beesKate

I use Ear Planes on every flight. I'm convinced that due to a combination of seasonal allergies and small facial structure, my ears don't handle the pressure as well as others and I used to routinely get off planes with my ears having a clogged sensation that could last until the next morning. Since I've started using Ear Planes, I do not have this problem -- I think I remember one time and it dissapated fairly rapidly. I'll need to try the Afrin technique next flight out! I normally take a sudafed prior to a flight to dry myself out, which works for shorter flights.

I've used the name brand Ear Planes as well as the Walgreens and Walmart store brands and they all seem to work equally well.

Have you looked at the "Cruise Companion" for that itinerary? On Uniworld's site, select "Before you go" and then "Cruise Companion". This is much more detailed than the daily itinerary included on the basic information page. It will detail which excursions are optional. It does not include price, but we've found most of the optional excursions on Uniworld are around 40 euros a person. On our first cruise I don't think we did any of the optional excursions, as we enjoyed more free time in the places we docked. On our second cruise we only did one of the optional excursions.

Even though they only have the 2014 Cruise Companions on the website, we've found very little changes from year to year. Perhaps someone who's been on this cruise could contribute more.

Glad to see this message! We're booked in fall of 2015 and I was wondering how much time you had to explore the towns on your own. We enjoy the tours to give us an overview, but I do like to poke my head in the shops or try some local specialties.

Were you docked in towns (walking distance) any nights?

We're going the opposite direction as amd1234, and plan to end our trip with a train from Lyon to Paris and spend about 5 days in Paris.

Exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks. Hubby wants to eat genuine pretzels, and brats in Germany.:) I really don't care for beer. What should I order?

You should try a Radler, it's described as a beer/lemonade or sprite-type mix -- that probably sounds worse than it is. One of the ladies we met on our first cruise didn't care for beer, but enjoyed the radlers. One of our tour guides recommended them.

If your cruise includes a stop in Aschaffenburg, the Schlappeseppel is fairly near where the ships dock. http://www.schlappeseppel-ab.de/

We travelled the Rhine/Main in early September and it was rather warm some days (especially in Prague) and I think we had 1 day of rain. We travelled the Danube in October, it was definitely cooler then and needed jackets... some days were beautiful, some had rain (maybe 1/2 a day total), and we had a little blustery wind when we sailed the Wachau valley. When we booked out next one, we asked the cruise director and she recommended September. This time of year works great for us, we got a little autumn color in October too.

Did you look at the member reviews? There's a recent one for the Bordeaux cruise on Uniworld. It's not terribly detailed, but the reviewer enjoyed it.

I know I love that Uniworld takes care of everything, and you don't need to worry about lining up guides, lodging etc. Since this cruise is in such a compact region, it appears (in the Cruise Companion) that you do have a lot of opportunities for wine tastings.

I understand not being able to leave jobs and children for too long, but even adding a day on either end would allow you to experience a little more of the region on your own.

There aren't really rules where they'd refuse admittance into the dining room, just recommendations. We've seen men in jeans in the dining room and it's not worth going out to pay another pair of "smart trousers" just for dinner. I will say, my husband has reduced the number of jeans he takes just because they're heavier and take up more room in packing. But he already has plenty of khakis and navy pants he wears to work. It's much more of a business casual type attire (at least for men). As long as it's not jeans and t-shirts (and even then they'd still allow you in the dining room).

For the percentage of guides who use the headsets... on Uniworld it was just about 100%. I can think of visits to wineries where the people at the winery did not use them, and our Budapest tour only had 6 people, so she didn't use them.

We have not experienced hordes of tour groups on our trips. Sometimes it's inevitable (like visiting the Melk Abbey, it's one destination) -- but for the city or town tours, the Uniworld guides tend to go in slightly different directions or do things in a slightly different order. You might see another group, but they try to keep a little distance.

As far as groups from other ships, I will say our Uniworld guides would joke about moving on because the "Vikings are invading". The Uniworld ships have closer to 120-130 people, there were normally 5-6 groups. Our groups seemed to be about 20 people each. We did see groups from other ships (mainly Viking, but also some Tauck), but that was normally in places where there was just one main site.

We leave our phones on airplane mode the entire time we're over there and rely on the wifi on the ship and in ports to send email and update facebook. I've never looked into getting a temporary plan to cover calls or texting because what we've been doing works fine for us. In ports, we've found Starbucks or other coffee shops with free wifi. Your tourguides or cruise director could also let you know where to find free wife.

We were on the Uniworld cruise that ended up getting an included Bratislava tour due to lock issues last fall. I'm sure it was not the same as the one included in the excursion, because we were only there for a couple of hours. We were very glad we had the opportunity to stop there, but it would have been hard to decide between that stop and more time in Vienna.

If this is listed as an optional excursion, most of them were around 39 euros on Uniworld last year. I just looked at the cruise companion and it looks like it depends which direction you're sailing as to what you substitute. If you need to give up time in Vienna, you'll need to decide what you want to see and do in Vienna. We really enjoyed being able to spend the morning on our own walking around the Schonbrunn gardens (we did not take the optional palace tour). But I would have liked to have spent a little more time in the city too.

If you guys don't mind, let me piggy-back on this question. Because it's the same question, just... different.

 

You come on back aboard after a busy day meandering around, and now you're in for dinner and lockdown, because the ship is about to get underway. It's 7PM-ish, and the rest of the night lays out before you like turducken.

 

What are your usual options?

Usually you head back on board about an hour before dinner to allow a little time to clean-up, then you head up to the lounge for the next day port talk or information or just a drink.

Dinner tends to be about a 2 hour event (at least on Uniworld). You get your wine, review the menu, visit and chat, eat your 4 or so course meal.

After dinner you could head to the lounge or to the upper deck.

We did tend to retire early because you tend to be out on your excursions between 8:30 - 9... and if you want to enjoy breakfast, etc we tend to wake up early. You also do a lot of walking on the tours, after the meal and wine and the exercise and fresh air, I'm too pooped to party. And I do enjoy my 8 hours of sleep, but don't want to miss out on the tours and the ports (your body clock is messed up anyway, so it won't realize you're waking early on vacation).

This question is asked alot, maybe we need a sticky for a compiliation of these questions. Here's a few recent threads:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1984177

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1949554

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1987337

Dress code: River cruising tends to be much relaxed. Yes, they encourage "country club casual" but most people put on a clean shirt and different shoes for dinner. It tends to be cooler in Europe, so you're more covered up anyway, and most of your excursions are touring cities with churches and historical areas, so you tend to dress appropriately.

Age Groups: River cruisers tend to be empty-nesters, established professionals and retirees. Even though they've been mainly over 50, it's generally a healthy, active, fit, fun-loving, adventurous crowd. I don't think any lines specifically cater to certain age groups, it's much more an ecomonic group.

Schedules: Most river cruises have included tours of the port they are docked in. When these are smaller towns, there's really no reason to get a personal guide. On Uniworld, we generally had enough time after the tour to explore a bit on our own. You could always opt out of the tours, but I think they add quite a bit to your experience. The time in port depends on the itinerary -- and it 's something to consider when you decide which itinerary you prefer. Uniworld provided ample time for us to explore on our own after the guided tours.

Overnight: Sometimes you are docked overnight, sometimes you're travelling. I can't imagine why I would stay in town overnight when my cabin is right there, comfortable and I don't need to repack. Breakfast is just a few steps away and we enjoy our dining companions (and the food on Uniworld is excellent!).

Cruisers: River cruising is a very easy way to travel and see part of Europe. The cruisers tend to be well-travelled, but not necessarily "world travellers" that fell 100% comfortable after landing in any airport anywhere in the world. I know I enjoy the ease of travelling on a river cruise, they provide guides, everyone the cruise contracts with speaks English, but we have enough time to explore a bit too.

Let us know if you have any specific questions. Everyone is a fan is their own favorite cruise line -- so that question gets a range of replies. You need to consider what's important to you when you travel (and make a sizable investment to travel).

We've never used the Uniworld Insurance. Our travel agency offers it through another vendor (I can't remember which) and it's less expensive than what Uniworld offers. We heard advice it was better not to buy your trip insurance through the providor of your vacation, just in case something happended to them, you don't want all your eggs in one basket.

If we're only there for a few days, the location is more important than the stars. I want to be close to everything I want to do and near public transportation (so I'm not lugging my suitcase too far). Although spending some time on public transportation is expected, I don't want to spend 1/2 my time on trains or stations.

But I probably wouldn't go down to the 1-2 star level. I've gotten used to certain comforts. I look more for a property with a good reputation (trip advisor), included breakfast, free wifi, ensuite bath and if possible king-sized beds.

Itinerary

Stateroom windows (don't need a balcony)

Dining room, high standards

Quality staff and service

Ease of traveling (they take care of everything)

Included airport transfers to/from ship

Great guides for the excursions

Small groups, limited size of ships

I may be a little too much of a Type A person , but why would I want someone to unpack my luggage? Then how would I know where anything was?

In all honesty, there's just not that many options for places to put things in your cabin. The closet for hanging clothes and a few small drawers :)

This question was recently asked on the Uniworld forums with a reply. The response below is not from my experience but another traveler's reply.

http://uniworld.com/community/forum/before-you-go/advice/butlers?p=1

Posted: Tuesday, February 04, 2014 4:20 PM

" The butlers on the Antoinette are fantastic. From the moment you enter your stateroom, they offer to unpack, take all your clothes to be pressed, daily laundry. Invite you to a private dinner served by the butlers.. They are trained by the best butler school and could work for any royalty. It is such a luxury that can't be explained. They can either help you pack for your return trip or pack for you. To many nice things to name. You are going to love the experience"

I'm new to the boards. We are going on Uniworld Castles on the Rhine May 25th, and we're finding their PRE/POST packages to be very expensive. We need to get transfers from Basel Airport to Lucerne to Basel and our ship. Does anyone have ideas as to how we can do that if we book on our own?

To 1Luccagirl. If I understand correctly, you're flying in to Basel (where Uniworld expects you to fly in to). Then traveling on your own to Lucerne pre-trip? Since Uniworld includes transfers from the Basel airport to the ship, you just need to get back to the Basel airport. Uniworld doesn't "officially" allow this, but if your travel agent (or you) tell them you're arriving on flight xxx to arrive at X time on departure day, they will transport you from the airport to the ship. We did this in Munich (as did other travellers).

Find an arriving flight in Basel that fits the times where it will be convenient for to be back at the airport. Our travel agent did this for us. When we initially arrived we paid attention to the area immediately after baggage claim to figure out where we'd probably find the Uniworld people. It's fairly obvious where travel groups meet their clients. It should be fairly easy to take the train back from Lucerne to the Basel Airport, find the arrivals area and look for the Uniworld reps.

I will say that when my husband tried to explain what we were planning to do to Uniworld staff prior to our trip, they basically said something along the lines of "I'll pretend I didn't hear that". (He was trying to ask them when they'd be at the airport to pick up others and we'd plan our arrival close to that time... but they needed "our" flight number and time). Our travel agent found us a flight that arrived around 10:30 AM and told Uniworld that was our arrival. If you use their transportation to the ship, it's quite a bit easier... and it is included in your costs.

It's reading that one bad review that gets you second-guessing your plans;). I cannot imagine anyone considering a Uniworld river cruise less comfortable than ocean cruising. I love the beds and the bedding on the Uniworld ships. I like that I can feel comfortable sitting a lounge reading a book, drinking a self-service coffee or just watching the scenery go by without being constantly asked if I'd like a drinks or having music playing. There are no children running wild dripping the self-service ice cream all over the place. No silly contest, bingo, art sales... No adding up of extra charges (well, at least on Uniworld).

We have met wonderful people on both of the Uniworld river cruisese we've taken. By the last couple of nights, our table of "new friends" all commented how much we were going to miss the food, service and the camaraderie when we departed. Our fellow travelers and the staff is part of why we continue to return to Uniworld (we've booked 2015 for our 3rd cruise).

The Danube cruise allows you to see so many places from the comfort of your floating hotel room. Quite frankly, Budapest was never on my list of places I felt I needed to see, but I loved it -- as I loved all the port of call. I love the smaller towns as well as major cities like Vienna. Maybe see if another itinerary appeals to your wife more than the Danube?

We've already booked our 2015 on Uniworld. At first I didn't think they were up, but you need to go to the cruise you want to take and there are options for 2015 dates.

I have never heard of a welcome brunch on Uniworld. Maybe this (and the Glug wine) was special for the Christmas Market cruises?

They do keep a nice spread of food in the lounge -- but we've never arrived before noon to see how they accommodate the very early arrivals. The dining room is open for normal breakfast for the previous cruise, I don't see how they could turn it around that quickly for arriving cruisers -- but I guess if you arrived while it was still being served they'd allow you to go down and get a bite. But this is speculation, if you plan to do that, you'd best check directly with Uniworld to see if they'd welcome you in the dining room or just direct you to lounge.

There was a discussion on the thread titled River vs Ocean -- towards the middle of the replies.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1984177

I presume Uniworld does (starting with 2014 sailings). Their new updated information indicates all tips (both onboard and onshore) are included.

It looks like it will be a brand new ship in 2015. It shows up as a ship name on certain 2015 cruises, but there's not links. I finally googled it and found a little blurb mentioning it -- but I haven't seen mention of it before. I would guess it will be similar to the SS Catherine which debuts in 2014.

Uniworld River Cruises has announced that they will be introducing a brand new ship:

• S.S. Maria Theresa will be the cruise line’s newest Super Ship, debuting in Europe in 2015. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting new Uniworld River Cruise ship!
  

I will chime in in defense of the Scottevest. The ladies vest does not look like the khaki photographer's or fishing vest-style. The pockets are discretely placed and as long as you don't load every pocket up to it's fullest (the water bottle pocket and the pocket along the entire back for example), you can't really tell. We traveled in fall and I almost always wore a jacket on top of the vest anyway.

I wish there was a like button for the CapitalOne cash back bonus comment! We only use cash when we absolutely need to (or just want to, if we're towards the end of the trip and still have extra). We charge everything so I can keep up with what we're spending, and we use our receipts when filling out the customs forms on the trip home. The exchange rate is always great and I don't need to worry about having left over euros.