were probably about 150 passengers on the Antoinette.  We met lots of very nice people, some of whom almost instantly became good friends.  In short, we had an absolute ball and we will be taking future river cruises in Europe with Uniworld.

Another great Uniworld cruise - Castles along the Rhine

We took a trip recently on this ship from Amsterdam to Basel, our thrip trip on Uniworld. Although the ship was beautiful and the crew were terrific, it may be our last such trip with this company because we found, especially at dinner that the dining room was so loud.  We complained and were told that others have raised the same concerns.

Part of the reason may be that the company has a policy of serving unlimited amounts of wine and liquor.  Some people do not know how to regulate themselves.  They below quite loud and obnoxious.  

The dining room needs major soundproofing and/or the company needs to rethink its policy re unlimited drinks.

Again, the ship is very nice, and the crew was terrific.  They went out of their way to meet our request for a specific food consistent with a religious holiday that took place during our cruise.  Our cabin was lovely.

But dinner consistently was not a pleasant experience.  We have written an extensive review for the company on this issue and have received no response.

Lovely ship & crew but VERY loud dining room.

My husband and I were passengers on the Basel to Amsterdam "Castles Along the Rhine" October 14-22, 2018 river cruise with Uniworld on board the SS Antoinette. On the second night( the first night of this "7 night voyage" was the overnight cruise to Breisach from Basel), we were informed that there was a possibility that the cruise might be cut short because of low river levels. Sure enough, at the 3rd evening update we were told that we would not be traveling any further on the boat. We were offered a four day, 3 night bus trip from Strasbourg to Amsterdam to complete our cruise. This would involve 3 overnight stops at hotels selected by Uniworld and we would receive vouchers for meals at each of the stops.Uniworld also offered $1000 per person off of a future cruise in 2019. Our group of 6 felt that since we had signed up for a cruise, we did not want to experience the Rhine by bus, nor did we want to pack and unpack our bags each night or have to search out restaurants for dinner at every stop, so we proposed to the cruise director that we would stay on the boat and return to Basel with the passengers that were being transferred from a southbound boat onto the SS Antoinette to complete their cruise. Late in the day on the 4th night we were told that our request had been accepted. This necessitated purchasing airline tickets from Basel to Amsterdam at a cost of $250per person since our return flights to the US were out of Amsterdam.

At the 3rd night update, when the cruise cancellation was announced , the captain stated that they had hoped that a weather system moving over the south of France would move further north and provide enough rainfall to fill the river so passage would be possible. The system never moved north. This indicated to us that Uniworld knew in advance of our departure that the river level was too low, since we had already been told within 24 hours of departure that cancellation was a possibility. We felt deceived and taken advantage of. Therefore on our return to the US we requested a full refund of our cruise faire. We were offered 20% refund and a $1000 credit for a cruise in 2019. 

I have also included pictures of the "upgraded" suite we were offered for the return to Basel. Uniworld promotes their cruises as an upscale, luxury experience. Somehow tattered throw pillows, a worn out lounge chair, stained bedcover and ripped curtain are their idea of luxury.

The meals onboard were also a huge disappointment. While the volume of food was more than adequate, the quality and preparation were sorely lacking.( ie.french onion soup consisted of 3 pieces of onion floating in weak beef broth with a cheese crouton on the side. This was served on two nights.)

Having only traveled as far as Strasbourg, we did not see any castles.

I gave this cruise 2 stars only because the staff was exceptional and the optional cooking class out of Strasbourg was amazing.

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