Scenic or Uniworld

Hi Everyone, Planning a Danube River Cruise, Prague to Budapest in 2016 and need to make a quick decision as rooms are booking fast! There are 4 couples going on the trip and we have narrowed it down to Uniworld or Scenic. Pros and cons to both, but main concern are the tours on Scenic. It seems that most are self guided ( If I am reading the info correctly) and don't include any UNESCO sites. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.:)

I only have Uniworld experience, but we have been impressed with *almost* all the tour guides on everyone of our excursions. You get the speaker system where you follow your guide, and you can ask questions, etc. But with the ear phone and transmitter, you can wander away a bit and catch up with them.

I've been very impressed with Uniworld's standard for service while on the cruise. I think you'd be very pleased with Uniworld. If you wanted, you could about just pack your bags and show up at the arriving airport and do very little planning of your own. They do take care of you. You will eat (and drink) very well and thoroughly enjoy yourselves.

Thanks Beeskate. I have been impressed from what I have read about Uniworld but have also read great reviews on Scenic which is less $. Our group is split between the two companies. I think the quality of the tours may be the deciding factor.

Of course it depends on what you are looking for but if you want an all-inclusive holiday without paying for optional extras then Scenic would be your best bet. From what I've read Scenic give you a number of choices for excursions in various ports and all are guided by local tour guides. If you want to go and explore on your own then Scenic offer you a self guided GPS type tour that you take by yourself.

As a Tauck fan this post might come as a surprise for some but if you're not considering Tauck then I would choose Scenic because I think they offer more value for your dollar.

... but main concern are the tours on Scenic. It seems that most are self guided

Hi

From experience last year, the offerings in your ports are:

BUDAPEST - You can choose between 3 tours - a guided bus tour of the sites of Buda and Pest, or the Hospital in the Rock, or the spa. OR you can do your own thing, using the tailormade device. We did the bus - it was a good overview of both sides of the river.

VIENNA - We had a city tour, then half day free. Next day we could choose between 3 tours - A half day to Bratislava, a half day at Schonbrunn or the Spanish Riding School. Plus there are a number of self catering Tailormade tours. We did Schonbrunn (fabulous but crowded), friends did Bratislava (poor guide), the Riding School MAY only be the stables tour, or the training session. You need to check. You won't have time to go to Bratislava AND Schonbrunn in the one day!

DURNSTEIN/MELK - Durnstein is small and pretty and not a lot to see. There was no organised tour. Should be a nice bikeride to Melk. Melk Abbey is fabulous - tours are very well organised.

PASSAU - Choice of day trips to Cesky-Kromlov (UNESCO I think?) or Salzburg. Both are LONG bus drives with lunch provided. We did CK which was great. As we were spending 3 days in Salzburg this choice was out for us. There are also self guide options.

REGENSBURG - Guided walking tours provided, or guide yourself.

NUREMBURG - Choice of city tour (start at castle and walk downhill) or WW2 sites. We did the city tour - ends in central plaza.

PRAGUE - didn't go there! :)

The only place that didn't provide a guided tour was Durnstein. Local guides are provided everywhere - often they are Uni Students and nearly all were excellent. You are flexible with the Tailormade devices, you can go at your own pace to a degree or stick to the safety of numbers. The guides ALWAYS start by telling you where the nearest "comfort stop" is or will be. Sometimes you have to pay for the loo (CK loo is at the bus stop when you arrive). If you have a longer stop in a city (say Vienna) you can stay in town to explore/eat at your own expense, or you can catch the shuttle bus back to the boat (in Vienna it takes about 30min) and have lunch for "free".

Hope this has been helpful - Haven't been on Uniworld, but I imagine Scenic is as "all included" as you can get. Our total bill at the end of the cruise was about $5 for laundry (which may now be included also) - which we only used because we had another 2 weeks of travel ahead of us.

Hope you enjoy whichever you choose. :)

Its REALLY all inclusive with Scenic, all drinks, all tips(even guides and drivers),free airport pick up(even if you book own flights),choice of 3 excursions in ea port(as stated above).Then theres the cabin, with butler,tubI(in some rooms),room service, internet,I could go on and on.

Have been on 12 river cruises,with ALL the major lines and Scenic is nowmy favorite.Just top notch,,oh great food.Can t go wrong.You really DO GET what you pay for.Left ship owing NADA,,even pressing clothes inc.:)

We took our first Uniworld trip down the Rhine last summer and have the Danube booked for the Christmas cruise this December. We thought Uniworld was wonderful. From the ship to the food and the excursions. If you go to Uniworlds website you can click on "Before You Go" the click on "Cruise Companion Guide" and you can download a guide that gives great detail about the included excursions. Uniworld typically offers a few optional excursions in addition to all of their included ones. Other then the 3 additional excursion that were offered on our cruise everything else was included.(Even laundry service if you have a suite). I am looking at Scenic and Tauck as well but I was so happy with Uniworld I will probably stay with them for awhile since there are at least half a dozen itineraries I'm interested in. I've booked their Italy cruise as well for next year.

Don't think you can go wrong with either line. They each have their unique perks. Good luck with the planning

You may want to look at these reviews of two ships, one from UniWorld and one from Scenic. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

http://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/2015/05/compared-scenics-sun-lounges-uniworlds-open-air-balconies/

Thanks everyone for your help. We will be making our decision tonight and it looks like either should be a great time. Uniworld is actually the pricier of the two, but the travel agent is really encouraging us to use Scenic. :)

this is exactly what I was looking for... thank you!

and just think, can always TRY Uniworld NEXT time. After 12 cruises, we have to look for which company even doing area we want to see.That does limit us.

Remember, no matter how you get there or what the ship is like,,,,you re STILL on a river in Europe(or other)and just ENJOY it. Never ALL bad, make the best of it,then learn from experience. Never regretted ANY cruise, TRIE D to enjoy the experience. Think of all the people that NEVER get to do it, I keep this in mind when all the nay sayers and complainers start in.